How important is the USMLE

[jeff25]

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Is it true that the USMLE limits what type of doctor you can become.
And if you do bad, your dream job may be over?
What are the hardest[in terms of USMLE] doctors to become besides plastic and dermatology?
What are the easiest types[in terms of USMLE] of specialties you can become?

 

[Jack P]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Everything if you fail
4. Everything if you rock it

 

[jeff25]

oh! so what you're saying is as long as you pass all the USMLEs in med school, you can become any type of doctor you want? I always thought of it as if you do very well, then you can become a top specialtist like a dermatologist, but if you don't do SO well, you won't be able to be one of those,only a lower doctor.
So it's all or nothing?
Are you able to take the USMLE twice if you fail?

 

[39094]

oh! so what you're saying is as long as you pass all the USMLEs in med school, you can become any type of doctor you want? I always thought of it as if you do very well, then you can become a top specialtist like a dermatologist, but if you don't do SO well, you won't be able to be one of those,only a lower doctor.
So it's all or nothing?
Are you able to take the USMLE twice if you fail?

I'm not exactly sure how somebody who's not a dermatologist could be labeled a "lower" doctor. In fact many would say that the opposite is true and that the people doing "real" medicine are those in primary care. Regardless of where you stand on that argument, the basic concept behind the USMLE is not too different from the MCAT. The more competitive programs (often those with better lifestyles, but not always i.e. neurosurg) use USMLE scores as cutoffs for who they invite for interviews. At the same time going into IM at Harvard or Hopkins also requires a decent step 1 score.

If you do well basically all it means is that no doors are closed to you. If you get something in the 180's you may have a more difficult time getting into residency programs with more applicants than there are spots. It depends on a lot of things though. A HMS student with a 190 can still do quite well for themselves based on other factors.

 

[gschl1234]

Is it true that the USMLE limits what type of doctor you can become.
And if you do bad, your dream job may be over?
What are the hardest[in terms of USMLE] doctors to become besides plastic and dermatology?
What are the easiest types[in terms of USMLE] of specialties you can become?

Check this out:
http://www.uicomp.uic.edu/Students/NRMP - Charting Outcomes in the Match.pdf

Your questions might be answered by having firm numbers to go by.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Is it true that the USMLE limits what type of doctor you can become.
And if you do bad, your dream job may be over?
What are the hardest[in terms of USMLE] doctors to become besides plastic and dermatology?
What are the easiest types[in terms of USMLE] of specialties you can become?

1. Only if you let it.
2. Only if you want to go into the specialties listed in 3 below.
3. Who cares? All of them are boring. Do you really want to treat skin cancer
and acne all day every day?
4. Family medicine.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

1. Only if you let it.
2. Only if you want to go into the specialties listed in 3 below.
3. Who cares? All of them are boring. Do you really want to treat skin cancer
and acne all day every day?
4. Family medicine.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but it is also important enough that not doing well is going to be a problem. SDN tends to be pretty cheer-leaderish.

"Only if you let it" is a true statement, but that probably means you are going to have alot of arse-busting (your own) and arse-kissing (other people's) if you want to go into things like ortho, radiology, anesthesia etc.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but it is also important enough that not doing well is going to be a problem. SDN tends to be pretty cheer-leaderish.

"Only if you let it" is a true statement, but that probably means you are going to have alot of arse-busting (your own) and arse-kissing (other people's) if you want to go into things like ortho, radiology, anesthesia etc.

An excellent Step II and clinicals can overcome a mediocre score.

 

[bigfrank]

An excellent Step II and clinicals can overcome a mediocre score.

Hopefully. 😉

But, in all actuality, OSUdoc08 is only partially wrong -- let me explain. At some programs in some specialties, you need to have a GREAT Step I score, as it is used as a screening cut-off. With a thousand applicants for ten spots, there has to be some method of wading through the applications.

Once you make the initial interview cut-off, the rest of your application (i.e., "your well roundedness") becomes much more important.

Best of luck to the OP.

 

[D30417995]

oh man, go with your interest....don't just go into a specialty because you can make it in, it's pretty silly

 

[tomatoattack]

Guys and gals, this is always supermotivational cheerleader ground zero, but if someone makes a 210, odds are very much against them matching derm or plastics. 😎

The test can be restrictive, but unfortunantly it doesn't really gaurentee anything even if you get 250+. But it does make you at least a possibility to match the competitive stuff.

 

[TxMed]

it's only important in the sense that if you fail the ghost of osler haunts you like freddie kruger...

