I took my first shelf exam for my first rotation ever- OB-GYN- and did not do so well. NBME score was WELL below the average for my cohort by about 10 NBME points. Although I can understand this score in retrospect (difficulty adjusting to a first rotation with night call, moving to a different city and needing to work around family issues related to that, housing issues, feeling drained out at the end of the day after being on labor and delivery, having a full schedule right before going into the test, not being a superb test taker in general, etc), it kind of comes down to the fact that I underestimated the effort and strategy needed for the Shelf exam and didn't have the comfort of studying for it with my clinical schedule, as I would have normally studied for my older tests in med school. I just didn't play it right.
We have yet to receive our official grades. I feel embarrassed by this score, because everyone else has historically done so much better, but especially feel bummed because despite being drained by the rotation, I enjoyed it and do want to pursue it for residency.
I understand that the Chair letter is an official evaluation that may programs want and that it essentially evaluates us for the rotation. Will the NBME score hurt me if I try to get a chair letter? How do NBME scores affect Chair letters? Do I have a responsibility to speak up for myself directly after the clerkship with the coordinator or director to see what I can do or arrange to do to improve my outlook, perhaps by arranging fourth year opportunities? Or is it just best to lie low and try to do better on future rotations?
Since it is still the beginning of third year, I want to aware of myself and what I need to do, without getting ahead of myself. So, I am mostly asking in terms of realistic career advice and how to work this out and improve myself and my chances.
We have yet to receive our official grades. I feel embarrassed by this score, because everyone else has historically done so much better, but especially feel bummed because despite being drained by the rotation, I enjoyed it and do want to pursue it for residency.
I understand that the Chair letter is an official evaluation that may programs want and that it essentially evaluates us for the rotation. Will the NBME score hurt me if I try to get a chair letter? How do NBME scores affect Chair letters? Do I have a responsibility to speak up for myself directly after the clerkship with the coordinator or director to see what I can do or arrange to do to improve my outlook, perhaps by arranging fourth year opportunities? Or is it just best to lie low and try to do better on future rotations?
Since it is still the beginning of third year, I want to aware of myself and what I need to do, without getting ahead of myself. So, I am mostly asking in terms of realistic career advice and how to work this out and improve myself and my chances.
