I think I failed step 2 cs

[Bronchiectasis]

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Hey guys I've read this forum for quite some time and I've been having a lot of anxiety over whether I passed CS. I feel as though I made a ton of mistakes.

1) didn't pull the foot stool for any of my abd cases (3 cases)
2) my first encounter I was super nervous and didn't perform a full neuro that was definetly warranted as well as a mmse
3) Had really abbreviated notes (never maxed out the hpi box) and potentially didn't include enough detail in my ROS.
4) definetly missed a few relevant questions for HPI in almost all my cases. 2 of them were major.
5) I don't know how empathetic I was in a few encounters, I may have come off as flustered.
6) Likely missed the correct diagnosis in 2 cases. Had only one diagnosis for one case.
7) didn't council on diet and excercise in one case. Didn't council on smoking in one case.
8) may have missed a few work up tests in a few cases.
9)asked how disease is effecting life in a few cases not all. Didn't say sorry for every chief complaint.
Things I did:
1)closed every case
2) knocked, shook hands (although one case I forgot the patients name than remembered as I entered)
3) attempted to create a rapport with each patient though I probably forgot a few times.
4) summarized in most of encounter ( may have forgotten once or twice)
5)all patients were draped so it wasn't necessary.
6) had 3 reasonable differentials for about 5 cases others I believe I had 2. And for one of them I had a single ddx.

Anyways any feedback would be good. Positive or negative. Just want to know if in ur guys opinion I likely failed and should expect it and plan to take it again. I have a 263 on step 1 and I'm an IMG and I've never felt worse about a test than this one.

 

[J ROD]

 

[rodmichael82]

Hey guys I've read this forum for quite some time and I've been having a lot of anxiety over whether I passed CS. I feel as though I made a ton of mistakes.

1) didn't pull the foot stool for any of my abd cases (3 cases)
2) my first encounter I was super nervous and didn't perform a full neuro that was definetly warranted as well as a mmse
3) Had really abbreviated notes (never maxed out the hpi box) and potentially didn't include enough detail in my ROS.
4) definetly missed a few relevant questions for HPI in almost all my cases. 2 of them were major.
5) I don't know how empathetic I was in a few encounters, I may have come off as flustered.
6) Likely missed the correct diagnosis in 2 cases. Had only one diagnosis for one case.
7) didn't council on diet and excercise in one case. Didn't council on smoking in one case.
8) may have missed a few work up tests in a few cases.
9)asked how disease is effecting life in a few cases not all. Didn't say sorry for every chief complaint.
Things I did:
1)closed every case
2) knocked, shook hands (although one case I forgot the patients name than remembered as I entered)
3) attempted to create a rapport with each patient though I probably forgot a few times.
4) summarized in most of encounter ( may have forgotten once or twice)
5)all patients were draped so it wasn't necessary.
6) had 3 reasonable differentials for about 5 cases others I believe I had 2. And for one of them I had a single ddx.

Anyways any feedback would be good. Positive or negative. Just want to know if in ur guys opinion I likely failed and should expect it and plan to take it again. I have a 263 on step 1 and I'm an IMG and I've never felt worse about a test than this one.

Dude I pretty much had the same mistakes as you if not more. Idk if I passed or not but in 15 mins you just do your best. No one is perfect and you're bound to make mistakes every case especially since you have 15 mins to do so much stuff. So dude CHILL, RELAX. You're taking life a little too seriously right now.

 

[J ROD]

 

[Promethean]

Everyone always thinks they failed it. No one walks out thinking that they nailed it, and if they did think that, it is probably more likely that they actually did fail. If you are a US grad, your chances of failing are quite slim. It happens, but odds are on your side.

In any case, you did the best you could and there is nothing you can do about it now. Relax, work on other things where you can actually make meaningful progress, and generally put II-CS out of your mind entirely until after you get your score back.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Thanks I appreciate the responses. I feel a lot better.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

I promise to update bad or good when the results come out. I hate freakout posts where the OP never says whether they passed or failed.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Hey guys I've read this forum for quite some time and I've been having a lot of anxiety over whether I passed CS. I feel as though I made a ton of mistakes.

