Importance of Step 2cs for fellowship

[intmed2014]

I did not get quite the news I expected at 11am this morning, being an AMG with solid clinical feedback from attendings. Having already matched, this roadblock will not hinder me in starting residency but I am apprehensive about how it will look in the future when I apply to fellowship. I am confident I can pass easily when I find out the weak points and I have been told my IM program is flexible about me retaking it.

Does fail of Step 2 CS on first attempt raise a huge red flag? Do programs care?

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[rokshana]

Really? I thought even as an amg that you had to have the steps passed to start

Fellowship wise I don't think anyone really cares

 

[intmed2014]

I checked with my school and residency program and they both said passage is not required to start. Obviously, you will need it to be licensed. I just don't want it to be on my record as a red flag.

 

[Raryn]

Really? I thought even as an amg that you had to have the steps passed to start

Fellowship wise I don't think anyone really cares

My school required a CS attempt but not passing CS to graduate.

Then whether you can start residency or not without a P on CS is state-by-state dependent. A few states won't issue a temporary training license without it, but in many states there's an institutional training license and it won't matter as long as your program is OK with it.