so if you fail one test, its game over?

[hotdawg]

hey all.

i searched the threads but didn't find what i was looking for.

well i started school last month and we had our first gross exam. i have no idea how i did because i didnt copy down my answers (they don't give us the tests back). everyone i know, it seems, did really well which is wierd cuz the class is over 100 students, some in different programs. i can't imagine everyone kicked ass.

i am pretty sure i did badly. usually i can guesstimate how i did after an exam but this time i have no idea. seriously. and i feel horrible. i feel like i passed it but compared to what everyone else said afterwards, i don't know. so know i get to sit and wait for the results, and i am sick of everyone asking me.

my question is, to those who went through first year--how much weight is on the first year? i mean, im sure i can pick it up for the next five exams, but if you fail once, does that mean you shouldn't be in med school? because that is what i hear mostly.

my problem was i studied so much for the other exams that i left this behind. i did well in the others, but now it seems i should be spending that time towards anatomy , not 6 hours towards biochem, which is easier for me anyway. i know they said dont study one subject at a time, but i freaked out when the exams started comming. i mean, in college i studied a subject at a time, i didn't think it was a bad way to study. now i know.

the other thing i am worried about is that if i failed, that means i dont know my back muscles, etc.

so should I:

drop out,
stay in and contact all my resources, student advising, tutoring, etc (done)
stay in and do the above in addition to restudying what i missed on top of my other stuff?

i wont know the score untill 3 weeks or so but i need to do something now, and was wondering if any one had any advice.

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[DoctorPardi]

hey all.

i searched the threads but didn't find what i was looking for.

well i started school last month and we had our first gross exam. i have no idea how i did because i didnt copy down my answers (they don't give us the tests back). everyone i know, it seems, did really well which is wierd cuz the class is over 100 students, some in different programs. i can't imagine everyone kicked ass.

i am pretty sure i did badly. usually i can guesstimate how i did after an exam but this time i have no idea. seriously. and i feel horrible. i feel like i passed it but compared to what everyone else said afterwards, i don't know. so know i get to sit and wait for the results, and i am sick of everyone asking me.

my question is, to those who went through first year--how much weight is on the first year? i mean, im sure i can pick it up for the next five exams, but if you fail once, does that mean you shouldn't be in med school? because that is what i hear mostly.

my problem was i studied so much for the other exams that i left this behind. i did well in the others, but now it seems i should be spending that time towards anatomy , not 6 hours towards biochem, which is easier for me anyway. i know they said dont study one subject at a time, but i freaked out when the exams started comming. i mean, in college i studied a subject at a time, i didn't think it was a bad way to study. now i know.

the other thing i am worried about is that if i failed, that means i dont know my back muscles, etc.

so should I:

drop out,
stay in and contact all my resources, student advising, tutoring, etc (done)
stay in and do the above in addition to restudying what i missed on top of my other stuff?

i wont know the score untill 3 weeks or so but i need to do something now, and was wondering if any one had any advice.

Just short of half my class failed our first exam so I wouldn't think failing an exam is a big deal. You will probably find you did better than failing and everything is fine. Just try not to worry about it too much, I know that isn't easy but you can't change anything now.

 

[45408]

but if you fail once, does that mean you shouldn't be in med school? because that is what i hear mostly.

You've been taking advice from people who don't know what they're talking about. I failed a neuro exam and still high passed the class. You just need to learn from your mistakes, and quickly. A single exam means next to nothing. If you're running a marathon, and you trip and fall, it won't be the deciding factor in whether or not you win or lose. Just get up and keep going.

 

[bcat85]

Just short of half my class failed our first exam so I wouldn't think failing an exam is a big deal. You will probably find you did better than failing and everything is fine. Just try not to worry about it too much, I know that isn't easy but you can't change anything now.

holy crap. How?