1) didn't pull the foot stool for any of my abd cases (3 cases)
2) my first encounter I was super nervous and didn't perform a full neuro that was definetly warranted as well as a mmse
3) Had really abbreviated notes (never maxed out the hpi box) and potentially didn't include enough detail in my ROS.
4) definetly missed a few relevant questions for HPI in almost all my cases. 2 of them were major.
5) I don't know how empathetic I was in a few encounters, I may have come off as flustered.
6) Likely missed the correct diagnosis in 2 cases. Had only one diagnosis for one case.
7) didn't council on diet and excercise in one case. Didn't council on smoking in one case.
8) may have missed a few work up tests in a few cases.
9)asked how disease is effecting life in a few cases not all. Didn't say sorry for every chief complaint.
Things I did:
1)closed every case
2) knocked, shook hands (although one case I forgot the patients name than remembered as I entered)
3) attempted to create a rapport with each patient though I probably forgot a few times.
4) summarized in most of encounter ( may have forgotten once or twice)
5)all patients were draped so it wasn't necessary.
6) had 3 reasonable differentials for about 5 cases others I believe I had 2. And for one of them I had a single ddx.

Anyways any feedback would be good. Positive or negative. Just want to know if in ur guys opinion I likely failed and should expect it and plan to take it again. I have a 263 on step 1 and I'm an IMG and I've never felt worse about a test than this one.

I think I made a lot more mistakes than u

1. Didn't do cranial nerve 11 exam
2. Ran out of time closing on first patient
3. Hardly asked anyone if they had questions at the end
4. Wrote down unnecessary tests during my work up
5. Ran out of time for work ups during one patient note
6. Didn't ask pertinent questions regarding one case too much
7. Forgot to tell a pt to stop taking the medication tht might be causing their problem during the closure
8. Auscultated the lungs one at a time instead of going side to side
9. Missed an obvious differential diagnosis
10. Scared the crap out of one mean looking patient by telling them they might have cancer but then had to recant tht statement and tell them I need to use it out
11. Ordered unnecessary tests on a few patients
12. Forgot to shake hands on a bunch of cases
13. Didn't answer the challenging question to well one at least 2 cases
14. I did light palpation but Didn't do deep palpation of the abdomen and didn't check for rebound tenderness
15. One guy drank twice a week and don't know if I should have counseled him on alcohol

The list goes on but these are the things I screwed up on that have been driving me crazy

 

[Bronchiectasis]

I think I made a lot more mistakes than u

1. Didn't do cranial nerve 11 exam
2. Ran out of time closing on first patient
3. Hardly asked anyone if they had questions at the end
4. Wrote down unnecessary tests during my work up
5. Ran out of time for work ups during one patient note
6. Didn't ask pertinent questions regarding one case too much
7. Forgot to tell a pt to stop taking the medication tht might be causing their problem during the closure
8. Auscultated the lungs one at a time instead of going side to side
9. Missed an obvious differential diagnosis
10. Scared the crap out of one mean looking patient by telling them they might have cancer but then had to recant tht statement and tell them I need to use it out
11. Ordered unnecessary tests on a few patients
12. Forgot to shake hands on a bunch of cases
13. Didn't answer the challenging question to well one at least 2 cases
14. I did light palpation but Didn't do deep palpation of the abdomen and didn't check for rebound tenderness
15. One guy drank twice a week and don't know if I should have counseled him on alcohol

The list goes on but these are the things I screwed up on that have been driving me crazy

1) I wouldn't sweat
2) not a big deal I have a friend who didn't close on 4 still passed CIS.
3) fine as long as the rest of the encounter went fine
4) not a huge deal happened to a lot of people who took the test and passed.
5) same thing as above
6) might hurt HPI a bit. If ddx and work up were sound should compensate for it.
7) made a similar mistake. Didn't council on importance of diet/ weight loss in treating a disease.
8)**** happens.
9) know lots of people in that boat. Me included. Probably happens to everyone under pressure. Not even going to be too bad if your remaining ddxs were justified/made sense.
10) **** happens. She was probably told to act that way.
11) same as above
12) don't think shaking hands is mandatory just intro. If it makes you feel any better my last few cases I would introduce myself first then confirm the patient name. Usually you should do it the opposite way. Don't know why I did that either.
13) didn't answer the challenges Qs well on multiple. Some people never even get around to them (don't close) so the way I reason is you would still get partial points for answering even if it's weak.
14) it's actually not recommended to do deep palpation. You would have lost CIS points. They mention that you should be gentle with the SPs and that you won't get anymore findings whether it's shallow or deep and your just going to hurt them.
15) didn't need to council.

