screwed with comlex ... need some advice about step 1 :-(

[cateyezz]

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so when i came out of my comlex I exam..i thut for sure i did really well...and then i went back to studying for usmle..i've been studying since january of this year..turns out i got a 480 on comlex...my weakness is that i m not a good test taker but i reallyyy thought coming out of the exam that i did well...
anyhow...now i have usmle step 1 a week away...i dont know if i should even bother taking it or not since i got a 200 on my last NBME 7... i wanted to specialize something in cardiology but does it seem like my comlex score already closed this door on me? should i take step 1 or no? Please help ...

very depressed med student 🙁

 

[beachblonde]

Well, to do cardio you need to do IM first. A 480 will get you into an AOA IM program, no problem. I'm not sure about your chances at ACGME IM, though.

My personal philosophy is that there's no point for a DO student to take the USMLE unless they plan on doing well. With your practice scores, I'd eat the $500 and not risk failing it and really screwing yourself over.

Just try to learn from your mistakes and rock step 2! I know it sucks to not do as well as you wanted but you did pass with a reasonably large margin so there's definitely victory in that.

 

[supergumbo]

You are "screwed" with the COMLEX if you happened to fail it (which you can just retake again). A 480 is still a reasonably high score if you want to do AOA IM. As for the USMLE, since your last NBME wasn't too hot, and your confidence seems to be affected, I personally would not bother with it. A not-so-good USMLE score does you no favor and can even go against you. I'd focus on AOA residencies which should not be a problem. Other than that, doing well on your clinicals and ace Step II can open up good opportunities for the ACGME IM matches.

 

[Dissected]

Agree with the above 2

 

[linkDO]

Agree with them too.

In my opinion the risk of failing it far outweighs your benefit of getting something below a 215 (or even the worst case, failing). Unless you KNOW and are very confident that youre gonna do at least average or above on the USMLE... I probably wouldnt take it. Getting a 200 doesnt really help you.

 

[cateyezz]

thanks everyone..it makes me feel better to see the positive responses...and yea i dont think i'll b ready for usmle ... hopefully will be more prepared for step 2 next year

 

[NightOwlPM]

I got the exact same score and am very disappointed. Sure it is not disaster but I have no chance at a lot of specialties.

I know I do not have a chance at the competitive DO specialties. But what about DO gen surg and EM, any info on the averages of these? I really hope I'm not stuck in IM.

 

[cateyezz]

well i hope i can get into cardio after doing the three years of IM...but i m hoping that step 2 might help me...i hear EM is still an option with this score but i guess it depends on where u wanna go.... if n e one has any info on the specialties u can apply to with this score...it would be really helpful!

 

[cliquesh]

Don't take it until you know you can do above average. You can take it sometime during your third year.

 

[Dotsero]

I got the exact same score and am very disappointed. Sure it is not disaster but I have no chance at a lot of specialties.

I know I do not have a chance at the competitive DO specialties. But what about DO gen surg and EM, any info on the averages of these? I really hope I'm not stuck in IM.

How about DO ob-gyn with a 480?

 

[NightOwlPM]

How about DO ob-gyn with a 480?

I'd rather quit medicine than do OB/GYN but thanks for the advice.

I know I can do osteopathic primary care specialties (IM, Peds, OB/GYN, FM). Doubt any MD are an option.