Preclinical Grades

[corona 247]

I am a MS1 and am trying to find out how important preclinical grades are in getting a residency. I know that the ' the better your grades, the better you learned the material and therefore the better your board scores (usually)', and i def agree with that. But, when all is said and done and your application is sitting in front of a PD, is he/she going to care whether you got 10As and 2Bs or 2As and 10s if you have competitive board scores and LORs? I know that for ultra competitive specialties and residency programs, class rank plays a more prominent role than to 'less competitve residencies specialties and programs.
The reason i started thinking about this was when i looked ahead to board time. A few upperclassman have told me that they spent the last quarter before boards just coasting thru their class enough to pass, while spending more time reviewing/studying for boards. Does anyone agree or disagree with that method?

Appreciate any feed back. Us MS1 are so new to medicine that sometimes i think we tend to overworry about our grades during the first 2 yrs that it adds unneeded stress!

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[usnavdoc]

It really depends on what you are going onto. Fields like Path and some say anesthesiology(probably a few others as well) look at preclinical grades with higher weight than other programs. Preclinical studies give you the basis for doing well in your clinical years, which are obviously important. All programs look at board scores and your grades(knowledge) will indirectly affect your scores. Also AOA, GPA, and class standing are computed with all grades(preclinical and clinical) so that would be looked at as well.

Bottom line it’s not the most important thing unless you have bad grades. Then it stands out in a negative way regardless of what you are going into. But overall Id say yes they are important but that B in anatomy will not prevent you from getting into Ortho.

In terms of what your friends are doing to study for boards. I wouldnt approach it that way, but thats just me. You have plenty of time right after exams each block(and summer between years) to review old material if you want to start early whithout compromising the current material. Or you can wait until the end and take a review course like most do. I found those helpful if you already knew alot of the material and just needed beefing up.

 

[DrRobert]

Preclinical grades take on different significance depending on your goals:

1. If you absolutely want to get AOA, then they matter.

2. If you do not care about getting AOA but still wish to apply for a competitive specialty such as radiology, then they do not matter. However, you will need to accomplish all of the other standard requirements: high board scores, good clinical grades, excellent LORs, research.

3. If you do not care about getting AOA and are applying for a low-mid competitive specialty such as anesthesiology, then they do not matter.

Bottom line: for 90% of med students, they do not matter. Preclinical grades will never be the determining factor in getting granted a residency interview or being moved up/down a program's ROL. Their only significance lies in determining whether you get AOA or not.

*All of the above come with one caveat: you must PASS all of your preclinical classes. The above commentary assumes that the original poster is concerned about getting honors in these classes.

 

[ears]

Preclinical grades take on different significance depending on your goals:

1. If you absolutely want to get AOA, then they matter.

AOA electrion criteria vary from school to school. Not all schools include preclinical grades in the criteria. If AOA matters to you, find out how elections work at your school.

 

[DrRobert]

AOA electrion criteria vary from school to school. Not all schools include preclinical grades in the criteria. If AOA matters to you, find out how elections work at your school.

Fine. I'll add that my post only applies if preclinical grades are factored into your AOA elections.