LOA during MS2- chances to match?

[br2pi5]

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[Mad Jack]

Not going to look good for ENT or derm. Only shot would likely be places you rotate at and hoping to god how much they like you makes them overlook your record

 

[br2pi5]

Not going to look good for ENT or derm. Only shot would likely be places you rotate at and hoping to god how much they like you makes them overlook your record

With that in mind, is it better to continue grinding and remediate (w/ the risk of failing other exams) vs take a LOA?

edit: will a year of research during my LOA in my case help in some way?

 

[Mad Jack]

With that in mind, is it better to continue grinding and remediate (w/ the risk of failing other exams) vs take a LOA?

edit: will a year of research during my LOA in my case help in some way?

More failures will tank you more than a LoA

 

[br2pi5]

More failures will tank you more than a LoA

that's what I'm worried about. I wish I could just focus and grind and have certainty I will pass all the exams I have left and score highly on my step... but family takes priority over school so I'm trying to see what the best option out of these 2 bad options is. Any advice on how I can help my app, I'd appreciate. thank you

 

[NotAProgDirector]

At this point, more failures is likely to get you dismissed from medical school. I think you should focus on getting your health / family issues in order, and proceed from there. Doing research with an LOA is much better than doing nothing. Honestly, your trajectory so far may make getting one of those highly competitive spots very difficult, but I think you should focus on actually getting through medical school rather than on being a top performer.

 

[shaggybill]

I would look at taking the LOA. As others have mentioned, more failures will potentially result in an outright dismissal. Family is obviously and admirably very important to you, and in the unfortunate event that something goes awry with the upcoming surgery/recovery that causes you to do poorly or leads to more failures, that may be the straw that breaks the camel's back and ruin any chances of continuing your medical education. It may be best to let this situation resolve before moving forward. Best of luck to both you and to your father's health.

 

[candbgirl]

If you take the LOA are you going home to be with your parents for the surgery and recovery? How long would the LOA be? A LOA is better than more failures but the dye might be already set as far as the competitive specialties you desire. So keep that in mind and plan accordingly.
Hope all goes well with your dad and that he recovers well. Good luck.

 

[mvenus929]

As others have mentioned, your previous remediation doesn't look great on an application. But more failures would sink it.

Take the LOA. Spend time with your family and get your head on straight. There is nothing inherently wrong with taking a LOA if you need it and it's better than being in the wrong mental state and either failing out or barely passing the rest of med school. Doing something somewhat productive during that time will also be of benefit.

When it comes time to apply for residency (and again when applying for licenses), you explain you had a family member with a health problem and you needed to take time to spend with them. I had a classmate who took a year off during medical school to live with his mom when she was diagnosed with cancer. It was time well spent and certainly didn't impact him getting a residency.

 

[br2pi5]

thank you everybody for your comments and your well wishes!

 

[futureapppsy2]

thank you everybody for your comments and your well wishes!

Sending good thoughts to you and your family! Hang in there!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Just adding my voice to the side of taking the LOA. If your dean is suggesting it, they are likely implicitly telling you that you are on very thin ice academically, possibly to the point that another failure would result in dismissal. Clearly whatever is happening in your personal life right now has you in no position to give adequate attention to your studies.

Worry about what this means for a competitive match another day. Your plan should be to come back, do your best, see how you do on step, and then assess your chances for a competitive match.