Thread: What happens when you can't pass the boards

http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=4878

Some not so nice press for our school.

-The Trifling Jester

If you can not pass the licensing exam.. you can not practice medicine simple as that...

Do not worrry.. SGU have fine reputation overall...

interesting story

How can you graduate from SGU without passing the boards?

Easily. Boards are a US thing to practice medicine/get a license.

He could have gone elsewhere for Clinicals and then said screw it.

you only need the USMLE for practice in the US.
SGU allows a student to take Step I 2x- if you fail both times then the school won't certify you to sit for the exam again. I
If you passed BSCE II then you can complete your clinicals in the UK(since USMLE is not necessary there) and then once you graduate and have the MD you can sit for Step I as many times as you want.
The person in question graduated back in '84 and back then they didn't take the USMLE for licensure, but had to take the ECFMG exam to be certified for residency. The ECFMG then was a 2 day (8 hours each day) exam in which you had to have a 75% to pass- then you would be eligible for a residency spot.
So, yes, you can graduate from med school without taking the USMLE, but you won't be eligible to practice in the states.

Originally Posted by The Trifling Jester

http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=4878

Some not so nice press for our school.

-The Trifling Jester

There are times docs due very stupid things like this guy. This does not reflect SGU though. There has been much worse done with graduates from other schools. What an idiot this is guy is though.

Originally Posted by The Trifling Jester

http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=4878

Some not so nice press for our school.

-The Trifling Jester

DAMN!

Just tell it like it is!

Since the gentleman graduated in the 80's, the exam he kept failing was probably the FLEX, and not the USMLE. The FLEX was designed to be ridiculously hard and keep FMG's out of the US. Anecdotal reports from an SGU grad of that era indicate that only 3 students passed it on the first try out of his class of 80+...

This is not to say that people don't fail the USMLE - with a 1st-time pass rate hovering around 90%+, that still means ~10% fail on their 1st go around...

yeah this just a story of a guy who failed and tried to practice anyway and was caught and is going to pay for it. shouldnt affect the school at all.

heck, i remember a story on 48 hours or one of those news shows about a guy out west who didn't even have an MD (was an actor by training i believe) and was practicing anyway and when I saw him interviewed on tv and the reporter asked him where he first got his practice suturing, cleaning wounds, etc, he said chickens. he practiced on chickens. now that is funny. sorry for going off-topic