But what do I know this is just from what I've read since taking the exam and from friend who took it and passed. All in all it seems like your errors are pretty minor, I wouldn't freak your probably going to do well.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

1) I wouldn't sweat
2) not a big deal I have a friend who didn't close on 4 still passed CIS.
3) fine as long as the rest of the encounter went fine
4) not a huge deal happened to a lot of people who took the test and passed.
5) same thing as above
6) might hurt HPI a bit. If ddx and work up were sound should compensate for it.
7) made a similar mistake. Didn't council on importance of diet/ weight loss in treating a disease.
8)**** happens.
9) know lots of people in that boat. Me included. Probably happens to everyone under pressure. Not even going to be too bad if your remaining ddxs were justified/made sense.
10) **** happens. She was probably told to act that way.
11) same as above
12) don't think shaking hands is mandatory just intro. If it makes you feel any better my last few cases I would introduce myself first then confirm the patient name. Usually you should do it the opposite way. Don't know why I did that either.
13) didn't answer the challenges Qs well on multiple. Some people never even get around to them (don't close) so the way I reason is you would still get partial points for answering even if it's weak.
14) it's actually not recommended to do deep palpation. You would have lost CIS points. They mention that you should be gentle with the SPs and that you won't get anymore findings whether it's shallow or deep and your just going to hurt them.
15) didn't need to council.

But what do I know this is just from what I've read since taking the exam and from friend who took it and passed. All in all it seems like your errors are pretty minor, I wouldn't freak your probably going to do well.

I think this test is very subjective and honestly the only reason I'm freaking out is because I know a friend who knew differential diagnosis and work ups plans very well as he basically memoriZed first aid but he still failed the ICE portion. And he's a smart guy and reliable friend so we were both confused as to why he failed. I think me and u both made a decent amount of minor errors. It's going to suck waiting till August 12 to know for sure but if our patient likes us and the doctor who grades our notes isn't an A-hole, we shud be fine.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Ya I don't know why that happens man and it scares the **** out of me. All I know is that in my own case I know I'm going to pass by the skin of my teeth because I know I blew it hard on both CIS and ICE.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

I think this test is very subjective and honestly the only reason I'm freaking out is because I know a friend who knew differential diagnosis and work ups plans very well as he basically memoriZed first aid but he still failed the ICE portion. And he's a smart guy and reliable friend so we were both confused as to why he failed. I think me and u both made a decent amount of minor errors. It's going to suck waiting till August 12 to know for sure but if our patient likes us and the doctor who grades our notes isn't an A-hole, we shud be fine.

I just had ******ed lapses in judgement like not doing a full ob/gyn. And btw they say on the ECFMG website score regrade sheet that to fail ICE two physician graders have to sign off on it to ensure quality control.

 

[Phloston]

I think I made a lot more mistakes than u

1. Didn't do cranial nerve 11 exam
2. Ran out of time closing on first patient
3. Hardly asked anyone if they had questions at the end
4. Wrote down unnecessary tests during my work up
5. Ran out of time for work ups during one patient note
6. Didn't ask pertinent questions regarding one case too much
7. Forgot to tell a pt to stop taking the medication tht might be causing their problem during the closure
8. Auscultated the lungs one at a time instead of going side to side
9. Missed an obvious differential diagnosis
10. Scared the crap out of one mean looking patient by telling them they might have cancer but then had to recant tht statement and tell them I need to use it out
11. Ordered unnecessary tests on a few patients
12. Forgot to shake hands on a bunch of cases
13. Didn't answer the challenging question to well one at least 2 cases
14. I did light palpation but Didn't do deep palpation of the abdomen and didn't check for rebound tenderness
15. One guy drank twice a week and don't know if I should have counseled him on alcohol

The list goes on but these are the things I screwed up on that have been driving me crazy

Regarding 14, if you had done deep palpation you would have lost points. They say in the video not to do that.

For 15, I told anyone who drank a little to continue drinking up to two drinks per day. It's proven (and on UpToDate) that up to two drinks per day is healthy.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Regarding 14, if you had done deep palpation you would have lost points. They say in the video not to do that.

For 15, I told anyone who drank a little to continue drinking up to two drinks per day. It's proven (and on UpToDate) that up to two drinks per day is healthy.

Thanks for the reassurance. Would u say the list of your mistakes is comparable?

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Regarding 14, if you had done deep palpation you would have lost points. They say in the video not to do that.

