Medical Honors resignation for rotation rescinded....due to not logging enough cases online. What can I do?

[MusicDOc124]

Hi there, 3rd year DO student.. I received 97th percentile on my shelf, preceptor marked me off for honors.....and then I get an email from my school that I didn't highlight and click a few buttons on their portal to meet their "case log requirement" (where you literally go on there, press shift and highlight a bunch of cases from a list and press submit before the end of your rotation...(I messed up by not selecting one of those cases)) and thus my designation was rescinded.....and I just ended up with a pass...I feel like the university is interfering in a matter that is not up to them to delegate (let's take this guy's technological deficit and penalize him for it!) which by the way...I did make a word document of all the cases that I saw and read about and it turned out to be about 70 pages. I included this in an attachment to the dean and also had sent it to my preceptor at the end of my rotation and attached a screenshot of that email as well (for time stamp purposes) and yet all of this was disregarded and not even addressed.

I know I'll be anticipating "welcome 3rd year and 3rd year isn't fair" comments but I was just wondering how to go about this...perhaps I am overreacting but I feel like I've been penalized for something that is obsolete..I've already reached out to my university clinical rotations dean in an incredibly kind manner and they were dismissive and only ended up emailing me back with a summary of "if we make an exception for you we have to make an exception for everyone, the rules are the rules, you have good scores and you're a good student, I'm sure you will still reach where you want to go and this won't hold you back..."

I'm applying to a very competitive residency, especially for a DO student so this does hold me back! Perhaps marginally, but it could still matter!

Thanks for reading.

You're in medical school and are an adult. You're halfway through your core clerkship year, and 9 out of 10 times these things are pretty clearly laid out, not to mention how many rotations you have already been on. The school has a requirement (as do most schools) for logging cases/procedures (residency has this as well for logging procedures), at least on certain rotations. You did not complete a requirement as per the school - the school who grades you on completing said requirements.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Agreeing with my colleague: attention to detail, even to annoying and obsolete rules and procedures, is just part of the education process and the accountability of the school to know they are on track with training students overall. I'm sure you need to be able to log that information in when you are a resident or fellow, so you can't just slough off if you want to be in a competitive residency. You already got a response in an appeal to your clinical education dean, so just accept the situation and move forward. Don't give your clinical faculty any reason to hold you back by complaining further and not following the rules.

 

[Goro]

..I feel like the university is interfering in a matter that is not up to them to delegate (let's take this guy's technological deficit and penalize him for it!) which by the way...I did make a word document of all the cases that I saw and read about and it turned out to be about 70 pages. I included this in an attachment to the dean and also had sent it to my preceptor at the end of my rotation and attached a screenshot of that email as well (for time stamp purposes) and yet all of this was disregarded and not even addressed.
Thanks for reading.

Suggest using the bolded text in your appeal to your Clinical Education dean and or the Dean him/herself.

There's a ~1/30 chance that you could be one of my students, and I know that you're in a sensitive place with this, but the red text is a complete abandonment of your own responsibility. You were supposed to do something, you didn't do it and thus actions (or lack of them) have consequences.

Do let us know how this turns out.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Thank you for your responses...I understand that the consequences of technical errors can have a profound impact on patient care.....but so can inattention to MULTIPLE details that are tested on let's say an exam rendering a difference from 97th percentile on a shelf to 75th percentile (yet this is still considered honors despite a significant difference in knowledge and/or inattention to detail between the former and the latter that has the potential to harm a patient?!) Point being, we're not all perfect and sometimes "the rules" don't make much sense...what are the real consequences of not highlighting and selecting a case? Is the school going to lose its accreditation? Will the rotation be shut down? Please enlighten me. My intention is not to have a tone of contempt, but rather curiosity to learn a valid reason as to why I deserve to be penalized here. I have seen many different "rules" bent depending on the case and if I don't see a good reason for this move, aside from "the rules are rules," I see no reason why this shouldn't be approached with a similar degree of subjectivity.

Wise Goro, it's an honor to have a response from you (I've been following your responses ever since I was a pre-med.) Anyway, I am afraid to exacerbate and/or create conflict as I am not a confrontational person and really prefer to work in the shadows. I can open a formal appeal, and use my document as evidence but I am afraid of bringing up something that was already addressed (or rather not) in the fear of further penalization from my dean. I am wondering if this is a reasonable thing to do? I personally think it is, but I'm curious to hear from the stand point of another administrator.


Thanks again and looking forward to your response.

You are not the first or last to have a grade that would be an honors yet not get the designation due to some technicality, or due to how one part of your grade was graded.

You’re right, rules don’t always make much sense, but they are there and you must follow them.

You have your grade and already appealed it and have your answer. You’re an adult in a professional program. Move on.

 

[Goro]

I understand that the consequences of technical errors can have a profound impact on patient care.....but so can inattention to MULTIPLE details that are tested on let's say an exam rendering a difference from 97th percentile on a shelf to 75th percentile (yet this is still considered honors despite a significant difference in knowledge and/or inattention to detail between the former and the latter that has the potential to harm a patient?!) Point being, we're not all perfect and sometimes "the rules" don't make much sense...what are the real consequences of not highlighting and selecting a case? Is the school going to lose its accreditation? Will the rotation be shut down?

Your getting Honors instead of Pass will not break the program, close the school, or end Civilization as we know it. But this is not a healthy mindset. You didn't do something you were supposed to do and you you have reaped the consequences. Let it be a Life Lesson.

Wise Goro, it's an honor to have a response from you (I've been following your responses ever since I was a pre-med.) Anyway, I am afraid to exacerbate and/or create conflict as I am not a confrontational person and really prefer to work in the shadows. I can open a formal appeal, and use my document as evidence but I am afraid of bringing up something that was already addressed (or rather not) in the fear of further penalization from my dean. I am wondering if this is a reasonable thing to do? I personally think it is, but I'm curious to hear from the stand point of another administrator.

You appealed and it was denied, correct? If so, then anything else beyond this point will only look like grade grubbing, and not paint you in a good light for your Dean's Letter. So just do better in your remaining rotations.