Background In most institutions, a relatively static proportion of students fail the final medical degree programme each year. The majority are successful at resit, so they proceed to postgraduate training. Schools vary when students sit on the final examination and whether they must resit the whole year. The Medical Licensing Assessment shapes medical school approaches. Little is known about the implications of first-time failures on students’ experience of repeating their final years. Identity theory provides a means to explore this phenomenon. Summary of methods A modified grounded theory approach was used to explore how failing medical finals affected the students and foundation-year doctors. Eighteen qualitative interviews were completed with students who had failed finals, were repeating their final year, or who were F1s having previously failed. Interviews were conducted at three time points. Summary of results Qualitative analysis highlighted that participants who fail finals described a ‘resitter identity’ which results in a different approach to clinical learning, provided an enhanced status within their new cohort, and led to personal and professional development. They experienced significant support in their resitting years, and any negativity was internal rather than being experienced by others. Discussion In moving away from using resit years, medical schools are potentially not allowing students to reach their full potential and hence their subsequent training and career trajectories. These data provide insight into the experience of failing, which can inform approaches to supporting students who fail and add to the debate about approaches to when finals take place. Conclusions Failing finals is a difficult experience for medical students, but the resitter identity supports a number of positives that lead to better academic outcomes and personal growth. This work adds context to the debate regarding when medical finals are sat.
Johnson et al. (2026) studied this question.