What happens when you fail a class?

[Na1a]

Hi,

I'm currently a first year med student and I am struggling in one of my classes. We have had a few exams so far (not disclosing school for privacy reasons), and there is one class in which I am not doing so well. I failed the first exam (got a ~50%), and on the second one, although I did better, I still did badly (~63%).

I've been thinking about this for about a week now. Besides the "I feel stupid" factor that brings with it, I am a little worried. I know that I may have to repeat the class, but I have never talked to or heard of anybody who's done this.

Part of that, I think, is that nobody in medical school talks about these things. That includes me. I'm a little embarrassed to tell any of my classmates that I'm not doing well in this class, so nobody really knows. I haven't even told my parents because I don't want to feel worse than I already do.

At first I tried attending lecture everyday, but I don't get too much out of it. I ended up being in class most of the day and then I couldn't study when I get home because I was exhausted. I stopped going after a while and I think it helped a little, but obviously I'm still not doing that well with the material.

It's not so much that the material is so difficult, I've just had a hard time making myself learn it all, or knowing exactly how much to study. For the first test I greatly underestimated the time needed, and the results were seen. For the second one, I studied more, but obviously not enough. I get a little anxious during exam time, and it really, really hurts me. I can't study when I get too nervous, because I just feel overwhelmed.

So that is the rant. The question is...what happens when a medical student fails a class? Also, am I the only one going through this, or has anybody else ever failed a course in medical school? Any suggestions on how to be more efficient with studying?


Thanks for the help.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Red Beard]

At my school, if you fail a class or two first year you can usually remediate it during the summer. If you fail more than a couple of classes, you will have to repeat the semester/year or you might get dismissed, depending on what happens at your academic review meeting.

Second year....don't know.

Good luck!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Lots of people fail classes, so no you're not the only one. The thing is that the people doing poorly don't talk about it, so you probably feel like everyone's doing really well except you. What happens depends on your school's policy. At my school, if you make a D in only one class, you get to take a remediation comprehensive exam in the summer for that class. If you make a 70% or higher on that test, your final grade in the class is changed to a C, and you move on to the next year. If you make an F in a class, you have to retake it somewhere -- I think Creighton and maybe a few other schools have summer classes probably just for this situation. Generally if you make a D or lower in 2 classes, you have to repeat the year, but apparently they can make exceptions if the situation warrants it.

I'd suggest that you talk to your professor and maybe go talk to your dean.

 

[LadyWolverine]

At my school, if you fail a course, you must remediate. However, when and how that remediation takes place depends on which course you fail. For example, I believe that for our neuroscience block, you have to wait until the following year to remediate, because it is not offered over the summer. For other courses, you may be able to remediate during the summertime, or by re-taking and passing the exam. I'm not sure what your school's policies are, but I would certainly go talk to someone in the Office of Student Affairs, or whichever Department/Office handles those issues. They should be able to provide you with some sort of guidebook or reference regarding remediation policies.

I know that you must feel discouraged - lots of people do poorly on their first exam, or round of exams. Keep in mind that you are still adjusting. Some people need more time than others to shift into a routine. If you are currently studying anatomy, that goes double - most people found anatomy to be the most time-consuming block. With time, you will learn how to manage your schedule.

Finally, I would seek help NOW, rather than waiting until its too late. Talk to your Dean of Academic Affairs, or the person in charge of counseling those students who are struggling. I know that, after the first exam, our academic affairs department contacted all of those students who did poorly (they did it confidentially, with a personal email to each student), and asked them to come in for an advising session. I highly suggest that you do this, ASAP. There are people who are committed to doing this sort of thing - that's what they are paid to do, that's what they are there for, and they have tons of experience. You are paying for it - ask for guidance. They can help you set up a study routine, find a tutor, or pair you up with students who perform well so that you can study together. There's absolutely no shame in asking for help. Who knows? In the next block, maybe you'll be one of those stellar performers, and you can repay the favor by tutoring others.

One more thing - if the problem is something like anxiety, lack of motivation, etc., it might also be a good idea for you to visit your school's student counseling service - I wish that I had taken advantage of this resource sooner than I did. It would have saved me more than a few sleepless nights, negative feelings towards school, my peers, and myself, etc. Med school is going to stress you out, and sometimes you need to talk to someone about it. I found it very helpful and constructive to see a counselor, and I recommend it to anyone who is experiencing feelings of hopelessness/anxiety/failure/etc.

