Do you have to be the leader of a club to match dermatology?

When You Don’t Get the Position You Wanted (and What to Do Next)

When I started medical school, joining the dermatology interest group was at the top of my must-do list. I didn’t just want to be a member though; I had my sights set on a leadership position. I thought it would be the absolutely perfect way to show my long-term commitment to derm, build connections with local attendings, and give back to a specialty I already loved thanks to my time as a medical assistant in undergrad. I genuinely enjoy leadership roles, and I was confident that I was the woman for the job.

When I didn’t get the position, I was crushed. It felt like a major setback. How was I supposed to stay involved and deepen my connection to the field if I wasn’t even on the E-Board? It felt like a door had closed before I even got a chance to knock.

I pivoted. My dad is an Interventional Radiologist, so I had a solid understanding of that specialty. I ran for the president position in the IR interest group. Was it “necessary” for derm? Not at all. In fact, nobody asked me about this. But I loved working with the team, enjoyed planning events, and learned a lot about how I show up in leadership settings. And honestly, that growth mattered.

If you land a leadership spot in your school’s derm org, that is amazing! 

If you don’t, please believe me when I say it’s not the end of the world. 

What I learned from that moment was to take rejection in stride. I didn’t get to connect with attendings in the way I had originally planned, but I found other paths! I introduced myself at conferences, reached out through cold emails, and even met my future program director at a conference when I was an M2. If  I had already been the derm org president, I might not have prioritized and cherished those opportunities in the same way.

It’s easy to feel like one closed door means your dreams are derailed. I remember that feeling so vividly. If you can reframe your mindset and focus on what is still within your control, you’ll find your way forward. Medical school goes by really fast. Setbacks will happen.

How you respond matters much more than the setback itself.

The mindset that carried me through was simple: what is meant for me will not pass me by. Trust that life is happening for you, not to you. Keep showing up, keep believing in your path, and stay focused on your “why.”