Matching into Emed with low Step scores

[emeddaily]

I was really hoping to gain an opinion from anyone that has already matched into Emed/received interviews or is a resident/attending:

A bit about myself. I am currently a 4th year medical student that attends a US accredited medical school. I am on a gap year currently doing research at a top tier center which I am guaranteed a publication.

I want to match into Emed but I am concerned about my USMLE. I did not pass Step 1 on my first attempt and on my second attempt I scored a 221. After this momentum, I worked my butt off third year and received outstanding clinical feedback.

When step 2 rolled around, I am not sure what happened. NBME 4- 214 (4weeks out), NBME 6-231(2 weeks out) UWSA-241 (3 days before) ACTUAL STEP 2 - 213. -1st attempt.

I was devastated with my step 2 results considering the test did not feel as bad and my practice exams. Thankful that I passed on first attempt but now I am concerned about matching into ER.

Friends and family have told me to not give up. I am strong minded as well. I have a great CV, phenomenal social communication skills (I interview very well), and I have a few contacts in some programs. I am also a minority/diverse if that matters.

My plan was to do many away rotations (4-5) to get Great LORs. I would also hope to have my program director vouge that my USMLE scores do not adequately represent the caliber of a candidate that I am.

Is there anyone that can offer insight and advice?

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[camaronal15]

Here's a good place to start:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Charting-Outcomes-US-Allopathic-Seniors-2016.pdf

Friends and family have told me to not give up. I am strong minded as well.

No offense, but everyone's family and friends are going to say the same thing. You should speak with an EM advisor, preferably someone who is part of residency leadership (i.e. your PD). They will (hopefully) give you the straight dope on your chances of matching.

I'm sure others on here will give you plenty more advice. I would also check out the thread on here entitled "FM to EM." Plenty of family medicine doctors can get trained to practice emergency medicine, albeit in less desirable (i.e. rural) areas of the country.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

I think you've sunk your battleship but it's up to you to decide if you want to be that one in a million case.

 

[canigetawhatwhat]

Do aways. If you are truly as awesome as you think you are, you should match where you rotate.

 

[tux4]

Many programs might prescreen you out. Many may not and take a look at the rest of your application, which sounds like it is good. Just apply anyway to most programs and have a backup specialty just in case, then see what happens. As you may already know and what people will tell you is that you have lower chances because of board scores, but if money aint a thing then apply away. The SLOE's will be either the saving grace or nail in the coffin. Also getting your dean to vouch for you probably won't do much..taking step 1 twice and scoring low on step 1/2 is objective evidence that you are a weaker than average standardized test taker no matter how someone else tries to color it. Make your other strengths shine and keep the focus off the board scores as much as possible.


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[CliveStaples]

Certainly give yourself every opportunity to match into EM by maximizing your performance on audition rotations.

That being said, you are an at-risk candidate for not matching and you should prepare with that in mind. Regardless of how well you're able to demonstrate yourself on rotations, you regrettably have the flag of a failed USMLE and was not able to score well enough on CK to demonstrate that you're not at risk of failing again. You can have stupendous letters but that doesn't change the worry that PDs will have about your ability to pass your EM boards. Certainly your best bet is to become familiar with as many places as possible and hope that they can look past your risks (and I would add that you should be judicious about where you do your auditions - they need to be at some of the least competitive programs in the nation at this point).

Finally, you need a backup plan. While not matching into EM will rightfully feel devastating, it is much worse to match into nothing. Search within and figure out what a less competitive specialty has to offer that you can live with. For some, they love children and could be happy going into pediatrics and maybe even doing a fellowship in pediatric emergency med later. For others, they like critically ill patients and going an internal medicine to critical care route is a palatable idea. Many people find family medicine to be most similar to emergency medicine and choose it for that reason (in addition to being able to work in underserved emergency departments).

I wish you good luck!

Edit: Mods may want to move this to the WAMC thread as that seems to be exactly what this is.

 

[gman33]

You likely will not match.

I would advise against applying.

