Is it all over :-(

[minnime]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

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[YouDontKnowJack]

only podunk community hospital will accept u now

ur fu*ked

 

[tupac_don]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

Alaska/Nebraska/Dakota here you come.

 

[CaptainZero]

only podunk community hospital will accept u now

ur fu*ked

What's the matter with you people?? Do you think this person really wants to hear that right now?
Minnime...I really can't answer your question because I don't know a lot about ave. USMLE scores for residencies, but I can assure you the you are by no means f*cked as has been implied. While USMLE scores are important, there are always other aspects to your residency application...focus on that. Your score is not horrible...a few points below average, but most likely still within 1 standard deviation of the average. Hang in there, you'll do fine.

 

[minnime]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your advice. Thanks for giving me serious advice. I really do appreciate it

Minime

 

[JBHunt]

Alaska/Nebraska/Dakota here you come.

Not really. If the program director doesn't like your face, it doesn't matter what score you get.

 

[CaptainZero]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your advice. Thanks for giving me serious advice. I really do appreciate it

Minime

No prob...
More to the point, I would guess that the vast majority of primary care residencies (FP, peds, IM) are an option, as are some residencies in fields like OB/GYN, path, psych etc. If you're still thinking of something more competitive, focus on step 2 and take it a little early...in time to get the score on your residency application. If you score well on step 2 you can make up some of the ground you may feel you've lost on step 1

 

[46&2]

Yeah, do well during clinicals 3rd year and blow the top off Step 2. If you can do that, the doors should be pretty much open except in the most competitive specialties (i.e. ortho) in the most competitive institutions. A lot of places will screen simply based on Step I, but general surgery at my institution will actually dig for those who did well on Step 2 and find the diamonds in the rough. They actually accepted a couple, I think. All is not lost.

 

[usmaple]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

You're kind of working backwards here. What residencies are you interested in? A 202 won't completely shut you out of too many things, but if you're really interested in something more competitive now's the time to start planning ahead (research, away rotations, general schmoozing, etc).

 

[Mye Eye]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

besides the idiot jerks on here that say you're screwed...the smart people who know the process will agree you are NOT done for

if your grades are good, if you get good recs, if you have good research...those can offset a below avg step 1...in fact, i know a person who matched in a top notch ophtho program who was about your score on Step 1 and WORSE on Step 2, but had lots of research

so even more selective residencies CAN happen...just be realistic about YOUR chances

and yes, you can and will match at a decent IM, FM, peds residency if your application is good otherwise

for the haters, go back to your miserable lives...making people feel inferior is a really a GREAT way to make yourself feel cool/smart/worthwhile

 

[OSUdoc08]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

EM
IM
FM
Peds

Ironically, this covers a majority of US physicians!!!

 

[OSUdoc08]

only podunk community hospital will accept u now

ur fu*ked

Your screen name is a bit ironic, now isn't it?

 

[OSUdoc08]

Alaska/Nebraska/Dakota here you come.

I would think that applying to states that have larger numbers of residencies, i.e. Texas, Illinois, Ohio, etc. would be more beneficial, than applying to states that only have a few spots to offer.

 

[(nicedream)]

Is sarcasm lost on everybody?

 

[CaptainZero]

Is sarcasm lost on everybody?

Probably not, but I can name two people whom TIMING is lost on...

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

you guys have no funny bone at all. Is it that difficult to detect the tone of a written post on a forum?

hopeless....

this question has been asked infinite times. almost everyday i see a similar thread

someone gets a 190. asks the same question.
someone gets a 191. asks the same question.
someone gets a 192. asks the same question.
someone gets a 193. asks the same question.
someone gets a 194. asks the same question.
and so on.

IS IT ALL OVER???!!!! is the sky falling?

what kind of question is that?

lighten up.

I was waiting for someone to respond seriously to this thread. you guys have taken the bait. CaptainSerious to the rescue. Even master of sarcasm osudoc didn't detect it.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

by the way, my dog just died. i am devastated. It's all over for me.

please someone, comfort me. say something i'd like to hear.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

by the way, my dog just died. i am devastated. It's all over for me.

please someone, comfort me. say something i'd like to hear.

your dog probably sucked anyways.

