Most likely a stupid question

[racerx]

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How badly does getting a "P" instead of "HP or H" in my family med clerkship hurt my chances of matching into my choice of residency?

More exactly, how badly does a P in my family med clerkship hurt during the match, period?

 

[Doctor Grim]

Hm..can a P hurt you during the Match? I don't know.

But I can tell you that if you can land interviews with your credentials, then your grades become less important when it comes to ranking. Programs care more about who you are and whether you're a team player at that point.

 

[lowbudget]

Some med schools don't have required FM clerkship. So H/HP is not an absolute requirement. My stupid answer is that a P is better than an F, although an H/HP is more desirable. I don't know if that makes you feel any better...

Realize that there are a variety of other factors that committees look at. And because of that, people may not even notice on your transcript that you got a P.

That being said, the reality is, there ain't nothing you can do about it now, so don't worry about it. Figure out why you got a P and try to do better next time.

 

[Doctor Grim]

Some med schools don't have required FM clerkship.

Wow. I didn't know that. I thought 6-8 weeks of FM is required as your core during MS3 and that State Med Brds require this.

Ok, I learned something new.

 

[cilfaz]

How badly does getting a "P" instead of "HP or H" in my family med clerkship hurt my chances of matching into my choice of residency?

More exactly, how badly does a P in my family med clerkship hurt during the match, period?

I asked this question because I got one last year too and was thinking of family medicine at the time. Like others said it is better than an F not quite as good as HP or H. Some places don't even offer HP or H anyway. We are talking about primary care here and it is a buyers market. If your top place has a plethora of great applicants a P instead of an H may make a difference. Most places do not have a plethora and decisions are being made on how the applicant fits in, communication skills, decent but not phenomenal board scores, deans letter etc but I think "the fit" is key. It seems one place wants me because I can play on their resident volleyball team. Who knows what each place wants!

CL

 

[MeowMix]

A P is completely irrelevant. I got an HP which showed as a P on my transcript (weird school transcript thing). It had ZERO effect on my matching. When I review applicants' transcripts, all I really look for is patterns and glaring Fs.

 

[racerx]

Great! Thanks for the replies. I won't fret so much over this, uh, little hiccup.

 

[sophiejane]

If other programs are having anywhere close to the year we're having, if you are a US grad who passed step 1 and 2 on the first try, graduated on time, and aren't a jerk, you'll very likely match your top choice.

Don't worry about it.

 

[iatrosB]

It seems one place wants me because I can play on their resident volleyball team. Who knows what each place wants!

CL

I was "recruited" at one program for the basketball team

 

[Drawing Dead]

Programs know that every school has a different grading process. The dean of my school told us that they used to give people who failed a remediated a course a P*, but programs thought that meant HONORS. When we look at a transcript, we just look to see if they passed, and don't really care what they HP or honored, or how many courses. Board scores are much more of a level playing ground, but they are not with out fault either. A person can be a great test taker and terrible physician, and vise versa. And as far as your clerkship, you may have had someone grade you who was a little stricter, or that you didn't completely jive with. I think as long as you don't have a completely garbage app, and don't interview like a complete jackass, you will get an FM spot somewhere.

 

[racerx]

Just as an update, the narrative was released that contains comments from my preceptors and an enumeration of my final exam score. It seems the powers that be somehow gave a score 11 points lower than the exam score I was told I had earned. I made the clerkship coordinator aware of the discrepancy.

I'm not sure if the above mentioned error was a clerical error, but certainly hope so. Adding 11 points to the average may boost my grade. That being said, I am not going to worry about the P. The rest of my application is pretty strong.

Again, thanks y'all. 👍👍

 

[secretwave101]

It's meaningless.

Personality types who obsess about things like this often are unhappy in family medicine. We're "big picture" types. 🙂

 

[racerx]

It's meaningless.

Personality types who obsess about things like this often are unhappy in family medicine. We're "big picture" types. 🙂

Like I said, I'm not gonna worry about the P. Though I asked the question out of curiosity, I ain't obsessing. Whatever happens, happens.

 

[secretwave101]

Sorry. Wasn't implying you. Was describing people who actually DO live their lives around this stuff.

 

[racerx]

It's all good! 👍🙂