Medical schools claim to want compassionate students

[john5819]

But let's say you're walking to your medical school exam, and you see a stranger collapse. You walk up to them and they appear to be in cardiac arrest. If you stop to call for an ambulance and perform CPR, you'll be late for the exam and you could fail. Do you think your school would give you extra time to finish the exam?

Let's say you have an exam in one week. But you find out your dad is dying and he has one week to live. What if your school says you cannot take time off right now because you have to take that exam?

What would you do in these situations? Do you think your school would be compassionate toward you?

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[Hzreio]

But let's say you're walking to your medical school exam, and you see a stranger collapse. You walk up to them and they appear to be in cardiac arrest. If you stop to call for an ambulance and perform CPR, you'll be late for the exam and you could fail. Do you think your school would give you extra time to finish the exam?

Let's say you have an exam in one week. But you find out your dad is dying and he has one week to live. What if your school says you cannot take time off right now because you have to take that exam?

What would you do in these situations? Do you think your school would be compassionate toward you?

A good school would most definitely move things around for you in these extreme circumstances

 

[EthylMethylMan]

It’s tough, bro. I once single-handedly saved a group of Thai children from a flooded cave while on my way to complete mandatory wellness modules. I was two minutes late, so they had no choice but to expel me on the spot and kick my dog.

 

[operaman]

But let's say you're walking to your medical school exam, and you see a stranger collapse. You walk up to them and they appear to be in cardiac arrest. If you stop to call for an ambulance and perform CPR, you'll be late for the exam and you could fail. Do you think your school would give you extra time to finish the exam?

Let's say you have an exam in one week. But you find out your dad is dying and he has one week to live. What if your school says you cannot take time off right now because you have to take that exam?

What would you do in these situations? Do you think your school would be compassionate toward you?

At my school I saw analogous situations to both of these and the school definitely took care of the students.

For the first, they allowed him to start late and offered additional time if needed but he ended up still finishing early.

For the second, it was his mother rather than his father and they granted him an immediate LOA and told him to go home immediately and be with his family. They even credited tuition paid toward the next year so he wasn’t out any additional money. He came back the next year and is now an attending on faculty at the same school.

The key factor that gets missed: these students made faculty aware and asked for help. Unfortunately, some students try to fly solo and only involve faculty after they’ve flunked an exam or had some other problem. It’s soooooooo much easier to help people proactively. Schools won’t bend the rules - they have to maintain their academic integrity, but even within that framework there is plenty of room for compassion.

Takeaway is this, and it applies to students, interns, residents, attendings, and to situations both personal and clinical:

When s—t is about to hit the fan, start loading the boat.

There are few, if any, critical situations that can be effectively managed solo. If things start going bad, start asking for help.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

In case number 1, I think most every school would not only provide accommodations but probably recognize your actions publicly. When presented as an anesthesiologist with the c section Mom and a baby needing resuscitation, do I leave Mom to assist the child, essentially abandoning a patient? My response and practice would always be to roll up my sleeves and help during a difficult situation and let the courts work it out if it comes to that. So, my answer is to stop and help, obviously ask for help from others too.
The 2nd scenario I find it unthinkable a school would not accommodate such a situation. If they don't accommodate you, you could probably get a lawyer and graduate tuition free!

 

[Goro]

Med schools are not the Borg or Daleks. We would cut the students slack

 

[john5819]

At my school I saw analogous situations to both of these and the school definitely took care of the students.

For the first, they allowed him to start late and offered additional time if needed but he ended up still finishing early.

For the second, it was his mother rather than his father and they granted him an immediate LOA and told him to go home immediately and be with his family. They even credited tuition paid toward the next year so he wasn’t out any additional money. He came back the next year and is now an attending on faculty at the same school.

The key factor that gets missed: these students made faculty aware and asked for help. Unfortunately, some students try to fly solo and only involve faculty after they’ve flunked an exam or had some other problem. It’s soooooooo much easier to help people proactively. Schools won’t bend the rules - they have to maintain their academic integrity, but even within that framework there is plenty of room for compassion.

