Why You Should Never Ever Take a Shelf Exam If You Are Not Ready?!!

[AliBabaMD]

This is the golden rule to survival in med school.

My gift from me to you from all my years in med school, and now as a hospital CEO.

Do not take a shelf exam if you are not confident you will pass. Remember, this is different than getting Honors. Be realistic with yourself.

To skip a shelf exam and take it when you are actually ready, focus on the following areas:

1. Get help early on if you are struggling: free tutoring from your school, free counseling, etc.
2. If you are not ready but go time, ask to be excused by approaching your resources and support network at least 1 week in advance that you will not be ready.
3. If all else fails, appeal to your dean for a legitimate excuse.

Why do I say this?
Failing a shelf is not trivial. For those of you not great at standardized tests, it can start a gravy train of failing scores that you don't want. Everyone fails once in a while, but don't let a bad month or bad quarter become a bigger issue by taking an exam, ever, that you are not prepared for (reasonably).

Best wishes,
Ali Baba

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[ciestar]

Lol what?
What school gives you the choice to postpone?

 

[Crayola227]

this is ridiculous, I also don't see the "spiraling" issue, as most shelf exams cover very different material relative to one another

 

[NeurologyHopeful2018]

Making up an excuse to postpone an exam when you don't feel ready?? Sounds like something you get expelled for....

There is such a thing called academic integrity..

 

[Perrotfish]

Lol what?
What school gives you the choice to postpone?

Schools outside the US.

 

[hmockingbird]

At my school if you missed a shelf you had to wait until the end of M3 to take it, which sucked especially if it was an early rotation. Hence why I took a shelf exam while having pneumonia! I’m not sure you could delay in the US without being ill/family emergency/etc. (Unlike Step for which I WOULD give the advice to delay)

 

[ciestar]

At my school if you missed a shelf you had to wait until the end of M3 to take it, which sucked especially if it was an early rotation. Hence why I took a shelf exam while having pneumonia! I’m not sure you could delay in the US without being ill/family emergency/etc. (Unlike Step for which I WOULD give the advice to delay)

Works this way at my school. The first three shelf exams you take in the summer-fall of M3 you would make up over christmas break, though. Still sucks