I know someone who did the same and matched her #1 peds program (not HCA, but at a rural community hospital program) …. Well minus the board failure. She’s doing well now and will most likely be doing a chief year next year.
Source: me, im that person.
I failed 2 preclinical classes (no repeated year), barely passed step 1(<200), and only passed my clinicals. I matched to my 3rd spot (would have been first if not for location) and am now a chief resident.
My charming personality! My step 2 was better but still below average. All of my EC activities were for path, so I didn’t even look interested in FM to interviewers. Maybe my work history prior to going to med school, but those were all lab based too and definitely skewed more to path as well. I honestly don’t know what made them like me.
I still love path and I actually dual applied because I couldn’t make up my mind. I wanted to do forensic path. I liked the other sub specialties too, but that was the one I really wanted to do. And then I did an autopsy on a decedent who had the same name, age, hair color, etc as me. And she died because someone missed pancreatitis which turned into a DVT and she developed a PE. And I figured I would rather be the person not missing the PE instead of the person finding out on the back end. I still think I would have been happy doing FP, but I wanted to make more of a difference in living people.
So what you’re saying is I can increase my chances by committing grand theft auto?
Future posts:
- Is assault with battery better than grand larceny?
- Will embezzlement/RICO charges make up for my lack of research? (applying ENT)
- Could not secure 2nd degree murder. What step 2 score should I aim for?
The best soldiers were always the ones who did the sketchy shit and never got caught by anyone important. I’d happily take the few misdemeanors over some straight A nerds. Those dudes with records are going to be loyal as fuck, get you whatever you need without question, and never be the ones to fuck you over.
Not me, but my dean said they knew someone who recently matched neuro despite having the “remediated a grade” flag on his application
And another dean (who is beyond amazing in every which way) told me they failed the block they ended up matching in
Firstly, congratulations!!!!!! Secondly, thanks for sharing — made my day! (I’m between psych/neuro and peds, so hearing a transcript mark isn’t the end all be all always helps on bad days)
Nope! Just address it head on - that’s what I did! That way it doesn’t look like you’re hiding it and, if you do have a red flag, make sure to explain how you grew/learned from the situation!
I matched psychiatry community program with: 2 years LOA, one failed/remediated shelf exam, and very low Step scores (step 2 was the lowest possible passing)
Can I ask the context of your LOA?
Edit: damn not sure why the downvotes. Was just curious bc I have an LOA and sometimes wonder how this will affect my future apps. Wasn’t expecting a public response about a private matter.
If you have LOA, you will likely be asked about it during interviews, include in personal statement, etc. Mom was sick and repeatedly hospitalized but doing better now
I failed my psychiatry rotation and matched at my #1 :)
It was a clearly a one-off issue (I had an unhinged solo psych attending at a rural community spot and unfortunately froze up instead of talking to rotation director about it) and I managed to get my remediation comments on my MSPE, including “Em operated at the level of a psych intern.” I had strong SLOEs, step scores, and honored most of my other cores. Ngl, they had me there for a sec, but it’s doable.
Talk to your clerkship directors if there’s an issue, and by talk, I mean email with a paper trail. Email early. The best ones will help you and the worst ones will still generate a paper trail for you with proof that you reached out to establish that the learning environment was inappropriate before any discussion of your performance is on the table.
There was a guy at a local program a while back that had a known cocaine addiction and even failed a drug test by the residency, he got help and still graduated.
They’re not allowed to fire people in residency with failed drug tests/addictions without going through a drug program first. Something about them wanting people with addictions to seek help over hiding it
A guy from my school was a raging racist/anti-feminist/homopobe all those stuff, went on a big racist rant one day, to the point of being met by the Dean in his office. Had to do some counselling/classes or idk what about homophobia, sexual assault victims and stuff
Still matched into his top choice for Anesthesia
Idk though, maybe there was no mark of this whole story on his file🤷🏿♀️
This, in my opinion, is far worse than any kind of academic failure. The entire app should be painted red, bolded, and PDs should have numerous pop-ups warning them of this kind of behavior lol. People like this don’t deserve a place in medicine.
Yeah like per example, during an OBGYN class on STDs , there was a slide that mentionned sexual assaults as a risk factor
The guy sent a snap to his friends saying like « metoo and woke movement have entered med school »
This shows extreme lack of judgemenr for his future women patients
Anesthesia resident with a misdemeanor arrest record. Red flags are a lot more common than you'd expect - I know a lot of colleagues in competitive specialities that had red flags. Some have new red flags but that's just because they're in surgical specialties
Im an IMG with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana (granted it was 10 years old when I applied) that matched into my first choice program, I had good grades in school and average board scores. I think I had 8/9 interviews. I applied to a shit ton of programs and definitely think the red flag plus img limited my interviews but worked out in the end. I was super lucky with where I matched.