Takeaway is this, and it applies to students, interns, residents, attendings, and to situations both personal and clinical:

When s—t is about to hit the fan, start loading the boat.

There are few, if any, critical situations that can be effectively managed solo. If things start going bad, start asking for help.

But how does the school know whether to believe you when you say you were providing first aid? Because maybe you forgot to set your alarm clock and woke up late, so you made up a story. There might not be any cameras on the street that captured you providing first aid. So how do they decide whether to trust you?

 

[john5819]

Med schools are not the Borg or Daleks. We would cut the students slack

But for the MCAT, is it true that it doesn't work that way? Because for the MCAT, I believe that if you don't show up on time, you lose one of your lifetime attempts. So on the day of your MCAT, would you guys ignore someone who needs first aid?

 

[threepwood]

I can't help but read the thread title in this tone of voice:

 

[Angus Avagadro]

But for the MCAT, is it true that it doesn't work that way? Because for the MCAT, I believe that if you don't show up on time, you lose one of your lifetime attempts. So on the day of your MCAT, would you guys ignore someone who needs first aid?

Well, sometimes Life just happens. Sometimes it's bad. Life is full of choices, so make good ones. Many times there is no Right choice and you get to choose between the 2 bad, or sub optimal ones. Adulting is when you own your choices .

 

[Goro]

But for the MCAT, is it true that it doesn't work that way? Because for the MCAT, I believe that if you don't show up on time, you lose one of your lifetime attempts. So on the day of your MCAT, would you guys ignore someone who needs first aid?

You can void the exam. The MCAT is as much a assessment of judgment as it is of competence.

So what if you lose one of your lifetime attempts. You have more. And the more you take the exam, the less attractive you look to potential suitors.

 

[Goro]

But how does the school know whether to believe you when you say you were providing first aid? Because maybe you forgot to set your alarm clock and woke up late, so you made up a story. There might not be any cameras on the street that captured you providing first aid. So how do they decide whether to trust you?

It's a seller's market, like it or not

 

[NotAProgDirector]

But how does the school know whether to believe you when you say you were providing first aid? Because maybe you forgot to set your alarm clock and woke up late, so you made up a story. There might not be any cameras on the street that captured you providing first aid. So how do they decide whether to trust you?

They don't. So they will believe you.

Until at your next exam, you again had to stop to save someone's life. Then they won't.

This is not a recommendation to lie when you're late to an exam. Because that's the wrong thing to do. And, it's possible that your school will want to do a story about your heroic efforts. And then bad things happen.

 

[mrbreakfast]

Med school is like any other school or job. If you are told to arrive at a certain time and are late, they will ask for an explanation. If it's a good one, they'll give you a pass. If you lie about it, you risk getting caught and getting in bigger trouble. You're not in college anymore, this is the adult world.

As other posters noted, if you tell your med school you were late because you stopped to provide medical care to a stranger, they will without a doubt want this to get publicity (this happened at my med school, in a much more minor way, and got a headline in the paper on a slow news day). Also, it is quite challenging to provide emergency care without people taking your information, especially if someone is found down and you are the only other person there, regardless of what you are doing there. Someone is going to want to talk to you.

But, more realistically, as NotAProgDirector notes, the person who was late because they gave someone CPR will never be late again. The person who was late because they slept in and then lied about it has been late before, and will be late many times again. The context matters.

 

[operaman]

But how does the school know whether to believe you when you say you were providing first aid? Because maybe you forgot to set your alarm clock and woke up late, so you made up a story. There might not be any cameras on the street that captured you providing first aid. So how do they decide whether to trust you?

Usually they take people at their word. It’s also not hard to verify if they really wanted to double check. Obviously lying about such a thing would be grounds for dismissal at most places. Most people aren’t stupid enough to risk their career on such a lie; better to suffer a retake if you really flubbed your alarm.

 

[WhereMyLiberalsAt]

Honestly, sometime SDN post…

 

[deleted1065184]

I've heard of some schools being cutthroat, but from what I've gathered the VAST majority are quite understanding. Medical school is hard, but they gain nothing from you struggling and failing. My school has been super supportive for far less extreme stuff lol