[emirmd]

Hello doctors

My name is Emir. I am a 5th year medical student in my country in south east asia. i will be taking the national exam on feb 17 and become a GP here. As part of the compulsory program in my country, i have completed 2 years of hospital rotations in all fields of medicine (excluding pathology) after obtaining my bachelor degree in mid 2014. i took step 1 last month, the score came out to be 213. Honestly, i feel devastated by this result, i was hoping that the worse i can get is around 220-230

it took me 1.5 - 2 years to prepare for step 1 (due to the huge disparity of materials taught between my country and in US), i took 9 months of the K*plan courses and 6 months of Uw*rld qbanks. scores averages 60-75%
i did 4 NBME SAS, the score averages between 210-217
i did 2 UWSAS the score was 230-232

my study books were the kap LN, FA step 1, Step 1 secrets.
i felt that i've tried the hardest i can, but i cant seem to pump up the scores on my try outs. although i know that this doesnt matter but confusingly all my years on med school i was regarded as one of the most capable students / candidates.

the only purpose of me in doing all of this is to get Internal Medicine Residency in the US, wherever that might be, any hospital will be fine. i never intended to go to the top university affiliated hospitals.

My questions to you are:

1. is IM still possible for me?
2. How high should i aim to score in 2 ck to help myself out of this mess?
3. is USCE essential for me? if yes, where should i do it?

Thank you for your time reading this, please kindly give me advices and opinions, i wish you the best of luck in your preparations and future.

 

[emirmd]

Hello, please post your opinions here, i dont think i have enough knowledge about the ground i am standing on right now

 

[scooper]

IM still possible with really high scores.something like 250s considering the mean score of US graduates is 240.

The problem even with a high CK score is you will be filtered automatically by a lot of filters which have a minimum score of 220 for many programs.

your best chance is taking all your exams ASAP with exceptional scores including step 3.USCE is considered valuable and if you are a FMG thats the only way you get hands on experience and contacts for residency,LORs.so i would say USCE is a must for you.

if your graduation date is farther than 2-3 years chances of matching get slimmer with every passing year.So i would advice to take all your exams within 6-9 months.good luck

 

[emirmd]

IM still possible with really high scores.something like 250s considering the mean score of US graduates is 240.

The problem even with a high CK score is you will be filtered automatically by a lot of filters which have a minimum score of 220 for many programs.

your best chance is taking all your exams ASAP with exceptional scores including step 3.USCE is considered valuable and if you are a FMG thats the only way you get hands on experience and contacts for residency,LORs.so i would say USCE is a must for you.

if your graduation date is farther than 2-3 years chances of matching get slimmer with every passing year.So i would advice to take all your exams within 6-9 months.good luck

Hi scout thank you for your opinion. This is a very useful considerations that i will have to think about. I thought that for FMG step 3 is unnecessary and i will have to take only as far as 2 cs.

I do plan to complete until 2 cs in 2017. But considering the 220 filter which you said many programs use. How is my possibility?

Do you also have other specialities to consider?

Thank you

 

[emirmd]

*scooper. Sorry i misread that

 

[scooper]

step 3 is not needed to apply.but it is a plus if you have already passed it with a decent score.a good score on step 3 also offsets your step 1 score.

you can try pathology,family medicine,psychiatry.

nobody can tell your chances with just your step 1 score.you have to finish all your exams to know your chances

 

[emirmd]

step 3 is not needed to apply.but it is a plus if you have already passed it with a decent score.a good score on step 3 also offsets your step 1 score.

you can try pathology,family medicine,psychiatry.

nobody can tell your chances with just your step 1 score.you have to finish all your exams to know your chances

Thank you scooper. This is a bitter pill to swallow for me but i still hope for IM. I think its all about the financial considerations. Considering that for the better of my chances i will have to take usce. I dont think i will have enough financial resources for step 3.

I am still trying to find hope in all of this mess. Your reply has been both unbiased and motivating i think. Thank you

 

[emirmd]

Hello please post your opinions here. Thank you

 

[DocSikorski]

thats a pretty low score and most programs would weed it out with their filters.
You should focus on getting an extremely high score on CK and focus on USCE in places that are IMG-friendly that might accept you later.
THe point being is that you rotate there and make yourself known to PD's
and if you somehow get a high CK score and they will be even willing to review your application - they might consider you.

 

[emirmd]

thats a pretty low score and most programs would weed it out with their filters.
You should focus on getting an extremely high score on CK and focus on USCE in places that are IMG-friendly that might accept you later.
THe point being is that you rotate there and make yourself known to PD's
and if you somehow get a high CK score and they will be even willing to review your application - they might consider you.

I understand. Thank you. Where can i research about those IMG friendly hospitals? Do you happen to know some of them? Ive heard that mayo is one of them CMIIW

 

[emirmd]

Hello, please post your opinions here. Thank you very much

 

[dabricej]

usce is of major importance. Residency program directors want to see that you have received hands on experience. Strong hands on experience can give your application better opportunities with LoRs.

 

[emirmd]

usce is of major importance. Residency program directors want to see that you have received hands on experience. Strong hands on experience can give your application better opportunities with LoRs.

Hello thanks for your reply. I now have also believe that usce will be of major importance in my applications. Better save some money for that

 

[smallneve]

Never give up. I Know who matched to new good program after scoring 219. No research, USCE or CONNECTIONS. He did like 240+ on CK. Applied without step 3.

 

[emirmd]

Never give up. I Know who matched to new good program after scoring 219. No research, USCE or CONNECTIONS. He did like 240+ on CK. Applied without step 3.

Hi sorry for the late reply. Thank you for your time reading this. And thank you for your support. Hope i can sent ya a priv message about that

 

[anonymoususer]

Not all programs use filters so don't worry. You still have a shot at IM.

 

[emirmd]

Not all programs use filters so don't worry. You still have a shot at IM.

Thank you for your kind encouragement, i wish you the best of luck in the years to come