 

[TMP-SMX]

I failed our second biochem test (horribly). Still did fine in the class. There are going to be units where you may not study enough, the teaching or notes may be atrocious, or the questions may be unnecessarily difficult. The point is, you have to improve for the next test and prove it to yourself that you can handle it. If you made it this far you have what it takes to do better. Find out what was the problem and fix it. Don't worry about it because by the time you wake up you will have missed a week of time that you should be studying and trying to understand the material. In the end, you are going to forget a lot of the anatomy you study, but you should at least be exposed to it. Gross Anatomy is probably the worst class of med school. (Though I'll find out how crappy Pharm is pretty soon). You may even start to enjoy some of the material, and this is important, because that is half the battle. If you go in hating the material you aren't going to do well. Chin up and learn it to learn it. Don't listen to others in your class as they don't know what the hell they are talking about. If your other course is histology you should definitely be spending most of your time on anatomy. Don't skimp on histo, but it is a very straight forward course where you go over it and you know it. Associate images with what you have to know and study the details of the notes about each structure. Clinical correlations in both histo and anatomy are high yield. (Check out BRS if you are having issues with that).

 

[URHere]

Also, keep in mind that, although it seems like everyone did better than you on the exam, you may have done perfectly well. The average for our class' first exam was a 90% - many people thought they had done horribly compared to everyone else only to find that they were still above 80% (and solidly passing).

Don't stress until you know how it went, there's just no point in that.

 

[Law2Doc]

hey all.

i searched the threads but didn't find what i was looking for.

well i started school last month and we had our first gross exam. i have no idea how i did because i didnt copy down my answers (they don't give us the tests back). everyone i know, it seems, did really well which is wierd cuz the class is over 100 students, some in different programs. i can't imagine everyone kicked ass.

i am pretty sure i did badly. usually i can guesstimate how i did after an exam but this time i have no idea. seriously. and i feel horrible. i feel like i passed it but compared to what everyone else said afterwards, i don't know. so know i get to sit and wait for the results, and i am sick of everyone asking me.

my question is, to those who went through first year--how much weight is on the first year? i mean, im sure i can pick it up for the next five exams, but if you fail once, does that mean you shouldn't be in med school? because that is what i hear mostly.

my problem was i studied so much for the other exams that i left this behind. i did well in the others, but now it seems i should be spending that time towards anatomy , not 6 hours towards biochem, which is easier for me anyway. i know they said dont study one subject at a time, but i freaked out when the exams started comming. i mean, in college i studied a subject at a time, i didn't think it was a bad way to study. now i know.

the other thing i am worried about is that if i failed, that means i dont know my back muscles, etc.

so should I:

drop out,
stay in and contact all my resources, student advising, tutoring, etc (done)
stay in and do the above in addition to restudying what i missed on top of my other stuff?

i wont know the score untill 3 weeks or so but i need to do something now, and was wondering if any one had any advice.

As one med school mentor I know likes to say, the "dirty little secret" about med school is that the first two years really don't count a whole lot in terms of your future. The material is important for Step 1, but the grades themselves probably won't change what field you want to go into. Although I don't recommend it, there are folks who study exclusively from Step 1 board review type material during the first two years and do poorly in their classes but are decently prepared for the Step, and do fine careerwise.

The key is to try not to fail the course, because that can mean losing your summer, or if multiple classes, can push you back a year. That can have an impact on residency. Certainly don't drop out, unless you are really just looking for an excuse to do that anyway. Nothing has been lost yet. First year is about learning how to study. Many people show up from college and try to do what worked for them in college and fall on their faces. It's a different game, and different strategies often work better. There are many threads you can find advising how to "change things up" if your initial study plan didn't work. Repetition is generally the name of the game. And definitely seek out your school resources -- they may have good pointers, but at a minimum, you are more likely to get second and third chances at the school if you keep having trouble, if you can show you sought out the school's help (you make them invested in you).

It's not the end of the world, just a new challenge. Good luck.

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[RisingSun]

Wait... how are your grades calculated for your classes? We have to pass all our exams in order to take the final. If we don't pass the exam we can do a retake but the highest grade we can get from the retake is equivalent to a C. The final exam is 90% of our grade (sometimes 100%) and attendance. Also, do you guys have oral final exams? We had a couple of classes in the first 2 years that were strictly oral final exams given by a panel of 2 or 3 doctors.

Dude, I just gotta say that your school's grading system sucks nads.

Continue on.

 

[MrBurns10]

Dude, I just gotta say that your school's grading system sucks nads.

What he said. That sucks.

And as for oral exams, I had one in path but that was it until rotations.

 

[DoctorPardi]

holy crap. How?

