failed step 2 cs... aced step 1/2 CK.. what the hell

[cloudyroom]

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just got the report back. both me and my dean's are shocked. i failed the data gathering portion of the test which is the subjective portion that is graded by the actors. i def remember having one super rude actor (well outside the scope of acting rude) who i think failed me.

now i'm freaking out because i can't get a date before feb and i'm worried this stupid test is going to affect my interview chances at the rest of the programs i'm applying to. so far i have interviews from:

columbia, nyu, yale, umiami, usc, mt. sinai

havn't gotten a single prelim/intern interview yet which is also freaking me out.

i'm appealing the score because it is total bull**** but do you guys have any more advice?

 

[polkadotcap]

where did you take the test?

 

[cloudyroom]

houston

 

[titanjones]

i did step II ck alreaDY. do we need to do CS before the match???

 

[Ferdie]

you don't NEED to do either before the match. my school requires you do both before graduation. So a lot of people who did poorly on step 1 take it early so they hopefully improve and the programs they're interviewing at will see that. A lot of people who do well on step 1 hold off on step 2 until after interviews just in case they don't do as well on it...

bummer. If you've got a solid personality, just rock the interviews and assure them you'll pass it next time.

 

[DrDre']

I had 2 friends who aced step 1/2 ck then flunked cs. Hopefully, you didnt automatically release scores. IF so, they wont know until u match.

So don't release step 2 ck becuz u will release both of them. "Release" step 2 ck by personazl emails to progs instead...

Take the test as early as possible. Dates open up all the time. ONe of my friends checked the website all day and eventually earlier ones pop up close to home.

If u have already released, it just depends on prog. Becuz it is still a relatively new test, many PDs may be lenient, others may be harsher. I wouldnt draw attention to it though. Maybe your top 3 progs at match time, your dean can call and see if they bring it up and reassure them about your otherwise great performance. GL, dre'

just got the report back. both me and my dean's are shocked. i failed the data gathering portion of the test which is the subjective portion that is graded by the actors. i def remember having one super rude actor (well outside the scope of acting rude) who i think failed me.

now i'm freaking out because i can't get a date before feb and i'm worried this stupid test is going to affect my interview chances at the rest of the programs i'm applying to. so far i have interviews from:

columbia, nyu, yale, umiami, usc, mt. sinai

havn't gotten a single prelim/intern interview yet which is also freaking me out.

i'm appealing the score because it is total bull**** but do you guys have any more advice?

 

[cloudyroom]

yea i selected the automatic release so i'm ****ed... because i never thought i would fail the test..

oh well. life is a bitch. hopefully they focus on the important ****. that test doesn't measure anything..

i'm praying it will work out.

 

[divinemsm]

...no one cares....I was in the exact same boat last year...matched where I wanted to go...freaking out...not ONE program made mention of that ridiculous exam...mind you I didnt release the score, but no one ASKED about it, when clearly we were sitting in an interview room with my Step I and Step II CK scores in front of them...the only problem you have is being out of another thousand bucks plus travel expenses...just be sure to pass it in time for the start of internship..you'll be fine...

 

[Gern Blansten]

Any truth to the rumors that they will do away with that test? What a huge waste of time it is. I am glad I finished before it was required. It is a monumental pain and a financial hardship. It needs to be abandoned. Seriously, what is its purpose?

 

[Bertelman]

...no one cares....I was in the exact same boat last year...matched where I wanted to go...freaking out...not ONE program made mention of that ridiculous exam...mind you I didnt release the score, but no one ASKED about it, when clearly we were sitting in an interview room with my Step I and Step II CK scores in front of them...the only problem you have is being out of another thousand bucks plus travel expenses...just be sure to pass it in time for the start of internship..you'll be fine...

