failed step 3 by one point

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

transcriptio

Junior Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
i couldnt believe this as i just found out i flunke the exam by one point (183), the passing mark is 184. i actually studied really hard for it, using uw (54.3%), FA, crush, kaplan s2/s3 lecture notes.
i have a question here, does this failure have any way affecting your IM residency?

thanks for your feedbacks.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Are you currently in an IM residency program? Does your residency program have rules about passing by a certain date?

Or are you an IMG who took the test and are looking to find a residency position? (Your status lists you as a "Medical Student.") If so, are you asking if this will affect your application?

From what I've heard, fellowship programs (especially the competitive ones) often look at your Step 3 score. I don't have any personal experience with this, though, as I'm not in IM and in my field your score is virtually never used.
 
thanks so much for your reply. i haven't changed my status but already graduated. i will start internship in june this year. u have mentioned that certain date applies for passing step 3. is it the end of internship or before 3 years of IM residency training ?
i somehow have phobia about taking the exam again. when i was taking it, i felt that i would definitely fail this and was very reluctant to go on taking the 2nd day component. i guess i should not feel surprised about this outcome. i was hoping that i may be 'lucky' enough to get by. this exam really tests clinical experience inside-out. i am thinking that the extra internship may carry some weight in preparing the exam better? i am not sure tho.
i have heard many excellent resources to prepare it, may anyone of you comment on MKSAP, premiere review?
thanks again
 
Cons:
1- one week in NYC (cost of travel, housing, food)
2- indians teach the course and they have an accent
3- cost of the course

:laugh:

Premier review is really getting some great reviews on SDN lately. Must be good.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
i couldnt believe this as i just found out i flunke the exam by one point (183), the passing mark is 184. i actually studied really hard for it, using uw (54.3%), FA, crush, kaplan s2/s3 lecture notes.
i have a question here, does this failure have any way affecting your IM residency?

thanks for your feedbacks.


sorry, but Kaplan user, another one bites the dust.
Sorry to put it that way, but Kaplan is really really really really weak pertinent to step 3 material. It is atrocious that they actually get PAID to teach that course. That money should go to charity or something.
Yes Premier Review is LIGHT YEARS ahead of Kaplan
The thing that really bugs me about Kaplan, is that it is riddled with errors, and inaccurate information. They do nothing but a great job of thoroughly confusing the hell out of you, and then taking your money before you know it.
MKSAP 14 is a great question source, esp the primary care section.
Premier Review does an excellent job of forcing you to think in the proper direction, and hits on high yield facts.
USMLE World explanations are good too.
Kaplan is good for absolutely nothing.
Attend one of their courses for step 3. The classes are FULL of IMGs that don't know English very well at all, and do not know anything else besides Kaplan for USMLE. Kaplan can very easily take advantage of these people. The only other people signed up for Kaplan, are residents FROM THE SAME CITY, and their residency program pays for the course, and they get the time off from residency.
Don't attend Kaplan or read their books for step 3, you will be doing yourself a TREMENDOUS disservice. Not only in learning material pertinent to USMLE Step 3, but Medicine in general. Those guys do not know what they are talking about.
Kaplan teachers are all private practitioners, with little or no knowledge of academic medicine, which is changing almost constantly.
You got it right there, MKSAP and Premier Review.
Truth is no one resource will cover everything and anything tested, but MKSAP 14 and Premier Review are very very good sources.
Stay the heck away from Kaplan, they will steer you in the wrong direction.
I cannot stress this enough, people say it again and again, I took Kaplan and failed. Read the internet, learn from others' experiences, Kaplan is not only not good, but severely detrimental and atrocious.
 
