Low COMLEX wanting OB/Gyn.

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Hi all,

I am hesitant to write about this because I really don't need any negativity right now, but I just received my COMLEX Level 1 score and it was way lower than I thought (under 500). I'm pretty disappointed, especially since my predicted was MUCH higher. I'm thinking of doing OB and am a very realistic person so I know the odds are very much against me. I'm not planning on taking step 1 now because I know it'll do more harm than good.

I'm really not interested in FM. It just doesn't fit with me. Am I locked into peds or FM because of my score? Especially without a Step 1? Any advice or success stories would be helpful.
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You can either keep your score and have pretty much a 50/50 chance of getting OB/GYN, or you can prepare and take Step 1 and score a 220+ and increase your chance up to almost 90%. 220 is very doable. Even a 210+ would increase your chances a little bit.
 
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If you REALLY want it, why not go all in for step 1? Is 6 weeks of your life too much to give up to get the specialty you want for the rest of your 40year+ career?
 
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DrStephenStrange said:
You can either keep your score and have pretty much a 50/50 chance of getting OB/GYN, or you can prepare and take Step 1 and score a 220+ and increase your chance up to almost 90%. 220 is very doable. Even a 210+ would increase your chances a little bit.
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I unfortunately start rotations this week and only have a couple weeks left in my cycle to take Step. I've heard if you cancel and want to take it out of the time frame they give you you have to have a good reason.

I also have been studying for step for about 2 months now and haven't seen an increase in my scores. It's going to be worse form me to take step and get a 200 than just to not take it. My school has advised me not to take it as well but I don't know.
 
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AlbinoHawk DO said:
It's always hard to extrapolate from data like this because everyone that matched may have taken USMLE or had other factors. I would advise OP regardless of their decision to apply OB to apply FM backup
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Thanks for your input. I don't think I would be a good family med doc but I unfortunately see my only options as quitting or doing family medicine. I don't want to be a ****ty doctor that just resents everything because they sucked at boards so I don't know if I'll end up applying for FM just based on that.
 
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drducky. said:
If you REALLY want it, why not go all in for step 1? Is 6 weeks of your life too much to give up to get the specialty you want for the rest of your 40year+ career?
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I feel like I did go all in for step. I legit have not had a life for the past 2 months and have studying for 15+ hours each day. it sucks because nothing changed. I've studied this whole time like I was taking step so I don't really know what else to do.
 
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meowy2 said:
Thanks for your input. I don't think I would be a good family med doc but I unfortunately see my only options as quitting or doing family medicine. I don't want to be a ****ty doctor that just resents everything because they sucked at boards so I don't know if I'll end up applying for FM just based on that.
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I understand where you are coming from, but i can tell you as someone that changed on intern year specialties that it'll be okay regardless. Besides, family medicine allows you to do an OB fellowship. It's not the same, but it's better than not being a doctor at all or not doing any OB
 
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meowy2 said:
I feel like I did go all in for step. I legit have not had a life for the past 2 months and have studying for 15+ hours each day. it sucks because nothing changed. I've studied this whole time like I was taking step so I don't really know what else to do. I don't want a ****ty score on Step and then be even more screwed which is definitely a possibility because I don't think I can do it.
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I’m pretty sure you don’t have to report your step if you do poorly, so there’s really no reason to not take it.
 
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meowy2 said:
Honestly I don't know if I'll keep doing this if I end up in FM. I just really hate being generalized and the amount of extra **** primary care docs have to do is unbelievable. Working for 2 amazing PCPs really opened my eyes to it because they loved their patients but hated going to work every day.
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Don't make the mistake of thinking you he'd too practice like anyone else. FM is very flexible. A DPC model in a big city will be a lot different than a community clinic and so forth, but if you're able to skip medicine, maybe it's in your best interest to stop now
 
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AlbinoHawk DO said:
Don't make the mistake of thinking you he'd too practice like anyone else. FM is very flexible. A DPC model in a big city will be a lot different than a community clinic and so forth, but if you're able to skip medicine, maybe it's in your best interest to stop now
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Yeah, maybe you're right. My rotations start next week and I'm seriously rethinking things. If I studied that hard for something and still did that bad why would I be any better as a doctor especially doing something I don't want to do. These are just things I've been thinking about the past couple days.
 
