Dismissed from Med School: One Student’s Rebound from Failure to Super Success

The STATMed Podcast

In this series, we‘re talking about something people rarely discuss: failing in med school. During these interviews, former STATMed students share some of their most vulnerable and scary moments. They talk about their “crisis points” — or their darkest hour in med school when they realized they were about to fail or lose sight of their dreams. We look at what led up to these critical turning points and how these med students and doctors overcame them to achieve ultimate success.

As a society, we love a success story. The protagonist has a dream; they work hard and achieve it. If it's a movie, there's usually a montage of struggle, perseverance, and, ultimately, success. It's heartwarming and uplifting. But in real life, when you're in the struggle part of the montage, it can be an incredibly isolating and scary place. This is especially true for aspiring doctors who find themselves drowning in the depths of medical school. Crisis points like failing out of medical school or not passing board exams happen. They happen pretty frequently. But it's rarely discussed.

Navigating A Med School Crisis Point

In this podcast episode, host Ryan Orwig sits down with Mike, a former STATMed Learning Class participant. Mike shares his crisis point, when he was dismissed from med school, and outlines his path to ultimately achieving his dream of becoming an emergency room physician.

"Basically, you've been working through high school, through college. You've spent six or eight years of your life going to this point and getting through to be a doctor, and in two weeks, it all gets stopped dead in its tracks." - Mike, ER Doctor, and STATMed Alumni