The "Questionable Admission": Do they exit?

[happydays]

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Have any of you actually met a med student who might be a questionable admission? Or is this just a myth? (I read about it at scutmonkey.com, and at first I thought it was only a joke, but then I started to wonder.)

 

[Gimlet]

Have any of you actually met a med student who might be a questionable admission? Or is this just a myth? (I read about it at scutmonkey.com, and at first I thought it was only a joke, but then I started to wonder.)

Heck, on today's Neuroscience exam I started to wonder if I were a questionable admit!

I have been surprised a couple of times by students asking questions a day or two before an exam about REALLY basic concepts that they should have nailed down weeks ago. That's about the only evidence of a questionable admit that I've seen, and it doesn't necessarily make them a QA in my book. There are usually only 1 or 2 people in my class that fail each exam, and as long as they aren't always the same people, I would guess that my school does a good job of weeding out before admission.

 

[Rafa]

If you make it past the first year in a four-year endeavor, I don't think anyone can call you a QA.

 

[Law2Doc]

Heck, on today's Neuroscience exam I started to wonder if I were a questionable admit!

I have been surprised a couple of times by students asking questions a day or two before an exam about REALLY basic concepts that they should have nailed down weeks ago. That's about the only evidence of a questionable admit that I've seen, and it doesn't necessarily make them a QA in my book. There are usually only 1 or 2 people in my class that fail each exam, and as long as they aren't always the same people, I would guess that my school does a good job of weeding out before admission.

There are plenty of people who regularly ask stupid questions but seem to pull it together for exams, so I wouldn't use that as a gauge of QA.

 

[Rafa]

There are plenty of people who regularly ask stupid questions but seem to pull it together for exams, so I wouldn't use that as a gauge of QA.

True. And furthermore, something you learn for the first time in a class isn't really a 'basic concept' - particularly if you've never seen it before. A sophomore in college taking O-chem who didn't know how to ID a Lewis acid from a Lewis base after the first month of class might not be paying attention, but that specific nugget of knowledge wouldn't have *anything* to do with whether the student deserved to be in that college or not.

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
In my class, there was one questionable admission. This person didn't have a problem with learning or the material or medical school classes but was voted "Likiest to blow us all away with an Ouzi". This person was "wrapped so tight" that we waited for the day when this person went off to do the Ph.D part of their MD/Ph.D because they would never have another class with us. We used to scout out the exits when this person entered the room just to make sure that we could get to one when the bullets started flying.

Since I have long graduated and this person left the school, I am thinking that this person was mentally never able to finish their coursework. This was definitely a "questionable admission."

njbmd 🙂

 

[Koko]

Unfortunately, that is an easy "yes". Not because of subjective notions about intelligence, although many people harbor these fears about the student in question, but primarily due to his persistent laziness, magnetic draw to the path of least resistance, and lousy attitude. BTW, he's an MS IV. I fear for his patients.

 

[deuist]

I know a QA. He once asked the day before our final in genetics what "transcription" was. Then, a few weeks ago, another classmate caught him making up blood pressure results for patients. He admitted to not knowing how to take a blood pressure---even though we were taught the material six months earlier and tested on it repeatedly. None of the professors had ever thought to question his measurements.

 

[rpkall]

Personally, I don't think QAs exist for academic reasons in med school. The simple truth is that anyone who is reasonably bright, motivated, and driven can do fine in most medical schools.

I'm kinda on the lookout, however, for people who just seem like they don't "belong" in medical school: the ones who seemingly lack personal integrity, motivation, understanding, compassion, and the desire to actually learn the science of medicine once in a while. No one's perfect, for God's sake; no one can be serious all the time, study 24/7, etc... But there are some real winners out there who just seem "off" to me. Those are the questionable admits, I think.

^ Like this guy with the blood pressures. 👍

 

[Paws]

I can think of some QA's in my school, and not for the academics like people mention, but for the creepy sexual comments that they make. Or, for the history of sexual harrassment one of them had prior to med school. Or for the propensity towards cheating that is hard to ignore.

I don't mind earnest, well intentioned and hard working people who struggle to get through. At least I know my kids will be safe in their office, and they have integrity with regards to their work. It's the sleazy ones who might ace an exam, but God no! I would not let my children anywhere near them. No lie, I swear this is true.

 

[aragonh]

The best thing about medicine is that there is a place for those QAs who lack "social" skills and intergrety.

Just send them to the Departments of Pathology and Radiology.

Oh, and Im not saying all Paths and Rads suck, as I met some awesomes docs. But the more paths and rads I meet, the more I'm glad that they dont work directly with patients.

 

[Shangal]

I think I am a questionable admission.

