Should I drop out?

[throwaway1224]

Background: 1st year medical student at USMD school. I am currently barely passing gross anatomy (and have failed 3 of the 5 written exams) and am a solid SD below the average in my other two classes (though comfortably passing). I have been to talk to the professors, been to the learning center, talked with classmates who were doing better and nothing seems to be working for me.

The question: Considering I have no debt from my undergrad and will only have around 20k in med school debt by the end of this semester would I be smart to just cut my losses? Or is it worth continuing on even if I'm barely surviving academically?

If it matters: I believe I would be happy as a hospitalist (not quite as convinced on FM, peds), dream (probably unrealistic at this point) would be Pulm/CC or Anesthesia.

Would appreciate any advice.

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[DOFOSHO]

you probably know more anatomy currently than any pulm/cc attending.

 

[Goro]

Background: 1st year medical student at USMD school. I am currently barely passing gross anatomy (and have failed 3 of the 5 written exams) and am a solid SD below the average in my other two classes (though comfortably passing). I have been to talk to the professors, been to the learning center, talked with classmates who were doing better and nothing seems to be working for me.

The question: Considering I have no debt from my undergrad and will only have around 20k in med school debt by the end of this semester would I be smart to just cut my losses? Or is it worth continuing on even if I'm barely surviving academically?

If it matters: I believe I would be happy as a hospitalist (not quite as convinced on FM, peds), dream (probably unrealistic at this point) would be Pulm/CC or Anesthesia.

Would appreciate any advice.

Take an LOA and go fix what's broken.

 

[Horners]

From an academic standpoint: people fail classes all the time. Usually if it’s only 1-2 classes they’ll let you remediate in the summer, or you might repeat the year (check with your school).

From an interest standpoint: you said you’d be happy as a hospitalist, so you like medicine. It’s not disinterest from your end, you’re just adjusting to the rigor. Keep pushing, studying. First two years are absolute hell. They accepted you for a reason and you’re doing fine in your other classes.

We’ve all felt imposter syndrome at one point or another, I think you should keep your chin up and carry on. Medical school is hard but if you’re genuinely interested and have the motivation to be a physician, you’ll get through. No need to give up bc the classes are hard. If you want some encouragement, you could actually reach out to me personally. PM your info, I don’t mind talking to you on the phone or whatever, I’ll give you as many insights/advice as I can and will help you push through. I’ve had my fair share of struggles throughout medical school, sometimes only talking to the smart kids can leave you feeling inadequate.


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[Osteosaur]

I'm just an M1 myself so take my advice with a grain of salt:

It does not sound like you're actually failing? It sounds more like you're disappointed at being a subpar student and don't feel good enough? Keeping in mind medical students are the academic cream of the crop you're not dumb.

 

[7331poas]

You havent failed anything yet. Study harder and push through.

 

[Tenk]

Anatomy sucks. It’s boring. It gets more interesting. Hang in there.

 

[libertyyne]

 

[DokterMom]

You were good enough to get in. That means you're good enough to stay in.

Figure out what's not working for you and fix it. Keep seeking help. Take a LOA if needed and keep peddling.

 

[throwaway1224]

you probably know more anatomy currently than any pulm/cc attending.

I think this is a good thing?

 

[throwaway1224]

Anatomy sucks. It’s boring. It gets more interesting. Hang in there.

This is encouraging. Thank you.

 

[throwaway1224]

From an academic standpoint: people fail classes all the time. Usually if it’s only 1-2 classes they’ll let you remediate in the summer, or you might repeat the year (check with your school).

From an interest standpoint: you said you’d be happy as a hospitalist, so you like medicine. It’s not disinterest from your end, you’re just adjusting to the rigor. Keep pushing, studying. First two years are absolute hell. They accepted you for a reason and you’re doing fine in your other classes.

We’ve all felt imposter syndrome at one point or another, I think you should keep your chin up and carry on. Medical school is hard but if you’re genuinely interested and have the motivation to be a physician, you’ll get through. No need to give up bc the classes are hard. If you want some encouragement, you could actually reach out to me personally. PM your info, I don’t mind talking to you on the phone or whatever, I’ll give you as many insights/advice as I can and will help you push through. I’ve had my fair share of struggles throughout medical school, sometimes only talking to the smart kids can leave you feeling inadequate.


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Thank you for your encouragement. PM'ed

 

[nimbus]

You were good enough to get in. That means you're good enough to stay in.

Figure out what's not working for you and fix it. Keep seeking help. Take a LOA if needed and keep peddling.

Exactly. Hardest part of med school is getting in.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

You don't need to graduate at the top of your class to be a doctor. You just need to pass, which you're doing and is a great achievement. If only med students who graduate in the top half of their class could become physicians, there would be a much doctor greater shortage than already exists. As the other poster said, you seem to have a passion for medicine considering that you'd be happy being a hospitalist. I know you're struggling, but keep working hard - your future patients will be grateful that you stayed the course.

