Failed COMLEX Step II CS

[mkors]

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I failed the B09C COMLEX Level II. I was shocked because I scored way below my COMLEX Level I exam. Have I ruined my chances for an osteopathic residency?

Should I submit my application now or should I wait until my retake scores are in? (the earliest the score can come in is mid october). Is mid october too late? Any help would be much appreciated!!

 

[JStub]

I failed the B09C COMLEX Level II. I was shocked because I scored way below my COMLEX Level I exam. Have I ruined my chances for an osteopathic residency?

Should I submit my application now or should I wait until my retake scores are in? (the earliest the score can come in is mid october). Is mid october too late? Any help would be much appreciated!!

My friend who is a year ahead of me failed the first time, retook it in December, and passed. He got interviews at AOA spots but not as many as he had hoped and ended up matching ACGME. What resources did you use to study this past time? Any advice on what to do for those of us preparing? Thanks

 

[december07]

I failed the B09C COMLEX Level II. I was shocked because I scored way below my COMLEX Level I exam. Have I ruined my chances for an osteopathic residency?

Should I submit my application now or should I wait until my retake scores are in? (the earliest the score can come in is mid october). Is mid october too late? Any help would be much appreciated!!

I think you got hit with the HARDEST form since it seems like everyone on here are talking about the imfamous B09C. That's unfortunate 🙁

However, I don't think you should think that you ruined your osteopathic residency... cause allopathic residency isn't much easier to get in by any mean. I think you might have ruined your shot at a certain competitive specialties...ie.... radiology, derm, etc (both allo and osteo).
You should consider taking again soon so that you can graduate on time, cause after all, that's important too 🙂

What was your break down? what part did you do bad on? I heard everyone got hit on legal/ethics stuff... What about OMM? how did you do on that? and did you use Savarese as a review guide or no?

keep your head up :0)

 

[USArmyDoc]

Get it rescored....that is what the majority here are doing

 

[LuvCTSurgery]

I am convinced that this infamous B09C exam really was a difficult test. I scored very highly on the practice Qbanks (USMLE World and tried out COMBANKMED) and failed as well.🙁. I felt very prepared and came out feeling awful! I passed all of my shelf exams with flying colors and have gotten excellent grades on my rotations, but I still failed the test. There was very little OMM on my exam (though I was prepared with Savarese), but alot of medicolegal and statistics questions! Weird!! I had ZERO questions about preventive medicine as it applys to colorectal, cervical, breast, or prostate cancer, which you think would be all over COMLEX (a primary care focused test)! And DM and HTN? Forget it; barely there!

I am having my exam re-scored.

Ay mi. Now I am just going to get another Qbank for 2 months and then retake the exam. Right now those of us that failed cannot get too wrapped up in worrying about our chances of matching into certain fields or programs for residency, b/c we need to focus on improving our scores by a huge margin to show programs that the failed first attempt was just a glitch!

Good Luck everyone!

 

[hooperg]

My advice to you is to take USMLE Step II (even better if you've already taken step I) and attempt to match ACGME residency. If I had not taken Step I of the USMLE, I would have been royally screwed considering my significant decrease in score from COMLEX I to COMLEX II.

I am convinced that this infamous B09C exam really was a difficult test. I scored very highly on the practice Qbanks (USMLE World and tried out COMBANKMED) and failed as well.🙁. I felt very prepared and came out feeling awful! I passed all of my shelf exams with flying colors and have gotten excellent grades on my rotations, but I still failed the test. There was very little OMM on my exam (though I was prepared with Savarese), but alot of medicolegal and statistics questions! Weird!! I had ZERO questions about preventive medicine as it applys to colorectal, cervical, breast, or prostate cancer, which you think would be all over COMLEX (a primary care focused test)! And DM and HTN? Forget it; barely there!

I am having my exam re-scored.

Ay mi. Now I am just going to get another Qbank for 2 months and then retake the exam. Right now those of us that failed cannot get too wrapped up in worrying about our chances of matching into certain fields or programs for residency, b/c we need to focus on improving our scores by a huge margin to show programs that the failed first attempt was just a glitch!

Good Luck everyone!

