COMLEX

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Current third year: Am I trying to climb an uphill battle if I only took COMLEX (mid 500 score)? Prometric was crazy with scheduling so I technically could try and take step during 3rd year but I would rather not if I dont have to.

Im not picky on location or program.

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[DMBandFan86]

People often ask something like this. I don't think a mid-500 score is bad. Just keep studying and working on practice tests for comlex step 2 and hopefully get in the 600's.

You can always take usmle (I think that is what you are referring to?). Just realize if you score low on that then it doesn't help you out. Sure if you get a high usmle score then that is great for your application. But if you get low on usmle then that can only hurt you. Unfortunately the Comlex and usmle are different tests and require different study habits. If you decide to take usmle then you need to bunker down and really study hard again.

In this situation I usually advise DO's to focus on Comlex and do your absolute best to get a higher score on step 2. There is always benefit of showing progression during your training. But also you need to look at residency programs and their application requirements. If there are programs that you want to apply to that only take USMLE then you need to take the USMLE. Otherwise you can match with just Comlex. Unfortunately for DO's, matching in PM&R has gotten harder over time due to medical student increases and further interest in the field and it isn't all just related to board exam scores. Typically I think some of the preliminary medicine programs focus more on having USMLE than the PM&R programs.

 

[j4pac]

I personally think that taking both the USMLE and COMLEX hurts your COMLEX score. I wouldn’t do the USMLE unless 1) you aren’t 100% sold on PM&R, 2) you hope to attend one of the handful of PM&R programs in the country that require USMLE, or 3) you strongly desire a particular internship program that requires USMLE.

 

[SomewhereinNY]

I honestly think having a decent COMLEX score is fine, which you do- you also don't want to get yourself into a situation where you take USMLE and don't do great on it, which could dilute how good your COMLEX score is, if that makes sense. This year more than others I think programs are going to care less about USMLE- many applicants weren't able to take both with rescheduling and COVID madness.
If you decide to just take COMLEX, for Step 2 I'd try using a COMLEX specific resource- like TrueLearn/COMBANK- having a greater than 600 for Step 2 on COMLEX would, in my opinion, be just as good as having a solid USMLE score. The COMLEX specific resources were more helpful than the USMLE ones, in my opinion.