Failed CS-ICE. What do I do with my life now?

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nowwhat074

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I failed only CS-ICE part. Other parts CIS and SEP are way above borderline. I practiced with couple friends for 2 months, but I guess that didn't help.

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Hey bro, lets realize what ICE is before we go forward...

ICE is your ability to collect data and present it. So history, examination, and the PN.

So that means the use of mnemonics of the symptom given is really important to figure out those tricky differentials.
The examinations vary from time to time, not all patients warrant an extensive physical. For example when it came to me, I never did chest / cardiac examination when it wasn't warranted, same with HEENT etc. If the patient had leg pain, I'd only do examinations related to the limb, it would give me time to do some special tests if the patient isn't in too much pain, but if the patient was in pain, i'd avoid the special tests (unless if its like the knee joint and Anterior drawer etc is needed).

Regarding the notes you write down, if they affected your PN, then its an issue, otherwise i dont think it is because i dont think anybody else in the room except me would be able to understand/ read what i wrote down, and I would have to recall things based on my history sometimes when i can't read it myself, I wouldn't make stuff up.
MY PN was probably the briefest of them all when it came to the diagnosis and findings. Most of my findings were from the history, from the physical examination i'd have none or probably one supporting finding.
I passed ICE with one star in the gray zone, so I'll tell you what i did, Started with Diagnosis , diagnostic studies, History, Physical examination (My weakest part of the PN, i'd only have Vitals, alert and oriented, and whatever findings i Looked for, which were most of the time, normal.

I feel your pain, my plan B was basically do research for a year, book the step 2 cs as soon as possible, and not rush the CK unless I'd get like a 270+ on my NBME since i'd have an extra year to prepare.
 
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Congrats on passing CS, are you applying for the match this year? I'm not going to beat myself up for this, I'm a strong girl, I'll deal with this by working hard to make sure I pass it on next try. Since I don't have time to deal with both CK and CS before September or October, plan is to continue studying for CK and get done with it first and then take care of CS. Plus, I have 4 electives left so I will spread them out till next year. It is depressing because all my friends passed it and will be applying for residency, but I'll be here watching them.
When I typed my notes for CS, I started with diagnosis heading then filled up workup and then HPI and then filled up PE portion and supporting dx with HPI. I think my issue with ICE was that I didn't put down correct info that I gathered from pts. Who should I get help from now for CS now?

I would definitely recommend going through kaplan core cases. Especially the way they have typed notes and justified differentials. I used it and my ICE score was in higher performance.
 
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I would definitely recommend going through kaplan core cases. Especially the way they have typed notes and justified differentials. I used it and my ICE score was in higher performance.

You took Kaplan course? I should have waited and postponed it when I felt I wasn't ready.
 
I would definitely recommend going through kaplan core cases. Especially the way they have typed notes and justified differentials. I used it and my ICE score was in higher performance.


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Thought I'd check back in on this forum. I've posted before about my experience with Step 2 CS, I failed with a very borderline score. I was so mad. I still don't know what I did to deserve a failing score. I was professional and had a valid differential on each case. The ONLY "big" mistake I can think of is running out of time and leaving the work up section blank on ONE encounter. They only grade 10 encounters right? Which two do they throw out? The NBME has put together an all around unethical exam experience. You get zero feedback about why you failed and have to pay them another $1500 to take the exam. It's completely ridiculous in my opinion. People say "almost all US grads pass, you have to REALLY mess up to fail, etc." Being in that small percentage that failed, I can tell you, I think it's a sham. You can find similar posts in this and other forums of students that were really high performing and failed the CS. I was top quartile in my class. I'm completely capable of communicating well. I get along with just about everyone, and now, as a resident, I constantly get high marks on my evaluations from my attendings. I finished all my notes (except the one workup section) in the exam with decent support for each diagnosis, thorough H and P, etc.

I don't have much advice other than try again and you'll probably pass if you do the same thing you did last time. You can check my posts from before to see what I did. Sorry you're having to redo that thing.
 
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i failed step 2 cs as well. i think this exam is completely as scam. i did everything i could and prepared for this thing for almost a month. i have As in all my rotations and i am a native english speaker.
 
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