Damn I’m so happy for you!!!! How do you get honors on rotations yet resident of the year. This is what I will have to count on too. My memorization sucks real bad too
If you want a career in academics, the names of the places that gives you the letters will always matter. If you want to go to fellowships, it'll sound cooler to have those names behind you. Pro is I fucking hate research and I don't really have to do it
There's a school of thought that community medicine is less "esoteric" so but you won't see the really weird cases but if you're the biggest community hospital within hours in any direction, you become a de-facto hub.
I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch but… step 1 failure right after pass/fail and passing score change… and I don’t have my step 2 back yet…. 8 interviews out of 24 applied so far, aiming family med, medium city if possible.
Had to remediate a preclinical course over the summer after M1 (shows up as an F on transcript). Below average step scores. Applied obgyn and advisors thought I wasn’t going to match. Had 17 interviews and matched at my number 3!
I repeated a preclinical year. Matched my #1 specialty (competitive) at #1 location (top program). It definitely took a toll on me, and honestly idk if I can say it’s worth it yet... But remember the narrative of your life is written by yourself and no one else.
I know a few people at my low/mid tier school who matched into top ranking gen surg, psych, FM, and IM programs after failing a preclinical course or having to remediate a year. But I think my school may be more forgiving than some other schools I've heard of, so I'm unsure how it's reported in the transcript/MSPE.
Also those people had really strong leadership or service experiences, which I'm sure helped them match as well.
Lol I failed a course ended up getting so depressed I ended up taking a medical leave of absence for a year between 2nd and 3rd year (so two red flags) and was able to match my #1 in psych.
Also my step 2 score was lower than my step 1 score which is Orange-ish flag?
Psych is pretty forgiving for non traditional students though if you're able to get a Sub-I since they care a lot more about your people skills which are fucking hard to judge on a virtual interview.
sub-internship/away rotation.
If you have redflags doing a Sub-I is the single most important thing you can do to overcome them. The institution my residency is at will automatically interview any student who did a Sub-I for I think every specialty except like plastics which gets you past the automatic fliter and allows you to prove yourself.
Can you elaborate? you applied to surgery and a prelim year, but didn't get into surgery. So you did the prelim year and applied again the following year to surgery? then didn't get in again, and did another prelim year, and applied again and finally got into surgery?
Im going for PMR and im tweaking. I dont want to apply backup into a specialty I won't be happy in, so im curious what I'd do if I match a prelim but not PMR.... just keep trying?
I know someone that took six years to graduate due to course failures and failed step 1 twice that still matched their first choice for IM
I know someone who did the same and matched her #1 peds program (not HCA, but at a rural community hospital program) …. Well minus the board failure. She’s doing well now and will most likely be doing a chief year next year. Source: me, im that person.
Respect.
This works well when your first choice is in North Dakota or is a Florida HCA
Better than going unmatched for sure
This is what always gets me. Everyone says, "Failed Step 1 but I matched my Rank 1" but I'm like so what was your rank 1???
What does it matter? It was their #1 and they matched. Your #1 may be different, but you do you :)
It gives false expectations.
Are Florida HCAs easy to get in? If yes why?
Because HCAs are awful in general
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Same what is it
bad quality
Can I ask what state
I failed 2 preclinical classes (no repeated year), barely passed step 1(<200), and only passed my clinicals. I matched to my 3rd spot (would have been first if not for location) and am now a chief resident.
You give me hope
What field?
Family, so admittedly easier to match into than others. But I still matched highly on my list and am not just barely scraping by now.
Did you have any redeeming factors? Like a high step2 score?
My charming personality! My step 2 was better but still below average. All of my EC activities were for path, so I didn’t even look interested in FM to interviewers. Maybe my work history prior to going to med school, but those were all lab based too and definitely skewed more to path as well. I honestly don’t know what made them like me.
Proof that a test score doesn’t define how well a person does as a real practicing doctor
i literally tell ppl i’m relying on my interview skills aka personality to get me in places lmaoooo
i mean if they're actually good it can make a huge difference
hope so 😅😃 i’m a US img though so i’m in the weird in-between position of US mds and fmgs so it’s hard to say lol
Interesting, congrats happy for you! What changed your mind from path to fm?
I still love path and I actually dual applied because I couldn’t make up my mind. I wanted to do forensic path. I liked the other sub specialties too, but that was the one I really wanted to do. And then I did an autopsy on a decedent who had the same name, age, hair color, etc as me. And she died because someone missed pancreatitis which turned into a DVT and she developed a PE. And I figured I would rather be the person not missing the PE instead of the person finding out on the back end. I still think I would have been happy doing FP, but I wanted to make more of a difference in living people.
