Failed the crap out of my first class potentially

[jkinterestedinmed]

So backstory is I bombed my 1st two exams in medical school. My most recent exam went well and I have not taken the cumulative yet. I have reevaluated the time and effort I put in and the 1st two scores were reflective of my efforts. I honestly just was a little underprepared for what it took to do well in med school but am ready from here on out. However, knowing there is a shot I may have to remediate right now over the summer has me crazy stressed lol. I have always wanted to go into neurosurgery and am wondering how bad remediation in the 1st course I took in medical school would look to residency committees if that is the only spot on my record. Or should I be reconsidering other specialties? I am set on something surgical but open to pivoting to a surgical specialty outside of neurosurgery. Any success stories of a surgical residency from a failed class in med school would be greatly appreciated.

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[VaultArmitage]

Neurosurgery is insanely competitive. A failed class will be a significant red flag for matching. This is true for just about any competitive surgical subspecialty (ENT, Plastics, etc.) I am aware of one match into neurosurgery with a failed class, but he was MD/PhD and had a killer Step 1 score as well.

Also important to know that the specialty you plan on in M1 is generally not the specialty you end up in. You gotta keep your mind open as you go through classes and clerkships, or you may miss a specialty you might really like.

 

[wysdoc]

Focus on the here and now to get into the rhythm of learning and testing at your school.

 

[Goro]

Read my post on success in medical school.

 

[Redpancreas]

So backstory is I bombed my 1st two exams in medical school. My most recent exam went well and I have not taken the cumulative yet. I have reevaluated the time and effort I put in and the 1st two scores were reflective of my efforts. I honestly just was a little underprepared for what it took to do well in med school but am ready from here on out. However, knowing there is a shot I may have to remediate right now over the summer has me crazy stressed lol. I have always wanted to go into neurosurgery and am wondering how bad remediation in the 1st course I took in medical school would look to residency committees if that is the only spot on my record. Or should I be reconsidering other specialties? I am set on something surgical but open to pivoting to a surgical specialty outside of neurosurgery. Any success stories of a surgical residency from a failed class in med school would be greatly appreciated.

Just focus on the course at hand. Evaluate neurosurgery chances later.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Forget matching right now. You need to focus on passing classes before any specialty is a possibility. Re-evaluate once you consistently do that

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Agree with above but to answer your question, it probably depends somewhat on school tier.

Everybody from my low tier school who has ever (well I don’t know about ever, but at least the past 6-7 matches) matched neurosurgery, plastics, or ENT has been AOA. Some ortho aren’t AOA, but it seems very important for surgical subs. If you go to Harvard, then the failure is probably a non-issue since I’m sure they’d leave it off your MSPE anyway.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Buckle down and don't fail, and you won't need to find out how remediating a class affects your chances.

 

[operaman]

Lots of people have a little stumble out of the gate and end up doing quite well. Yes you can probably still match a competitive field if this is literally the only blemish, but that tends to be uncommon in reality.

Lots of reasons for this, but generally it’s that you’ll need to be academically sharp enough to perform near the top of your class while also having enough time and bandwidth to do research and network and perform well clinically. I’ve definitely seen it done, but it’s the exception not the rule.

Passing now needs to be your number one priority. Number two needs to be making sure you’re building a solid foundation of knowledge to carry you through shelf and step exams later (and thankfully #2 will also help with #1).

The beginning of M1 tends to be easier material, lots of undergrad overlap or more of the fluff that doesn’t fit well elsewhere. Schools usually ease people in a bit; nobody starts their M1 classes off in the neuro/head and neck anatomy stuff for a good reason. This means your classes are going to get harder as the year goes along, so keep focused on the immediate goal.

If neurosurg is still a reasonable possibility as you get into and through clinical, you can always take a research year and bolster that part of your application. There’s not much you can do for lackluster academics and a mediocre step score. Focus on what’s right in front of you.