Failed Step 3 for the second time, what do I do?

[jhu1]

Failed again with about 12 points below the minimum pass. I just don't know what else I can do:

- I did all UW questions x 2
- All Kaplan questions x 1
- Read the MB x 2
- Had over 200 pages of notes and read them all x 2
- Did Step 1 Highyeld points x 1

But failed again after many months of studying. Any suggestions?

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[FAUMed2k15]

Impossible to know without a score breakdown and what the section was that brought you down. Presumably you passed Step 1 and Step 2 so I don't see why Step 3 would be such an enormous hurdle. Are you currently in training? Are you scoring at a reasonable level on UWorld? Are there time management issues? Is it the CCS section that's the problem? This exam is more of a nuisance than anything and doesn't require much in the way of studying other than working as a resident and doing practice questions (and maybe reviewing Biostats).

 

[jhu1]

Impossible to know without a score breakdown and what the section was that brought you down. Presumably you passed Step 1 and Step 2 so I don't see why Step 3 would be such an enormous hurdle. Are you currently in training? Are you scoring at a reasonable level on UWorld? Are there time management issues? Is it the CCS section that's the problem? This exam is more of a nuisance than anything and doesn't require much in the way of studying other than working as a resident and doing practice questions (and maybe reviewing Biostats).

yes currently in training, surgical residency, averaging UWORLD in low 50%, CCS has been OK

 

[lulu09]

I stalked your old posts and saw that we have the same Step 1 score - I did improve significantly on CK (although came back down for Step 3).

When I was studying for CK I realized that just doing questions and reading the explanations for the questions is not sufficient. You have to really reason out the logic behind the pathophysiology of the question otherwise you would just get the question wrong again when they tweak it a bit. That was my fatal mistake when studying for Step 1 when I would be lulled into a false sense of security when I highlighted all of FA twice, took UW once, and walked into the test thinking I would get 220 like everyone else. I realized (in retrospect after I got my Step 1) that all the facts/explanations made sense when I was reading it, but I had no effective way of internalizing the information in a framework that I could consistently apply.

That said, low 50%'s on UW is pretty low for Step 3, I don't think you should go through UW/Kaplan/MTB again because the way you are going through the material is most likely ineffective. I believe you are one fail away from not being able to be licensed in certain states which limit licensure to 3 fails on any Step, so using the same strategy might not be helpful now. You should perhaps look into tutoring/in-person course who can help troubleshoot certain comprehension/reasoning issues you might not be aware of and then going from there. If your reasoning framework is addressed, you should pass - sheer breath of knowledge or memorization of facts is less important at this point to secure a pass.

 

[LimboSurfer]

You have to make sure that you're actually GETTING something out of what you are doing. I can only imagine trying to take a giant test like this with the demanding schedule of a surgery resident. If you are not a US grad, have been long out of school, those factors would not help either.

My basic advice:
1) don't overthink questions. In a lot of situations the simplest answer really is the best. ( Got an elderly woman who has lost 15 lbs in her nursing home? MAKE SURE SHE IS *TRYING* TO EAT FIRST before going all Pan-CT on her.)
2) identify the questions that 85% of people are getting right, that you are not. The breakdown would be the first place I'd look. I'm also wondering about the questions that studying doesn't really help--the "common doctor sense" ones the FIP section focuses on, like above.
3) as you study, ask yourself what the most concerning findings are for a given disease process (suggesting good outcome or bad). The ACM section is riddled with this stuff. (orthopnea, for example, is BAD NEWS for CHF).
4) DO the NBME practice form on the NBME self-assessment website. Pay the 60 bucks, work through it. It gives you the items you got wrong after you're done. Then go look all of those up and DO IT AGAIN.
5) If you've failed twice doing all the subject tests for step 2 on the same website might not be a bad idea either. I reason that the NBME is the best source of info for their own exam. I felt like those forms are a bit harder than what you have to face.
6. I don't see "First aid for the USMLE Step 3" on your list. Do that book twice too. Personally I fired up a question block on Chapter X of reading something, and then read it again afterward.

Another thing I'll throw out--I'm wondering about your test taking stamina and conditions. If you were able to do step 1 and 2 I can't imagine that's an issue. but if you've failed something, that does put an awful lot of pressure on you the second time.

 

[GoWiththeFlo]

As someone else said, you are one failure away from a major problem.....save your money and get private tutoring, check your ego at the door, and pull out all stops, you must pass this time around!
Good luck

 

[Razorfendown]

Failed again with about 12 points below the minimum pass. I just don't know what else I can do:

- I did all UW questions x 2
- All Kaplan questions x 1
- Read the MB x 2
- Had over 200 pages of notes and read them all x 2
- Did Step 1 Highyeld points x 1

But failed again after many months of studying. Any suggestions?

Bro, the key to passing step 3 is not do the whole entire material all over again. What you need to do is to focus on areas that you are weak at and then work on them. That is how I got my score from barely passing to 223, the national average. After doing the NBME, go back and look at areas that you are weak at and work on them. Don't read the whole material over and over again for no reason.

 

[69usmle69]

Jhu,
Not to be annoying, but it's been a few months since start of this thread. Did you pass by now? What did you change in study approach. Keep us informed. ..

 

[chemistryguy]

how did it go?