FAILING MEDICAL SCHOOL FINALS

Failing medical school finals.
Four years ago, I found out the horrible news that I had failed my medical school finals - my OSCE examination. That was a really disappointing time for me and my confidence took a huge knock. I wondered if I would ever become a doctor. In this video I share my story of exam anxiety and how I ended up passing my resits.
I hope this video gives hope to those of you who are dealing with a failure or a setback. It's a horrible experience, but looking back, I am actually glad that it happened because I have learnt so much, including how to keep my cool under pressure!
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About me:
My name is Sarah, I'm a junior doctor in the NHS. I am a locum doctor in a busy Emergency Department in a trauma centre and I run an aesthetics business privately. I have far too many clothes for someone who lives in scrubs and workout gear 90% of the time and I occasionally show some of my outfit ideas on this channel.
Hobbies include: talking to people, dogs and cameras.
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Disclaimer:
Personal details about patients have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.
This video does not constitute medical advice and I am not insured to give medical advice online.
For personal medical queries, please consult your own general practitioner.
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Video edited by Tim Luceño
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Keep in touch!
Instagram: @drsarahnicholls
Business enquiries: [e-mail]

[@micaelagirotti454]

We’ll be stronger when we get over our failures. Thanks for your words ☺️

[@racheljackson1852]

I know this is an older video, but I found this today having just found out I passed my knowledge but failed my final year OSCE after freezing up and getting in my own head, so pretty much the same situation! It was so helpful and I feel so much better after watching this, thank you.

[@SarahNicholls]

Ahhh Rachel I'm so sorry to hear that, it really sucks. How are you doing? I made this video because I would have loved to have seen something similar when I failed, so I'm glad it's done its job, even after all these years!! Sending hugs your way x

[@rihannagirl556]

We learn the most during the most challenging times. Learning how to work through pressure is incredibly valuable. Thank you for the practical advice Dr Sarah! Lots of love❤

[@Jameslindley123]

This is such an important message. I have just been accepted into Medical School and can only imagine the need for this message for those kinds of people at med school, those who aren't used to failure. As well as many others, the need to be able to talk and be open, and break the taboo about failure is so important. Failure is only "failure" if you let it get you down and eat at you and you don't learn and get stronger from it, there is a reason why everything happens and failure can sometimes be a hard one to figure out, but it strengthens us all when we learn from it. Thank you so so SO much Dr Sarah for this amazing and encouraging and helpful message. Look at you NOW, you're so incredible. Loads of love. x

[@jordanbrown417]

Watching this after finding out I passed finals yesterday, such a big relief. I know exactly what you mean having had to resit exams in years 1, 2 and 3 so to finally get over the hurdle first time was massive! I know how awful it felt, especially as you said about not wanting to impact on your friend's celebrations and imposter syndrome. I was never a straight A student and got into medical school after doing a degree elsewhere. If you've failed finals or any exams in med school, know that you can do this, nobody will care about what resits you had in university when you're a doctor. You'll be stronger by the end of it. As the quote from Rocky Balboa says, "It ain't about how hard you can hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward".

[@dellamantle355]

Great video, thankyou for sharing your experience. I’d be interested to hear more about how you learnt to overcome the nerves and present yourself as confident even when you don’t feel it inside!

[@saintstar10110]

Thank you for making this video. I recently failed one of my final year exams and have been struggling to know what to do. It’s reassuring to have someone share their story and show me that it’s not the end of the road and can be overcome

[@saraadams6447]

Loved this, I failed 2 of my accountancy exams and as an otherwise straight A student I was horrified! I have come out of the process being able to manage not only my learning but stress so much better

[@emmanuella7997]

love this :) it is so raw and authentic

[@ashventurer4152]

That must have been tough for you but these things make you so much stronger!

[@PC-wt7zr]

Wow doc! candid confession...so honest👍💝 that's how we learn in a practical world,innit?

[@erinsummerfield236]

Fail= First Attempt in Learning

[@prsp5585]

Thank you for the video - you are extremely brave and very inspiring! I really enjoyed watching this video!!!!! :)

[@drdanbeese]

Great video. Really honest and interesting

[@lilynye1035]

Incredibly motivational and grounding video, thanks Sarah 😊. I don’t suppose you’ve done any videos or chats relating to tips / advice for how to revise and prepare for OSCEs?

[@gopalgeorge3632]

It's very respectable to overcome a past failure and still reach your destination

[@mahtajbaloch1753]

Failure is part of life, the main thing is you never gave up! ♥️

[@jfoiju]

This was incredible to watch, a month or so ago I got the sad news I failed my final OSCE, devastating news. I smashed out my prep and got over the line on the second attempt. I managed to fail 7/10 stations in my first attempt, swung round to pass 8/10 stations with 3 stations of 97.5. Unreal to be able to attend my graduation last week. So worth it, now trying to forget I''ve got my F1 induction next week...