The average was 74, about 50 people failed the first test.

We have 3 exams, 2 practicals (1 anatomy and 1 histology) and other various assignments. So it is very possible to have failed and make it up. That was my point to the OP even if you fail you can make it up most likely.

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

z

 

[hotdawg]

the way it goes at my school is that there is a lab and lecture component, and you have to pass both independently but its averaged between the two. there is no final exam, just a last exam.

so, there is a chance to make it up, but i am just so frustrated. i was at histo lab today and while i was working quietly with another student everyone was talking about the exam--- especially since the course cordinator was in the lab too. I wanted to ask him for advice but he seems very abrupt personality wise.

I think he'd make me cry !!!

so besides tutoring and the student center any anatomy advice?

thanks for the responses, its just really hard to feel confident with the other classes with this &!#! on my mind.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

i am pretty sure i did badly. usually i can guesstimate how i did after an exam but this time i have no idea. seriously. and i feel horrible. i feel like i passed it but compared to what everyone else said afterwards, i don't know. so know i get to sit and wait for the results, and i am sick of everyone asking me.

my question is, to those who went through first year--how much weight is on the first year? i mean, im sure i can pick it up for the next five exams, but if you fail once, does that mean you shouldn't be in med school? because that is what i hear mostly.

so should I:

drop out,
stay in and contact all my resources, student advising, tutoring, etc (done)
stay in and do the above in addition to restudying what i missed on top of my other stuff?

i wont know the score untill 3 weeks or so but i need to do something now, and was wondering if any one had any advice.

YOURE JOKING RIGHT!??!?!

DROP OUT OF MED SCHOOL??? BASED ON 1 TEST!!?!?!? BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Geez. Did you not go to undergrad? Are you like one of those straight from high school to med school people? Have you never taken an exam before?

YOU HAVE 5 MORE TESTS TO GO AND YOURE FREAKING OUT ABOUT ONE TEST THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FAILED?!?

P=MD, and unless you completely fail out or make AOA, no one gives a flying f*** what you did in your first two academic yrs.

Chillax. Have a good time. Pick up a hobby.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Biggest piece of advice for sanity during medical school -- avoid people who brag about how well they did!!! Most of those people probably did no better than you (and in fact, maybe did worse), so don't get freaked out by their talk. It sounds like you need to find some more laid back, non-competitive types to talk to. 🙂 They really do exist in medical school even though it seems like you're in a world of uber-competitiveness.

Also, you really don't know that you failed yet, so don't assume you have until you know for sure. The first medical school test can be kind of a shock to your system, and it's very possible to feel like you did a lot worse than you actually did.

And, as everyone above has mentioned, failing one test isn't the end of the world by any means. If you really did fail or do poorly, just be proactive in figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

There are only two situations where you take one exam, fail it, and earn the right to flip out.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Bah you can even retake those so even that isn't the end of the world. A major pain in the ass, but not the end of the world.

 

[LilJon]

I once made a 40 on a anatomy exam. I wanted to slit my wrists. I made a's and b's the rest of the course and studied my ass off and made a 99 on the final. Got a B in the class. You can rectify it but you gotta buckle down. Even if you fail the class your still not done, trust me ive seen it happen. Ive seen someone have to repete a whole year and still match in Ob/Gyn and one in Surgery. Clinical grades, USMLE scores, research, LORS, kissing some butt can far outshadow anything you did or didnt do in preclinicals.

 

[hotdawg]

YOURE JOKING RIGHT!??!?!

DROP OUT OF MED SCHOOL??? BASED ON 1 TEST!!?!?!? BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Geez. Did you not go to undergrad? Are you like one of those straight from high school to med school people? Have you never taken an exam before?

YOU HAVE 5 MORE TESTS TO GO AND YOURE FREAKING OUT ABOUT ONE TEST THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FAILED?!?

P=MD, and unless you completely fail out or make AOA, no one gives a flying f*** what you did in your first two academic yrs.

Chillax. Have a good time. Pick up a hobby.

haha no, i remember undergrad, dude, and yeah, there were tests i failed. and there are only three written tests left, and of course the practical exams.

and no, im not traditional and totally not the gunner type. maybe i should be, to get better grades.