a unique situation...

[MRa2z]

Okay. so i know you guys are sick of hearing the 'what are my chances' questions, and this isn't that, but something similar, i guess.

here's the deal;

i'm a 3rd year medical student at a DO school in a big city. I've been an average student for the first cpl years. unfortunately, I failed my Comlex Level I exam, ( not by much , but failing is failing ). However, I took my usmle step1 shortly after and passed.. I scored a 228 on the usmle. I'm in the process of retaking the comlex right now.


my question is, i know that i'm not required to release my comlex scores to residency programs when i apply next year...should i divulge my score info given i did decent on the usmle? an administrator at my school told me only divulging the usmle score and not the comlex may 'raise red flags'..but i figure, divulging the comlex score and showing the failed attempt will definitively raise a red flag.

I do have one advantage : my father's best friend , and my godfather of sorts, is an anesthesia program director at a mid/low level anesthesia program. They did residency together, and this program has a history of taking FMG's/weaker candidates. ( The program is fairly respected and has a high board pass rate though. )

at this point, should i say 'screw it' and just hold out for a traditional year or internal med spot ( given my comlex failure), or will my usmle + connection with the program director be enough to have a chance at matching?

i know this is a pretty candid story, but i figure its best to just be upfront. any advice is appreciated, as my 4th year schedule is set soon, i'd like to know if it's worth doing auditions for anesthesia...i'm truly unfamiliar with how much weight is put on comlex, personal connections, etc. i know audition rotations help, but i'm not sure how my situation measures up. thanks.

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[scudrunner]

How did you manage to fail the COMLEX and shortly thereafter score a 228 on the USMLE? That is puzzling.

 

[MRa2z]

How did you manage to fail the COMLEX and shortly thereafter score a 228 on the USMLE? That is puzzling.

i took the advice that if i prepared for the usmle, i'd be fine for the comlex. I had been studying for the usmle all spring, and spent a few days at the end focusing on comlex specific stuff..i didn't spend nearly enough time on osteopathic stuff and micro, which were incredibly heavy on the comlex, and almost nonexistent on the usmle. My usmle was heavy on biochem + general path, which i haven't had trouble with.

took the usmle a week after, and ended up actually getting the usmle score first, i was pretty shocked when i got the comlex score and it was below passing.

 

[scudrunner]

i took the advice that if i prepared for the usmle, i'd be fine for the comlex. I had been studying for the usmle all spring, and spent a few days at the end focusing on comlex specific stuff..i didn't spend nearly enough time on osteopathic stuff and micro, which were incredibly heavy on the comlex, and almost nonexistent on the usmle. My usmle was heavy on biochem + general path, which i haven't had trouble with.

took the usmle a week after, and ended up actually getting the usmle score first, i was pretty shocked when i got the comlex score and it was below passing.

Huh, good to know i guess. I'll be taking both exams next summer as well. Good luck on the re-take.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

ask the godfather, if you apply to his program the last thing in the world you want to do is try and pull one over on him.

You are far better off than if the reverse had happened. I thought the USMLE was a lot harder than the COMLEX.

I think it will limit you somewhat because it is a red flag of sorts, but my general feeling is that few if any PD's know how to convert COMLEX scores and most of them don't give a hoot about them if you have the USMLE (although I am sure they would like to see you pass it).

I think you should just release the scores.

Okay. so i know you guys are sick of hearing the 'what are my chances' questions, and this isn't that, but something similar, i guess.

here's the deal;

i'm a 3rd year medical student at a DO school in a big city. I've been an average student for the first cpl years. unfortunately, I failed my Comlex Level I exam, ( not by much , but failing is failing ). However, I took my usmle step1 shortly after and passed.. I scored a 228 on the usmle. I'm in the process of retaking the comlex right now.


my question is, i know that i'm not required to release my comlex scores to residency programs when i apply next year...should i divulge my score info given i did decent on the usmle? an administrator at my school told me only divulging the usmle score and not the comlex may 'raise red flags'..but i figure, divulging the comlex score and showing the failed attempt will definitively raise a red flag.

