Likelihood of dismissal after failing 2 semesters of medical school

[PirellitTyres]

So I started in 2020 and failed my first semester. I took a leave of absence after my first semester and my school allowed me to repeat the 1st semester the next year, threatening automatic dismissal if I failed 1st semester again. I passed my first semester, but am likely to fail my second semester. I don't know if I only passed my 1st semester because I spent my time off reviewing lectures. I know lots of people on this forum have repeated M1 year, but I don't know if my school will allow me to just repeat 2nd semester again, as this will have caused me to spend 3 years going through M1 (because of the LOA I took after failing the first time). I kind of wished I didn't take the LOA and went into 2nd semester. Even if I failed, I would more than likely have passed it the 2nd time around given previous exposure to the material.

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[operaman]

I think the odds of you completing Med school are low. I guess I would ask what you have materially changed in order to assure a different outcome? Sounds like you reviewed and learned first semester material really well but didn’t make any changes in your overall approach and ran into the same issues as before.

The dismissal question is not nearly as important as the question of how you plan to complete Med school and training if you’re struggling so much with what is arguably the easiest part. Only you know the answer, but it’s worth considering whether this is the right path for you. I had a classmate who struggled mightily and ended up taking 4 years to do M1 and M2 and ultimately wasn’t able to pass step 1 and never went any further.

I think without making some major adjustments, you would be wise to consider a different path lest you get dismissed after even more debt and time.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

I believe there is a maximum of 6 years allowed by the LCME from time of matriculation to graduation. I'm sorry, but due to your leave of absence, you may not get another chance.

Edit: or if you do, everything will have to be perfect for the rest of medical school.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

cut your losses imho. What if you rack up few more hundreds of k in debt and the don’t pass the USLME

Don’t buy into the sunk cost fallacy!

 

[djiboutiman]

Try your best to pass this semester, whatever that takes. Reach out to faculty, your campus resources, classmates and see what you can add to your study routine to pass.

If it‘s too late for that, then consider if it’s worth it to try again. There’s always alternative paths in health care that can still be rewarding like PA, Anesthesiology Assistant, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Nurse (accelerated BSN programs exist). Or other fulfilling jobs like Social Work, Therapist, Teacher, Research, etc. I actually know a bunch of people that left medical school at various points and are happy doing something else.

 

[mrbreakfast]

To answer your question, any decent medical school will expel you after failing M1 year twice; the remainder will happily take another year's tuition from you before doing so.

This may sound harsh, but I agree with the above posters that - looking past M1 year - your odds of completing medical school are very low, and there should be a consideration for withdrawing from the program and doing something else even if you pass this year. In most programs M2 year is much more strenuous than M1, and by repeating a year you've already removed yourself from consideration from many/most residency programs.

 

[Lawpy]

Sorry OP but i agree with the above

 

[GoSpursGo]

Honestly while I agree with the speculation that you’re likely to be dismissed, when you’re talking about a specific school your best resource is the student handbook and your dean.

If you have not yet failed, this is the time to reach out to professors and to your dean to see if there is any sort of help or (cringe) extra credit you can get. I generally think it’s ridiculous to give extra credit in med school, but it doesn’t hurt to ask when you’re in dire straights. Once you actually fail, I think it then becomes much harder to get help and you’re basically just at their mercy at that point

 

[PirellitTyres]

Honestly while I agree with the speculation that you’re likely to be dismissed, when you’re talking about a specific school your best resource is the student handbook and your dean.

If you have not yet failed, this is the time to reach out to professors and to your dean to see if there is any sort of help or (cringe) extra credit you can get. I generally think it’s ridiculous to give extra credit in med school, but it doesn’t hurt to ask when you’re in dire straights. Once you actually fail, I think it then becomes much harder to get help and you’re basically just at their mercy at that point

Actually, I just found out I'm close enough to passing that I can take a remediation exam. If I fail that, I go in front of the dismissal council for a trial

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Actually, I just found out I'm close enough to passing that I can take a remediation exam. If I fail that, I go in front of the dismissal council for a trial

Good news. Don't fail. You have demonstrated an ability to be successful. You need to be honest with yourself as to why, you weren't in the past. Commit to passing. Nothing else matters. If you don't, it won't be easy to repay a couple hundred thousand in loans with your current skill set. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Goro]