For 15, I told anyone who drank a little to continue drinking up to two drinks per day. It's proven (and on UpToDate) that up to two drinks per day is healthy.

Hey man what's freaking me out about the experience you posted is that you dipped into the borderline on ICE. The note example you wrote is really good. I'm straight up terrified at the very real possibility that I failed ICE. My questioning that day weren't great. I missed some serious relevant questions. I don't know, I hope I can still match if I fail. Grading seems so arbitrary.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Hey man what's freaking me out about the experience you posted is that you dipped into the borderline on ICE. The note example you wrote is really good. I'm straight up terrified at the very real possibility that I failed ICE. My questioning that day weren't great. I missed some serious relevant questions. I don't know, I hope I can still match if I fail. Grading seems so arbitrary.

Exactly. The ICE component is the part that may be the one we r most likely to screw up. Like pholston, a friend of mine had great differential diagnosis and work ups but my friend failed ice. I wonder if the physical exam part is what messed him up and caused phloston to have borderline ice. How badly can you mess up physical exam though? If it's just inspection auscultation palpation and percussion then how can anyone get docked that many points?

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Don't know man. A friend of mine had the same thing. New most of the ddxs, marginally failed ICE. The only possibility is the way the note was written. He didn't practice writing it out all that much and they expect a certain level of organization. The other possibility is he got to committed to the ddxs and didn't include enough pertinent negatives to rule out other diseases (which happened to me). He could have performed badly on PE as well or he wrote out the PE section badly. I mean I know people who didn't even write two HPIs still passed ICE. Other people who had only one ddx for 8/10 cases and also passed ICE. So I don't know exactly what's going on. The only thing I can say is that I missed major pertinent negatives in a few of my cases (very obvious ones) and if I fail I know why.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Correction HPI above= ddx

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Don't know man. A friend of mine had the same thing. New most of the ddxs, marginally failed ICE. The only possibility is the way the note was written. He didn't practice writing it out all that much and they expect a certain level of organization. The other possibility is he got to committed to the ddxs and didn't include enough pertinent negatives to rule out other diseases (which happened to me). He could have performed badly on PE as well or he wrote out the PE section badly. I mean I know people who didn't even write two HPIs still passed ICE. Other people who had only one ddx for 8/10 cases and also passed ICE. So I don't know exactly what's going on. The only thing I can say is that I missed major pertinent negatives in a few of my cases (very obvious ones) and if I fail I know why.

I'm definitely with you on that boat of not including pertinent negatives. My questioning skills suck and I feel like I didn't ask a lot of questions pertaining to the chief complaint I

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Correction HPI above= ddx

Also I feel like if we only had one differential diagnosis with evidence to back it up would probably be better than 3 diagnosis but very minimal to back them up. Who knows. August 12 feels like a year away

 

[Dactino]

Hey guys. I gave my exam may 28th and im trying not to think about it too much. But as much as im trying to push the anxiety away it keeps creeping back 🙁anyway i made some errors that are really haunting me.
-I made a patient walk even though she had pain in her ankle. I seriously dont know if that may have cost me the exam.
-I also made the stupid blunder of blurting out the childs name as the mothers name. Like got the two reversed. And the mom had to correct me that that was her daughters name not hers. I apologized but dont know if i did it profusely enough :/
- I messed up a diagnosis. I was thinking of a disease but wrote the name of another. I had only two diagnosis for that case. I think the first one was correct.
- for majority of the cases i had 2 D/Ds. For one case i had just one :/ my brain just froze!
- missed out a very imp diagnostic test in one of the cases
- forgot to councel a pt for alcohol.
- one pt was really rude and defensive and continued like that till the end. I also did the mistake of doing her HEENT exam with the otoscope light. Like i checked her pupils and all. She said why are u pointing that pointy thing at me. I apologized and just moved further back but still used it :/ It was just a habit i picked up doing a rotation with this doc in US. I didnt know it was wrong to do it with it.

