Man I just can't pass these two shelf exams.

[Arhat]

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Man, this is has been such a roller coaster year for me. Just as I thought I was cruising on my rotations, it's always the rotation's shelf exam that freaks me out and I incessantly worry about at the end. My last two rotations, Ob-gyn and peds, i found out i failed since the school required to get above 10% and I missed the passing mark by 1 point for one and by 3 points for the other. I just feel so depress at times since I work hard throughout the year and now have to retake these two exams again. If I don't pass them, I am screwed pretty much. I never been a great exam taker but I study hard and still I get failed marks.I finish these exams on time but it feels like a bomb is going to explode if you don't read each questions under 1min 10 sec. I feel sometimes I should not be in medical school when I see kids breeze by these rotations. Just feel down about this year and just wanted to vent my frustration or worries.😕

Just a future advice for future third year... Study hard or harder since you don't want to be in my shoes. Some people say third year is easy, Nope... alot of sleepless nights being on call and motrin for the migraines you get when you read too much.

 

[Scaredshizzles]

Man, this is has been such a roller coaster year for me. Just as I thought I was cruising on my rotations, it's always the rotation's shelf exam that freaks me out and I incessantly worry about at the end. My last two rotations, Ob-gyn and peds, i found out i failed since the school required to get above 10% and I missed the passing mark by 1 point for one and by 3 points for the other. I just feel so depress at times since I work hard throughout the year and now have to retake these two exams again. If I don't pass them, I am screwed pretty much. I never been a great exam taker but I study hard and still I get failed marks.I finish these exams on time but it feels like a bomb is going to explode if you don't read each questions under 1min 10 sec. I feel sometimes I should not be in medical school when I see kids breeze by these rotations. Just feel down about this year and just wanted to vent my frustration or worries.😕

Just a future advice for future third year... Study hard or harder since you don't want to be in my shoes. Some people say third year is easy, Nope... alot of sleepless nights being on call and motrin for the migraines you get when you read too much.

First, of course you belong in medical school. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses...Some people have difficulty memorizing, other people take a while to learn how to interpret the facts, other people are clueless as what to do when presented with the situation in real practice. The bottom line is that medical school is only a small part of what will be your career....there will be plenty of time to catch up in whatever deficiencies you might have...As long as you're dedicated to being a good doctor and you want to learn, eventually everything will come together...Do the grades hurt where you will place for residency? Of course....But anyone who has an MD/DO has something to be very proud of, so just persevere.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I thought the test is graded on a 1-100 scale, I'd imagine to get a 10 you'd actually have to know the right answers and be actively avoiding them, so how does their grading work?

 

[PenguinHead]

He's got to be talking about percentile where 10% is a raw 40, or something. I can't find the actual score distribution that I can across once.

 

[Arhat]

Yeah it is actually the percentile so you have to score above the 10% percentile.
My raw score for peds was 64 and you needed a 65 to pass and my raw for obgyn was 61 and you needed a 63 to get the green light. Now I a spending my summer 3 weeks trying to study as much as possible.

Does anyone feel at times it's such a uphill battle at times when it comes to school?

 

[tfom08]

Yeah it is actually the percentile so you have to score above the 10% percentile.
My raw score for peds was 64 and you needed a 65 to pass and my raw for obgyn was 61 and you needed a 63 to get the green light. Now I a spending my summer 3 weeks trying to study as much as possible.

Does anyone feel at times it's such a uphill battle at times when it comes to school?

Just hang in there, standardized tests don't mean you won't be a good doctor. Now that you are where you are, take a little time and do question banks on the subjects and maybe try a different approach than you did the first time. You can get past these. The cutoffs for passing at your school (63, 65) are pretty high I think at my school most of them were 59-61. You are close enough to get it done just work a little extra on each subject.

 

[JPmamd09]

As others have said, try not to get too down on yourself. You can do it!

Do you mind if I ask how you prepared for the exams? What books or study guides did you use? Maybe that way other people can volunteer things that seemed to work for them.

Best of luck to you!!

 

[plainolerichie]

Yeah it is actually the percentile so you have to score above the 10% percentile.
My raw score for peds was 64 and you needed a 65 to pass and my raw for obgyn was 61 and you needed a 63 to get the green light. Now I a spending my summer 3 weeks trying to study as much as possible.

Does anyone feel at times it's such a uphill battle at times when it comes to school?

Those scores are pretty harsh! I actually got a 62 on my ob/gyn shelf! Luckily, my school is above the 3rd percentile. Either way, don't feel stupid!

 

[Re3iRtH]

Why do schools set their own pass cut-offs..
Why not just use what NBME deems as passing?

 

[Red Beard]

Why do schools set their own pass cut-offs..
Why not just use what NBME deems as passing?

Because some schools would end up remediating 50% of their test takers.

Or, "testees."

 

[DaveinDallas]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Make no mistake, peds was the hardest shelf out there - seems like I got everyone elses jaundice in an infant with no other complications question wanting to know some detailed explanation about enteroheptic circulation or some such nonsense......

Make sure you're using a question bank for those two topics. Don't get too down on yourself, you wouldn't be where you're at if you didn't have what it took.....chin up....

 

[Arhat]

Well, after my disasters on the shelf in peds and ob-gyn, I am officially done with third year medical. I passed both of these shelf not by much but I passed them. I studied my butt off for these two exams. Ahhhh.... sigh of relief. Now I can be called a senior. I am only 3 weeks behind which is fine.

Thanks for all the support my fellow doctors. I couldn't have done without you guys. Excuse me while I go get a tissue.. "sniff sniff". 🙂🙂🙂:

 

[Clemson Doc]

Well, after my disasters on the shelf in peds and ob-gyn, I am officially done with third year medical. I passed both of these shelf not by much but I passed them. I studied my butt off for these two exams. Ahhhh.... sigh of relief. Now I can be called a senior. I am only 3 weeks behind which is fine.

Thanks for all the support my fellow doctors. I wouldn't have done without you guys. Excuse me while I go get a tissue.. "sniff sniff". 🙂🙂🙂:

Congratulations! Great job persevering and not letting this beat you. 👍

 

[FaceGuy]

Arhat, did you quit OMFS or get kicked out or what? j/w