Clueless MS-3 - when to take step 2 comlex & usmle

[JunkintheTrunk]

hey guys, thanks in advance for humoring me i'm a 3rd year, looking ahead to the coming year, and starting to studying for boards again i'm planning on a surgery residency, not quite sure DO or MD yet (there's only one AOA approved surgery residency in illinois! ). i took both the comlex and usmle step 1's....do i need to take both for step 2 (ie, say i plan on doing an MD residency)? when exactly do you take step 2, or when is the best time to do so? thanks guys

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[Hernandez]

hey guys, thanks in advance for humoring me i'm a 3rd year, looking ahead to the coming year, and starting to studying for boards again i'm planning on a surgery residency, not quite sure DO or MD yet (there's only one AOA approved surgery residency in illinois! ). i took both the comlex and usmle step 1's....do i need to take both for step 2 (ie, say i plan on doing an MD residency)? when exactly do you take step 2, or when is the best time to do so? thanks guys

If you did really well on Step 1, take it late. If you did so-so or average and feel like you can do much better, take it early as 4th year starts so you'll have the report back by the time you start interviewing. Many people do not take USMLE step 2 even if they're applying to allo residencies, but I'm not in that boat so I'm not going to say if you should or shouldn't.

 

[srlacy]

Hey JunkintheTrunk-

(by the way, I LOVE the screen name!)

I am a 4th year at CCOM. I took USMLE Step 1, just like you. I'm going into Pathology, and since there aren't any D.O. path residencies, I wasn't sure if I should also take USMLE Step 2. (Actually took COMLEX 2 yesterday-THANK GOD that it's over....)

Anyway, since I've only been interviewing at allopathic university residency programs for path, I've been very pleasantly surprised at the response I've gotten from all 6 of them so far when I ask if they want me to continue on with the USMLE's. I got a competitive score on the USMLE Step 1, so their responses have basically been like, "Well, you've already proved you are a competitive candidate, so don't worry about taking USMLE. Save your money and continue on with the COMLEX." Yay for me saving $500.

So, I guess it just depends on two things:

1) how your USMLE step 1 score was
2) the particular residency

If you are looking at some places in particular, I would contact them personally and ask them. I honestly think that a lot of allopathic programs don't even know what to do with a COMLEX score, so if you have at least a Step 1 score, then it's to your advantage. Hopefully this helps.

Good luck with everything!