What i did do:
Introduced my self to each pt and shook hands. Asked if it was ok if i wrote while i talked
Showed empathy whenever patient told me what was bothering them
Did good physical pertinent exams.
Talked to patients when i washing hands about their lives.
Told those who were in pain if there was anything i could do to make them more comfortable.
Closed every case except in one in which i had answered one question but in the process of answering another the annoucement happened and i just said sorry i have to answer this page. The patient though seemed to like me.
Summarized all cases and asked at the end if they had anymore concerns or questions.
Explained the work up and procedures in lay man terms

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Hey guys. I gave my exam may 28th and im trying not to think about it too much. But as much as im trying to push the anxiety away it keeps creeping back 🙁anyway i made some errors that are really haunting me.
-I made a patient walk even though she had pain in her ankle. I seriously dont know if that may have cost me the exam.
-I also made the stupid blunder of blurting out the childs name as the mothers name. Like got the two reversed. And the mom had to correct me that that was her daughters name not hers. I apologized but dont know if i did it profusely enough :/
- I messed up a diagnosis. I was thinking of a disease but wrote the name of another. I had only two diagnosis for that case. I think the first one was correct.
- for majority of the cases i had 2 D/Ds. For one case i had just one :/ my brain just froze!
- missed out a very imp diagnostic test in one of the cases
- forgot to councel a pt for alcohol.
- one pt was really rude and defensive and continued like that till the end. I also did the mistake of doing her HEENT exam with the otoscope light. Like i checked her pupils and all. She said why are u pointing that pointy thing at me. I apologized and just moved further back but still used it :/ It was just a habit i picked up doing a rotation with this doc in US. I didnt know it was wrong to do it with it.

What i did do:
Introduced my self to each pt and shook hands. Asked if it was ok if i wrote while i talked
Showed empathy whenever patient told me what was bothering them
Did good physical pertinent exams.
Talked to patients when i washing hands about their lives.
Told those who were in pain if there was anything i could do to make them more comfortable.
Closed every case except in one in which i had answered one question but in the process of answering another the annoucement happened and i just said sorry i have to answer this page. The patient though seemed to like me.
Summarized all cases and asked at the end if they had anymore concerns or questions.
Explained the work up and procedures in lay man terms

If those are your only mistakes, you did more than fine. And it's better to have one diagnosis you can back up than 3 that you can't

 

[Phloston]

Thanks for the reassurance. Would u say the list of your mistakes is comparable?

I don't know. Everyone thinks his or her list of mistakes is worse than the other person's.

 

[Phloston]

Hey man what's freaking me out about the experience you posted is that you dipped into the borderline on ICE. The note example you wrote is really good. I'm straight up terrified at the very real possibility that I failed ICE. My questioning that day weren't great. I missed some serious relevant questions. I don't know, I hope I can still match if I fail. Grading seems so arbitrary.

No one really knows the exact specifics as to how they grade the ICE. As I had written though, I basically didn't do an entire examination (not just part of one) because I did neuro instead of MSK, so that could have done it. However it's possible they drop the worst two cases you do, since only 10 are graded. So that case may not have even played a role in my borderline-pass ICE. And bear in mind I used sanitizer + closed/counselled 12/12 cases.

My impression (and not to blame, but it's truly what I believe) is that FA is totally off the mark. And unfortunately that hurts students. For every encounter, I had done a broad systems-based note and P/E (as I discussed, heart + lung bases for every pt +/- abdos), likely at the expense of doing a more thorough, well-investigated examination of specifically the CC/HPI, because FA made that out to be important (at the end of every FA case, it listed the systems-related components that are important). It just goes to show a lot of the systems stuff doesn't really matter. Seriously just examine THE CHIEF COMPLAINT. The two minutes I wasted on every patient fake-listening to their heart and lungs, plus feeling their glands/thyroid, could have been spent on the actual reason they came in.

If you look at the USMLE website, the notes are hyper-focused on the presenting complaint, not broad and system-based. Basically, if you were in an ortho outpatient clinic seeing a patient for his or her foot, you wouldn't present nor write a note discussing HEENT, Neck, Chest, Heart, Abo, etc. because that would be ridiculous. If the USMLE could just come out and explicate exactly what they are looking for without all of the ambiguity, no one would have any borderlines on ICE.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

No one really knows the exact specifics as to how they grade the ICE. As I had written though, I basically didn't do an entire examination (not just part of one) because I did neuro instead of MSK, so that could have done it. However it's possible they drop the worst two cases you do, since only 10 are graded. So that case may not have even played a role in my borderline-pass ICE. And bear in mind I used sanitizer + closed/counselled 12/12 cases.

