Please Help Me Before I Get Dismissed

[helpmeplease2323]

I am a student at a US MD school. I have passed all my classes the first two years without any interruptions. I was supposed to take step 1 2 months ago but due to family issues I was not able to stay focused to prepare. My school is now pretty much forcing me to take a one year LOA and get my life back together, take step 1 and join the next class. I have already received notification of being automatically dismissed if I do not take action. I am basically trying to ask how this medical leave of absence will be viewed by PDs in the future. I did talk to a mentor at my school who told me to try to convince the school to make it into a "research year" rather than a "medical leave".

The impression I have got from my Student Affairs office is that they don't want me to do that since I haven't taken step 1 (even though my mentor told me he specifically knows two students in my class who are in a similar situation that are taking a research year). I wanted to run this all by you all to see if you had any thoughts about what the best course of action for me would be and how this will impact me in the future. Other than the mentor wanting me to try for a research year, which I doubt they will approve of, I get the feeling that my Student Affairs office does not have my best interest in mind and wants to quickly get the medical LOA paperwork taken care of and have me move on (it is an easier process at our school since a medical LOA doesn't have to go through another committee). Thank you very much for your time and any help.

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[TedStark]

Worse than a leave of absence is a "research year" that clearly wasn't a research year and you're lying about it. Be careful

 

[helpmeplease2323]

Worse than a leave of absence is a "research year" that clearly wasn't a research year and you're lying about it. Be careful

Thanks for the response. My mentor said I wouldn't be lying about it since I already have two projects that I started and plan to work on through the year. Honestly, I was pretty set on going down the medical LOA route, but my mentor got me thinking differently. I am still 70% leaning towards the medical LOA since I am started to get worried about missing the deadline by the time I get everything turned in and verified.

 

[Redpancreas]

I am a student at a US MD school. I have passed all my classes the first two years without any interruptions. I was supposed to take step 1 2 months ago but due to family issues I was not able to stay focused to prepare. My school is now pretty much forcing me to take a one year LOA and get my life back together, take step 1 and join the next class. I have already received notification of being automatically dismissed if I do not take action. I am basically trying to ask how this medical leave of absence will be viewed by PDs in the future. I did talk to a mentor at my school who told me to try to convince the school to make it into a "research year" rather than a "medical leave".

The impression I have got from my Student Affairs office is that they don't want me to do that since I haven't taken step 1 (even though my mentor told me he specifically knows two students in my class who are in a similar situation that are taking a research year). I wanted to run this all by you all to see if you had any thoughts about what the best course of action for me would be and how this will impact me in the future. Other than the mentor wanting me to try for a research year, which I doubt they will approve of, I get the feeling that my Student Affairs office does not have my best interest in mind and wants to quickly get the medical LOA paperwork taken care of and have me move on (it is an easier process at our school since a medical LOA doesn't have to go through another committee). Thank you very much for your time and any help.

I feel like the school is justified in their actions. What are they supposed to say? Judging by today's date you've missed the initial start to clerkship as well as the delayed entry many schools offer to give you more Step 1 time. Therefore, there's no other option, but to take a one year delay...schools don't let you delay more than one clerkship from what I've heard because that'll put you way too behind come 4th year unless you forego your elective, take Step 2 right after you're done with your last rotation, find ways to trim down the 4th year elective time, and schedule your interviews with no days off. Also, this isn't enough information. Sorry to sound heartless by probing, but was this a death/traumatic event to an immediate family member or something more like a major family argument? If it was the former, I would think you're perfectly justified for taking a LOA and you should focus on healing from the unfortunate event without worry for the outcome on your medical education.

I have had experience talking to mentors about delays and while they are pretty good support, I don't think they have the best knowledge in regards to the complications and your official options as compared to your actual administration/counselors. In your case, your mentor knows two other students, but are you sure that the mentor knows the exact circumstances behind their research year? This is something I have no clue on but I would think that in order to be eligible for a research year you need to have some sort of plan/IRB already in place. In your case, it looks like you're using the research as a way to mitigate what you feel will be knock on your application. I empathize but the school has to set in policies for a reason and if they didn't, everyone who felt they needed it would have their delay labeled as a research year.

Now what I would do is speak to your counselor. He or she usually has your best interests in mind. STRETCH the circumstances (without actually lying...for example say that it traumatized you which it probably did) and see what they can do. If you find that there's no way that they can budge based on their set guidelines, you have no choice to accept what they're giving you.

 

[Redpancreas]

Thanks for the response. My mentor said I wouldn't be lying about it since I already have two projects that I started and plan to work on through the year. Honestly, I was pretty set on going down the medical LOA route, but my mentor got me thinking differently. I am still 70% leaning towards the medical LOA since I am started to get worried about missing the deadline by the time I get everything turned in and verified.

OP, while I am sorry for the situation you are dealing with, let's not sugarcoat anything here. You ARE lying about your research year because from what I understand, if you didn't have these unfortunate events pop up, you would not be taking a research year. Now, what I'm saying is try to find what the exact school policy is for a research year, see if you'e eligible, speak with your counselor and BE HONEST with them, and they may help you by granting the year. Counselors have a lot more power than you think. Best of luck...sorry my posts weren't too helpful but at this point I really don't see what the school can do.

Also, where are your normal track classmates right now? I'm assuming they've already started their second rotation. If so, the school's got no option but to force you to make a decision between a year off vs. dismissal. Now, if clerkships have just started officially, try asking if you could delay your rotations 2 months or so to start on the next one. This is actually quite common and carries no repercussions.

 

[Brorthopedic]

Try to get the research year, if that doesn't work out, a medical LOA isn't the end of the world

 

[DocWinter]

Do what your school says and take the LOA. You're justifiably considered out of line in regards to your program.

I would quickly forget your loophole research option and move to solid ground on a personal/medical year off. PDs are going to respect honesty with hiccups more than smoke and mirrors

 

[Phloston]

If you're going to do research over the year, then sure, it's a research year. Just be sure you're able to talk about whatever type of research it is that you did during the year and any posters you got out of it, etc. If you're not going to do research, then just proceed with the LoA. Btw, ignore the people giving you attitude in any way on this thread.

 

[TedStark]

The vibe you might give off with a research year is "I totally wanted to do a masters before med school." Just make sure you're not making excuses. It sounds like you have a legit reason that people can already respect without the research.

 

[cbrons]

Do what your school says and take the LOA. You're justifiably considered out of line in regards to your program.

I would quickly forget your loophole research option and move to solid ground on a personal/medical year off. PDs are going to respect honesty with hiccups more than smoke and mirrors

Agree with this

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[Redpancreas]

If you're going to do research over the year, then sure, it's a research year. Just be sure you're able to talk about whatever type of research it is that you did during the year and any posters you got out of it, etc. If you're not going to do research, then just proceed with the LoA. Btw, ignore the people giving you attitude in any way on this thread.

I would assume that's me considering no one else was really critical of OP but I don't see how anything I said is hurtful, but just in case...OP I personally apologize for any harshness and feel like you should do what is best for you. I am not in your position but if I was, I would try to prioritize honesty. I don't think a medical LOA is a really big deal which is why I think you should take that route. That being said try to talk to your counselor to try to convert it into a research year if possible. No one on SDN will be able to help you with knowing the options specifically to your school. Goodluck


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