I'm a struggling MS1 about to finish anatomy and I'm in serious danger of failing the course. While I know it's bad to fail a course, does anyone know the specific ramifications in terms of residency and my future. I feel that with this I'm already closing many doors of my future.
The dangers of failing?
- Thread starter zempa
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 453
- Reaction score
- 1
A red flag for the upper third of competitive residencies, but if you just keep up good grades the rest of the time, I doubt it will hurt your chances terribly for the lower half of specialties.
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
- Messages
- 4,387
- Reaction score
- 20
If you fail, it definitely won't help your chances of getting into surgery. It's not impossible to get a surgery spot after this, but it almost certainly wouldn't be at a top-prestige-like program. To get a spot at a lower place though, you'll need to have something great and shiny to outweigh your failure, like great research experience or acing your surgery rotations. You can recover from this, but it'll be a challenge.
Not a damn thing wrong with going into IM though...
Not a damn thing wrong with going into IM though...
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2008
- Messages
- 2,536
- Reaction score
- 3,967
The biggest concern you should have now is making it through, not which residencies you can and can't get. Preclinical grades will matter very little in the grand scheme of things. As long as you do OKAY on step 1 (~220's) and do not need to extend your education (to 5 years), general surgery should be very doable (though as noted, probably at a community program not a top notch academic program).
IMHO, applying for residency is much LESS stressful than applying to medical school. Most pre-meds have steller GPAs and MCAT scores yet <50% get accepted ANYWHERE. For residency, >50% of applicants are average or below average, yet 94% of american grads will match somewhere. This includes folks who repeat a course or even an entire year.
Work hard and keep the end goal in mind. Best of luck!
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2008
- Messages
- 2,536
- Reaction score
- 3,967
Not as big of a challenge as you would think, assuming second year, step 1 and THIRD YEAR go well. Connections/impressions made as a third and fourth year can go a long way...
N
njbmd
Depends on how your school allows you to re-mediate this. Some schools will allow students to re mediate during the summer and upon passage of the remediation, you get the lowest passing grade that can be given for the course. Some schools will show the failure and then the remediation grade which residency programs will see. In some cases, only the passing grade is shown.
As others have said, do your best not to fail but in the worst case scenario, you re mediate and move on the the rest of medical school and don't fail anything else. It's far too premature to be trying to figure out what residency you will be able to enter. You could have the best grades in the school and zero aptitude (or interest) in surgery.
Chill out, do your best and take one thing at a time. When residency application time comes around, you will be able to figure out your interests and your aptitudes. Fail or not fail, there will be plenty of people in the same situation as you find yourself. Do the best with what you have. It's far better to fail one course during first year than to fail boards.
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 597
- Reaction score
- 234
Your question is asking about something which is three or four years into the future. That is entirely the wrong focus for you to be having as an MS1. An inappropriate focus such as that could be either a cause of problems or a symptom of them.
The first thing you need is an objective assessment of how you are doing in your current studies. Do you have actual evidence (test scores, input from faculty) that you are in danger of failing? Or is this, understandably, your internal worry about how you are measuring up against a demanding course and other students who present themselves as superstars? If the objective evidence is that you will pass, just keep on doing what you are and try not to obsess.
If the objective evidence is that you are failing, or are at risk of failing, then you need to take charge of the situation immediately in front of you, and do something pretty quickly to change that. But the first thing for you to remember is that you got to med school in the first place because a significant number of people at your school involved in the admissions process thought you had what it takes to succeed. You should take confidence from that.
You may be able to work out what the problem is yourself. Are you studying enough? Are you studying effectively? What is your learning style and are you applying it in the way that is best for you? Typically it's best to understand and learn the big picture in a subject first, and then work your way down into whatever detail you have time for. Talk to your fellow students about what works for them, and about specifics. Can you join/create a study group?
Talk to your anatomy lecturer/a student adviser/learning adviser asap. Ask them how they think you are doing. If you think you know what your problem is and what the solution is, ask them whether they think you are on the right lines. If you don't know what your problem and the solution are, ask them what they think.
If after all this you are still worried about failing, you could check out what the rules are about remediation/retakes at your school. Schools tend to have different rules, but all will make some provision for getting you back on track. You might find it reassuring to know that others have been in difficulties and that a way forward is provided. If you do end up failing, you will need to talk as soon as you can to all possible relevant advisers/lecturers to sort out a way forward. Head in sand at that stage would be the best way to compound the problem.
Good luck.
The first thing you need is an objective assessment of how you are doing in your current studies. Do you have actual evidence (test scores, input from faculty) that you are in danger of failing? Or is this, understandably, your internal worry about how you are measuring up against a demanding course and other students who present themselves as superstars? If the objective evidence is that you will pass, just keep on doing what you are and try not to obsess.
If the objective evidence is that you are failing, or are at risk of failing, then you need to take charge of the situation immediately in front of you, and do something pretty quickly to change that. But the first thing for you to remember is that you got to med school in the first place because a significant number of people at your school involved in the admissions process thought you had what it takes to succeed. You should take confidence from that.
You may be able to work out what the problem is yourself. Are you studying enough? Are you studying effectively? What is your learning style and are you applying it in the way that is best for you? Typically it's best to understand and learn the big picture in a subject first, and then work your way down into whatever detail you have time for. Talk to your fellow students about what works for them, and about specifics. Can you join/create a study group?
Talk to your anatomy lecturer/a student adviser/learning adviser asap. Ask them how they think you are doing. If you think you know what your problem is and what the solution is, ask them whether they think you are on the right lines. If you don't know what your problem and the solution are, ask them what they think.
If after all this you are still worried about failing, you could check out what the rules are about remediation/retakes at your school. Schools tend to have different rules, but all will make some provision for getting you back on track. You might find it reassuring to know that others have been in difficulties and that a way forward is provided. If you do end up failing, you will need to talk as soon as you can to all possible relevant advisers/lecturers to sort out a way forward. Head in sand at that stage would be the best way to compound the problem.
Good luck.