My impression (and not to blame, but it's truly what I believe) is that FA is totally off the mark. And unfortunately that hurts students. For every encounter, I had done a broad systems-based note and P/E (as I discussed, heart + lung bases for every pt +/- abdos), likely at the expense of doing a more thorough, well-investigated examination of specifically the CC/HPI, because FA made that out to be important (at the end of every FA case, it listed the systems-related components that are important). It just goes to show a lot of the systems stuff doesn't really matter. Seriously just examine THE CHIEF COMPLAINT. The two minutes I wasted on every patient fake-listening to their heart and lungs, plus feeling their glands/thyroid, could have been spent on the actual reason they came in.

If you look at the USMLE website, the notes are hyper-focused on the presenting complaint, not broad and system-based. Basically, if you were in an ortho outpatient clinic seeing a patient for his or her foot, you wouldn't present nor write a note discussing HEENT, Neck, Chest, Heart, Abo, etc. because that would be ridiculous. If the USMLE could just come out and explicate exactly what they are looking for without all of the ambiguity, no one would have any borderlines on ICE.

Ya I couldn't agree more. FA isn't great for the new changes to the exam. A lot of extraneous questions and it really doesn't prepare you that will for the changes in CIS especially if your an IMG and you get **** clinical training. I really just hope a squeak by. Pretty much 4 years of work are riding on potentially the most subjective test of all time.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

No one really knows the exact specifics as to how they grade the ICE. As I had written though, I basically didn't do an entire examination (not just part of one) because I did neuro instead of MSK, so that could have done it. However it's possible they drop the worst two cases you do, since only 10 are graded. So that case may not have even played a role in my borderline-pass ICE. And bear in mind I used sanitizer + closed/counselled 12/12 cases.

My impression (and not to blame, but it's truly what I believe) is that FA is totally off the mark. And unfortunately that hurts students. For every encounter, I had done a broad systems-based note and P/E (as I discussed, heart + lung bases for every pt +/- abdos), likely at the expense of doing a more thorough, well-investigated examination of specifically the CC/HPI, because FA made that out to be important (at the end of every FA case, it listed the systems-related components that are important). It just goes to show a lot of the systems stuff doesn't really matter. Seriously just examine THE CHIEF COMPLAINT. The two minutes I wasted on every patient fake-listening to their heart and lungs, plus feeling their glands/thyroid, could have been spent on the actual reason they came in.

If you look at the USMLE website, the notes are hyper-focused on the presenting complaint, not broad and system-based. Basically, if you were in an ortho outpatient clinic seeing a patient for his or her foot, you wouldn't present nor write a note discussing HEENT, Neck, Chest, Heart, Abo, etc. because that would be ridiculous. If the USMLE could just come out and explicate exactly what they are looking for without all of the ambiguity, no one would have any borderlines on ICE.

Yes the sample notes on the usmle website only mentions the focused physical exam pertaining to the chief complaint but would you really lose points if you added in a multi system physical exam? That would be absurd.
And Would you say you had a good two to three differential diagnosis down with supporting evidence for each? If you did, then I can only see them docking you points on the physical exam since you went straight to the closing when the 5 minute warning went off

 

[Phloston]

Yes the sample notes on the usmle website only mentions the focused physical exam pertaining to the chief complaint but would you really lose points if you added in a multi system physical exam? That would be absurd.
And Would you say you had a good two to three differential diagnosis down with supporting evidence for each? If you did, then I can only see them docking you points on the physical exam since you went straight to the closing when the 5 minute warning went off

You don't lose points for adding extra stuff, but you don't gain points either. So I believe a lot of the systems based stuff just didn't count for much.

I would say ~6/12 encounters I listed three DDx, ~4/12 two, ~2/12 one.

However I wouldn't say there was one specific thing that lowered the ICE. I would say it was literally the combination of all of the mistakes I made that incrementally dropped it. Just fortunately not low enough for the fail.

 

[Bronchiectasis]

You don't lose points for adding extra stuff, but you don't gain points either. So I believe a lot of the systems based stuff just didn't count for much.

I would say ~6/12 encounters I listed three DDx, ~4/12 two, ~2/12 one.

However I wouldn't say there was one specific thing that lowered the ICE. I would say it was literally the combination of all of the mistakes I made that incrementally dropped it. Just fortunately not low enough for the fail.

Wow man. The worst part is that I know people that couldn't tell you the difference between appendicitis and cholecystitis that pass comfortably on ICE. Pretty scary honestly.

 

[Phloston]

Wow man. The worst part is that I know people that couldn't tell you the difference between appendicitis and cholecystitis that pass comfortably on ICE. Pretty scary honestly.