sorry, but Kaplan user, another one bites the dust.
Sorry to put it that way, but Kaplan is really really really really weak pertinent to step 3 material. It is atrocious that they actually get PAID to teach that course. That money should go to charity or something.
Yes Premier Review is LIGHT YEARS ahead of Kaplan
The thing that really bugs me about Kaplan, is that it is riddled with errors, and inaccurate information. They do nothing but a great job of thoroughly confusing the hell out of you, and then taking your money before you know it.
MKSAP 14 is a great question source, esp the primary care section.
Premier Review does an excellent job of forcing you to think in the proper direction, and hits on high yield facts.
USMLE World explanations are good too.
Kaplan is good for absolutely nothing.
Attend one of their courses for step 3. The classes are FULL of IMGs that don't know English very well at all, and do not know anything else besides Kaplan for USMLE. The only other people signed up for Kaplan, are residents FROM THE SAME CITY, and their residency program pays for the course, and they get the time off from residency.
Don't attend Kaplan or read their books for step 3, you will be doing yourself a TREMENDOUS disservice. Not only in learning material pertinent to USMLE Step 3, but Medicine in general. Those guys do not know what they are talking about.
Kaplan teachers are all private practitioners, with little or no knowledge of academic medicine, which is changing almost constantly.
You got it right there, MKSAP and Premier Review.
Truth is no one resource will cover everything and anything tested, but MKSAP 14 and Premier Review are very very good sources.
Stay the heck away from Kaplan, they will steer you in the wrong direction.
I cannot stress this enough, people say it again and again, I took Kaplan and failed. Read the internet, learn from others' experiences, Kaplan is not only not good, but atrocious.

I have heard that FA, Crush and UW is really all you need if you really know them well and Have done the UW questions twice through.

What is it about premier that gives you such a big edge. Can you give specific examples.

THanks
 
I have heard that FA, Crush and UW is really all you need if you really know them well and Have done the UW questions twice through.

What is it about premier that gives you such a big edge. Can you give specific examples.

THanks


Well I do not necessarily agree with this 'watered down' approach to step 3. It is a tough test.
First Aid has a very high yield ccs section in the back of the book.
I highly doubt that FA, Crush and UW is all that you need. I really do not think so. Then again maybe a genius can do it. I am certainly not one of them, that could study just those materials and pass step 3.
I think that it takes time and diligence, and clinical experience. Premier Review hits on high yield points, that appear on the examination.
Kaplan steers you COMPLETELY in the opposite direction, like giving you directions on the workup of Kawasaki's disease -- I have never heard of Kawasaki's being a CCS case, and even screwing up the treatment and confusing the students.
Difference is, that Premier Review knows what they are talking about, and Kaplan doesn't know what they are talking about at all.
 
Well I do not necessarily agree with this 'watered down' approach to step 3. It is a tough test.
First Aid has a very high yield ccs section in the back of the book.
I highly doubt that FA, Crush and UW is all that you need. I really do not think so. Then again maybe a genius can do it. I am certainly not one of them, that could study just those materials and pass step 3.
I think that it takes time and diligence, and clinical experience. Premier Review hits on high yield points, that appear on the examination.
Kaplan steers you COMPLETELY in the opposite direction, like giving you directions on the workup of Kawasaki's disease, and even screwing up the treatment and confusing the students.
Difference is, that Premier Review knows what they are talking about, and Kaplan doesn't know what they are talking about at all.

How much reading material does premier review have. The thing I dont like about kaplan is that they give you a ton of text books that you vant get through in time for the test while your an intern. For step 2 i read secrets and did UW and that was more than enough.

How long does it take to get through the premier review material?
thanks
 
How much reading material does premier review have. The thing I dont like about kaplan is that they give you a ton of text books that you vant get through in time for the test while your an intern. For step 2 i read secrets and did UW and that was more than enough.

How long does it take to get through the premier review material?
thanks

I cannot recall exactly the numerical amount, certainly much less than Kaplan. Also Kaplan gives such vague explanations, that do not hit on the high yield examination points at all.
It is not that Kaplan gives alot of information, it is the fact that the information does not at all hit high yield examination points for step 3.
Kind of like buying a recombinant bike, and signing up for Lance Armstrong's team on the Tour De France. It just isn't going to take you anywhere.
You can get through Premier Review material safely in about 6 weeks. That should be more than enough time -- and also you do not want to take it too long afterwards. Premier Review, and NMS are the best sources.
USMLE World is ok, but the questions are very vague sometimes, I think that the explanations in USMLE World are very good, and adequately hy.
 
Most of the questions I answer right are not based on what I've studied - they're based on what I remember being told to do in similiar clinical situations in the hospital or clinic. That stuff sticks with me better.
 
I just obtained the notes to premier review from a friend of mine. I have about 4 weeks until my exam. No audio tapes to the lectures but the notes seem to be complete. If I do these notes well & supplement with a Q&A book, are my chances of passing good? or without the audio CD, do you feel that the notes are lacking? What do you think of 4 weeks to prepare with the notes?
Please, your feedback is needed.
 