Good luck - start with your Advisor from Student/Academic Affairs.

 

[45408]

At my school, as far as I know, you can re-take a class over the summer at an approved institution, or you have to repeat the year. About 8 people from our class of 200 are repeating first year, which is higher than normal, I guess. One of them low passed two classes, which means you have to repeat.

If it makes you feel better, I started off neuro by failing the first exam, and I ended up high passing the class when I really picked up the slack. My second exam was mediocre but solid, my third exam was very good (easy test - everyone did well, but it still helped my average a lot), and my performance on the final was well above average. You just need to figure out what works and what doesn't.

 

[Orthodoc40]

Same situation as the OP here - I can say some of the trouble I'm having is similar but I also have a serious concentration problem right now (grief apparently does that to people).

Anyway - your school probably has a lot of resources as mentioned above. They also may have an extended program (1st 2 years over 3 years).
And they may make special considerations depending on your situation (I've already been offered a few options because of mine.)

It would be nice to know that there's a chance of still passing, without having to re-take or moderate my program, but so far, it is discouraging, to say the least.

 

[njbmd]

Different schools handle not passing an exam/class in different manners. Some schools will allow you to have one failing grade (you do remediation during the summer) per semester. Other schools will give you a "conditional" pass and you make up one exam's material during the summer. Some schools will allow you to take summer "make-up courses" in which they will give you the lowest passing grade if you pass the summer "make-up" course.

Please be sure that you have spoken first with the instructor and then with the dean of students. Most instructors will help you get through the material but it is important to ask for help early and often. It is also good to seek the counsel of the dean so that you know what options are available to you should you fail the course.

Bottom line: Don't just keep on failing but ask for help and get some strategies to get your grades up and salvage what you can. Adjustment to medical school is difficult and some folks struggle a bit. When you come through a struggle, you come out stronger in the end. Good luck!

 

[Reimat]

Get a tutor if your school can connect you with one - you're totally right, most med students have never struggled before so most people don't feel confortable talking about tough classes with peers. But getting tutored by a 2-4th year student can give you perspective in helping to understand the big picture of a class - without sharing your situation with your first year classmates.

 

[Na1a]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

I will definitely set up a meeting with the course administrator and ask what their specific policies are. There is still a (small) chance that I may pass the class, but I would need to get a very, very good grade on the next exam, and I don't know how realistic that is.

What I am most afraid of is of having to repeat the whole year. I know I screwed up in this class and I don't mind retaking the exams or the whole class, but I do not want to have to repeat the whole year. Besides the extra money it would cost me, it would be very embarrassing for me. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way, but I feel it would be embarrassing.

Looks like I'm in for a crappy weekend. Thanks again and feel free to add more suggestions/comments.

 

[Law2Doc]

Besides the extra money it would cost me, it would be very embarrassing for me. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way, but I feel it would be embarrassing.

I guess you should look at it this way. Wouldn't you rather be a little embarrassed but still get to be a doctor, than bail?

 

[Na1a]

I guess you should look at it this way. Wouldn't you rather be a little embarrassed but still get to be a doctor, than bail?

The thing is that I'm not sure of that anymore. This whole thing has made me wonder what in the world I'm doing here...I am not sure if I want to put up with an extra year of medical school.

It's still kind of fresh right now, I guess, and I'm a little disappointed. We'll see what happens.

 

[adrenalitis]

Each school is different, but my school lets you retake it during the summer. The F stays on your transcript and is used in calculating your class rank but a C is calculated into your GPA for your residency file.

 

[Cirrus83]

Well, we have 7 people in the first year class who were already first years before (although not everyone is in for academic reasons...but still, a lot). And you have to realize that that already does not include the people who chose to simply retake their failed courses over the summer (if they didn't fail too many I guess).

Of course, last year's class had a particularly high # of people fail anatomy so it's a little atypical.

Apparently at our school you can elect to redo all of year 1 instead of just remediating the course, although I can't imagine this was a super popular option.