Talking about failing an exam in personal statements/CaRMs interviews .. bad idea?

[sleepdeprived678]

Hey everyone, 

I'd really appreciate some input on this - I know that a common question to prepare for is "talk about a failure/disappointment". In the context of CaRMs personal statements and interviews, I was wondering if it's considered a bad idea to talk about failing an exam during med school and the growth that came with that? It's not on my transcript so there's nothing that requires me to talk about it, but it did really result in me growing as a person. I hesitate cause, with CaRMs, I feel like we're supposed to showcase the best aspects of ourselves and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot with this one cause failure isn't necessarily something we talk much about in med. 

Thanks!

[shikimate]

If this is MMI, I'd avoid. Too easy to leave a bad first impression with limited chance of repackaging it.

If this is panel, maybe. I'd be vague and mention "academic hurdles" at some point in your training. This is only if you are confident the panel likes you already and has a good vibe overall. If you get a sense the panel is lukewarm, probably not a great time to mention something negative.

[Dice]

Yes, I can't really explain my gut feeling about this, but I think if it's only one exam, perhaps you could come up with a better disappointment. Many programs will ask you to explain any actual course repeats or extra years on your MSPR. Then I would absolutely include a line about it and resilience. But this does not seem the case for you.

I'm not an expert, but maybe you could talk about a case where you did solid, but you realized you could have done better, like a health advocacy issue and then you found more resources to impart down the line and next time you would do this, ask for more opinions from other allied health professionals, etc. Especially if you can tie this in to one of you activities, research, special interests in Peds. That would demonstrate collaboration and humility, which they would love to see.

[Bambi]

I failed one exam in med school and had to rewrite. Aside from an ego hit for a time, it had no effect whatsoever upon me. I would not bring it up anywhere. My CaRMS interview lasted all of 10 minutes and the question you raise was never asked, so, yes, it's a bad idea when you are seeking to promote your best interests.

[GH0ST]

I failed exams before and it did teach me a lot about my inadequacies, made me reflect, and ultimately made me better. I tell my juniors that to help lift them up. 

When they ask you that type of question, it's not a great idea to start with something that many people don't connect as well with though. There are other types of failures/disappointment that are easier to spin towards your favour. 

- G 

[robclem21]

This question (or some version of failure/disappointment/weakness) does come up commonly in CaRMS interviews and it is one that you should prepare well for because you need to have an actual answer and something tangible you learned from it. When you don't prepare an answer, it can be really tough to answer this question well off the top of your head. It is very easy to make yourself look really bad (i.e. "One time I lied to a preceptor about exam findings on a patient") which you definitely don't want to do, but you can also come off as disingenuous and lacking personal insight (i.e. "I study too much and because of that I didn't have enough time to pursue research").

I don't think your example is the worst, but surely after 20+ years of being alive you have a better example of adversity than not doing well on a single exam.... It won't stand out as a strong answer to that question. Programs want to see that you can overcome adversity and that you haven't just been handed everything in your life. That's an important quality for a resilient resident and person.

[HoopDreams]

I would recommend against mentionning it. I had failed exams in medical school as well and I think that there are better suited challenges for an interview scenario where you have a limited time to explain the context or circumstances.

Best of luck!:)

[jb24]

Depends on the exam, the circumstances, and what you gained from the situation. If its due to pure negligence and lack of preparation on your part, then no, I would not mention it.  

 

[sleepdeprived678]

Thank you all for the advice, I really appreciate it! I've decided against using it as an answer if it comes up based on all of your responses