Quit Med School? Failed boards

[libertyyne]

A med student trying to reason with a resident about how they should do residency. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

Easy there. No where am I telling him how he should do residency. Rather saying how my home programs have worked and how places I have worked at worked.
I am still waiting for this report of multiple women being kicked out of residency for having children.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hallowmann]

Easy there. No where am I telling him how he should do residency. Rather saying how my home programs have worked and how places I have worked at worked.
I am still waiting for this report of multiple women being kicked out of residency for having children.

I assumed you didn't want a response given your line about arguing for the sake of arguing, but since you're still waiting.

No one is overtly going to be kicked out for that reason. The point I was making is that people are treated differently after they take time off in residency (for almost any reason). That difference can mean a lot of different things for different people. Residency is a tightrope walk. There are times when you need safety nets, and unfortunately at many places its often set up in such a way that when people need time off, it means others get burned. That can erode your safety net. Depending on the individuals involved that could mean nothing and it could mean they get put under the microscope more, and we're all human so when that happens anyone can find mistakes and deficiencies that can result in review, remediation, and yes even at times removal. It might also mean that people give you less of a break when something else happens. It may mean that people stop socializing with you or helping you when you're getting slammed. The fear of those types of consequences will make people shorten maternity leave or not take it at all. I've seen that happen.

My point is residency is different than other jobs. You can't leave easily and start somewhere new if things get tough, and not finishing means you lose your career.

Anyway, I really hope you don't have to worry about that when you're in residency. I'm trying to intervene in our GME council so that stuff like that is less of an issue. It really shouldn't be an issue, but at a lot of places in medicine, it still is.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Well I guess I'm comparing to white collar jobs that my family/friends do (and this includes high stress environments like Wall Street). Maybe this is more true for blue collar workers.

Wow, I guess privelege really does exist. Since when is medicine a blue collar job? Cause I know plenty of PAs/NPs/Physicians/Nurses who do not get paid leave.

 

[MusicDOc124]

I'm thinking about quitting medical school and am interested in pursuing another health field (like maybe Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner). Am I being stupid? I got a 392 on Comlex and instead of retaking it, I feel it'd be smarter to pursue other fields instead. Will NP/PA programs take me? I just don't know if I'll match into a residency and I'm not sure if I'll survive residency (I've failed classes beefore & was a repeating student too so there are already red flags on my application. Although most of my grades second year were very good). With PA/NP programs, I can be done in a few years and be working to pay off these loans. Plus, I already have so much knowledge from medical school so I should be able to get higher grades in PA/NP school. The only reason I'm hesitating to quit right now is because I keep wondering how I'll pay all these loans back. Please help! I really need advice.

I'm not sure if it was touched on, but in addition to how close you are to passing and all.... regarding PA in particular. There are a number of PA programs that will not consider you at all due to having matriculated to med school at all (regardless of standing), taken a board exam (regardless of P/F), or from taking and failing a board exam.

With that said, you'd need clinical experience outside of being a student, it would take another year to apply and matriculate if accepted 1st cycle, then it would take 2-3 years to graduate, and then you'd have to take the PA boards after graduating before you can be licensed, and only some jobs (state dependent) would hire you prior to taking boards/having a score back - all in all, you'd be at least half way through residency by the time you'd be at this same point with only 1-2 years of residency left before you'd then make double to triple what PAs are making depending on the area you work in.

All in all, you're better of putting your best foot forward and studying to retake the exam and pass it to stay on track. I know of numerous people who failed boards (one person who failed twice but passed 3rd try) and a person a failed multiple levels of boards. One is currently a 4th year with 14-15 interviews at the moment and now starting to cancel them, another is an attending, and the rest are current residents.

It's certainly a scary feeling to be where you are now and having these things happen, but if you can work with an advisor and/or tutor to see where the studying or test taking went wrong, and close your gaps, you will be fine.

Good luck to you!

 

[BorntobeDO?]

When have med students been more right about residency than actual residents?

This comment has literally nothing to do with what I posted and is a weak appeal to authority on its own. A classic debate blunder.

