Medical school will present several different challenges to its students. Most days, you'll feel like you are just treading water, and other days you'll feel like you're on top of the world. West Virginia is home to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, West Virginia University School of Medicine, and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. All three of these schools hope to train physicians with excellent patient care who give back to the communities in West Virginia. As such, they have high expectations for their students. But sometimes, these expectations can feel difficult to meet given all the pressures surrounding medicine. If you find yourself experiencing something like this, an attorney-advisor will be able to work with the university and guarantee you the best possible outcome for your case.
Academic and Professionalism Policies for West Virginia Medical Students
Going to medical school can often feel like learning a new language, you must get familiar with new terminology, learn the new expectations the school has for you, and figure out how to interact with your peers, professors, clinical instructors, and patients. On day one, your school will give you a code of conduct they hope you will follow. If your school is like Marshall University's School of Medicine, the code of conduct will ask you to uphold academic integrity, refrain from cheating, and maintain a professional standing, which includes keeping up your grades and not practicing medicine outside of the training you have had.
If your university finds that you have violated this code of conduct in some way, you will be brought before a committee to determine whether you should be allowed to remediate the course, exam, or rotation, or if you should be dismissed from the school altogether. These types of hearings can feel jarring. Somehow your future in medicine is not so clear. It's important to remember, though, that all schools allow students to work with an attorney advisor who can advocate on their behalf. Attorney advisors will work with the school to provide the options you need to be able to continue and will defend you against unwarranted accusations.
Remediation at West Virginia Medical Schools
When you start medical school, you might expect that if you fail a course, that's it, you're out. But the truth is most medical schools have a remediation program and will allow students to retake their courses, exams, rotations, and certain USMLE steps or the COMLEX exam. For instance, if your school is like the West Virginia University School of Medicine, they will allow students who fail a course to retake the course. The student must be brought before the Committee on Academic and Professional Standards for review. This review may also include a reorganization of the student's schedule to help them acquire additional training they may need.
There are some schools that will allow their students to fall through the cracks and forget to offer them a remediation program, which is why getting to know your schools' policies and procedures is incredibly helpful. If you feel like you are being lost in the shuffle, an attorney advisor will be able to put the university on notice, encouraging them to offer you the ability to remediate before a dismissal proceeding is started.
Dismissal From a West Virginia Medical Program
There are certain instances where students will be brought before the dismissal committee to determine if exiting the school early is in their best interest. While a dismissal committee sounds scary, the reality is many students will find themselves before one for things like unsatisfactory grades or excessive absences. At the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, students can face dismissal proceedings for not progressing properly through the program, not showing satisfactory academic performance on their exams, assignments, or clinical internships, or behaving in an inappropriate manner.
Students are given the opportunity to defend themselves during the dismissal hearings, but many find they don't know where to start. Working with an attorney advisor from the moment you are notified of these proceedings will ensure you are properly defended from unnecessary hardships. For instance, you might face personal and financial hardships like having to restart your medical career at a lesser-known medical school, if you can get into another school, or facing repayment of significant loans without the salary of a physician. If you are unsuccessful, it could mean rethinking your entire future, and you can never underestimate the mental toll these proceedings can take.
Appeals
All medical students are owed a particular due process when confronting an accusation that may lead to dismissal from the program. Your school must allow you to face your accuser (if there is one), defend yourself from accusations, request remediations for courses, exams, or rotations you might be having trouble in, and allow you to appeal their dismissal decisions.
When you are notified of the committee's decision, you will be given specific instructions to appeal it. These instructions will include where to send the appeal to, what grounds an appeal can be made on, and when to submit the appeal by. It is very important to make sure all of this information is correct before submitting your appeal. Remember, you only get one shot at this, and if the committee has determined you should be dismissed, this is your last shot at continuing your dream of becoming a doctor and graduating from this particular school.
If applying for the appeal seems overwhelming, contact an attorney advisor today.
Additionally, there are certain instances where an appeal may be denied. If this happens to you, your attorney advisor will exhaust every possible avenue on your behalf, including reaching out to the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at your medical school. During these discussions, your attorney advisor will attempt to negotiate an alternative resolution. Negotiations tend to be more successful than filing a lawsuit against the medical school.
West Virginia Medical Student Defense Advisor
Medical school is incredibly competitive and asks its students to exceed its high standards on a regular basis. If you find yourself falling victim to such pressures, an attorney advisor is the best bet for defending yourself against untimely dismissals and unwarranted sanctions. Attorney Joseph D. Lento has spent his professional career helping students in similar situations. Attorney Lento and his expert team understand that the best defense is a strong defense. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 to discuss your case or schedule a time online.
