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- Sep 8, 2006
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I am a first-year student who recently took a leave of absence from med school for both personal and medical reasons. I honestly was doubting my decision to continue on with medicine as a career, which I think was clouded by the fact that I was not feeling well for quite some time. I had a combo of vertigo, migraines, and rebound headaches which was driving me absolutely crazy! I had gotten to the point where I threw all my books on the floor and just went to bed before my last set of anatomy exams. I decided a LOA was better than taking those exams and failing miserably. Anyway, I'm happy to report that I'm finally taking care of my health and am in much better spirits. This time off has made me realize how important a career in medicine really is to me. I will be starting school again in August. However, I am curious as to how this leave of absence will affect me when I later apply for a residency. I had been doing well in school until I left, and I plan to do some type of research from now until I begin school again.
I'm not interested in any of the extremely competitive residencies like derm or ortho. At the moment, I'm really drawn to emergency medicine. From what I've heard, it seems as if board scores and clinical rotation grades are most important when applying. Do you think my leave of absence will prevent me from pursuing certain residencies?
Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks!
I'm not interested in any of the extremely competitive residencies like derm or ortho. At the moment, I'm really drawn to emergency medicine. From what I've heard, it seems as if board scores and clinical rotation grades are most important when applying. Do you think my leave of absence will prevent me from pursuing certain residencies?
Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks!