Advice with Boards and Med-Peds residency

[SuperHero]

I am a recent graduate of an Osteopathic Medical School this past May. I am currently pursing and MPH for year and am currently applying to MedPeds programs. While in med school I struggled very much with boards, both COMLEX Step 1 and Step 2, having to take each of the multiple times before passing. Standardized test have been a thorn since I was young, and there is no difference today. I have considered taking the USMLE because I have such a poor track record with COMLEX, but am concerned because of my past history.

If I did decided to take the test, I would not be able to take it until late december, early january because of my workload now in my MPH program. I would plan on taking it during winter break, which means that my scores would not come back until Feb, maybe. Is this to late for programs that applied to, to see the scores. Will it even matter, if they know that I'm going to take the test, or will my past history turn them off more than anything?

I don't really like wasting money, so any advice would be useful!

Thanks

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[winner123]

I am a recent graduate of an Osteopathic Medical School this past May. I am currently pursing and MPH for year and am currently applying to MedPeds programs. While in med school I struggled very much with boards, both COMLEX Step 1 and Step 2, having to take each of the multiple times before passing. Standardized test have been a thorn since I was young, and there is no difference today. I have considered taking the USMLE because I have such a poor track record with COMLEX, but am concerned because of my past history.

If I did decided to take the test, I would not be able to take it until late december, early january because of my workload now in my MPH program. I would plan on taking it during winter break, which means that my scores would not come back until Feb, maybe. Is this to late for programs that applied to, to see the scores. Will it even matter, if they know that I'm going to take the test, or will my past history turn them off more than anything?

I don't really like wasting money, so any advice would be useful!

Thanks

Med-Peds is quite competitive in the sense that there is a fewer number of programs one can apply to.Also, it is important that u complete all your USMLE Steps viz. USMLE Step-1,2CK,2CS prior to ROL submission deadline which is in February.
Regarding yur history of attempts on COMLEX it is solely upto you whether u want to release your COMLEX scores to the Allopathic Med-Peds residency programs. I think u will only need to release your USMLE transcript(scores) to the allopathic Med-Peds programs.
My advice would be not to take the USMLE steps in a hurry and damage yur credentials.It would be better if u pass yur steps on first attempt and that too with greater than national average scores.
Good Luck.

 

[SuperHero]

Med-Peds is quite competitive in the sense that there is a fewer number of programs one can apply to.Also, it is important that u complete all your USMLE Steps viz. USMLE Step-1,2CK,2CS prior to ROL submission deadline which is in February.
Regarding yur history of attempts on COMLEX it is solely upto you whether u want to release your COMLEX scores to the Allopathic Med-Peds residency programs. I think u will only need to release your USMLE transcript(scores) to the allopathic Med-Peds programs.
My advice would be not to take the USMLE steps in a hurry and damage yur credentials.It would be better if u pass yur steps on first attempt and that too with greater than national average scores.
Good Luck.

Thanks for the advice. I really don't want to take USMLE step 1, but I thought that if I were able to take and and hopefully do ok, then it would look a lot better on my application. I know that I don't have to release my COMLEX scores to allopathic programs, but I'm sure they will want to see some form of scores, and that will be my COMLEX.
Any other comments, anyone?

 

[Bitsy]

You don't have to submit your COMLEX scores, but then you would be submitting your USMLE scores in lieu of your COMLEX scores. If you haven't taken the USMLE yet, then programs will expect to see your COMLEX scores. I would also check programs' websites, because some med-peds programs require USMLE (the only one I can think of offhand is UT-Houston). If you do decide to take USMLE step 1, I would definitely take some NBME forms to gauge how you are going to score. You don't want to fail USMLE after your prior COMLEX failures. Good luck!

 

[group_theory]

I am a recent graduate of an Osteopathic Medical School this past May. I am currently pursing and MPH for year and am currently applying to MedPeds programs. While in med school I struggled very much with boards, both COMLEX Step 1 and Step 2, having to take each of the multiple times before passing. Standardized test have been a thorn since I was young, and there is no difference today. I have considered taking the USMLE because I have such a poor track record with COMLEX, but am concerned because of my past history.

If I did decided to take the test, I would not be able to take it until late december, early january because of my workload now in my MPH program. I would plan on taking it during winter break, which means that my scores would not come back until Feb, maybe. Is this to late for programs that applied to, to see the scores. Will it even matter, if they know that I'm going to take the test, or will my past history turn them off more than anything?

I don't really like wasting money, so any advice would be useful!

Thanks

For most programs, interviews are done by the end of January and the rank committee meet in February to rank applicants before submitting it to NRMP. If your USMLE scores becomes available in February, it may be too late.

Your test history will certainly raise concerns - especially since Med-Peds programs expect you to take both the Internal Medicine and the Pediatrics inservice exams (and eventually the ABIM and ABP certifying exams). The fact that you had issues with Step 1 and Step 2 will raise concerns among programs.

But if you decide to take the USMLE, please prepare well for it since the last thing you want is another test to confirm your difficulty with standardize tests.

Good luck with your application

 

[The Med-Peds Dude]

I agree with this post. Your problem with standardized tests will haunt you (may be worthwhile, in the long run, to get an educational assessment to see what can be done). You should expect to interview (if possible) with 15 programs or more (better odds this way) and prepare your application in such a way as to play up your strengths. The good news is that, overall, med-peds specifically, and primary care in general (exception perhaps for Peds) are far less competitive than they were 10-15 years ago.

As a PD, I would be very concerned about your ability to pass the national board examinations. very.

j