 

[emeddaily]

Certainly give yourself every opportunity to match into EM by maximizing your performance on audition rotations.

That being said, you are an at-risk candidate for not matching and you should prepare with that in mind. Regardless of how well you're able to demonstrate yourself on rotations, you regrettably have the flag of a failed USMLE and was not able to score well enough on CK to demonstrate that you're not at risk of failing again. You can have stupendous letters but that doesn't change the worry that PDs will have about your ability to pass your EM boards. Certainly your best bet is to become familiar with as many places as possible and hope that they can look past your risks (and I would add that you should be judicious about where you do your auditions - they need to be at some of the least competitive programs in the nation at this point).

Finally, you need a backup plan. While not matching into EM will rightfully feel devastating, it is much worse to match into nothing. Search within and figure out what a less competitive specialty has to offer that you can live with. For some, they love children and could be happy going into pediatrics and maybe even doing a fellowship in pediatric emergency med later. For others, they like critically ill patients and going an internal medicine to critical care route is a palatable idea. Many people find family medicine to be most similar to emergency medicine and choose it for that reason (in addition to being able to work in underserved emergency departments).

I wish you good luck!

Edit: Mods may want to move this to the WAMC thread as that seems to be exactly what this is.

Thank you so much everyone for the reply and I also welcome more advice. In terms of where to do my away rotations, would it be better to do my away rotation at a top program that would not have given me an interview? This seems like a nothing to lose situation and a chance to get a letter from a high tier program.

 

[Bouddha]

Thank you so much everyone for the reply and I also welcome more advice. In terms of where to do my away rotations, would it be better to do my away rotation at a top program that would not have given me an interview? This seems like a nothing to lose situation and a chance to get a letter from a high tier program.

I agree with those above that you are an at-risk applicant for not matching. That said, if you're dead-set on it, what do you have to lose?

I would suggest focusing on doing away rotations at smaller community based programs where you have at least a marginal chance at matching if you're able to make a good impression and build relationships. The reality is that you're looking for a program that's willing to take a chance on you, that's not going to be a top-tier program.

 

[CliveStaples]

Thank you so much everyone for the reply and I also welcome more advice. In terms of where to do my away rotations, would it be better to do my away rotation at a top program that would not have given me an interview? This seems like a nothing to lose situation and a chance to get a letter from a high tier program.

I think you have to be honest about what helps your chances most. Getting a nice letter from a well known program is great and all, but in return you've done a rotation at a place you have virtually no chance of matching into.

The fact is, a great letter from a well known program isn't going to get you many more interviews. Unfortunately, you're a candidate who will likely not receive many interviews from places outside of where you rotate, no matter what kind of letters you get. So it behooves you to do rotations are programs who will interview and rank you because these are potentially the only interviews you're going to get.

Read comments above: people aren't telling you to consider another specialty because they want to be mean to you, they're telling you this because applying is a commitment and an expense and they want you to be successful in something, and a failed step 1 score without significant CK improvement is a big indication that applying to EM will not be something you succeed in. However, if you're willing to pay the expense of doing many away rotations and dual apply with another less competitive specialty, then you may as well maximize your EM odds.

 

[emeddaily]

I think you have to be honest about what helps your chances most. Getting a nice letter from a well known program is great and all, but in return you've done a rotation at a place you have virtually no chance of matching into.

The fact is, a great letter from a well known program isn't going to get you many more interviews. Unfortunately, you're a candidate who will likely not receive many interviews from places outside of where you rotate, no matter what kind of letters you get. So it behooves you to do rotations are programs who will interview and rank you because these are potentially the only interviews you're going to get.

Read comments above: people aren't telling you to consider another specialty because they want to be mean to you, they're telling you this because applying is a commitment and an expense and they want you to be successful in something, and a failed step 1 score without significant CK improvement is a big indication that applying to EM will not be something you succeed in. However, if you're willing to pay the expense of doing many away rotations and dual apply with another less competitive specialty, then you may as well maximize your EM odds.