 

[deleted888443]

Coming from someone who absolutely hated anatomy, Its a hard subject for some people. It relies alot on visual learning. Its not like biochem or physiology where you can memorize and understand. Alot of it is just boring material. Lots of people in my class who thought anatomy was easy were visual learners. That doesnt mean that people who arent visual learners can't succeed, its just that they need to spend more time mastering anatomy material. I dont think you should drop out. If anything even if you do fail anatomy and take it again, youll be much more ready the second time having already seen it the first time.

 

[Raney Schauer]

You were good enough to get in. That means you're good enough to stay in.

Figure out what's not working for you and fix it. Keep seeking help. Take a LOA if needed and keep peddling.

Pedaling. Peddling is a totally different thing. You just told the OP to go into sales.

 

[235009]

Background: 1st year medical student at USMD school. I am currently barely passing gross anatomy (and have failed 3 of the 5 written exams) and am a solid SD below the average in my other two classes (though comfortably passing). I have been to talk to the professors, been to the learning center, talked with classmates who were doing better and nothing seems to be working for me.

The question: Considering I have no debt from my undergrad and will only have around 20k in med school debt by the end of this semester would I be smart to just cut my losses? Or is it worth continuing on even if I'm barely surviving academically?

If it matters: I believe I would be happy as a hospitalist (not quite as convinced on FM, peds), dream (probably unrealistic at this point) would be Pulm/CC or Anesthesia.

Would appreciate any advice.

It takes time to get used to studying in med school. Anatomy is particularly awful because it is 100% pure memorization. Your singular goal right now should be to PASS. Then you can put it behind you and move on.

you probably know more anatomy currently than any pulm/cc attending.

That was totally uncalled for....same can be said for every non-radiologist non-surgeon out there though

 

[hmockingbird]

From an academic standpoint: people fail classes all the time. Usually if it’s only 1-2 classes they’ll let you remediate in the summer, or you might repeat the year (check with your school).

From an interest standpoint: you said you’d be happy as a hospitalist, so you like medicine. It’s not disinterest from your end, you’re just adjusting to the rigor. Keep pushing, studying. First two years are absolute hell. They accepted you for a reason and you’re doing fine in your other classes.

We’ve all felt imposter syndrome at one point or another, I think you should keep your chin up and carry on. Medical school is hard but if you’re genuinely interested and have the motivation to be a physician, you’ll get through. No need to give up bc the classes are hard. If you want some encouragement, you could actually reach out to me personally. PM your info, I don’t mind talking to you on the phone or whatever, I’ll give you as many insights/advice as I can and will help you push through. I’ve had my fair share of struggles throughout medical school, sometimes only talking to the smart kids can leave you feeling inadequate.


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I'm just an M1 myself so take my advice with a grain of salt:

It does not sound like you're actually failing? It sounds more like you're disappointed at being a subpar student and don't feel good enough? Keeping in mind medical students are the academic cream of the crop you're not dumb.

Both of these. I barely passed anatomy and I believe one other class at some point during didactic years. Personally I feel like I had the most trouble with anatomy because it was the most visual/spatial which is not my strong suit (I would be terrible at rads). After it was over I actually felt like things started clicking more. At the same time it was also our first class so it could be the adjustment factor too.

I also consciously decided I was ok with not being a top student because for me to do that I would not have any semblance of a social life or any time for myself. Whereas I could study at a (somewhat haha) comfortable level and get a solid passing average and feel more well rounded. A LOT of my friends had a similar mindset. (It helped that my school was P/F, but we could still see our grades privately so you could create that pressure for yourself.) That might be a perspective to consider.

 

[DokterMom]

Pedaling. Peddling is a totally different thing. You just told the OP to go into sales.

Spelling is not my strong suit!

 

[Skindoc83]

I honored everything in my preclinical years except for anatomy. I almost failed anatomy. Anatomy is very difficult because it’s sub-learning. It’s just memorization. Part of the reason anat9my is so difficult is because it’s a right of passage. It’s hazing. Just do your best to pass it and move on. The interesting part of medical school doesn’t start until you’re in physiology. It gets better

 

[throwaway1224]

Both of these. I barely passed anatomy and I believe one other class at some point during didactic years. Personally I feel like I had the most trouble with anatomy because it was the most visual/spatial which is not my strong suit (I would be terrible at rads). After it was over I actually felt like things started clicking more. At the same time it was also our first class so it could be the adjustment factor too.

I also consciously decided I was ok with not being a top student because for me to do that I would not have any semblance of a social life or any time for myself. Whereas I could study at a (somewhat haha) comfortable level and get a solid passing average and feel more well rounded. A LOT of my friends had a similar mindset. (It helped that my school was P/F, but we could still see our grades privately so you could create that pressure for yourself.) That might be a perspective to consider.

I'm also very much not a visual/spatial learner either. And honestly at this point I'd be happy with just graduating and matching somewhere non-malignant for residency...as I said in my post, I'd be happy as a hospitalist (and I'm from a rural area in the SE and I'd have no problems going back to a rural area for residency), I just wanted to make sure I was not on track to fail out of medical school going forward/this wasn't an indication of my capability to make it through medical school?