Our firm has experience in preparing medical student clerkship grade appeals of failing or “no pass” clerkship grades which have been unfairly and erroneously assigned to our clients.  These grades are obviously quite important because a failing clerkship grade can lead to significant consequences for the student: required remediation of the clerkship at a later date, possibly interfering with the student’s summer schedule; referral to a medical school committee to discuss the grade and perhaps place the student on a remediation plan or probation; reference to the failing grade in the student’s MSPE; or worst of all, dismissal from medical school.  For these reasons, it may make sense to consult with our firm regarding your clerkship grade appeal.

Oftentimes, the way the clerkship grade is assigned is shrouded in mystery and not clearly explained to the student.  One recurring theme our firm encounters is that evaluations from individual preceptors who have actually observed the medical student’s clinical performance are minimized, ignored, and overridden by the clerkship director, who seemingly arbitrarily chooses to assign a failing grade “out of nowhere” on the final clerkship overall evaluation.  Similarly, the clerkship director may seize upon a few mild suggestions for improvement noted in the individual comments from evaluating attendings and residents to justify a failing grade, when such an outcome was never the intent of the evaluators making those comments.  Our firm has experience in navigating these situations and helping our clients with their clerkship grade appeals.

For a no-cost evaluation of your clerkship grade appeal situation, please email the lawyers at Cohen & Duncan Attorneys, LLC, at cac@studentrightslawyers.com or ad@studentrightslawyers.com – we may be able to help you with your clerkship grade appeal.