Thank you. I am going to dual apply to medicine as well. I appreciate the advice

 

[EmergDoc2B]

I would add to the advice above: Do as many EM aways as your school allows and you can afford. Apply to all new programs. They will be more lenient about scores as long as the rest of your application looks good.
The big issue for a PD is assessing your risk of not passing your step 3 and licensing board. Residencies are proud of those board pass rates and you present a problem in that regard. I would prepare to talk about how you will succeed on those exams if you are granted an interview.

 

[bravotwozero]

Here's a good place to start:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Charting-Outcomes-US-Allopathic-Seniors-2016.pdf

Holy cow those stats are crazy. There's no way I would have matched now, and I matched in 2012! Glad I matched when I did!

FYI my step 1 was 217 and step 2 223.


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[doggydog]

Holy cow those stats are crazy. There's no way I would have matched now, and I matched in 2012! Glad I matched when I did!

FYI my step 1 was 217 and step 2 223.


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It's relative though, the average step 1 score for all of those that take the test has gone up like four points in the past two years alone. So a 232 this year is about the same score as a 228 two years ago.

 

[goodoldalky]

It is worth a shot to apply to EM. Do some aways, make a good impression on everyone in the ED, and apply broadly.

 

[GonnaBeADoc2222]

PGY4 here. Although I am not a PD, I would imagine that a Step 1 fail combined with a low Step 2 CK would likely give you an all but overwhelmingly low probability of matching in EM. USMLE scores correlate not only with in-training and board exam scores, but have also been shown to correlate with attending evaluators' perception of your patient care and professionalism skills (I'm not at all saying that you are bad at patient care or are unprofessional, just merely stating what's been shown in some data). Low scores also correlate with being put on probation at some time during training. These are issues a program director DOES NOT want to deal with. Unfortunately, there are applicants with excellent USMLE scores who also have "outstanding clinical feedback." To be honest, your scores may even suggest a baseline deficiency of medical knowledge such that you would not be able to perform well clinically in EM (basically 80% of questions on CK start out with "An X year old patient presents to the Emergency Department and..."). Your application will likely be electronically pre-screened out and will not see the eyes of the PD. I think you should consider the financial cost of "applying to every program" when it comes time for you to apply.

If EM is your absolute dream, then by all means go for it. You don't want to have regrets in life, so why not shoot for the stars? I would say you need to target 2-3 "lesser known" programs and do audition rotations there. To succeed, you need to: show up 10 minutes early for every shift, never be annoying, introduce yourself to everyone on every shift, offer to call consultants / social work, don't piss off consultants, don't piss off nurses, be enthusiastic about procedures, get patients food/blankets. Be an asset, not a burden.

I'm sorry for the honesty, but I think you need to be mentally prepared for the possibility of not matching in EM. I would definitely consider a backup in IM/Peds/FM to ensure a match of some sort.

 

[emeddaily]

PGY4 here. Although I am not a PD, I would imagine that a Step 1 fail combined with a low Step 2 CK would likely give you an all but overwhelmingly low probability of matching in EM. USMLE scores correlate not only with in-training and board exam scores, but have also been shown to correlate with attending evaluators' perception of your patient care and professionalism skills (I'm not at all saying that you are bad at patient care or are unprofessional, just merely stating what's been shown in some data). Low scores also correlate with being put on probation at some time during training. These are issues a program director DOES NOT want to deal with. Unfortunately, there are applicants with excellent USMLE scores who also have "outstanding clinical feedback." To be honest, your scores may even suggest a baseline deficiency of medical knowledge such that you would not be able to perform well clinically in EM (basically 80% of questions on CK start out with "An X year old patient presents to the Emergency Department and..."). Your application will likely be electronically pre-screened out and will not see the eyes of the PD. I think you should consider the financial cost of "applying to every program" when it comes time for you to apply.

If EM is your absolute dream, then by all means go for it. You don't want to have regrets in life, so why not shoot for the stars? I would say you need to target 2-3 "lesser known" programs and do audition rotations there. To succeed, you need to: show up 10 minutes early for every shift, never be annoying, introduce yourself to everyone on every shift, offer to call consultants / social work, don't piss off consultants, don't piss off nurses, be enthusiastic about procedures, get patients food/blankets. Be an asset, not a burden.