 

[MusicDOc124]

You say this while I know a DO grad who hasn't matched in years with multiple attempts and personally know a few this cycle with no interviews (I will say the school I'm aware of eventually matches most who struggle into FM/IM/peds/psychiatry pretty often - the one person who hasn't matched has 3 attempts across all Levels with low passes = last cycle for example the school was able to get 2 students who had no luck in match a spot in a community psych residency , heck someone scrambled into a prestigious radiology residency with very low COMLEXs when it was briefly unpopular in the mid 2010s). BUT I will say, OP should continue this path if they still find clinical medicine as their passion. Really no reason no reason to leave DO school for PA school. Also as post above stated, it is MUCH harder to get in nowadays and they are picky.

I know what I am saying is not the most comforting but it's the truth from what I have seen. If you have goals outside of medicine and feel jaded about continuing than I would say pick up and run. I know a few people who returned after this type of break from school due to either an attempt on the boards or taking a brief personal leave in med school to later implode and hate their lives as physicians.

Do what's best for you!

I also know people who passed all boards on first attempt with okay/average scores who didn't match, though everyone I knew that that situation did manage to SOAP/scramble successfully. To be clear, my post wasn't suggesting it would be easy or a guarantee, only that it's possible and has been done.

 

[El-Rami]

Go all in. You need to dump the backup. Medicine or bust is the attitude you need to have. Quite frankly you will hate being an NP if you made it all the way to the 3rd year of medical school and quit. You will know you could have done more. If you told me you wanted to quit and become a pilot, I would support that plan alot more than becoming a mid/low level provider. As is you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of resentment and 'what if' by even toying with the NP/PA thing. Go put on your big boy/girl pants and become a physician. Time to DO brother!

Slightly old thread, but what the hell is with the medicine or bust attitude? What happens if you fail out of medical school? Die? That's a pretty extreme attitude, don't you think? Also very common.

 

[sab3156]

Slightly old thread, but what the hell is with the medicine or bust attitude? What happens if you fail out of medical school? Die? That's a pretty extreme attitude, don't you think? Also very common.

This person hasn't failed out of medical school yet, and hasn't shown that he is incapable of becoming a physician. That's why it's medicine or bust. It's not an extreme attitude.

 

[Goro]

Slightly old thread, but what the hell is with the medicine or bust attitude? What happens if you fail out of medical school? Die? That's a pretty extreme attitude, don't you think? Also very common.

Sunk cost fallacy, and Tiger Parent mentality

 

[El-Rami]

Sunk cost fallacy, and Tiger Parent mentality

I've seen so many med students with this attitude. It's like the samurai who would commit seppuku if they brought dishonor on themselves/failed their daimyo. This BS attitude is driving the suicide rate among med students/young physicians. Even worse are the students that kill themselves because they didn't match into what they wanted.

You know you're privileged and out-of-touch when you sincerely think a GP's base salary is "garbage."

 

[IMGASMD]

Slightly old thread, but what the hell is with the medicine or bust attitude? What happens if you fail out of medical school? Die? That's a pretty extreme attitude, don't you think? Also very common.

The old wisdom has always been if you can get into an US med school, you have what it takes to become a physician.

You can change your mind, that “I don’t want to be a physician anymore.” That’s a conscious decision and I actually respect you for it. However, if the attitude is I really want to do medicine, but I cannot hack it, now what’s my chance of becoming a mid-level. I cannot stand behind that.

I hope you figure it out OP.

 

[jessmess]

I got a lower score on my COMLEX level 1 than you (and also have red flags like a failed course, graduating off-cycle, etc.) and ended up matching into an internationally known top-tier IM residency program.

While I am certainly the exception, I was successful despite the red flags because I have an obvious passion for medicine (I'm one of those people who loves medicine and patient care so much it borders on annoying), I changed my study strategies (turned out, I was studying completely wrong), I worked my tail off to improve my application, did well on ALL of my shelf exams/boards after the fail, excelled in all of my clinical rotations, applied strategically, and really put myself out there (so much so that there were attendings demanding program directors to interview me even though I didn't meet their minimum X requirements-- having people in your corner REALLY helps).

You're literally a few questions away from passing... why not restrategize how you are to study for COMLEX, retake it, see how you do, and decide from there? You've made it this far. Plus, getting into PA school requires a whole different set of requirements-- lots of programs now require THOUSANDS of hours of clinical experience prior to applying (which is why every other ER scribe is a PA hopeful). You've made it this far. If I can do it, so can you... as long as you want it and are willing to put in the effort.

