Should I push back???? Barely passing...

[nope80]

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My test is in 12 days and I just took NBME 4 and got a 183. I've been scoring typically mid 50s on UWORLD. What do you all think, should I push the test back?? The only way for me to do this would be to write to the dean, ask to use the time that I would take for my first rotation and instead study. There are people that are doing this but they have arranged for it way ahead of time and I don't know how this would look in front of the dean.

My major problem is the little details - I am losing points based on finer details and definitely my weaker points, like anatomy, micro, statistics, pharm.

What should I do? Should I wait a week and see how it goes? Write to the dean now and push it back? I'd have to make up my first rotation at the end of my fourth year- how bad is this in the grand scheme of things?

I really need some advice!! 🙁

 

[Depakote]

I would talk to the dean and see what they think. I'm guessing they'll probably recommend you postpone until you're in a safer score range. Given that your NBME score is that close to the edge, it's at least worth having the discussion.

 

[nope80]

Are there going to be serious career implications for pushing back my first rotation? I'm almost kinda embarrassed (not that this should be an issue) writing to the dean and explaining how I'm not ready🙁 Any advice on this? How bad of a reflection is this going to be?

 

[calespine]

Try to be very honest with yourself- a failed step 1 is a much bigger deal than a postponed 1st rotation. By all means, if you feel confident go for it- but understand the consequences. I'm not sure how your school schedules rotations, but we usually have a bunch of elective time during m4, so maybe it'll just eat up some of your vacation time if shuffle your first rotation.

 

[Depakote]

I'd make sure to talk to the dean face to face if possible... or over the phone if not.

I'd be less concerned about the delay and your match than the possibility of failing step I and being pulled out of a rotation to re-study and retake it, then having to explain a failing grade. Yes, it's a really tough spot to be in, but if you play it smart you can minimize its impact.

 

[silas2642]

My test is in 12 days and I just took NBME 4 and got a 183. I've been scoring typically mid 50s on UWORLD. What do you all think, should I push the test back?? The only way for me to do this would be to write to the dean, ask to use the time that I would take for my first rotation and instead study. There are people that are doing this but they have arranged for it way ahead of time and I don't know how this would look in front of the dean.

My major problem is the little details - I am losing points based on finer details and definitely my weaker points, like anatomy, micro, statistics, pharm.

What should I do? Should I wait a week and see how it goes? Write to the dean now and push it back? I'd have to make up my first rotation at the end of my fourth year- how bad is this in the grand scheme of things?

I really need some advice!! 🙁

How have you been taking the UWorld questions? I've been scoring around the mid-50's on World (random timed) and have done two NBME's, but passed both of them comfortably. Are you sure this wasn't just a fluke?

 

[nope80]

Its really hard to tell - I took another NBME and didn't pass.
My score distributions are very black and white - the areas I know I know and the areas I don't I don't do well on. Its the details that kill me.

Maybe they were both flukes but I have no way of knowing since we don't get the answers🙁

I'm thinking I need to go ahead and write the dean before it gets too late. There were a few people in my class that arranged to not have their first rotation and study for the boards but they let the administration know ahead of time. Is it possible for them to say no? Whats the worse that can happen? I really need advice here...

 

[kdburton]

Its really hard to tell - I took another NBME and didn't pass.
My score distributions are very black and white - the areas I know I know and the areas I don't I don't do well on. Its the details that kill me.

Maybe they were both flukes but I have no way of knowing since we don't get the answers🙁

I'm thinking I need to go ahead and write the dean before it gets too late. There were a few people in my class that arranged to not have their first rotation and study for the boards but they let the administration know ahead of time. Is it possible for them to say no? Whats the worse that can happen? I really need advice here...

At my school there are people who failed a module in 2nd year and they just start 3rd year a rotation later and it takes away from one of their 3 months of vacation during MS4 eventually. They still graduate on time. Assuming your school wants everyone to pass Step 1 and they've already granted some people extensions in their study time, they will probably also make an exception for you. And if its anything like the situation I described at my school you wouldn't be graduating later than others either. I agree with another poster that it would look a lot worse to fail Step 1 than to take it late (residency programs may not even realize that you took it late in fact since different schools have different calendars). I'd talk to the dean and in the meantime just put in some hard work. Good luck

 

[nope80]

Yeah thats how it works. They haven't officially announced this but this is what the registrar lady told me. It would just be completed at the end of third year and it would just take a month of vacation away.

 

[future_dr_house]

At our school, we start off with a week of orientation and islands for different procedures. We are able to push back into this time if absolutely needed (almost no-one does this). Additionally, for students who really feel they need it, again, maybe only at our school, we can try to get a rotation schedule with an elective first, which we could then use as a "vacation" month.

Do you guys immediately start rotations? Would your school allow you to just roll back one of your rotations?

Honestly, a failed step one is much more embarrassing, talk to you dean NOW before it's too late for him to do anything for you.

 

[nope80]

we have two weeks of islands before rotations. Its from 8-5 on most days - i don't know how much help it will be to have those two extra weeks if they won't be devoted to studying (just evenings). Maybe it will be enough, I just have no idea.

 

[silas2642]

we have two weeks of islands before rotations. Its from 8-5 on most days - i don't know how much help it will be to have those two extra weeks if they won't be devoted to studying (just evenings). Maybe it will be enough, I just have no idea.

I agree with the other poster who said to contact your dean/associate dean and talk to them about the situation re: pushing the boards back. You certainly don't want to fail the exam, and it would be really nice to do well on it so you can have some choices come match time.

During your 2 weeks of "islands" (I have no idea what that is, but I'm assuming it's more or less orientation) you're probably going to be fried by the end of the day and way too tired to absorb anything significant. At best, you may be able to retain what you've already learned.

 

[nope80]

For NBME 4, for example, how many more questions would I have had to get correct to move up lets say 20 points. I know its not linear but does anyone have any idea of what the points/questions correct ratio would be around? I reviewed the first two sections of it and got around 60% correct (didn't know that was such a bad score!) maybe I really messed up on section 3 and 4 or maybe the curve was just that tight.

 

[psychforme]

The question is - will some extra time improve your score?

If not; don't postpone.

Also, make sure you are hitting the books not wasting time surfing SDN.

 

[metallo]

For NBME 4, for example, how many more questions would I have had to get correct to move up lets say 20 points. I know its not linear but does anyone have any idea of what the points/questions correct ratio would be around? I reviewed the first two sections of it and got around 60% correct (didn't know that was such a bad score!) maybe I really messed up on section 3 and 4 or maybe the curve was just that tight.

nope80, please let us know what you decide to do. I was having similar thoughts a couple of weeks ago. My score on NBME 2 was passing, but not where I wanted it to be. Fortunately, I was able to push my test back about a week and a half, so now it's only 4 days before my first clerkship begins. I'm going to take another NBME in the next couple of days. I feel like I've made a LOT of progress, but if my score hasn't improved, I'm going to seriously consider asking for time off during my first clerkship. Bottom line: this test is too important. Your career depends on it... don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[metallo]

For NBME 4, for example, how many more questions would I have had to get correct to move up lets say 20 points. I know its not linear but does anyone have any idea of what the points/questions correct ratio would be around?

First Aid has a stat that says that around the passing mark (185), each point on the 3 digit scale is approximately 1.5 questions correct. Since the NBME practice exams have roughly 2/3 the number of scored questions on the real deal, I think a good rough estimate is (2/3)*(1.5), which would be 1 point per question. As you said, though, it's not linear, and I believe each question is weighted differently based on its difficulty (i.e. what percentage of people have answered it correctly in their sample group).