 

[chintu]

You are by no means in trouble here if you are a US MD grad which I assume u are. If your clinical evals/grades are decent that should leave your doors open for most specialties except for the ultracompetitive ones. For less competitive ones like IM, peds, family, etc you will probably get to pick your location too. Most students applying for these less competitive ones are us grads with below avg grades/boards and foreign grads so your step I should not be far from an average us grad applying for one of these residencies. Just focus on your shelfs and step II and just relax.

 

[trkd]

your dog probably sucked anyways.

 

[josephf1]

FYI - an A-hole extraordinnaire from my school, not unlike the droves of useless lurkers/haters here (incidently I am beginning to think this level of compulsive hatred is directly proportional to yeras without sex) got a 240+ and proceeded to fail Step 2 CS because he was such an aformentioned A-hoel and despite his proclomation that he was a sure in for palstics sat out a year now waiting to retake Step 2 CS, therefore don't worry so much, 3 numbers will not ruin your life, and a nice guy in his class with a 215 who reclaimed himself with a 250 on Step 2 CK got Ortho so ha!
Incidently, for those who read my previous posts I did indeed finnish Step 1 in 3.5 hrs and PASSED so ha!

 

[CaptainZero]

you guys have no funny bone at all. Is it that difficult to detect the tone of a written post on a forum?

hopeless....

this question has been asked infinite times. almost everyday i see a similar thread

someone gets a 190. asks the same question.
someone gets a 191. asks the same question.
someone gets a 192. asks the same question.
someone gets a 193. asks the same question.
someone gets a 194. asks the same question.
and so on.

IS IT ALL OVER???!!!! is the sky falling?

what kind of question is that?

lighten up.

I was waiting for someone to respond seriously to this thread. you guys have taken the bait. CaptainSerious to the rescue. Even master of sarcasm osudoc didn't detect it.

Apparently the one element of sarcasm that you've failed to master is appropriate use. Keep working at it though sport, it'll come to ya.

 

[Tone2002]

There is exactly the same post in the General Residency Board. Come on, we all know life is still worth living even if you got a "measely" 202.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

your dog probably sucked anyways.

that's the attitude

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

There is exactly the same post in the General Residency Board. Come on, we all know life is still worth living even if you got a "measely" 202.

everyone post similar questions, and let the captain answer them. he's good at this.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Apparently the one element of sarcasm that you've failed to master is appropriate use. Keep working at it though sport, it'll come to ya.

it's quite appropriate. everyone should know by now that a 202 doesn't mean it's all over.

:-(

:-(

:-(

:-(

 

[Paws]

Hey Minime,

I am glad you posted. I just took my exam today and I am thinking I would be pretty happy for a nice life in FP or IM/EM over a crazy competitive residency. I am not cut out for the big city, hard driving "got to have 240 + or I am nothing" sort of life.

Also, the test was so freakin' hard I was praying to just get through it alive. You are not alone ...

 

[manta]

you may want to check this out - www.aamc.org/matchoutcomes (opens a pdf file) - it has info on the average step 1 scores matching in each specialty, and a bunch of other interesting facts. the bottom line is that there are plenty of residencies that will be happy to have you.

 

[beansandchips]

An isolated 202 is not the end of the world. Clinical rotation grades and step 2 are yet to come, not to mention personality in interviews, life experience, etc. In reality, it may be hard to get that dermatology residency, but even if you were absolutely sold on that, it still might not be impossible. (I know someone who just got one without fantastic scores...sure, she took a year out after 4th year to do research, and bump up the CV, but she got it!)

The whole standardized test thing drives me up the wall. It is so meaningless in the real world too. Having just finished 3rd year, I saw kids with awesome step scores look like they knew very little on the floors and vice versa. Just finished working with a surgeon who was just fired (a PGY 7!) having just repeated several years due to poor clinical decision making - despite scoring unbelievably well on the boards each year.

Good luck,

B A C

 

[chintu]

I agree. Step I scores have very very little to do with clinical performance, which is far more important in terms of residency and also in the real world. If you have good evals and do solid in an away rotation at your desired place for residency then I don't think they would hold your step I against you by any means.