 

[DaveinDallas]

I am convinced that this infamous B09C exam really was a difficult test. I scored very highly on the practice Qbanks (USMLE World and tried out COMBANKMED) and failed as well.🙁. I felt very prepared and came out feeling awful! I passed all of my shelf exams with flying colors and have gotten excellent grades on my rotations, but I still failed the test. There was very little OMM on my exam (though I was prepared with Savarese), but alot of medicolegal and statistics questions! Weird!! I had ZERO questions about preventive medicine as it applys to colorectal, cervical, breast, or prostate cancer, which you think would be all over COMLEX (a primary care focused test)! And DM and HTN? Forget it; barely there!

I am having my exam re-scored.

Ay mi. Now I am just going to get another Qbank for 2 months and then retake the exam. Right now those of us that failed cannot get too wrapped up in worrying about our chances of matching into certain fields or programs for residency, b/c we need to focus on improving our scores by a huge margin to show programs that the failed first attempt was just a glitch!

Good Luck everyone!

Statistics? Are you serious? Since when did any osteo schools start teaching/requiring statistics? Supposedly the AOA is worried about losing students to the AMA side of the house and yet it seems like they're TRYING to piss people off.......

 

[mkors]

thanks for the advice. im getting it rescored and planning on retaking the comlex again. good luck all

 

[lasvegasDO]

how do you get exams rescored? And what score would you say is worth getting rescored?

 

[ToldYouSo]

I've been following the threads on the B09C COMLEX Level II and think something was done wrong/needs t be fixed. People's futures are rly affected by the scores and by the large amount of ppl saying they scored so low despite being well prepared is rly strange. I wish the best of luck to everyone who took the exam.

 

[badgerred]

I delayed my exam. 495 on COMSAE is not good enough considering people were scoring 100 points less on the real thing which would be failing for me. I think I need to just cover my basics better and reread some things.

 

[LuvCTSurgery]

I agree that it would be nice to bring this "mass failing" to the attention of the AOA. I would like to know how close the different test forms are in actual content. I spoke to a friend of mine who took the test in late July and she said she had nothing on statistics and very little medicolegal questions. I actually had a question about calculating relative risk and also a question of which all the answers were latin (res ipsa loquitur)! I thought I was sitting for the bar exam!
I would not feel as bad if I didn't prepare very well, but I spent so much time and energy studying based on the NBOME's "blueprint" for COMLEX Level II and it did me no good.
I didn't do as well I as wanted on Level I, but I had used First Aid for USMLE and the Kaplan Qbank for USMLE. So, for Level II, I readjusted my study skills and decided to specifically prepare for COMLEX, focusing on studying from Savarese from OMM and taking all the questions in the COMBANKMed (I do not recommend this qbank until it is a couple of years old. I spent alot of time emailing the writers to tell them that I had found errors in the questions/answers). I did have a touch of USMLE-type prep for the COMLEX, because I did all the questions in the First Aid for USMLE Step 2 CK book and yet, I failed (by less than 20 points)!!
Interestingly enough, I mentioned the chaotic format and seemingly poorly written questions that appear on COMLEX exams to my preceptor (a female specialty surgeon) at the time and she told me that it continues all the way through to AOA Board certification exams in your specialty! Noooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

[okayplayer]

I actually had a question about calculating relative risk

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big Comlex fan, but I don't see how this is an abnormal/unfair topic at all. If you would have taken the USMLE Step I/II you would have had dozens of questions on relative risk, number needed to harm, etc.

Not weird.

 

[ShyRem]

I had a relative risk question on the COMLEX today, and several medical-legal (yes, even one with all the answers in latin). I thought they were questions I should have known (and fortunately did).

 

[jtre506]

For those of you that took the Comlex today can u give me a little insight on what you saw as far as radom off the wall questions.
Thanks!

 

[pillowsleeper]

see my post in the other thread.
Basically lots of the same, some confusing questions (even a few typos)
5-8% medicolegal, half of which were toss-ups. If you were fortunate enough to have a lecture on this during 3rd year you got lucky, otherwise too bad.
OMM wasn't so bad I thought.
Really frustrating. I think half tested my knowledge from studying.
1/4 made me try to remember obscure things from the last three years
and the last 1/4 I was lost on......Well hope a 50% on that exam is passing!

 

[ShyRem]

I thought it was pretty reasonable. The OMM questions were almost stupidly clear for the most part. The medicolegal were also very clear (but I admit we had a course in the first two years that was really rather excellent).

I thought COMBANK was very good prep overall, and about two-three whole sections worth were darn near spot-on for prep. I also admit freely that I did a prep course over the past six months here and there.