I'm sorry for the honesty, but I think you need to be mentally prepared for the possibility of not matching in EM. I would definitely consider a backup in IM/Peds/FM to ensure a match of some sort.

The honesty is appreciated. Thank you. In the end I know that audition rotations would be the best option as on paper my stats do not accurately describe my knowledge base. Considering I had high pass for my clerkships and outstanding clinical feedback. I guess my next question would be for IM programs. As a uS grad , I understand that IM programs tend to look at the complete picture. I would not be aiming for a top notch program but how competitive are other academic IM programs.

 

[emeddaily]

PGY4 here. Although I am not a PD, I would imagine that a Step 1 fail combined with a low Step 2 CK would likely give you an all but overwhelmingly low probability of matching in EM. USMLE scores correlate not only with in-training and board exam scores, but have also been shown to correlate with attending evaluators' perception of your patient care and professionalism skills (I'm not at all saying that you are bad at patient care or are unprofessional, just merely stating what's been shown in some data). Low scores also correlate with being put on probation at some time during training. These are issues a program director DOES NOT want to deal with. Unfortunately, there are applicants with excellent USMLE scores who also have "outstanding clinical feedback." To be honest, your scores may even suggest a baseline deficiency of medical knowledge such that you would not be able to perform well clinically in EM (basically 80% of questions on CK start out with "An X year old patient presents to the Emergency Department and..."). Your application will likely be electronically pre-screened out and will not see the eyes of the PD. I think you should consider the financial cost of "applying to every program" when it comes time for you to apply.

If EM is your absolute dream, then by all means go for it. You don't want to have regrets in life, so why not shoot for the stars? I would say you need to target 2-3 "lesser known" programs and do audition rotations there. To succeed, you need to: show up 10 minutes early for every shift, never be annoying, introduce yourself to everyone on every shift, offer to call consultants / social work, don't piss off consultants, don't piss off nurses, be enthusiastic about procedures, get patients food/blankets. Be an asset, not a burden.

I'm sorry for the honesty, but I think you need to be mentally prepared for the possibility of not matching in EM. I would definitely consider a backup in IM/Peds/FM to ensure a match of some sort.

I also don't believe that data on USMLE scores correlating to patient care. But if you have an article , I would love a good read. Social communication come natural to others and is not warranted by a standardized test.

 

[FiveIronFrenzy]

The fail is what hurts you the most.

i had a 203 step 1, 220 step 2, mostly passes clinically (honors every time on rotations until the clerkship director would note my less than stellar end of rotation test score and adjust accordingly)

had 12 interviews and got matched to a good program.

first inservice scored in the 60s, second in the 80s and now top 20% nationally for my pgy.. (didnt really improve my clinical reasoning but learned how to game the test)

the secret for me was getting a good source for the rote regurgitation game that is standardized testing.

i get great clinical feedback from attendings and high ratings from patients frequently.

my point is it can be done so long as you learn to play the game.

but yeah, PDs want high scoring people to boost their numbers and make their programs look great on paper with minimal input from the program because they have enough other stuff to take care of and dont want to risk a poor test taker tanking their reputation when there are so many others out there that can move the meat while rocking which letter to click on the mouse come test time.

residency programs dont teach you how to be a great doc, your experiences during your shifts do. the testing is not an indicator of your clinical acumen, but it doesnt matter, such is the game.

good luck and always have a back up plan. even if you are an SDN stat all star

 

[CliveStaples]

I also don't believe that data on USMLE scores correlating to patient care. But if you have an article , I would love a good read. Social communication come natural to others and is not warranted by a standardized test.