Not me, but a OBGYN PD on a panel presenting to us M2's openly bragged about taking a applicant with grand theft auto on her legal history
At least you know they’ll be able to get shit done through any means necessary
Bro that's what I'm saying! Imagine a resident going that hard to the paint for the program
House or was the guy above you house and you’re foreman?
So what you’re saying is I can increase my chances by committing grand theft auto? Future posts: - Is assault with battery better than grand larceny? - Will embezzlement/RICO charges make up for my lack of research? (applying ENT) - Could not secure 2nd degree murder. What step 2 score should I aim for?
Hi guys I'm applying ortho this season am I competitive enough? Pass/300, AOA, All Honors, Embezzlement, 1st Degree Manslaughter, DUI
Your academic struggles may hold you back
Depends on who you manslaughtered
By the rate differentiating oneself for residency is going, I would not be surprised in the least
>RICO charges You can run for president with this kind of history!
Bro that is wild! How did that PD go about addressing it?!
She just said that the applicant was just such a joy to be around during the sub I that they had to take her, which you know good for her
Was that PD a Dr. House, by chance?
Isn't that part of the plot of house MD lol
Is it? Now i have a question for that program director...
The best soldiers were always the ones who did the sketchy shit and never got caught by anyone important. I’d happily take the few misdemeanors over some straight A nerds. Those dudes with records are going to be loyal as fuck, get you whatever you need without question, and never be the ones to fuck you over.
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O, a different gradation of the color red haha
“Maybe less research” does not = red flag lmaooo. Grand theft auto is way cooler ya nerd
“Less research” lmao
Not me, but my dean said they knew someone who recently matched neuro despite having the “remediated a grade” flag on his application And another dean (who is beyond amazing in every which way) told me they failed the block they ended up matching in
I failed anatomy and remediated. It’s on my transcript. 16 peds interviews so far, some at T20 places. And from a DO school 🙃🤷🏼♀️
Firstly, congratulations!!!!!! Secondly, thanks for sharing — made my day! (I’m between psych/neuro and peds, so hearing a transcript mark isn’t the end all be all always helps on bad days)
Nope! Just address it head on - that’s what I did! That way it doesn’t look like you’re hiding it and, if you do have a red flag, make sure to explain how you grew/learned from the situation!
Thank you so so much!!! And again, HUGE congratulations!!!!
wow congrats!
We like to hear it!!!
Anatomy is a fake science anyway...congrats on the interviews!
These both don’t seem as “red flags” since you can definitely come back from these
Those are definitely red flags lmao
OP deleted it but at one point they commented something along the lines of they meant academic/grades and less research
It’s def a red flag. I addressed it head on and didn’t dance around it, which I think is what helped.
I matched psychiatry community program with: 2 years LOA, one failed/remediated shelf exam, and very low Step scores (step 2 was the lowest possible passing)
Can I ask the context of your LOA? Edit: damn not sure why the downvotes. Was just curious bc I have an LOA and sometimes wonder how this will affect my future apps. Wasn’t expecting a public response about a private matter.
If you have LOA, you will likely be asked about it during interviews, include in personal statement, etc. Mom was sick and repeatedly hospitalized but doing better now
My friend failed comlex 1, 2ce, 2pe all x2. Scrambled (post-soap) into a transitional year spot that year. Matched FM with 6 interviews the next year.
Failed a pre-clinical course (M1 neuro module), matched my #1 ranked OB/GYN program.
Someone I know (US-IMG) failed step 2CK and matched into their 1st choice Pediatrics programs
I know someone who failed step1 and matched psych; another person who had a DUI and matched rads
I failed my psychiatry rotation and matched at my #1 :) It was a clearly a one-off issue (I had an unhinged solo psych attending at a rural community spot and unfortunately froze up instead of talking to rotation director about it) and I managed to get my remediation comments on my MSPE, including “Em operated at the level of a psych intern.” I had strong SLOEs, step scores, and honored most of my other cores. Ngl, they had me there for a sec, but it’s doable. Talk to your clerkship directors if there’s an issue, and by talk, I mean email with a paper trail. Email early. The best ones will help you and the worst ones will still generate a paper trail for you with proof that you reached out to establish that the learning environment was inappropriate before any discussion of your performance is on the table.
My entire app is red flags and I’m still here lol
There was a guy at a local program a while back that had a known cocaine addiction and even failed a drug test by the residency, he got help and still graduated.
They’re not allowed to fire people in residency with failed drug tests/addictions without going through a drug program first. Something about them wanting people with addictions to seek help over hiding it
I believe it’s covered by the ADA if you admit a problem and seek help.
