CS in LA experience

[Gotti]

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Man that was tough. I don't feel that I underlooked this exam or anything, but it sucked.
Anyway, I studied more than most people for this thing, even paid U World for their crap, talked to myself like a crazy person trying to re-create a patient experience, felt my friend up as a practice dummy, and it was still a hard exam. I went through the timing of the HPI with my friend too and practiced writing 10 minute notes, but I barely got through every encounter. A couple of encounters I didn't even get to summarize the encounter to the patient. Really sucked and now I regret wanting to get this over with before 4th year so I could focus on applications. If I fail, I will really get docked especially since I am going for a tough residency.
Watch out, there are ways you have to ask certain things to get the proper history; too general of questions won't get you the right answer I found out after comparing my encounter with another exam taker's. Also, a couple of Neuro things I admit I am not great at didn't quite elicit the right response as I found out later, but my friend who passed the exam said he hardly did a single Neuro thing so maybe it'll be okay.
I do think LA was the best place to take it and some of the other exam takers said they heard that LA was the best. I would think so because LA would be most liberal and tolerant of foreigners although I am a native English speaker. Although I would guess at most a 2-5% advantage and wouldn't count on passing this based on this sole idea. At the LA location, I was surprised at the number of foreigners taking it. I would say majority were such. There were people who flew from abroad to take it there and flying home after a month stay in the US. After years away from my home to go to med school out of state in a Southern state, this was cool to me to see such diversity and people fighting for their dreams from such unique backgrounds again. The staff were really nice too. I overstepped time a couple of times during patient encounter and note writing and they let me finish the line without chewing me out. Some guy was actually late, getting in at orientation, and they made him sign something just like the web said. There were quality sandwiches for lunch too so don't bring anything.
Anyway, good luck to all of you. I don't know what I hoped to gain from posting this, maybe a little karma, maybe hoping someone will tell me I did okay, probably more to vent my frustration..

 

[kaboodle]

I feel the same way. I just took it last week and am replaying the cases in my head remembering all that I did wrong....I recall I did a lot right too, but that doesn't seem to keep me from re-living the exam over, and over, and over. 2-3 months of this.....YIKES!!!!!! Boy, a PASS would be a great birthday present a couple months from now.😀


edit: I took mine in ATL.

 

[Nicholaus]

I'm taking CS in LA on June 12th!

 

[medsRus]

So don’t bother to pack lunch unless you need like Kosher or Falal meat but I’m not sure even then you can get to your locker at lunch so check to make sure.

LOL! It is called "halal" meat...

 

[ucsfstudents]

Dear Gotti,
Your post is very helpful, especially to those who haven't taken the exam yet. Just want to warn you, however, that your post could get you in trouble because it provides details about the exam and if the exam providers find out who you are, you will be banned from the USMLE exams. Just a quick warning in case anyone hasn't already told you -- you might want to delete the post. It's ultimately your decision, but I would have felt bad if I didn't at least warn you about the consequences of posting this info.

 

[Nodelphi]

Do any of you who have taken the exam in LA have any info on how bad traffic is in the area? I'll be staying about 12 miles away, about how much time should I budget to get there in time?

I'm really starting to think maybe I'm taking this thing a bit too early.

 

[ucsfstudents]

I didn't drive around the area but from what I saw, traffic was pretty light. That being said, this is LA, and for that matter, an exam... so give yourself 30 minutes to get to any place close by. You can also do a "test-drive" to see how long it takes you.
Good luck!

 

[Nodelphi]

I didn't drive around the area but from what I saw, traffic was pretty light. That being said, this is LA, and for that matter, an exam... so give yourself 30 minutes to get to any place close by. You can also do a "test-drive" to see how long it takes you.
Good luck!

Oh I intend to do a test drive but my exam's on a Monday and the test drive would be on a Sunday so I'm not sure how useful it would really be is all. Thanks for the info though!

 

[MSKalltheway]

Dear Gotti,

Agreed, Its awesome that you are trying to be helpful, but banned from USMLE = never practicing in the US. I would strongly suggest deleting anything that people cannot find themselves on the USMLE website.

 

[drmansi]

i gave my CS in LA .. passed 🙂

I kept agonizing about all the things I missed, even forgot to drape one patient , wasnt sure of the diagnosis in one case, forgot to mention rectal exam, dint do very thorough neuro exam etc etc but I think as long as you cover most of the basic history n PE and above all are very courteous take time out to counsel and ask questions and never seem hurried (cause thats the only thing i did consistently in all cases) .. no need to worry

and the cases .. all the expected ones that are listed in standard books
just take time to read the doorway info and a few secs to orient yourself

n I agree LA is a great center with very friendly staff ..

 

[drmansi]

Id just like to add from most experiences Ive heard .. some try to take a very detiled history or PE to pinpoint to a particular diagnosis which is not required and doesn leave you with enough time for counseling etc.. u need a pass in al areas so don focus to much on any one

follow the general mnemonics and have few particular qs prepared say fr upper vs lower abdo or say fatigue rel to DM/cancer vs depression .. to help u ask more focussed qs that r more likely on the check list

 

[anonperson]

The LA center staff is generally pretty well organized and friendly. The center is easy to find and there is plenty of parking. Overall I would recommend taking the test there if you have a choice. Also it's very close to LAX and local hotels.

As far as the test goes. Here are some general tips:

Don't get too caught up in overly detailed histories. You only have 15 minutes and a lot of ground to cover. Your job is to get the basic information, do a physical exam, answer the lame challenge question the patient offers, counsel on whatever vices they participate in or on screening tests, and tell them what you want to do in terms of tests for their CC.

When you get in the room. The first thing you should do is address the patient by their full name (Mr/Ms J. Smith) and drape them. It gets these two easy points out of the way.

I didn't wash my hands since it's too time consuming and I believe you're required to wash before and after touching the patient. Wear the gloves and it goes much quicker and you won't risk missing those points.

First Aid is a great book and will give you all the required prep. I remember getting a few musculoskeletal type cases with aches and pains in joints. I didn't see too much of that in my third year during my rotations and it was a weak point so maybe a little review on some of the common big joint issues would be warranted.

Overall, you come out of the test feeling crappy because you remember all the things you missed. Luckily it all worked out which leads me to believe their grading isn't too intense.

The patients have no medical knowledge really. They are basically bad actors so don't get too caught up in being intimidated or anything.

 

[superoxide]

Do you lose points if you draped the patient before the physical instead of right at the very beginning of the encounter?

 

[drmansi]

i dont think it would matter as long as u do.. but doing it right in the beginning ensures u dont forget

 

[anonperson]

Do you lose points if you draped the patient before the physical instead of right at the very beginning of the encounter?

No. As long as it's done that's all that matters. But it's best just to get these little things out of the way to maximize your points for each patient encounter.