...and about 2,000 other irrelevant facts in your 40-page file they have amassed. The big difference in your case is that they didn't know you had failed, and likely didn't think you could have. The OP, unfortunately, has released a document that will indeed confirm that he failed the exam. It's a little different. (sorry, OP)

Any truth to the rumors that they will do away with that test? What a huge waste of time it is. I am glad I finished before it was required. It is a monumental pain and a financial hardship. It needs to be abandoned. Seriously, what is its purpose?

Conspiracy theorists say it's a money maker for NBME. I doubt that, but I also doubt they will be revoking the exam in the near future. Organizations like this would prefer to march forward, headstrong with a faulty exam, rather than admit that it serves little purpose other than to screen graduates of foreign schools and blindside the occasional U.S. student.

I think the rumor of ending the exam comes up every year around this time, when the new batch of soon-to-be-MDs cry out in pain after dropping another $1k on an administrative feature of this education.

 

[Bertelman]

Take the test as early as possible. Dates open up all the time. ONe of my friends checked the website all day and eventually earlier ones pop up close to home.

OP, I'd do as Dre says. Surf the crappy NBME website waiting for exam spots to open up. I did this last year because of a scheduling conflict. You have to be VERY persistent, as it seems as though the free exam spots are taken by the time you can navigate through the test site. Nonetheless, I think you need to have re-taken the exam, and ideally have gotten your test scores back, prior to schools submitting their ROL.

 

[cloudyroom]

thanks for the advice.. somehow i got a spot in atlanta for 10/22.. so my score will be in by jan.

 

[Ferdie]

I think schools should have their own CS-style exam required for graduation, rather than the NBME step 2 CS. My school has a year-end proficiency skills exam (YEPSA) at the end of 3 year that is more or less the same thing as CS. It prepares us well for step 2, but I wish it could just take the place of that ridiculously expensive exam instead!

 

[Bertelman]

I think schools should have their own CS-style exam required for graduation, rather than the NBME step 2 CS. My school has a year-end proficiency skills exam (YEPSA) at the end of 3 year that is more or less the same thing as CS. It prepares us well for step 2, but I wish it could just take the place of that ridiculously expensive exam instead!

Agreed. btw, YEPSA is the worst acronym ever.

 

[mmag]

My school and I suspect almost every US school does have a CS style exam that students have to pass to graduate.
The rumor I heard was that the CS exam is going to expand as part of the board certification process for certain specialties. The NBME has invested so much in the test and infrastructure that it wants more test takers.

I think schools should have their own CS-style exam required for graduation, rather than the NBME step 2 CS. My school has a year-end proficiency skills exam (YEPSA) at the end of 3 year that is more or less the same thing as CS. It prepares us well for step 2, but I wish it could just take the place of that ridiculously expensive exam instead!

 

[divinemsm]

..in the spirit of NOT freaking out the OP during what is already a stressful time...I highly doubt that any program of substance ( and even, perhaps those that are not ) will base a decision on a resident when he/she has proven their ability to pass standardized , content based exams that have been in use for years -as opposed to some recently implemented, nebulous goal oriented exam whose, only " objective " measure is the ability to gather data such as if an 80 year old Type II Diabetic Male in for cough, practices safe sex and if so , with men or women ? Please. The OP will be fine as long as he/she passes the thing...which of course, he/she will.

...and about 2,000 other irrelevant facts in your 40-page file they have amassed. The big difference in your case is that they didn't know you had failed, and likely didn't think you could have. The OP, unfortunately, has released a document that will indeed confirm that he failed the exam. It's a little different. (sorry, OP)





Conspiracy theorists say it's a money maker for NBME. I doubt that, but I also doubt they will be revoking the exam in the near future. Organizations like this would prefer to march forward, headstrong with a faulty exam, rather than admit that it serves little purpose other than to screen graduates of foreign schools and blindside the occasional U.S. student.

I think the rumor of ending the exam comes up every year around this time, when the new batch of soon-to-be-MDs cry out in pain after dropping another $1k on an administrative feature of this education.