Here's one study of IM residents where their overall performance as PGY3s were scored by chief residents and faculty (overall performance being things like patient care) and they found a statistically significant (though one could argue how modest the significance) correlation between Step 1 scores and their overall ratings as residents. (http://www.jgme.org/doi/pdf/10.4300/JGME-D-09-00044.1?code=gmed-site)

I don't say this to try and disparage you or say that you're going to be a bad resident or anything like that. However, I think that it's also important to understand that from a residency's position, there's a little more to their hesitancy than just "he's going to struggle to pass his boards."

 

[emeddaily]

Here's one study of IM residents where their overall performance as PGY3s were scored by chief residents and faculty (overall performance being things like patient care) and they found a statistically significant (though one could argue how modest the significance) correlation between Step 1 scores and their overall ratings as residents. (http://www.jgme.org/doi/pdf/10.4300/JGME-D-09-00044.1?code=gmed-site)

I don't say this to try and disparage you or say that you're going to be a bad resident or anything like that. However, I think that it's also important to understand that from a residency's position, there's a little more to their hesitancy than just "he's going to struggle to pass his boards."

What was found to be impressive to my deans was that after my fail for step 1 which was a 191 (1 point shy), I re studied on my own accord in 6weeks and jumped to a 221. Generally, students that retake the exam, struggle to get in the 200s and sometimes take much longer to do so. In a sense I am a unique candidate. My CK score just unfortunately does not vogue for that.

 

[Makati2008]

What was found to be impressive to my deans was that after my fail for step 1 which was a 191 (1 point shy), I re studied on my own accord in 6weeks and jumped to a 221. Generally, students that retake the exam, struggle to get in the 200s and sometimes take much longer to do so. In a sense I am a unique candidate. My CK score just unfortunately does not vogue for that.

Unfortunately, I don't foresee you matching. If you would have increased your score on Step 2 instead of dropping then you might have been able to explain your step1 score away after raising it to 220 from a fail.....




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[GonnaBeADoc2222]

OP, do you have a home program? Have you talked to this PD if yes?

 

[Istaretoomuch]

I was really hoping to gain an opinion from anyone that has already matched into Emed/received interviews or is a resident/attending:

A bit about myself. I am currently a 4th year medical student that attends a US accredited medical school. I am on a gap year currently doing research at a top tier center which I am guaranteed a publication.

I want to match into Emed but I am concerned about my USMLE. I did not pass Step 1 on my first attempt and on my second attempt I scored a 221. After this momentum, I worked my butt off third year and received outstanding clinical feedback.

When step 2 rolled around, I am not sure what happened. NBME 4- 214 (4weeks out), NBME 6-231(2 weeks out) UWSA-241 (3 days before) ACTUAL STEP 2 - 213. -1st attempt.

I was devastated with my step 2 results considering the test did not feel as bad and my practice exams. Thankful that I passed on first attempt but now I am concerned about matching into ER.

Friends and family have told me to not give up. I am strong minded as well. I have a great CV, phenomenal social communication skills (I interview very well), and I have a few contacts in some programs. I am also a minority/diverse if that matters.

My plan was to do many away rotations (4-5) to get Great LORs. I would also hope to have my program director vouge that my USMLE scores do not adequately represent the caliber of a candidate that I am.

Is there anyone that can offer insight and advice?

There are a lot of programs that either just got accreditation or haven't graduated a class yet. You will be a US MD. They're in pretty desirable locations too so if EM is your dream training at a new program like Rush, Florida Atlantic, Aventura, Kendall, Brookdale, University of Central Florida, etc (there are others) could def be a possibility

 

[einstein1990]

I haven't matched yet... but, food for thought -

US allo MS4. Wanted EM since day 1. Midwest med school.
Step 1: 205
Step 2: 229
Rotations: H/H/H
Did OK first two years, honored the hell out of my clinicals.

I applied SUPER broadly given my crappy step scores. 65 programs I believe? I attended 17 interviews, and turned down 6 interviews. I'm ranking 16 programs. Can't say for sure that I will match (fingers crossed y'all,) but I'm pretty normal and personable, had great SLOEs (or so I am told - I must have to get interviews?), and I interview pretty well. TBD, but all hope is not lost.

