Marginal Pass Grade

[pedpal85]

I just go a call from the curriculum office that I failed the medicine shelf (I know that sounds horrible). I got stellar evaluations from my attendings and residents and the clerkship director, my pitfall was that I didn't finish the exam on time. I had 15 minutes to finish 25 questions. I will be retaking the exam and my grade when I pass the shelf will either stay a marginal pass or become a marginal high pass (which doesn't make sense to me). Does anyone know how adversely this affects applying to residency programs (I am planning to apply in peds)? This is the most depressing thing to hear right now.

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[twilightdoc]

Does anyone know how adversely this affects applying to residency programs (I am planning to apply in peds)? This is the most depressing thing to hear right now.

Doing poorly on the medicine clerkship is never a good thing, but you already know that. How have you done on your other shelf exams and on Step 1? If the rest of your clinical grades are pretty good and your Step 1 and Step 2 scores are good, it might not be a huge problem in applying for a peds residency, but may put some of the "top tier" programs out of reach. Those programs can be quite selective regarding to whom they offer interviews.
Assuming that the medicine shelf is the only significant "blip" in your application, one strategy would be to get a letter of reference from a medicine attending with whom you worked and who had a positive impression of you. That letter might mention the discrepancy between your good clinical performance and the shelf exam, and a good medicine letter is helpful for a peds applicant. (But make sure you have 2 good Peds letters as well). If the rest of your application looks pretty good and if you interview well, you should still be a good candidate for most Peds programs, and there are a bunch of good ones.

 

[pedpal85]

Thus far I have had psych which I got an honors (grading scale as follows: honors/high pass/pass/marginal/fail), and in ob/gyn I got a high pass. My board scores are good for peds (looking at the national average in 2009 for peds). The primary issue was time management on the exam. I had 25 questions remaining when 15mins was called. The other disclaimer I have for this pitfall was that my mother had a CABG the last month I was on medicine with a slow recovery (I was one of her main caretakers) as well as my sister who sufferred a severe car crash within that same month (she is doing well now) with significant financial difficulties that have fallen on my family due to the loss of that car. I don't want these to sound like excuses but they have taken a toll on me mentally as well as physically.

Thanks for the suggestion to get a letter from a medicine attending. I was prepared to get a recommendation from my first attending who was exceptional in his teaching methods, whom I enjoyed working with, and who, from what I noted, seemed to have a favorable impression of me. I wanted to get a letter from the clerkship director but now I am afraid she is disappointed in me as I am disappointed in myself.

 

[LadyWolverine]

Oh, the medicine shelf. Breaker of hearts.

I too ran out of time and had to leave 10 questions blank. Despite my clinical performance and evaluations, I ended up scoring below the mean, which sank my clerkship grade.

It ended up being a non-issue during interviews, however. Seriously, one person out of like 50 asked me about it. So cheer up, study Step-Up and practice for the retake, and try to be very conscious for the rest of the year about what it was that screwed you on this test. Put in the extra work and practice questions for your surgery and peds rotations, and you'll end the year on a high note.

And I definitely recommend the purple kaplan Step 2 Qbook with practice tests in it. Know the surgery and peds questions by heart and you'll finish those shelf exams with time to spare.