Chances of Failing CK

[Taintwax]

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Scenario:

4th year med student from top 20 school has done nothing all year but get stupid and fat. Put off step 2 to the last minute. Step 1 score was > 1 stdev above the mean, all third year shelf exams were in the 95th%tile or higher, most students at my school score 10 pts higher on step2, but I haven't cracked a book since September. I am compelled to just showup for the exam and take it cold like I did CS yesterday. Test is in 3 days.

Questions:

Do you think there is any reasonable chance of failing?
Should my score matter for any reason at this point?
Would my time be better spent at this point on a treadmill or on reading FA?

 

[Sohalia]

Uh, might as well read some FA. Or you could just take an NBME diagnostic test (4 hrs), and see how you do on that. How many pounds are you going to lose on the treadmill in 3 days anyway?

 

[Leukocyte]

I am compelled to just showup for the exam and take it cold like I did CS yesterday. Test is in 3 days.

Take the NBME practice test (pay 50 dollars for a 4 hour test).

If you score less than 195-200 DO NOT TAKE THE TEST.

I studied for 1 month using B&W and Kaplan QBank (Did it twice). Took the NBME test 1 day before the test. Scored a 187 on the NBME practice test. So I said to myself, "ok, at least I passed the practice test..let me go for the real thing tommorow."

Well, I went, and I FAILED (178/72). I never failed a Step before.

My advice.....Never go to a test without being prepared.

Step 2 CK is NOT an easy test. Do not under estimate it.

Good Luck.

 

[bigfrank]

Scenario:

4th year med student from top 20 school has done nothing all year but get stupid and fat. Put off step 2 to the last minute. Step 1 score was > 1 stdev above the mean, all third year shelf exams were in the 95th%tile or higher, most students at my school score 10 pts higher on step2, but I haven't cracked a book since September. I am compelled to just showup for the exam and take it cold like I did CS yesterday. Test is in 3 days.

Questions:

Do you think there is any reasonable chance of failing?
Should my score matter for any reason at this point?
Would my time be better spent at this point on a treadmill or on reading FA?

your chance of failing is less than 1%

 

[jennyboo]

Crush Step 2. It reads faster than FA and can certainly be read in 3 days.

 

[manning18]

To answer your questions:
1. Depends on your definition of reasonable. There's always a chance of failing. In your case, that chance is pretty small. I'm not sure if it's less than 1%, but it's probably between 1-10% IMHO.
2. The score would matter in the case that you did failed. It may also have some relevance if you are going into Medicine or any other field and applying for Fellowship training down the line.
3. The treadmill would be better than FA, as it's too detailed for just 3 days. Crish or secrets would be better than the tradmill, which you can resume after your exam.
Good luck!

 

[AssMan]

Scenario:

4th year med student from top 20 school has done nothing all year but get stupid and fat. Put off step 2 to the last minute. Step 1 score was > 1 stdev above the mean, all third year shelf exams were in the 95th%tile or higher, most students at my school score 10 pts higher on step2, but I haven't cracked a book since September. I am compelled to just showup for the exam and take it cold like I did CS yesterday. Test is in 3 days.

Questions:

Do you think there is any reasonable chance of failing?
Should my score matter for any reason at this point?
Would my time be better spent at this point on a treadmill or on reading FA?

I just took the test about 4 days ago and can say it is not an easy exam. I didn't do as well as the 95th percentile on shelf exams and did not go to a Top 20 school but feel qualified enough to say it could be a risk to just walk in and take it. I think doing an NBME exam is a good way of judging your readiness with both knowledge and endurance (the latter being a HUGE part, I think).

Well.....best of luck with whatever you do.

 

[ttumed]

I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I did well on step 1, took CK cold turkey cause I became a lazy ass after match and I did well. Lower than step 1 of course, but stil above average.

 

[Taintwax]

I just finished CK bout an hour ago. I did not spend a moment studying for the exam, just walked in and took it. I feel like my broad knowledge base of general medicine and surgery will bail me out in the end.

5/10 questions I knew the answer before finishing the question stem
3/10 I had to really narrow it down and make a best guess
the other two were sorta "I dont' know that S#!T... keepin' it real!"

I regret not giving Psych and ObGyn a once-over. I am sure that I missed a bunch of gimmies like difference b/w schizotypal vs. schizoid vs schizo-whatever and prolly had ten questions about female incontinence that I was unsure about.

Thanks for all of the advice regrdless of whether I acted on it.

Tha' Taint