So I started in 2020 and failed my first semester. I took a leave of absence after my first semester and my school allowed me to repeat the 1st semester the next year, threatening automatic dismissal if I failed 1st semester again. I passed my first semester, but am likely to fail my second semester. I don't know if I only passed my 1st semester because I spent my time off reviewing lectures. I know lots of people on this forum have repeated M1 year, but I don't know if my school will allow me to just repeat 2nd semester again, as this will have caused me to spend 3 years going through M1 (because of the LOA I took after failing the first time). I kind of wished I didn't take the LOA and went into 2nd semester. Even if I failed, I would more than likely have passed it the 2nd time around given previous exposure to the material.

You need to look at your student handbook because these types of policies are spelled out in them.

Honestly OP, it doesn't look good. Not good at all. Have you consulted with your school's learning or education center?

Read this

• Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2019 edition)

EDIT: After going through your post history, it seems that you have been struggling every since Day 1 of med school. You should not be having such trouble after coming back to repeat Semester 1 of M1. Something is still clearly broken. One of the early posts mentioned depression; has this been brought under control???

In your OP, you wrote: I don't know if I only passed my 1st semester because I spent my time off reviewing lectures., What have you been doing differently now compared to prior to your LOA?

 

[PirellitTyres]

You need to look at your student handbook because these types of policies are spelled out in them.

Honestly OP, it doesn't look good. Not good at all. Have you consulted with your school's learning or education center?

Read this

• Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2019 edition)

EDIT: After going through your post history, it seems that you have been struggling every since Day 1 of med school. You should not be having such trouble after coming back to repeat Semester 1 of M1. Something is still clearly broken. One of the early posts mentioned depression; has this been brought under control???

In your OP, you wrote: I don't know if I only passed my 1st semester because I spent my time off reviewing lectures., What have you been doing differently now compared to prior to your LOA?

i felt less depressed, but havent been performing. I am doing about 5% better than my 1st semester though. While I did pass 1st semester on repeat, I also only passed by 5% and fell withih the bottom 15% of the class still.

 

[Goro]

i felt less depressed, but havent been performing. I am doing about 5% better than my 1st semester though. While I did pass 1st semester on repeat, I also only passed by 5% and fell withih the bottom 15% of the class still.

Something is still broken. Have you contacted your school's learning or education center?

Gone to see professors for help with the material?

 

[Billiam95]

i felt less depressed, but havent been performing. I am doing about 5% better than my 1st semester though. While I did pass 1st semester on repeat, I also only passed by 5% and fell withih the bottom 15% of the class still.

How many hours per day/week are you studying? What does your schedule look like? How are you studying, and where? What are your primary resources?

 

[Detailsmatter]

as the wise @Goro said, mental health needs to be addressed properly for you to succeed. in addition, take his advice and talk to each professor and the academic resource center/learning center. If a school sees that you're taking advantage of all of their resources and working with the school they are much more likely to grant you some leniency. don't wait until you've failed to do this.

 

[Goro]

as the wise @Goro said, mental health needs to be addressed properly for you to succeed. in addition, take his advice and talk to each professor and the academic resource center/learning center. If a school sees that you're taking advantage of all of their resources and working with the school they are much more likely to grant you some leniency. don't wait until you've failed to do this.

Indeed, I always worry about struggling students who fail to seek help for learning issues

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Actually, I just found out I'm close enough to passing that I can take a remediation exam. If I fail that, I go in front of the dismissal council for a trial

Give your phone/iPad/computer to a friend or family member Who will not give it back until after the exam if need be

 

[champion1]

Try your best to pass this semester, whatever that takes. Reach out to faculty, your campus resources, classmates and see what you can add to your study routine to pass.

If it‘s too late for that, then consider if it’s worth it to try again. There’s always alternative paths in health care that can still be rewarding like PA, Anesthesiology Assistant, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Nurse (accelerated BSN programs exist). Or other fulfilling jobs like Social Work, Therapist, Teacher, Research, etc. I actually know a bunch of people that left medical school at various points and are happy doing something else.

Hi, could I message you? I am a 2nd year med student who was dismissed for professional reasons (lapses in communication that resulted in not attending clinic once or twice). I would appreciate any career guidance you can give me.