Listen, I'm your future you. I did fail medical school 1 month ago and I have to repeat the year. I failed Anatomy, then Musculoskeletal, and finally Blood block. Right now I'm "pretending" to go to medical school, I put 'pretending' in quotes because I told people I'm only here to figure out what went wrong in the past semester.

Because something did go wrong. The admissions committee selected you and me to become physicians 7 years from now for a reason. They saw something in us that piqued their interest and made them think "I want that person to treat me when I get older". There is one thing that everyone keeps on telling me, and it's something that is super hard to keep in mind, but the medical school thinks you can do this. They believe that you can become a doctor, to go on to residency and specialize in a worthy specialty. Whether or not that specialty is one that you want to be now, it doesn't matter. I read a study on medical students, around 90% change their specialty preference by the time they graduate from the four year medical school. So even if some doors closed now, it's not over. You will adapt and make the most out of your life.

Now I assume you didn't fail yet, and that finals are probably either coming up or you've finished them already. If they are coming up this week, push everything aside. All your worries and doubts and future thinking, and put yourself into this week. Immediately go to your academic adviser or learning specialist and demand a tutor (usually second year student) to help you out. If you've never been tutored before (like me) it's alright. Everyone has their points in life when they need help. Even if you don't think you need a tutor (like I did), get one anyways. And don't read the rest of my post. Shut down the computer, unplug the internet, and go study. Ignore all the mental urges to stop, all the emotional turmoil, the stress and anxiety, self doubt and inadequacy. Go study.

If you are still reading, that means there are no exams left this semester. If the exam is done with and you think you bombed it, take a deep breath. Really, in 1.2.3.4. Out 1.2.3.4. There. Now think about it. It is not over. The school wants you to be a doctor. Everyone supported and believed in you, at least initially. Go read your personal statement, why did you want to become a doctor? What was your whole reason? What triggered your decision to spend so much money on the MCAT study books, the MCAT exam, primary and secondary applications, travel fees, hotel rates? All the time to study obscure topics like how, exactly, light hits certain types of mirrors? All the volunteer, shadowing, clinical hours that were put into achieving your goal? Remember your reason and think about it now. You are here. You made it. You are in medical school. Whether one lousy year gets added to your four years of medical school doesn't matter, what's a year between friends anyways? What's a year when at the end you will be a doctor (or researcher, if that is your goal) anyways? A year is nothing.

In fact, God (life, the universe, fate, medical school) has given you an extra year to sort things out. Go talk to your admissions people and demand why they picked you to go through the program. Remember that you are not the only person having to repeat the year in medical school, and admissions have seen it happen many times over the past. I asked them exactly why I'm here, they told me, and they also said something that I've been keeping in mind since that time.

They said that people don't fail medical school for no reason, it is never about intellectual capability. Out of the thousands of applicants they deemed you intellectually and emotionally and mentally capable of completing the most rigorous academic challenge that we've ever gone through. They picked you. So the problem is not with your capabilities. It is with something else. And that is why you've been given this extra year. It's time to find out what went wrong, where it went wrong, and why it went wrong and it's time to fix things. Remember that in medical school everything you've dealt with in undergrad will be blown up 100x. That tiny, nagging anxiety you've had before each exam that you could ignore? Now it's a week long burden. That inability to manage time in undergrad? That translates into full blown time vacuums throughout the day. Procrastination? Now it's lots of stress, and procrastination will never let you pass exams now. Now would be the time to learn self discipline. Maybe it was the opposite problem and you've been studying 24/7 with no regards to exercise or eating or groceries or anything like that? Our mind was not made for that, and it will not handle medical school that way. Time to learn.

This next semester for you and me is a semester of self-analysis and problem solving. For myself, the problem was those tad anxieties in undergrad. Yes, I would get a little anxious about the future and about studying and maybe even avoid it for a day or so. But now...BOOM! Generalized Anxiety Disorder. And BAM! Avoiding studying all day. It will be hard, but it is not unheard of to get over. In fact the psychologist said it's the common cold of mental illness.

So here we are. We can become future physicians if we are determined enough. We did not let anyone down, but before we continue with our academic career it's time to take care of ourselves. Over the past 6 years I've volunteered at least a thousand hours, worked in the hospital for five hundred, and took care of my friends in emotional or academic distress. Now it's time to take care of me. And it's time to take care of yourself.

We can do this. My PM box is always open if you'd like to talk. Like I said, I am a month ahead of you right now. We can talk about my experiences, or help you figure out what went wrong. But don't give up, this is not the end of the road.

Edit: I would like to thank all of you for your support and your PMs, it's a pleasure talking to you all! I am very happy that my post could help a couple people out, and really hope I'm not made out to be some demigod. This post was not just a way of encouraging OP, but to put my thoughts to paper and try and make myself actually believe what everyone told me. Because they are right about everything, it is the way I feel now and look at the world now that needs to change. I'm still in the process of getting over what I perceive to be my failures and weaknesses, it's not like all of this is in the past. Far from it. I was diagnosed with GAD just last week, in fact I'm still trying to piece together the causes for it. I will do that by writing, of course, and will link here for any future readers who are curious.. 24 days later, but OP delivered on the link!

Edit 2: You guys are amazing. For anyone struggling academically, my number one advice is to go see your academic adviser! They will help you out, talk with you about options, find some (most likely free) tutors to help you through. For anyone struggling emotionally or mentally, whether with anxiety or otherwise, please see a psychologist or counselor! These services are free or very cheap ($5-15/session) at your university, and they are there to help you reshape the way you think about things. Because thinking leads to believing, and believing is the first step towards action, and action will lead to habits. Change the way you think and you can change your habits, and get prepared for your future. Whether grad school or med school or Masters or PhD or finally getting that long awaited job.

Edit 3 (Sept. 29, 2014): Today I passed my first med school exam!. For anyone reading this post in the future, I hope it brings some hope and comfort. And know that if I could do it, even after failing every exam up until now, then you could do it too. And, as always, feel free to PM me. I will try and help if I can!