Failed Step 2 CK, need advice.

[Mike Larry]

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Hello. I recently got news that I failed the Step 2 CK, and based on my situation, what do you think my chances are of getting a Psychiatry residency (my 1st choice).

Here's my situation:

School: Carribean (Ross)
Status: US Citizen
Step 1: 217 1st attempt
Step 2 CS: Passed 1st attempt
Step 2 CK: 193 (Failed) 1st attempt

I have not yet taken my 2nd attempt, and I'm trying for 2014 match (Which is approximately 6 months away).
What are my chances of getting into psychiatry? What do I need to do now (other than doing really well on my 2nd attempt at the Step 2 CK)? Any advice or evaluation of my situation would be appreciated.

 

[shan564]

Hello. I recently got news that I failed the Step 2 CK, and based on my situation, what do you think my chances are of getting a Psychiatry residency (my 1st choice).

Here's my situation:

School: Carribean (Ross)
Status: US Citizen
Step 1: 217
Step 2 CS: Passed 1st attempt
Step 2 CK: 193 (Failed) 1st attempt

I have not yet taken my 2nd attempt, and I'm trying for 2014 match.
What are my chances of getting into psychiatry? What do I need to do now (other than demolish my 2nd attempt at the Step 2 CK)? Any advice or evaluation of my situation would be appreciated.

Sorry to hear about your news. Good luck the second time around.

Well, some programs will filter out your application entirely if you've failed one of the steps. That means that no human will ever see your application at that program. If you REALLY want to go to one of these programs, you can send an email to the PC to explain that you were probably filtered out the first time, but you had a good enough score to make up for it, and you'd like them to review your application if possible.

On the other hand, other programs won't filter you out. At those places, having a high score the second time around will make a big difference. And, of course, it'll help to do the standard stuff that people do to make their applications look better.

But overall, I think the biggest thing you can do is to apply broadly. Maybe even apply to every single psych program in the US. Some places will filter you out, and others won't... but it's hard to know which ones are which. If you apply to 200 programs, you're bound to find a few who will overlook your deficit.

Another thing - you might find yourself getting better interviews than you expect (assuming that you do well the second time around). I had a slightly similar issue - I hadn't taken Step 2CS at the time of my application, and I'm also a USIMG applying in psych. I ended up getting interviews at many of my top choices, and I didn't get interviews at most of the random community hospitals. I think the lower-tier programs filtered out my application because of the lack of CS, but the higher-tier programs prefer to use "higher-tier" filters when they look for applicants.

 

[viper930]

What are the best ways of psych screening for IMGs or those who want to pursue a psychiatric fellow facilitatorship? I have heard that many have tried but few have ended up in prime position to acquire such real-estate.

 

[PCPDoc983]

To be very honest with you and not beat around the bush, you are kind of ****ed.

There are a few things you need to do to overcome this situation. 1) Prioritize studying for CK! The test has gotten harder and is a true reflection of clinical knowledge, something PD's look at more heavily in easier specialties, such as FM, IM, Psych. You need to Go thru UWorld 2X at least, then do Kaplan QBank, and read Master the Boards for the areas you are weak in. DO NOT take the test until u are scoring 230+ on a NBME exam. Your Step 1 was ok, not great, and you failed CK, from a Caribbean School. Yes, its true that you are applying for Psych, but there are NO guarantees of matching with that profile.

2) APPLY Broadly. I mean 100+ programs, have a backup specialty too...such as FM. Apply to Areas that are undesirable...yes you may need to live in Bum Freakin Egypt, but its 3-4 years of your life.

3) EXPLAIN your failure in your Personal Statement, what u learned from it, and how it will NEVER happen again. This is how people will know you are a genuine candidate when they interview you. DO NOT LIE.

Good Luck.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Well, some programs will filter out your application entirely if you've failed one of the steps. That means that no human will ever see your application at that program.

This turns out to not quite be true. When I use ERAS to "filter" (or sort) applicants based on USMLE/COMLEX results, I can only do so on their last result. So, if the OP retakes CK and gets a 230 on it, and then I run a filter showing me everyone with a score <200 (so I can reject them without further review), their application will not show up. Neither is there a way to create a filter that shows whom took the exam more than once. It will take a human looking at your application to actually see that you failed the USMLE.

That human may decide to reject you for it, but at least you'll get a real set of eyeballs on your application.

To be very honest with you and not beat around the bush, you are kind of ****ed.

There are a few things you need to do to overcome this situation. 1) Prioritize studying for CK! The test has gotten harder and is a true reflection of clinical knowledge, something PD's look at more heavily in easier specialties, such as FM, IM, Psych. You need to Go thru UWorld 2X at least, then do Kaplan QBank, and read Master the Boards for the areas you are weak in. DO NOT take the test until u are scoring 230+ on a NBME exam. Your Step 1 was ok, not great, and you failed CK, from a Caribbean School. Yes, its true that you are applying for Psych, but there are NO guarantees of matching with that profile.

2) APPLY Broadly. I mean 100+ programs, have a backup specialty too...such as FM. Apply to Areas that are undesirable...yes you may need to live in Bum Freakin Egypt, but its 3-4 years of your life.

3) EXPLAIN your failure in your Personal Statement, what u learned from it, and how it will NEVER happen again. This is how people will know you are a genuine candidate when they interview you. DO NOT LIE.

Good Luck.

I'm not certain it's quite that bad, but agreed it's not good. Doing as well as you can on your CK retake is key. Agree that you'll need to apply broadly, but FM isn't much less competitive than psych. Agree you'll need to consider less competitive sites / programs. But also think you should apply to some programs that you might think are "above" your stats, as you never know. Applying is cheap.

Not lying is always a good idea.

 

[bballfandoctorgirl]

Hi! I also could use some advice. I am a US-IMG. Passed Step 1 with a 210. Passed CS. Both on first attempts. Studied hard to do better on my CK, and get my score back in time for apps. Ended up failing by one point. I was not expecting to get anything under 220, let alone fail, so I am still quite shocked. I already had my applications ready to go, but was waiting to get my CK score back before I released my USMLE transcript. And then this happened. I've decided to still go through with apps. I'm applying for pediatrics, very broadly, 120+ programs. I also have strong LOR's and a few connects at some programs. I'm taking the next month off to study, and have rescheduled my exam for Oct 23, with the expectation of having my passing score by Nov 11.

My question is about assigning my USMLE transcript. I released it into ERAS after getting my failed CK score. But just realized today, the transcript has not been assigned to any programs yet. Should I wait until Nov 11 when I have my passing CK score to assign/release it to the programs? OR should I assign the transcript to the programs now, just so they can see me on file, and then retransmit on Nov 11 when I get my new scores (and I'll likely send an email to PD's at that time)? I realize that since currently programs don't have any USMLE score on file for me, they won't be able to see that I've passed Step 1, CS (let alone the failed CK), and I likely won't get any interviews anyway. Any advice on which situation might get me even just one or two extra interviews? Thanks!