 

[travis]

Check this out:
http://www.uicomp.uic.edu/Students/NRMP - Charting Outcomes in the Match.pdf

Your questions might be answered by having firm numbers to go by.

http://www.nrmp.org/matchoutcomes.pdf

is a better link, thanks for posting that, a very useful and rather heartening link 🙂

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Hopefully. 😉

But, in all actuality, OSUdoc08 is only partially wrong -- let me explain. At some programs in some specialties, you need to have a GREAT Step I score, as it is used as a screening cut-off. With a thousand applicants for ten spots, there has to be some method of wading through the applications.

Once you make the initial interview cut-off, the rest of your application (i.e., "your well roundedness") becomes much more important.

Best of luck to the OP.

I'm curious as to what hospitals/specialties have the highest cutoffs that you've heard of. I know of a lot of places with a 230 cutoff, and I think I've heard of a radiology place with 240, but can't remember where.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

now what about middle-bottom tier gas programs?............... eh

 

[AmoryBlaine]

An excellent Step II and clinicals can overcome a mediocre score.

Depends on your definition of "mediocre" I suppose and what field you want to do. I think you will find that almost everyone who fails to match in even moderately competitive fields has a bad step1....

Relying on your clinicals to make up for step1 is a bad idea because grading is so subjective. There is no way to know how you're going to do. We've all had the experience where everyone on the team just got a "pass."

Relying on stepII to make up for step1 is a bad idea b/c it's just another stdized test and if you didn't do well on the first one the chances of your doing well on the 2nd are not great.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Depends on your definition of "mediocre" I suppose and what field you want to do. I think you will find that almost everyone who fails to match in even moderately competitive fields has a bad step1....

Relying on your clinicals to make up for step1 is a bad idea because grading is so subjective. There is no way to know how you're going to do. We've all had the experience where everyone on the team just got a "pass."

Relying on stepII to make up for step1 is a bad idea b/c it's just another stdized test and if you didn't do well on the first one the chances of your doing well on the 2nd are not great.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

Well then chief what do you suggest? Sounds like if you don't blow up step one, you can throw out years 3 and 4 because you're pretty much f@!#ed if you want a competitive residency. I mean if you think it's a bad idea to focus on Step 2 and/ or clinical evals to build up your app, not much more you can do.

In case you didn't know, I think that's bs. You match without a sexy score, but it makes your life a LOT easier if you have one.

 

[inshanesworld]

I know it is lame but Step 1 is a very important aspect of any residency application. Unfortunately, that is just life. Anyone who tells you different is selling you something. But as others have said it is not the only one. If you are below what you feel is competitive you will need to find something else that overcomes the deficit. The size of the deficit is dependent on your score. A 190 is going to be much harder to overcome than a 220. You may also have to take a harder route, perhaps it means that you have to live in a less than ideal city or if you want to do plastics you do a gen. surg residency followed by a plastics fellowship. Perhaps it means you need to take time off to do research or rock Step 2 or something. No one who is being honest will say that it will be easy to land that choice spot with a less than desirable Step 1 score. They certainly are lying if they say not to worry about it. However, a certain percentage of people with those scores DO match. The key is to figure out what you need to do to be one of those people. Good luck.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Well then chief what do you suggest? Sounds like if you don't blow up step one, you can throw out years 3 and 4 because you're pretty much f@!#ed if you want a competitive residency. I mean if you think it's a bad idea to focus on Step 2 and/ or clinical evals to build up your app, not much more you can do.

In case you didn't know, I think that's bs. You match without a sexy score, but it makes your life a LOT easier if you have one.

Nah that's not what I said. If you are at the middle of fourth year looking back over a bad Step1, great clinical grades, and a solid and improved Step2 then sure go ahead and apply for that Ortho spot.

What I meant was that you have a hard road ahead of you if you bomb Step1 because you are basically hoping many things (over which you do not have excellent control) work out in your favor. Not to say you shouldn't work hard, just that you should never minimize the importance of Step1...

No one likes stdized tests except the few people that are really good at them. But imagine yourself in the shoes of a PD...

 

[VincentAdultman]

Nah that's not what I said. If you are at the middle of fourth year looking back over a bad Step1, great clinical grades, and a solid and improved Step2 then sure go ahead and apply for that Ortho spot.

What I meant was that you have a hard road ahead of you if you bomb Step1 because you are basically hoping many things (over which you do not have excellent control) work out in your favor. Not to say you shouldn't work hard, just that you should never minimize the importance of Step1...

No one likes stdized tests except the few people that are really good at them. But imagine yourself in the shoes of a PD...

I agree, I just thought you were downplaying the importanc of the other factors. As far as having a low score, I'mm really glad it's not something I have to wory about. Just everything else.