I am not failing classes or doing below average and I know how to measure blood pressures but I have no interest in school or making a difference. I only show up to school during exams and I avoid talking to anyone in my school as much as possible, I have no interest in knowing that people are more ready then me on exams, so as soon as someone mentions something about classes I change the subject or act like I have no idea what they are talking about. I think it reached the point where people think I am failing my classes and have no clue what's going on

Not only that, but I am not that interested in studying, I spend most of my time not, and I never watch lectures, I just read my notes which seem to cover everything I need to know and that doesn't take that long.

But since I want to do radiology and not really deal with patients on a personal level, I think the world will still be a safe place.

 

[skypilot]

Hi there,
In my class, there was one questionable admission. This person didn't have a problem with learning or the material or medical school classes but was voted "Likiest to blow us all away with an Ouzi". This person was "wrapped so tight" that we waited for the day when this person went off to do the Ph.D part of their MD/Ph.D because they would never have another class with us. We used to scout out the exits when this person entered the room just to make sure that we could get to one when the bullets started flying.
njbmd 🙂

Lea F. Sullivan ’01, a former Cabot House computer science concentrator, passed away Monday after a medical school acquaintance attacked her with a baseball bat on a crowded Philadelphia street corner.

Philadelphia detectives allege that Nader Ali, who attended Jefferson Medical College with Sullivan, struck her on the back of the head outside a Whole Foods supermarket Sunday afternoon.

Ali reportedly drove away from the crime scene—but not before bystanders took down his license-plate number. Officer Sheila Smith of the Philadelphia Police Department said that Ali was arrested Monday morning at his parents’ home in Bergen County, N.J.

Police told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Ali and Sullivan had “very limited contact” while the two were at Jefferson Medical College.

“Ali was placed on a medical leave of absence during the last academic year because of an extreme change in behavior,” said Phyllis M. Fisher, a spokesperson for Thomas Jefferson University, which oversees Jefferson Medical College. She declined to elaborate, citing the confidentiality of Ali’s case.

Sullivan was rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after the attack. She never regained consciousness, and doctors pronounced her dead at 2:36 p.m. on Monday, Fisher said.

Sullivan, 25, was in her third year of study at Jefferson Medical College and had been involved in the school’s student council.

 

[Rafa]

No offense, but I do wish you'd give sources when copy pasting news articles. It literally would have taken a second to do while making the post.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=504411

 

[fun8stuff]

Have any of you actually met a med student who might be a questionable admission? Or is this just a myth? (I read about it at scutmonkey.com, and at first I thought it was only a joke, but then I started to wonder.)

At my school I sometimes wonder. Our grades are based on z-scores. A 500 is average, 600 is honors, and 100 points is equal to 1 standard deviation. There are people who consistantly get a total of 300s and lower- that's 2-3 standard deviations below the mean. I feel bad for these people... but really, what am I suppose to think? 😕

 

[aragonh]

At my school I sometimes wonder. Our grades are based on z-scores. A 500 is average, 600 is honors, and 100 points is equal to 1 standard deviation. There are people who consistantly get a total of 300s and lower- that's 2-3 standard deviations below the mean. I feel bad for these people... but really, what am I suppose to think? 😕

The distribution curve at my school (and I;m assuming at others 2) is similar to yours. All I think is that damn you have some lazy bastards who think they can study at the last second and still try to pass the class.

In other words, reasons of failure cannot be limited to intelligence, but could include other factors such as motivation, contempt and ego. Some people realize, a little bit too late, that it's not easy being a pimp.

 

[velo]

Have any of you actually met a med student who might be a questionable admission? Or is this just a myth? (I read about it at scutmonkey.com, and at first I thought it was only a joke, but then I started to wonder.)

ha, oh yeah, they exist alright.

 

[azzarah]

That was me first half of first-year. 😀

 

[Law2Doc]

The best thing about medicine is that there is a place for those QAs who lack "social" skills and intergrety.

Just send them to the Departments of Pathology and Radiology.

Oh, and Im not saying all Paths and Rads suck, as I met some awesomes docs. But the more paths and rads I meet, the more I'm glad that they dont work directly with patients.

As radiology continues pushing to become more interventional the places for those that lack patient skills will become significantly more limited.
But I must point out that a lot of the folks people are describing in this thread were probably very reasonable applicants upon admission, and didn't really manifest their lack of abilities until later on. Thus I'm not sure I'd term them QA in a lot of these described cases.

 

[heyjack70]

A lot of the time, the people I talk to in my class pulling the lowest grades have the best social/interpersonal skills. I'm sure they'll make great family docs and all their patients will love them.

 

[sga814]

Interventional Radiologists (stents and such) and regular radiologists work with patients (barium swallows, enemas, etc) a lot, but obviously less than internal meds.

You may be right about paths though... well the anatomical ones "talk" 😱 with the dead patients... so I guess that sorta counts.

The best thing about medicine is that there is a place for those QAs who lack "social" skills and intergrety.

Just send them to the Departments of Pathology and Radiology.

Oh, and Im not saying all Paths and Rads suck, as I met some awesomes docs. But the more paths and rads I meet, the more I'm glad that they dont work directly with patients.