I'll post more details tomorrow however, I did a lot of research and presentations, pubs in Annals as first author, lots of stuff showing my longitudinal interest in EM.

 

[Lexdiamondz]

I haven't matched yet... but, food for thought -

US allo MS4. Wanted EM since day 1. Midwest med school.
Step 1: 205
Step 2: 229
Rotations: H/H/H
Did OK first two years, honored the hell out of my clinicals.

I applied SUPER broadly given my crappy step scores. 65 programs I believe? I attended 17 interviews, and turned down 6 interviews. I'm ranking 16 programs. Can't say for sure that I will match (fingers crossed y'all,) but I'm pretty normal and personable, had great SLOEs (or so I am told - I must have to get interviews?), and I interview pretty well. TBD, but all hope is not lost.

I'll post more details tomorrow however, I did a lot of research and presentations, pubs in Annals as first author, lots of stuff showing my longitudinal interest in EM.

Impressive!

But, like others have highlighted, the issue here is that OP failed their 1st attempt at Step 1, and did worse on CK rather than demonstrating an upward trend. Having low scores that are trending upward can be spun positively, whereas having a failure, and a subsequent downward trend with clerkship grades that don't support strong clinical skills is going to hurt their chances considerably. Not to say that it's hopeless by any means, but it's going to be a very uphill battle.

 

[em2017plz]

MS4 MD School in the South.
Pretty crappy MS1-2 (all Passes. barely, lol). HP/HO 3rd year. Not sure about aways x 3--our school reports only a P.
Step 1 215, Step 2 240.
Lots of volunteering and leadership. Excellent SLOEs according to feedback from interviewers.
Applied to too many schools, but got 20+ invites and 1 WL. I'm ranking 16.

I agree with most of what everyone else has said, but don't let anyone dissuade you from trying. Your Step 1 fail will hurt a lot, but amazing SLOEs and honoring away rotations could do wonders for your application. Just be realistic in where you apply and how many programs. As someone mentioned before, there are a TON of new programs popping up, particularly in Florida. If EM is what you absolutely want to do and you want a job right off the bat, then you won't care where or what program it is.

That being said, make sure you have a Plan B. Either apply to some IM or FM programs as backup, or do a transitional or prelim year if you can't bear not being an ER doc.

 

[digitalunderground]

Matched my #1 EM program.
I agree with the above folks with not being disuaded as I had mediocre Step 1 and Step 2 (<230), mainly P and HP throughout medical school (all 4 years). Apply broadly and even to places you may feel are "out of reach". Be persistent as well--I emailed and emailed (polite, non-pushy) places that rejected me and a handful offered me late interviews.
For your aways, email a more senior resident in the program as they tend to have more free time in their schedule than the interns (and more experience) and meet up a day before your rotation to go over the ED logistics (location of IV kits/suture carts/splinting material, Do we push people to XRAY or CATscan, how do I write notes and discharge papers). And remember, it's not just about impressing the attendings but also being helpful and respectful to the residents.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

I definitely wouldn't give up on EM and would ignore the advice to do so, especially if you find yourself getting good clinical eval's on your EM rotations. I'd have a backup plan, but I wouldn't give up on EM. Look at the data again. Yes, EM has an average step 1 and 2 of 233/245. But thats an average. Look at the slide on pages 58-59. Students with a step 1 of 201-210 (who many on here would say should give up) matched 79 times vs 30 unmatched. You were 2.6 times more likely to match in EM with a step 1 of 201-210 than to go unmatched based on that data. The next chart shows the probability of matching. With a step 1 score of 200, people matched at a 70% rate in EM.

So yes, the board score averages are high. But clinical performance trumps all, and if you do well on EM rotations, you'll have a decent chance of matching. Will it be 95% chance? No. But I wouldn't exactly give up if I had odds of like 75% either, I'd just have a good backup plan.

 

[emeddaily]

Hey everyone!

Just to offer hope to anyone reading this that suffered from mishaps and failure. I ended up matching to Emergency Medicine to one of the top programs in the country!