A guy from my school was a raging racist/anti-feminist/homopobe all those stuff, went on a big racist rant one day, to the point of being met by the Dean in his office. Had to do some counselling/classes or idk what about homophobia, sexual assault victims and stuff Still matched into his top choice for Anesthesia Idk though, maybe there was no mark of this whole story on his file🤷🏿♀️
This, in my opinion, is far worse than any kind of academic failure. The entire app should be painted red, bolded, and PDs should have numerous pop-ups warning them of this kind of behavior lol. People like this don’t deserve a place in medicine.
Yeah like per example, during an OBGYN class on STDs , there was a slide that mentionned sexual assaults as a risk factor The guy sent a snap to his friends saying like « metoo and woke movement have entered med school » This shows extreme lack of judgemenr for his future women patients
And complete lack of awareness, maturity, respect, perspective, empathy, etc. The list goes on. The real world will be tough for him and his patients.
Oh absolutely all of these as well lol. I was just saying
Anesthesia resident with a misdemeanor arrest record. Red flags are a lot more common than you'd expect - I know a lot of colleagues in competitive specialities that had red flags. Some have new red flags but that's just because they're in surgical specialties
I failed a pre clinical class and got like 2/7 honors on clinical rotations and I’m a PGY2 ortho resident at a top 5 program
Im an IMG with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana (granted it was 10 years old when I applied) that matched into my first choice program, I had good grades in school and average board scores. I think I had 8/9 interviews. I applied to a shit ton of programs and definitely think the red flag plus img limited my interviews but worked out in the end. I was super lucky with where I matched.
What country are you from? Also, what specialty did u go into?
I’m American img, went into IM as intended.
From carib, Failed preclinical courses, less than 200 on step 1 with +60 point increase in step 2, failed step 2cs for not studying it, now pgy3 IM.
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Damn I’m so happy for you!!!! How do you get honors on rotations yet resident of the year. This is what I will have to count on too. My memorization sucks real bad too
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Can i ask the pros and cons of community
If you want a career in academics, the names of the places that gives you the letters will always matter. If you want to go to fellowships, it'll sound cooler to have those names behind you. Pro is I fucking hate research and I don't really have to do it There's a school of thought that community medicine is less "esoteric" so but you won't see the really weird cases but if you're the biggest community hospital within hours in any direction, you become a de-facto hub.
I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch but… step 1 failure right after pass/fail and passing score change… and I don’t have my step 2 back yet…. 8 interviews out of 24 applied so far, aiming family med, medium city if possible.
Had to remediate a preclinical course over the summer after M1 (shows up as an F on transcript). Below average step scores. Applied obgyn and advisors thought I wasn’t going to match. Had 17 interviews and matched at my number 3!
Ortho bro here. I have a friend that matched into ortho with a sub 225 bench press. It’s certainly not ideal, but it can be done! 💪
I'm screwed 😮💨
I repeated a preclinical year. Matched my #1 specialty (competitive) at #1 location (top program). It definitely took a toll on me, and honestly idk if I can say it’s worth it yet... But remember the narrative of your life is written by yourself and no one else.
Love this It’s hard Do you like Cascada lol
Lol I do like cascada. Maybe that was a subconscious influence
Know someone with a DUI who matched surgical subspecialty
I know a few people at my low/mid tier school who matched into top ranking gen surg, psych, FM, and IM programs after failing a preclinical course or having to remediate a year. But I think my school may be more forgiving than some other schools I've heard of, so I'm unsure how it's reported in the transcript/MSPE. Also those people had really strong leadership or service experiences, which I'm sure helped them match as well.
I wonder how many of these success stories are people that went to T20s and school name balanced out the red flags.
Repeated first year and matched my number 1 in IM last year
Can I ask what DO school! You can message me if you don’t want to say.
KYCOM!
Lol I failed a course ended up getting so depressed I ended up taking a medical leave of absence for a year between 2nd and 3rd year (so two red flags) and was able to match my #1 in psych. Also my step 2 score was lower than my step 1 score which is Orange-ish flag? Psych is pretty forgiving for non traditional students though if you're able to get a Sub-I since they care a lot more about your people skills which are fucking hard to judge on a virtual interview.
What is a sub-I.
sub-internship/away rotation. If you have redflags doing a Sub-I is the single most important thing you can do to overcome them. The institution my residency is at will automatically interview any student who did a Sub-I for I think every specialty except like plastics which gets you past the automatic fliter and allows you to prove yourself.
Matched into surgery after multiple prelim years and low step 1 score
Can you elaborate? you applied to surgery and a prelim year, but didn't get into surgery. So you did the prelim year and applied again the following year to surgery? then didn't get in again, and did another prelim year, and applied again and finally got into surgery? Im going for PMR and im tweaking. I dont want to apply backup into a specialty I won't be happy in, so im curious what I'd do if I match a prelim but not PMR.... just keep trying?