[@SarahNicholls]

CONGRATULATIONS! All your hard work has paid off, no one can take that away from you

[@anjithaa6488]

Thank you so much for this, saw this after my first ever OSCEs going terribly and I dont think I did myself justice because of the stress. I had the exact feeling where I just blanked out and couldn't focus. Dont know if I've passed or failed but watching this really reassured me 😊.

[@SarahNicholls]

It's so reassuring to know we aren't alone!

[@okaliyaa]

hey did u end up passing ?

[@sim_aware]

OSCEs are a massive hurdle. I find their greatest utility is in their ability to promote reflection. This video is a perfect example of that. Thank you for sharing this story. It is important for people to hear about this fairly common experience. #SimTribe

[@rukshaniedirisinghe4585]

Thank u for sharing this with the world

[@laurawoolfson8230]

Have just done my OSCE - have had the same experience. I know I’ve failed. Nice to see someone out the other side.

[@SarahNicholls]

I'm so sorry 😞 it's a horrible feeling. Put this behind you for now if you can!

[@fatimamir6487]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts ❤

[@SarahNicholls]

You're welcome, I hope it was helpful.

[@carmen9011]

Hi Sarah, thank you for your words! This video is just so encouraging;) Would like to ask what was the course that you have taken?

[@ZiauddinKhan303]

Right on time for me. COVID has hit us hard.😔

[@einstein9901]

Thank you for this video Dr. I had just failed my long case/short case/osce component of my final exam and I feel horrible about it.

[@SarahNicholls]

So sorry to hear that. It's an awful feeling to fail. I hope this video gave you some comfort, at least to know that you're not alone!

[@nilz1882]

Hi doctor sarah ,i watched this video last year while crying ,because i also failed my entrance exam .today i have passed my exam with good ranking as well 🤩 Thank you so much for sharing the story with us and it was very helpful for me to get over my low self esteem ,thank you lots of love ♥️

[@SarahNicholls]

So happy for you! And thank you for coming back to leave this message 😊 all the best for your future!

[@nilz1882]

@@SarahNicholls ♥️

[@Ells03]

I failed my A Levels because I was diagnosed with Autism and all the fun comorbidities like Depression and attempted suicide multiple times ( + basically didn’t attend sixth form), and now I’ve been offered unconditional places for my MPharm and I’m going to be a Pharmacist! Everything somehow works out🥺

[@lucyaudrey733]

That’s absolutely amazing, so inspirational. I want to wish you al the success for the future. Thank you for sharing

[@fatimahmunawar5030]

I'm giving my Alevels rn and I messed up chemistry and biology p4 and I'm losing so much confidence to go on and continue because the grades that I'm gonna get don't feel good enough

[@aminaabdulle4891]

Hey Sarah cool vid Planning to make a big move 2022 is there Like a set of clinical skills u need Like is there a list available?

[@syubiased6854]

Thank you so much

[@dreaming_of_that_mbbs_mbchb]

I remember doing my GCSE English in my mid 20s I’d missed half the years work at college because I had many many hospital admissions A&E trips taking 8 hours+ of my days broken sleep due to severe refractory asthma. I’d worked hard even in my hospital bed for this exam. I got to the exam I was ready. I’m always breathless but about 20 minutes into my exam it was audible obvious I was having an asthma attack the girl in the table row next to me kept looking at me wide eyed tutting I was thinking “it isn’t my fault I can’t breathe chill out” what did she expect for me to leave the exam and fail. 15 minutes later I was struggling more. Long story short I left that exam room on a stretcher and taken to resus.... exam results day came round I had left a whole question blank and needless to say I felt mortified with a C grade I felt robbed. Wanting to apply to medicine with a C grade just wasn’t going to cut the mustard I touch them I thought My asthma had robbed me. I put in an appeal to the exam board they said they’d allowed me to take the exam again (I had after all discharge summaries and ambulance documents to back me up that I lost time due to health reasons they don’t take you to resus for no reason I was hospitalised for 10 days) in november and that my controlled assessments could carry forward as a good will gesture which was really fantastic. November came this time I had a nebuliser I was on 4 hourly nebs at home as my breathing hadn’t been controlled in the week prior and took it when I got to college in the medical area. As per my consultants advice. This time they allowed me to have my inhaler on the desk with my aerochamber which they hadn’t allowed before and I sat the exam in a separate area to everyone else because my breathing was a distraction to them and unfair. Results day came I got the top grade I was overjoyed I celebrated I was air punching the excitement of that and laughing meant guess what..... it was an ambulance and A&E time the doctor was like what happened. I explained and she was like high five you smashed it but now let’s sort you out so you can celebrate without laughing later I don’t want you over doing it and ending up upstairs when you should be sat taking in your glory. It was amazing to have that piece of paper. Whether it’s a mental barrier a physical one or just lack of knowledge that prevents us reaching our potential always remember to be kind to yourself. Beating yourself up will make it worse not better.