 

[gwen]

lol.

the best ones are the ones which say "I got a 245...where can I apply, I'm so worried - please advise"

sarcasm is best used on them...tell them a horror story of good scores gone bad. its a great reaction.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I just got my step one scores and it was a mere 202....The question now becomes what kinds of residencies can I get?

Minnime

Even in competitive specialties some programs will overlook a subpar step one if they made a sig improvement on step 2. Also make sure you kick ass on those other factors that have already been discussed. There's lots of stories of guys that matched into competitive residencies despite a less than competitive board score because they worked their ass off on rotation, got great letters, got pubs, etc. I don't know what you want to do, but your not f@#$ed.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I agree. Step I scores have very very little to do with clinical performance, which is far more important in terms of residency and also in the real world. If you have good evals and do solid in an away rotation at your desired place for residency then I don't think they would hold your step I against you by any means.

That's not entirely accurate.

It doesn't have much to do w performance, but programs need an objective measure to compare students from all over America and also to make their number of potential applicants more managable. So at some places, even if everything else is stellar, a bad step one takes you out of contention.

Sucks, but its true.

 

[Idiopathic]

As long as you arent a DO, you are fine.

 

[chintu]

I think the OP shouldn't worry if she is a US MD student wanting to go into an average specialty at an average university program. Getting into residency programs is alot easier than getting into MD schools was simply because there's a lot more spots and first preference is given to US allo students. If all else goes well, no F's on transcripts, decent evals in rotations w/ some honors and good recs and a decent step II score everything will work out. By this point we've run across so much competition that it becomes our nature to constantly worry about relative performance on tests, etc but as we progress further and further in our medical education things like test scores, etc matter very little. Once we get to residency we just have to pass the required tests and what fellowship we enter is dependent more on how we interact w/ team, patient management, research,etc and there's a good reason why that's so.

 

[Idiopathic]

Getting into residency programs is alot easier than getting into MD schools was simply because there's a lot more spots and first preference is given to US allo students. If all else goes well, no F's on transcripts, decent evals in rotations w/ some honors and good recs and a decent step II score everything will work out.

Aside from being a sad commentary on the state of 'US MD' education, this is simply wrong. You are competing with excellent DO/FMG/IMG/transfer candidates, and you really need to strive to distinguish yourself. Obviously its not 'all over', but now you have to find something else (Step II, LOR, research) to distinguish yourself, because Step I wont do it. Maybe you go to Harvard or maybe your dad is chief at Penn, but if not, your Step I score is average (less than, actually) and your competitiveness is limited based on that. You need to excel in something to prove you are more worthy that 150 other candidatea...assuming you care about a) where you go b) what you do c) what city you end up in.

Im assuming you do.

Not trying to be harsh, just hoping to encourage you to not lay down and accept whatever comes. With enough effort, you can do pretty much anything.

 

[marie15]

Alaska/Nebraska/Dakota here you come.

it ain't impossible. nothing is. just try your best and make do. move on. don't dwell.

btw, i personally know that alaska residency program is competitive.

 

[Dr.MISHKA D.O.]

ARE D.O's real doctors? I didn't know. Idiopathic you sound a little snippy, how are the commies treating my big guy. Keep your head up...As I am on the floor I tried to hang myself from a pt's bed with my tie, but alas it was futile and I still had to work the rest of the day.

The Mish

 

[Idiopathic]

ARE D.O's real doctors? I didn't know. Idiopathic you sound a little snippy, how are the commies treating my big guy. Keep your head up...As I am on the floor I tried to hand myself from a pt's bed with my tie, but alas it was futile and I still had to work the rest of the day.

The Mish

I called you about a month ago, fool. Email me and tell me whats up.

 

[Dr.MISHKA D.O.]

I tell ya Idio I am so sick of these students acting surprised and asking "D.O.'s have residencies?" WTF. I am also sick of being on Medicine, I can't take this BS anymore, only two weeks left and then only three more s$!##y rotations left this year (CTICU, Peds, gen Surg.) and then only ER rotations and Anesthesia left. Professional poker playing is calling my name.

Keep your head up (and mine)

The Mish