psychiatry/USMLE

[markglt]

First off, does anybody out there know what step one thru three is out of, ie. 300, 290. What is considered a good score or an average score, or for that matter a low score. Secondly, what kind of score (numerically) do IMG'S need to place for a residency in psych.? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanx All

-Mark, USE SOM MSI, May2004

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[Chianti]

Average score is generally considered 200-215. Below 200 is GENERALLY considered low. Above 215 is GENERALLY considered competitive.

For pysch just pass the damn thing. Unless your applying to "top" places like Harvard, Yale, etc... your USMLE doesn't count for much. They will be much more interested in your personality, ability to communicate, etc... If your a cool guy you won't have any problem at all matching into a really good program. Plus US-IMGs have a huge leg up on true IMGs when it comes to matching in pysch.

 

[markglt]

Thanks for your reply. Are you a student in the caribbean?

 

[dwstranger]

When I took Step 1 in 2001, the average was 215 with a SD of 23. I took Step 2 in October of this year and the average was 210, SD 21.

Different programs have different cutoffs, and sometimes (often) it's difficult to get them to tell you what that number is. You might call and ask the programs you're interested in...

 

[Skip Intro]

Originally posted by markglt
First off, does anybody out there know what step one thru three is out of, ie. 300, 290. What is considered a good score or an average score, or for that matter a low score. Secondly, what kind of score (numerically) do IMG'S need to place for a residency in psych.? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanx All

-Mark, USE SOM MSI, May2004

Hey Mark,

You can go onto www.ama-assn.org and get onto the FREIDA database. Do a program search and look for all the psychiatry programs. Find out where you want to go and/or which programs you think you should apply to by linking to their website. Often these websites will list the residents by name and school. Typically, psych is very IMG friendly and not too hard to get. Searching the database will give you a good representation of who is accepting and more friendly to IMGs. As Chianti says, you're going to have a harder time at the programs that are top-tier even if you score 240+ on the first two Steps unless you are a U.S. student.

In the meantime, just get down to St. Eustatius, study hard, try to enjoy the little free time you'll have, make some good friends, and don't freak out. Take it one "step" at a time, no pun intended. When you have some time in between the end of your pre-clinical and Step I, take the Kaplan prep course (although I didn't and still somehow managed a 231 on Step I). It is money well invested.

Good luck.

-Skip
MSIII RUSM

 

[markglt]

Man thanks Skip, i just got your thread on how to prepare, very helpful. I agree with you about understanding the concepts, thats exactly what i have to work on. Hope all is well.

-Mark