[@StudywithMe-tt1rn]

my finals results come out on thursday and im literally 100% thnk ive failed, i dont know how to react to it. i knw if failed but that feeling of seeing your results :(

[@pikusarker1359]

Looking gorgeous

[@meganward2138]

I'll be sitting my finals next year and this makes me feel a lot more relaxed so thank you! Obviously I'd like to pass first time but I know it isn't the end of the world if I don't get it first time 😄 We learn more from our mistakes right?

[@dr.ohuruc.1511]

I totally relate 😭🙊

[@simhd6844]

Wow 💙

[@simhd6844]

Hello how are you

[@miahinespham6681]

I get my finals results next week - think I failed but hoping for the best!

[@kryptickiddo8481]

Update ?

[@TamaEnergy]

I've just failed my 4th year :( I'm gutted and can't even consider passing a resist in 4 weeks :(

[@rnhim2072]

the time constraint gets me for these osces, 15 min to collect an H&P

[@rectify2003]

Hi Sarah - A few years ago, I applied for the Police and worked so hard at it, and the wait for the interview test day was a long time. I failed the test, only slightly and was told to reapply in 10 months time. I was gutted, and still found I haven't found my purpose in life yet If you don't mind me asking, what points did you fail on?

[@SarahNicholls]

I failed on practical stations called OSCEs. There were several stations where they give you scenarios based on medical problems. They have actors and real patients and an examiner watching you at each station. You read the scenario before you go in the room and act as though you're a doctor dealing with a real life scenario and I was so anxious I basically froze in several of the stations, couldn't get my words out and didn't give a good performance. So stressful! Feel free to drop me an email at [e-mail] if you'd like any coaching on this kind of thing, it can be so helpful.

[@heartbrokenamerican2195]

It may sound corny, but failures really are stepping stones to success

[@SarahNicholls]

📢 say it louder for the people at the back 👏

[@ToTo-nh1xd]

I don't know how to tell them I failed my second year in medicine I'll go back home in 14 days and I don't know wt to tell them. I know why I failed I didn't study I didn't know how to deal with the material I kept looking at my self down as if I don't deserve to be here I was homesick the whole time I was crying ,being depressed having suicidal thoughts.i was in alot of pain I know that, I was alone in a country that I don't know anyone in my friends ditched me alot of bad memories happened to me I wanted to restart everything I planted this idea in my head that I'm gonna repeat this year since the beginning I was lazy I had zero motivation to do anything I pearly go out . Now it all started being real I have to tell them coz they are who pays for my tuition fees how should I say it? I'm hopeless and scared( it was my first year face to face that's why it was all new to me the ppl the place the uni everything)

[@samantha16m]

What OSCE course did you use?

[@DanKetchum007]

I did well in all of my undergraduate classes...except College Algebra. I only passed on the 4th try. I'll never understand why a history major has to understand algebra.

[@gopalgeorge3632]

Would you say you are hard working or naturally intelligent or both?

[@cjbashhh]

this popped in my timeline right before my finals (tmrw 22nd Feb). I really hope this isnt a sign dear god.

[@dellamantle355]

Best of luck! You can do it!

[@cjbashhh]

Thought I'd give you an update. I managed to pass it :') loss half my hair volume but I did it!

[@dellamantle355]

Well done!!

[@SarahNicholls]

Woohoo! Well done to you 🙌🥳

[@cjbashhh]

Thank you guys! Now to stay calm and prep for August. @sarah if we could get a fy preparation video that would be helpful :'D

[@koroshiya_1]

I failed my GCSEs due to childhood trauma...and other deep stuff. I'm about to graduate with a 2:1 in Linguistics! Setbacks don't mean anything really xx

[@shaneatkinson8933]

This is what happened to me as well, i was bullied in school.

[@LewisLivingLife]

I dropped out, my academic ability is f*cked and the sad part is; genetics determine your life. Literally everything

[@Chuckbobuck201]

The background music is so distracting.

[@SarahNicholls]

Thanks for the feedback, I've tried to improve this in more recent videos!

[@skarpskyttar]

just failed my med school finals after working towards this for 8 years... ive read every single day since december and my mind blanked out on the written exam. We have 3 big final exams here, one mcq, one written and one osce. I failed the written one because i just couldnt think. The next round i have to take all 3 again, not just the one i failed. and the next exam round is in 6 months. Im honestly suicidal. I cant do this again. I worked my butt off, im exhausted, crushed, and feel guilty to everyone around me. The worst part is i recognize all the danger signals, but im just done.

[@SarahNicholls]

I am so sorry to hear this, it's such an awful feeling to fail and then to have to repeat all 3 exams in 6 months makes it even harder. Please reach out for help if you're feeling suicidal, if you're in the UK Samaritans, Mind or Calm are all helpful. You're not alone.