Question About Failed Course And Acceptance To Radiology Residency:
Hello Dr. Julius,
I am an applicant for this year’s DR residency cycle. I’m in a unique position and would value your opinion. I began medical school at a DO program but am now graduating from a foreign MD program. In essence, I was not able to satisfactorily perform osteopathic manipulations. And, I couldn’t pass the final lab at the end of year 2. Instead of repeating the year, I transferred to an offshore school with US-based rotations on my original four-year timeline for graduating.
Nonetheless, I have otherwise satisfactory pre-clinical grades, clerkship scores, and decent board exams, without any other failures or professionalism concerns. My failure of the class and switching school is a large red flag in my profile. I’m very candid about all of this in my application but would like to know your initial impression as a program director if this scenario came across your desk.
Thanks for your time!
Answer:
Unfortunately, I have to say that you will have an uphill battle after your failed course, not to say that getting into residency is impossible. One of the red flags that most radiology residencies look for is why you have changed schools. And, if you couldn’t pass a particular class, most residencies will want to know why.
In radiology residency, you will need to perform procedures in interventional radiology and body imaging. You will need to develop a reasonable explanation of why you can perform these technical procedures competently even though you had a failed course of osteopathic manipulation. Maybe, you can demonstrate that you performed well in another technically based rotation and get recommendations in that area. That would certainly help your case. Nevertheless, your goal should be to explain to residencies why you can safely complete procedures, especially since that seems to be the reason why you were unable to complete your DO degree.
Hope that helps a bit,
Barry Julius, MD
