residency chances for decelerated students?

[rkaz]

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[NotAProgDirector]

You've mostly answered your own question. The past is what it is, no way to change that. What you want to do is prove that you've solved whatever problems you've had in the past, and they're unlikely to happen again. As you suggest yourself, you should try to do as well as you can in the rest of your coursework, and do as well as you can on the boards. If you're interested in ACGME programs, you should consider whether to take USMLE step 1 in addition to COMLEX step 1. Some programs will consider you with only COMLEX, some require USMLE. Best to inquire about that now at programs where you think you might be interested.

Other thoughts going forward:
1. Plan on taking Step 2 early, so you'll have it for your application.
2. Consider trying to do an away rotation at an ACGME program early in your 4th year (if your school allows that). Better to do a SubI if you can swing it -- of course this assumes that you can do well and impress on the wards!

 

[Law2Doc]

Hello. I am currently a medical student at a DO school (I'm in my 2nd year of school, in a 5-year track). I had a rough start my first year, and ended up failing one course my first quarter and 2 courses my second quarter. I was struggling with a bout of depression at that time, and had some difficult life experiences (car crash with injuries, romantic heartbreak, etc). I also had difficulty with classes as I had been out of science classes for several years before starting school. As such, I felt like I was drowning when I started. While I still work very hard now, things are much more manageable.

After failing courses over the first 2 quarters, I was automatically decelerated into a 5 year program (i.e. basic sciences spread over 3 years, and 2 years clinical rotations as standard). Since that time, I have done pretty well, getting a mix of As and Bs in each subsequent term (with my lowest grade being a B- in one single science course over the last 3 terms). I am not depressed in the way I was before, and I have improved my study habits a great deal (though I still struggle with ADD). It has been one year (3 quarters) since that time, and I have pulled up my GPA substantially. I went from having a 2.0 GPA last year, to having a (just under) 3.0 cumulative GPA now. I hope to continue to get strong grades over the next year to pull that GPA up further. I won't know my updated class rank until the end of the year, but I assume it will still be on the lower end regardless of all the improvements I've made.

Although I don't know exactly what kind of residency I would like, at this point I'm considering options like IM or PM&R at university-affiliated ACGME (MD) residencies. Is this totally out of reach for me at this point? Will I be deeply stigmatized for being in a 5-year track, after having failed 3 courses in the early part of my first year? Or can I recover by continuing to do well afterwards in courses, and ensuring a solid performance on my boards?

We recently had residents from allopathic FP programs in my state come and mingle with the medical students at my school. The residents were saying how they look for top applicants when reviewing residency applications, etc. After hearing them speak, I started to feel really insecure, like I will never get into residency anywhere no matter how hard I work now. I am terrified that even if I work my butt off to do well, that I might still be in the bottom 20% of my class by the time I apply to residency and might not get in anywhere. I haven't started any extracurricular activities yet (as I told myself I wouldn't do any ECs until I started doing well in school), but now that my grades are decent, I think I might also do some activities on the side, which I hope will make me more well-rounded as an applicant.

Any insights or experiences? Thanks so much!

I think being realistic about your ultimate goals is the key. IM and PM&R aren't the most competitive fields, but qualifying them by saying you want to do them only at a university affiliated program might put the bar back out of reach. There are plenty of community based programs where the doors will be wider opened for someone with a lower class rank and a decelerated path. Just my two cents.

 

[peppy]

I think being realistic about your ultimate goals is the key. IM and PM&R aren't the most competitive fields, but qualifying them by saying you want to do them only at a university affiliated program might put the bar back out of reach. There are plenty of community based programs where the doors will be wider opened for someone with a lower class rank and a decelerated path. Just my two cents.

Good point. Don't get so caught up in going to a prestigious place that you overlook a good community program that might be more easily obtained. There are hidden gem community programs out there that may not have a prestigious reputation or a particularly desirable location but will still train you well.

 

[Entgegen]

For what it's worth, I'm a 4th year at a DO school and a good friend of mine had to repeat his first year of med school (subsequently ended up in my class because of it). He recently prematched at a good ACGME FM program in Michigan (not sure of which one off the top of my head). Don't count yourself out...all is not lost.

 

[rkaz]

Hey, thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my thread despite your busy schedules... I really appreciate it!! 🙂

aProgDirector - I agree with you that I need to be looking forwards since I can't change the past, but I was interested in knowing if decelerated students really face an uphill climb or not for residency. Thanks a million for the great tips. I will certainly keep in mind that I should take Step 2 early before applying if it will help my case.

Law2Doc - Yes, I want to be realistic here... realistic about how much of a liability the decel status might have on my future application, but at the same time not cutting off my possibilities entirely since I still have another year before boards to continue to pick up my grades. Furthermore, the last time I have failed something was a year ago, so I hope I am starting to prove myself as a bright enough person and no longer a failure... and I truly hope residency programs will be able to see past my earlier medical school history.

Peppy - As you stated, going to a good residency program where I will be trained well is what is ultimately important, not whether it is ACGME or not. The reason I mentioned ACGME and university-based, is that I am of the belief that university programs would give the best training, and would keep the doors open in case I ever wanted to do a fellowship later in life. That's what I really care about (the training), and if a community-based or DO residency can provide that, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Entgegen - So glad to know about your classmate! It's so nice to know that everything worked out for him despite his shaky start. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 By the way, I am just curious... did he have to go well out of his way to compensate for his past (i.e. superbly high board scores, crazy ECs, etc) or was simply getting solid grades from that point on enough? Just wondering in case you happen to know.