Good luck.

 

[deleted1005514]

I got a lower score on my COMLEX level 1 than you (and also have red flags like a failed course, graduating off-cycle, etc.) and ended up matching into an internationally known top-tier IM residency program.

While I am certainly the exception, I was successful despite the red flags because I have an obvious passion for medicine (I'm one of those people who loves medicine and patient care so much it borders on annoying), I changed my study strategies (turned out, I was studying completely wrong), I worked my tail off to improve my application, did well on ALL of my shelf exams/boards after the fail, excelled in all of my clinical rotations, applied strategically, and really put myself out there (so much so that there were attendings demanding program directors to interview me even though I didn't meet their minimum X requirements-- having people in your corner REALLY helps).

You're literally a few questions away from passing... why not restrategize how you are to study for COMLEX, retake it, see how you do, and decide from there? You've made it this far. Plus, getting into PA school requires a whole different set of requirements-- lots of programs now require THOUSANDS of hours of clinical experience prior to applying (which is why every other ER scribe is a PA hopeful). You've made it this far. If I can do it, so can you... as long as you want it and are willing to put in the effort.

Good luck.

Just curious, how did you fail COMLEX level 1, have a course failure & graduate off schedule, match into surgery, then drop out of it due to burn out and switch to an internationally known top-tier IM program?

Hate medicine...love surgery....but I want a life? What are my options?

When I entered medical school, I was so passionate about medicine and science. However, the longer I am in medical school the more I realize I actually really don't enjoy "real" medicine (i.e. spending hours on rounds discussing electrolytes or complex medical care or patients that are on 20...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[mathnerd88]

Quote

Just curious, how did you fail COMLEX level 1, have a course failure & graduate off schedule, match into surgery, then drop out of it due to burn out and switch to an internationally known top-tier IM program?

Hate medicine...love surgery....but I want a life? What are my options?

When I entered medical school, I was so passionate about medicine and science. However, the longer I am in medical school the more I realize I actually really don't enjoy "real" medicine (i.e. spending hours on rounds discussing electrolytes or complex medical care or patients that are on 20...

forums.studentdoctor.net

I'm fairly certain that person had/made some nice connections. Without them, the chances of his/her success story for someone else is 0.0001%.

No way would a top tier IM program consider him/her with a failure on boards, let alone a DO.

 

[Epilepsy365]

Just curious, how did you fail COMLEX level 1, have a course failure & graduate off schedule, match into surgery, then drop out of it due to burn out and switch to an internationally known top-tier IM program?

Hate medicine...love surgery....but I want a life? What are my options?

When I entered medical school, I was so passionate about medicine and science. However, the longer I am in medical school the more I realize I actually really don't enjoy "real" medicine (i.e. spending hours on rounds discussing electrolytes or complex medical care or patients that are on 20...

forums.studentdoctor.net

People lie on the Internet... Welcome to the real world.

 

[Lilyhopeless]

People lie on the Internet... Welcome to the real world.

It is not the lie that upsets; it is how bad it is being done! Please cover your track and lie well... This level of unprofessionalism at lying ruins the reputation of good liars everywhere!!!

 

[deleted1005514]

People lie on the Internet... Welcome to the real world.

I was well aware of the inconsistency of the two stories...I was asking nicely instead of calling someone an outright liar on their 3rd ever post. Gotta be a good story if it’s true.

I’m well acquainted with the real world and how people lie, but thanks for looking out for the uninitiated.

 

[deleted480308]

Just curious, how did you fail COMLEX level 1, have a course failure & graduate off schedule, match into surgery, then drop out of it due to burn out and switch to an internationally known top-tier IM program?

Hate medicine...love surgery....but I want a life? What are my options?

When I entered medical school, I was so passionate about medicine and science. However, the longer I am in medical school the more I realize I actually really don't enjoy "real" medicine (i.e. spending hours on rounds discussing electrolytes or complex medical care or patients that are on 20...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[WhatIsGoingOn219]

Retook the exam and got a ~100 points above. Thank you to everyone!

 

[scaranju13]

Retook the exam and got a ~100 points above. Thank you to everyone!

Congrats !!!!

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Retook the exam and got a ~100 points above. Thank you to everyone!

yeah buddy! Thats what I like to hear. Congrats!