I just obtained the notes to premier review from a friend of mine. I have about 4 weeks until my exam. No audio tapes to the lectures but the notes seem to be complete. If I do these notes well & supplement with a Q&A book, are my chances of passing good? or without the audio CD, do you feel that the notes are lacking? What do you think of 4 weeks to prepare with the notes?
Please, your feedback is needed.

four weeks is excellent. If they are from the course, then the notes should be just fine. Four weeks is more than sufficient.
I would do USMLE World also -- read the explanations, dont focus so much on the questions. The audio CD, some people can pick things up better with Audio, I think that thats just an individualized thing.
If your notes are complete then you should be just fine.
Another thing is, supplement Surgery, Peds, and Ob Gyn, plus or minus Psych with your step 2 CK notes. Shouldn't take more than a few days to cover those, its just a revision so it should be quick.
Otherwise Medicine covered in Premier is great, and that is almost always the bulk of the test.
Kaplan covers the diagnositics of so many cases, in vague and random sequences. This is clearly not what you need to know, and how to learn the material.
There are two distinct and seperate entities involved in step 3. The two day multiple choice section, and the ccs clinical case scenarios.
Premier Review does an outstanding job of dissecting both, and explaining how you should approach both SEPERATELY.
Kaplan just blurs through a bunch of low yield cases, and says ok good luck.
Premier Review can not only help you pass the test, but it also enhances your knowledge of Medicine in general.
 
Thanks andwhat. I appreciate the feedback and now I feel less anxious.
The notes are complete along with questions that the instructors added throughout the lectures. I was planning on adding Kaplan Qbook for Q&A..the questions seem to approximate the test. Do you feel that is not the case & just do UW instead? 1200 Q's seem like a big task along PR. What is your thoughts on this. Again, thanks for your help.
 
Thanks andwhat. I appreciate the feedback and now I feel less anxious.
The notes are complete along with questions that the instructors added throughout the lectures. I was planning on adding Kaplan Qbook for Q&A..the questions seem to approximate the test. Do you feel that is not the case & just do UW instead? 1200 Q's seem like a big task along PR. What is your thoughts on this. Again, thanks for your help.

you can do the UW questions in less than two weeks, if you push yourself. Try and do like 150 per day, do the questions in the morning first thing, work your day, read some theory in Premier Review, and then go back to reading the explanations in UW at night before bedtime.
If you try and do too many low yield things like Kaplan, you will see your knowledge and confidence falter, believe me its not worth it. If I were you, I would not do Kaplan, I would do USMLE World and Premier Review.
 
I will take your advice & start the plan tonight. I will try to do as many Q&A from UW as my schedule allows. Wish me luck. Thanks again.
 
I will take your advice & start the plan tonight. I will try to do as many Q&A from UW as my schedule allows. Wish me luck. Thanks again.

you will do fine, key to this examination is finding the correct resources, making a plan, and sticking by it no matter what. Which goes without saying, study Kaplan step 3 material and get burned badly. :thumbdown:
 
Thanks again for the feedback. I want to be free of this final step once & for all. Full gear x 1 month w/ PR & UW. Hopefully I won't develop a first psychotic break after this.
 
Thanks again for the feedback. I want to be free of this final step once & for all. Full gear x 1 month w/ PR & UW. Hopefully I won't develop a first psychotic break after this.

dude, please please believe me you are on the right track with this material. You are so far on track, but you have to study it, funny thing is that you already know the majority of it, but if you dont understand it the way USMLE wants you to, then yes you can fail the test....
the resources you are studying, will restructure the material that you already know with hy points, as well as helplful ccs hints that can help you not only pass, but get a great score.. take it from me..
 
Did you take the NBME before you took step 3? I would recommend doing that prior to your exam this time.
 
My friend got his score back yesterday and he told me that he FAILED step 3 by ONE point (he got a 183 and would have passed with a 184. he also mentioned something about a 74 and how he would have passed with a 75). I was trying to convince him to recorrect it (since the computer can make a mistake correcting the written portion). But he says it is REALLY REALLY unlikely and a waste of $50 for recorrecting. However, if he gets ONE more point he can pass step 3 and $50 is not so much. Do you think that he should recorrect it?

( I think that it is so stupid that they don't have you pass the test b/c of only one point... It is just by CHANCE...In the score sheet, next to how many points a person has, it says that these points are incorrect to +-6 POINTS)
 
Do you guys know how I can get access to premiere revew notes? I tried to find it on amazon but was unsuccessful? Thanks for the info..
 
Top