I do have one advantage : my father's best friend , and my godfather of sorts, is an anesthesia program director at a mid/low level anesthesia program. They did residency together, and this program has a history of taking FMG's/weaker candidates. ( The program is fairly respected and has a high board pass rate though. )

at this point, should i say 'screw it' and just hold out for a traditional year or internal med spot ( given my comlex failure), or will my usmle + connection with the program director be enough to have a chance at matching?

i know this is a pretty candid story, but i figure its best to just be upfront. any advice is appreciated, as my 4th year schedule is set soon, i'd like to know if it's worth doing auditions for anesthesia...i'm truly unfamiliar with how much weight is put on comlex, personal connections, etc. i know audition rotations help, but i'm not sure how my situation measures up. thanks.

 

[CrazyJake]

I'd take the comlex fail to the grave with you.

If you don't know OMM well, you can easily fail any given Comlex.

your connection should help you.

CJ

 

[MRa2z]

I'd take the comlex fail to the grave with you.

If you don't know OMM well, you can easily fail any given Comlex.

your connection should help you.

CJ

Thanks all for the advice. Spoke to my dad's friend ( the PD ) today, and told him about the comlex. he told me that my usmle showed i know the stuff they care about, and as long as i clear the comlex there shouldn't be an issue..he also advised that for other programs its probably best to not release the comlex scores, as many PD's won't know what to make of them anyways, and will be looking for the usmle score regardless..but the failure would mean automatic rejection pile at a lot of places. I don't think of myself as a dishonest person, and i'd definitely tell a PD about it if they asked , but right now i'm leaning towards keeping the comlex score on a need-to-know basis..

thanks for the advice so far guys.

 

[kazuma]

I think you'll be just fine.

PD's don't seem to give a hoot about the comlex and quite frankly I don't blame them. They are trying to compare you to other applicants and the only way to objectively do so is through the USMLE. You did well on it and the comlex shouldn't be a problem as long as as you pass it next time and meet graduation requirements.

I would recommend taking Step 2 USMLE in June or July so that your score will be ready to submit on Sept 1.

I have had programs tell me that they are glad that I took both steps of the USMLE. Some programs have asked me why some students only take one of the two USMLE exams.

 

[amyl]

don't release the comlex scores but be prepared to answer honestly about them. i did a little better than average on comlex but did much better on usmles. out of 14 interviews only one asked about my comlex scores. i told them the truth that i took comlex before studying as sort of a pre-test for the usmle and didn't study opp at all. they asked what my score was, i told them... they said you're right you did better on the usmle. that was it. never wanted the scores released, didn't care. and i matched there.

 

[mamitch4]

Agree with amyl. I only released my USMLE step 1 and 2 scores- not because they were significantly different, but I didn't think programs would care and they could cloud the picture/be difficult to interpret. Only one program even asked about them, so I released them to that program after my interview.

 

[fabfive5]

I'd take the comlex fail to the grave with you.

If you don't know OMM well, you can easily fail any given Comlex.

your connection should help you.

CJ

Make sure you not only make connections with people you already know, but ask him to introduce others in that department. Shadow them. Have MULTIPLE connections in that department. Only one will not help a lot always.

 

[fabfive5]

don't release the comlex scores but be prepared to answer honestly about them. i did a little better than average on comlex but did much better on usmles. out of 14 interviews only one asked about my comlex scores. i told them the truth that i took comlex before studying as sort of a pre-test for the usmle and didn't study opp at all. they asked what my score was, i told them... they said you're right you did better on the usmle. that was it. never wanted the scores released, didn't care. and i matched there.

Eventhough I'm an M.D. not a D.O., being honest is the ONE thing that everyone states in any interview anywhere. Medicine is a smaller world than you think. The more specialized you get, the smaller the world; therefore, be honest...or they will find out eventually. (and no, this is not from personal experience)

 

[DocInProgress]

What would PD's think about high COMLEX (600+) and slightly above average USMLE scores (221+)?

 

[Arch Guillotti]

What would PD's think about high COMLEX (600+) and slightly above average USMLE scores (221+)?

My personal opinion is that PD's don't really think too much about any COMLEX score for the most part.

 

[El Dooderino]

What would PD's think about high COMLEX (600+) and slightly above average USMLE scores (221+)?

They'd think, "what the hell is a comlex?"

 

[robnon]

They'd think, "what the hell is a comlex?"

What if the PD is a DO?