should I be concerned?

[rachp5]

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At the beginning of my second year of medical school I was put on "probation" as a result of "professionalism concerns." The issue was that I skipped a 4 small group sessions during the first year. I was then taken off probation during the third year, as the promotions committee unanimously decided that they had no further concerns. There are no concerns about professionalism reflected in any of my evaluations from the clinical years and the dean of students has said that although he will have to include a sentence or two about this incident in the dean's letter, he doesn't think it will have any impact on my residency application and says not to worry about it. He said that students have gotten in trouble for far worse things from our medical school and ended up matching into very competitive residencies.

Should I take his advice and relax or should I be concerned?

 

[FunnyCurrent]

are there any actionable steps you can take?

if not then what's the point of worrying?

 

[Etorphine]

.

 

[rachp5]

are there any actionable steps you can take?

if not then what's the point of worrying?

The point of knowing "how bad it is" is that it will impact the range of schools I apply to for residency and whether or not I discuss it in my personal statement. So while I can't get it off my record, I can plan appropriately as I enter the application cycle.

 

[Rutgers06]

The point of knowing "how bad it is" is that it will impact the range of schools I apply to for residency and whether or not I discuss it in my personal statement. So while I can't get it off my record, I can plan appropriately as I enter the application cycle.

I kinda had something similar when I had to explain a gap year in my application due to family issues and wasn't sure how it would play out. There was something written about it in my Dean's letter and I wrote something in ERAS about it. However, I didn't discuss it in my personal statement because it was hard to integrate without compromising the flow of my personal statement.

I basically applied a bit more broadly than I would have and waited for interviews to come in. I was asked about it in about 1/3 of my interviews, but I had a prepared answer and we just moved on. At the end of the day, I don't think it affected me at all because I ended up getting lots of interviews and matching at my #1 program, which was the one I wanted to go to when the application process started.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Hopefully that helps

 

[drizzt3117]

The point of knowing "how bad it is" is that it will impact the range of schools I apply to for residency and whether or not I discuss it in my personal statement. So while I can't get it off my record, I can plan appropriately as I enter the application cycle.

Def don't put it in your PS or ERAS IMO.

 

[ucladoc2b]

At the beginning of my second year of medical school I was put on "probation" as a result of "professionalism concerns." The issue was that I skipped a 4 small group sessions during the first year. I was then taken off probation during the third year, as the promotions committee unanimously decided that they had no further concerns. There are no concerns about professionalism reflected in any of my evaluations from the clinical years and the dean of students has said that although he will have to include a sentence or two about this incident in the dean's letter, he doesn't think it will have any impact on my residency application and says not to worry about it. He said that students have gotten in trouble for far worse things from our medical school and ended up matching into very competitive residencies.

Should I take his advice and relax or should I be concerned?

I'm sorry this happened. I love the absolutly subjective nature of "professionalism concerns." Especially considering esentially showing up to small group/PBL stuff (some is good, most is a waste of time).

On a tangent, I think one could make the arguement that not showing up to unproductive lectures/labs/groups is professional. You are esentailly making a judgement call on getting your work done efficiently, timely and thouroughly vs. wasting time on worthless tasks. Good, efficient personnel managment really isn't medicine's strength.

 

[RestoreSight]

Def don't put it in your PS or ERAS IMO.

Agreed.

Listen, what goes down in med school stays in med school. "Professionalism" is a word brandished like a two-by-four. They smack you up and down with it all through medical school, but if you've had problems with professionalism its not something you want to advertise to residency programs because it will screw you. The best thing you can do is learn from the experience, recognize that if you continue to have problems with professional misconduct as a physician you really can suffer SERIOUS consequences and move on.

 

[CaptainSSO]

I'm sorry this happened. I love the absolutly subjective nature of "professionalism concerns." Especially considering esentially showing up to small group/PBL stuff (some is good, most is a waste of time).

On a tangent, I think one could make the arguement that not showing up to unproductive lectures/labs/groups is professional. You are esentailly making a judgement call on getting your work done efficiently, timely and thouroughly vs. wasting time on worthless tasks.

I have no opinion on this thread, but you just made a horrible argument, akin to saying that if someone is shot in the head, it's their own fault for having their head there. Or that a bank robber is actually doing the bank a favor, because in the future they'll know they need to increase their security.

edit: I am not comparing the OP to a bank robber, for anyone who is like lololol you think skipping a pbl is like robbing a bank

 

[MilkmanAl]

Def don't put it in your PS or ERAS IMO.

Totally agree and would add that it's probably more important than ever for you to have all your application materials (ERAS, rec letters, etc.) in early so you start getting interview offers well before the Dean's letter gets released, on the off chance that it hurts you. I don't think you'll have too many issues, but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[ucladoc2b]

I have no opinion on this thread, but you just made a horrible argument, akin to saying that if someone is shot in the head, it's their own fault for having their head there. Or that a bank robber is actually doing the bank a favor, because in the future they'll know they need to increase their security.

edit: I am not comparing the OP to a bank robber, for anyone who is like lololol you think skipping a pbl is like robbing a bank

Not quite my arguement at all. Apologies if I was unclear.

My point is that you have work to do with limited time and limited resources and abilities. If there are activities that are hindering your ability to get your job done well in a resonable amount of time (or causing problems in your life), then you need to address these issues. It's part of professional responsibility and sound judgement. If going to class prevents you from actually learning material and is taking up a considerable amount of time, don't go.

However, there are some reasonable channels to go through to correct the situation (ie: go to the dean first). So I do see where my argument might not have been clear.

 

[penguindoc2012]

Do not put it in your PS. It will only draw more attention. If there is nothing you can do to get it off the Dean's Letter, then you will just have to let it go, apply and see what happens.