Now having said that, I felt really quite good leaving the exam. Which means either I did pretty well or I really REALLY REALLY bombed it.

 

[ComicBookHero20]

I thought it was pretty reasonable. The OMM questions were almost stupidly clear for the most part. The medicolegal were also very clear (but I admit we had a course in the first two years that was really rather excellent).

I thought COMBANK was very good prep overall, and about two-three whole sections worth were darn near spot-on for prep. I also admit freely that I did a prep course over the past six months here and there.

Now having said that, I felt really quite good leaving the exam. Which means either I did pretty well or I really REALLY REALLY bombed it.

i felt the exact same way after the exam, and i still did not pass...

i pray tha'ts not that case for you

but i just want you to understand where a lot of us are coming from

 

[jbone]

Took the exam today...wow. I'll post tomorrow when I can synapse a sentence together.

 

[samnite]

I thought it was pretty reasonable. The OMM questions were almost stupidly clear for the most part. The medicolegal were also very clear (but I admit we had a course in the first two years that was really rather excellent).

I thought COMBANK was very good prep overall, and about two-three whole sections worth were darn near spot-on for prep. I also admit freely that I did a prep course over the past six months here and there.

Now having said that, I felt really quite good leaving the exam. Which means either I did pretty well or I really REALLY REALLY bombed it.

Hopefully for you this is the case.

 

[ShyRem]

y'all are scarin' me. 😱

But I have no recourse after yesterday other than to just wait and see how I did. I can't change my answers, can't change my test date, etc.

Side note: JBONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Howareya buddy????????????

 

[samnite]

y'all are scarin' me. 😱

But I have no recourse after yesterday other than to just wait and see how I did. I can't change my answers, can't change my test date, etc.

Side note: JBONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Howareya buddy????????????

Sorry.

No use worrying about it. Just forget it and work on ERAS stuff.

 

[wingbowlchamp3]

The medicolegal were also very clear (but I admit we had a course in the first two years that was really rather excellent).

what school do you go to? i almost wonder if they know something that nobody else knows. i'm actually planning to mention on my exit interview that pcom needs to sure up our medical law course...which is just a series of .pdf files with online quizzes.

i don't know why you keep saying the test is fair though. put yourself into other people's shoes around here. they didn't have the background you did...and they have no reason to feel bad about that. most of us are having enough trouble keeping the medicine straight at this stage of our careers.

 

[ShyRem]

I go to UNE. They brought in a lawyer who specializes in medical law and has represented a lot of physicians to lecture to us.

In my eyes (so far) the test seemed pretty fair (now watch me totally tank it). I don't have any knowledge of exactly how or exactly what other schools teach, so I was totally unaware that some schools don't put much importance on medical law. A definite flaw in the curriculum for your school for sure. There are also a pitifully small number of resources out there to review medical law, I've found out.

 

[alias5]

Hi, did you have it rechecked?
what happened?
Did they change the score in your favor or throw out the exam?

thanks

I am convinced that this infamous B09C exam really was a difficult test. I scored very highly on the practice Qbanks (USMLE World and tried out COMBANKMED) and failed as well.🙁. I felt very prepared and came out feeling awful! I passed all of my shelf exams with flying colors and have gotten excellent grades on my rotations, but I still failed the test. There was very little OMM on my exam (though I was prepared with Savarese), but alot of medicolegal and statistics questions! Weird!! I had ZERO questions about preventive medicine as it applys to colorectal, cervical, breast, or prostate cancer, which you think would be all over COMLEX (a primary care focused test)! And DM and HTN? Forget it; barely there!

I am having my exam re-scored.

Ay mi. Now I am just going to get another Qbank for 2 months and then retake the exam. Right now those of us that failed cannot get too wrapped up in worrying about our chances of matching into certain fields or programs for residency, b/c we need to focus on improving our scores by a huge margin to show programs that the failed first attempt was just a glitch!

Good Luck everyone!

 

[alias5]

Did it help to get it re-scored?
Did they change anything?

thanks for the advice. im getting it rescored and planning on retaking the comlex again. good luck all

 

[bonesawz]

Hi, did you have it rechecked?
what happened?
Did they change the score in your favor or throw out the exam?

thanks

BO9C isn't a test form, it is the ID on all the forms. It basically stands for step II taken in 2009. See the thread "pounded on comlex" for a better explanation late in the thread