Yeah. The issue is a lack of communication from the USMLE to students about exactly what needs to be done. We all have a vague/general idea but aren't 100% sure. And there's a lot of speculation.

 

[Xbocker]

Question guys. Does a Sp's mood at the end of the encounter have anythig to do with how pleased they were with you? I had one SP who was smiling at the enD of the encounter, the rest were must dazing off And were like whatever

 

[Bronchiectasis]

I had that too. I don't know man.

 

[Dactino]

If those are your only mistakes, you did more than fine. And it's better to have one diagnosis you can back up than 3 that you can't

Those are the ones i remember :/ anyway can only hope for the best. Hopefully we will all pass. I hate the long wait!

 

[Bronchiectasis]

Hey ya just updating the thread I passed step 2 cs. Honestly I'm not going to go on about what to do and all that. I just wanted give hope to people that have to endure the horrible wait. If you look at my original post I made a ton of mistakes, forgot a ton of questions, messed up a few ddxs etc.... and I wasn't even close to failing. I know its rough and I empathize with the fear and anixiety associated with this test and theres nothing I can say to alleviate your fear because in yourr mind you did awful. But if looking at my errors (and trust me I made a ton that aren't listed up there because they would violate NBME rules) can give you just a bit of relief from the stress then hopefully this post wasn't for nothing. If any of you have any questions or anything feel free to message me and thanks to all the people that that responded to OP and made me feel better.

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Hey ya just updating the thread I passed step 2 cs. Honestly I'm not going to go on about what to do and all that. I just wanted give hope to people that have to endure the horrible wait. If you look at my original post I made a ton of mistakes, forgot a ton of questions, messed up a few ddxs etc.... and I wasn't even close to failing. I know its rough and I empathize with the fear and anixiety associated with this test and theres nothing I can say to alleviate your fear because in yourr mind you did awful. But if looking at my errors (and trust me I made a ton that aren't listed up there because they would violate NBME rules) can give you just a bit of relief from the stress then hopefully this post wasn't for nothing. If any of you have any questions or anything feel free to message me and thanks to all the people that that responded to OP and made me feel better.

Hey I passed too but not comfortably. I had two stars to the left of borderline and 3 stars to right of borderline with about 8 stars in the actual borderline area on the ICE section. I also got a few stars in the borderline area but most stars in the high performance area when it came to CIS. It was a close one but I'm just glad it's over

 

[CaliAtenza]

Hey I passed too but not comfortably. I had two stars to the left of borderline and 3 stars to right of borderline with about 8 stars in the actual borderline area on the ICE section. I also got a few stars in the borderline area but most stars in the high performance area when it came to CIS. It was a close one but I'm just glad it's over

Same here. In ICE, I had 3 stars in the left of borderline, 2 stars to the right, and then the rest were in the borderline. My CIS was good, everything was in the right 🙂. This was actually my second time taking it (I bombed ICE last time, unfortunately), so I had that extra anxiety. I could barely sleep last night, and the email came in at like 5:15 AM PST...

 

[Da_1_2_N_V]

Same here. In ICE, I had 3 stars in the left of borderline, 2 stars to the right, and then the rest were in the borderline. My CIS was good, everything was in the right 🙂. This was actually my second time taking it (I bombed ICE last time, unfortunately), so I had that extra anxiety. I could barely sleep last night, and the email came in at like 5:15 AM PST...

Its great you passed this time. I had a good friend who had to take it twice as well and he also was very borderline on the ICE section this time after bombing the ICE section last time.

I paid over 2 grand total in travel and lodging and testing fees to take this test and I would have been devastated to see that I failed. I can only imagine what you and my friend were going through. But we are all on the other side now so on to bigger better things!

 

[CaliAtenza]

Its great you passed this time. I had a good friend who had to take it twice as well and he also was very borderline on the ICE section this time after bombing the ICE section last time.

I paid over 2 grand total in travel and lodging and testing fees to take this test and I would have been devastated to see that I failed. I can only imagine what you and my friend were going through. But we are all on the other side now so on to bigger better things!

Oh yeah, you don't wanna go through what your friend and I went through after failing this thing the first time. The fact that the administration of the exam is so shady, just compounds matters. All I can say is that compared to last time, my ICE performance was markedly better, even though it was borderline. I mean who really knows how they grade these things, lol :/.

 

[Dactino]

I passed too and quite comfortably! No borderline. Soo happy! Congratulations everyone who passed 😀