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meowy2 said:
Yeah, maybe you're right. My rotations start next week and I'm seriously thinking about quitting. If I studied that hard for something and still did that bad why would I be any better as a doctor especially doing something I don't want to do. These are just things I've been thinking about the past couple days.
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That i do not agree with that. I know fantastic docs that don't show it on tests. There's a difference between real patients and the tricks they play on boards
 
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meowy2 said:
Honestly I don't know if I'll keep doing this if I end up in FM. I just really hate being generalized and the amount of extra stuff primary care docs have to do is unbelievable. Working for 2 amazing PCPs really opened my eyes to it because they loved their patients but hated going to work every day.

I actually brought up the OB fellowship with a doc and they said don't do it because you won't be taken seriously with hospital privileges and are essentially used as a last resort in rural areas. I obviously am a nobody and that was just what I heard so please correct if anyone knows anything different.
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Is it possible that you're just burnt out from all the board study? You haven't even started rotations yet, have you? I would say, stay open minded, and do not throw away all your effort until at least one year of rotations.
 
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meowy2 said:
I unfortunately start rotations this week and only have a couple weeks left in my cycle to take Step. I've heard if you cancel and want to take it out of the time frame they give you you have to have a good reason.

I also have been studying for step for about 2 months now and haven't seen an increase in my scores. It's going to be worse form me to take step and get a 200 than just to not take it. My school has advised me not to take it as well but I don't know. It also sucks because it's changing to pass/fail in January so it's not like I can take it later either.
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You can extend your step period by 3 months. There’s an option to extend on their website. No reason needed.
 
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meowy2 said:
Honestly I don't know if I'll keep doing this if I end up in FM. I just really hate being generalized and the amount of extra stuff primary care docs have to do is unbelievable. Working for 2 amazing PCPs really opened my eyes to it because they loved their patients but hated going to work every day.

I actually brought up the OB fellowship with a doc and they said don't do it because you won't be taken seriously with hospital privileges and are essentially used as a last resort in rural areas. I obviously am a nobody and that was just what I heard so please correct if anyone knows anything different.
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Dont judge a specialty based on limited experience with a few docs. I know that's hard to do, but especially with FM, its soooo broad. There are so many different type of jobs that you could find your niche that you enjoy
 
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I know a few people with a similar comlex and no step that matched into more competitive specialties than OB but obviously it’s a huge gamble when you look at the data. They all had backups

Have you considered IM? There are many fellowships to pick from (even the competitive ones are feasible if you grind during residency)
 
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Cranjis McBasketball said:
Dont judge a specialty based on limited experience with a few docs. I know that's hard to do, but especially with FM, its soooo broad. There are so many different type of jobs that you could find your niche that you enjoy
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You're right I shouldn't judge it. I just don't really want to be stuck regretting getting into medicine at all. Unfortunately board scores are a huge part of predicting where you end up.
 
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abusindbad said:
I know a few people with a similar comlex and no step that matched into more competitive specialties than OB but obviously it’s a huge gamble when you look at the data. They all had backups

Have you considered IM? There are many fellowships to pick from (even the competitive ones are feasible if you grind during residency)
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I'm looking into IM. I used to want to be an oncologist but that changed pretty quickly when I realized what it actually is. Maybe things will change on rotations although I don't even know what sub-specialities to try to get a rotation with because I don't really care for any of it right now. Just feel dumb.
 
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wilhelmsa said:
Is it possible that you're just burnt out from all the board study? You haven't even started rotations yet, have you? I would say, stay open minded, and do not throw away all your effort until at least one year of rotations.
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I start them next week. Definitely burned out. I just feel like there's no point because I worked my ass off for boards and still did badly. I don't really see myself being competent because I studied SO much like literally threw away 2 months and probably could've just studied for 2 weeks and gotten the same score.
 
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AlbinoHawk DO said:
That i do not agree with that. I know fantastic docs that don't show it on tests. There's a difference between real patients and the tricks they play on boards
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YeahI know boards aren't everything. I know fantastic FM docs that have failed step. I'm honestly just bad at both lol. We have mandatory rotations every semester and I know they're not necessarily real, but I get pimped all the time and I'm an idiot with both scenarios lol
 
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meowy2 said:
Oh yeah I know boards aren't everything. I know fantastic FM docs that have failed step. I'm honestly just bad at both lol. We have mandatory "rotations" every semester and I know they're not real rotations but I get pimped all the time and I'm an idiot with both scenarios lol
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You're being too hard on yourself
 
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