This forum can provide a lot of negativity at times but I hope to shed some positivity. Hard work always pays off and I encourage anyone out there to keep striving for your dream profession and let nobody on this forum deter you away!

 

[slurpy15]

You are a US grad. There are programs like this Click Here to Meet our Residents! that don't have a single US grad. Maybe they would prefer a US grad? I don't know. But clearly they have slim pickings.

 

[slurpy15]

And this Wyckoff EM | Brooklyn | Wyckoff Emergency Medicine Residency. Does Brookdale still have accreditation? There are places out there if you look, perhaps.

 

[BoardingDoc]

You are a US grad. There are programs like this Click Here to Meet our Residents! that don't have a single US grad. Maybe they would prefer a US grad? I don't know. But clearly they have slim pickings.

??? The program you linked to looks to be at least 50% US grads if not more.

 

[slurpy15]

OK, yes, fair enough, although their previous classes had fewer. But still plenty of non US grads, and from really weird schools, not even just St George's.

 

[Psai]

Hey everyone!

Just to offer hope to anyone reading this that suffered from mishaps and failure. I ended up matching to Emergency Medicine to one of the top programs in the country!

This forum can provide a lot of negativity at times but I hope to shed some positivity. Hard work always pays off and I encourage anyone out there to keep striving for your dream profession and let nobody on this forum deter you away!

Congratulations!

lol at all the people telling you that you won't make it into the field with a 220.

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Congratulations!

lol at all the people telling you that you won't make it into the field with a 220.

Yeah, I think the confusion is, students don't know what's in their SLOEs but they have an objective piece of info with their boards they can point to when something goes wrong. In reality, its not the boards that kept them out, but its the only objective piece of info they can point to in their app since the SLOEs are blinded. So students with low board scores and mid to low SLOEs blame their board scores when they don't match because everyone just assumes they are a top 1/3 student at worst on their SLOEs when in reality, many of the people who score low on their boards aren't getting top 1/3 and top 1o SLOEs. Medical education is to partly to blame because most schools grossly inflate their grades to the point where 75% of the class gets an honors or HP. Osteopathic schools on the ABCD scale almost never ever grade lower than a B. So students just used to getting one of the top two grades, and aren't used to being told they are middle of the pack or a low 1/3 student.

SLOEs are why some people with 210's match (with great SLOEs) and why some people with 250's (poor SLOEs) don't match. Board scores aren't a magic ticket into an EM residency, but good SLOEs are.

 

[theseeker4]

Hey everyone!

Just to offer hope to anyone reading this that suffered from mishaps and failure. I ended up matching to Emergency Medicine to one of the top programs in the country!

This forum can provide a lot of negativity at times but I hope to shed some positivity. Hard work always pays off and I encourage anyone out there to keep striving for your dream profession and let nobody on this forum deter you away!

Congratulations! Just out of curiosity, since I am already half way through residency, what were the numbers of applications/interviews and how far down your rank list did you match?

 

[emeddaily]

Congratulations! Just out of curiosity, since I am already half way through residency, what were the numbers of applications/interviews and how far down your rank list did you match?

Submitted roughly 75 applications. Went on 15 interviews. Matched to my #3

 

[Angry Birds]

Hey everyone!

Just to offer hope to anyone reading this that suffered from mishaps and failure. I ended up matching to Emergency Medicine to one of the top programs in the country!

This forum can provide a lot of negativity at times but I hope to shed some positivity. Hard work always pays off and I encourage anyone out there to keep striving for your dream profession and let nobody on this forum deter you away!

Like a boss.

 

[lfcsalah]

Hey everyone!

Just to offer hope to anyone reading this that suffered from mishaps and failure. I ended up matching to Emergency Medicine to one of the top programs in the country!

This forum can provide a lot of negativity at times but I hope to shed some positivity. Hard work always pays off and I encourage anyone out there to keep striving for your dream profession and let nobody on this forum deter you away!

Hi , I am having a similar situation , kindly let me know how to get in otuch with you. extreme desperate situation !! thanks