MD STEP 1 before MS2?? MPH/MHA instead?

[ancoraimparo]

Hello.

I am a med student that has to take a medical leave between MS1 and MS2 for treatment.

I also have to remediate anatomy - either this fall or next summer.

I applied to and got admitted to an MPH program and a Master's in Healthcare administration program - both start next month and can be completed within a year.

I already have an MBA.

I am a "nontraditional" med student (I am older - in my late 20s).

Should I take either Master's Program?

Should I study for STEP 1 instead? (and if so: a) what is a good study schedule/ test prep course - like Kaplan? b) when should I plan on taking the exam?; and c) what is a good study schedule/ sequence to follow?).

Should I do both (Master's Program and STEP)?

Travel/ Leisure/ etc?

Finish some research obligations?

Something else entirely?

And when to remediate anatomy in all of this?

Thank you SO much for your thoughts on this. I feel really lost in all of this...

PS My school follows organ system blocks.

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[Oso]

My thoughts:
- your priority should be on treatment and getting better, so make sure to give yourself time to recover
- another masters? if you really think it will be useful and cost is not a factor, then sure. I wouldn't get it just to get it though, especially if you already have one
- do not take step 1 if you've only done M1 year. If you want to review, review the topics you covered in first year with first aid and pathoma. I would save UW for actual boards studying and wouldn't start hardcore studying until you've covered all the material in class
- definitely remediate anatomy so you don't have to worry about it when you come back
- if you have research stuff you can wrap up I would do that

I hope you get better and that it all works out for you

 

[Gurby]

You're all over the place. What are you hoping to get out of medical school?

Want to be a neurosurgeon? Do research.
Want to be an administrator? Maybe doing the administration masters or MPH makes sense.
Want to be a FM doc? Leisure/travel/etc.

Taking Step 1 without going through M2 seems really dumb.

 

[ancoraimparo]

My thoughts:
- your priority should be on treatment and getting better, so make sure to give yourself time to recover
- another masters? if you really think it will be useful and cost is not a factor, then sure. I wouldn't get it just to get it though, especially if you already have one
- do not take step 1 if you've only done M1 year. If you want to review, review the topics you covered in first year with first aid and pathoma. I would save UW for actual boards studying and wouldn't start hardcore studying until you've covered all the material in class
- definitely remediate anatomy so you don't have to worry about it when you come back
- if you have research stuff you can wrap up I would do that

I hope you get better and that it all works out for you

Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughts about this.

I do not want to go into research (I want to do clinical work) so I don't know that doing additional research would be a good idea - I do want to get into a competitive residency program, etc. so will research help even if that is not my career aspiration?

You're right re: the master's. But would getting another one look better to residency programs?

Given that I have a whole year, and given that I really want to do well on STEP 1 (and ideally not worry about it later), do you think that I could do well if i dedicate a year to prep?

Thank you.

 

[Redpancreas]

You took a gap because you needed a treatment and failed a course. I am sorry it happened, but it is indeed a setback and you should slow down before you make more mistakes. I would forget all about medicine for a year...maybe get that MPH OR MHA (not both). Then a month before you want to remediate Anatomy, spend a month with dedicated review. Other than that, you need to spend a large majority of your time learning how to avoid further medical gaps because another one would could be a huge setback to the prospects of your residency match. All the best.

Also, piggy backing off of Oso, what would be better is if you want to match into something moderately competitive, getting one first authors research project done in the field gradually over the course of the year would be a much better investment than both that MBA/MHA combined.

 

[ancoraimparo]

You're all over the place. What are you hoping to get out of medical school?

Want to be a neurosurgeon? Do research.
Want to be an administrator? Maybe doing the administration masters or MPH makes sense.
Want to be a FM doc? Leisure/travel/etc.

Taking Step 1 without going through M2 seems really dumb.

Having a good work life balance and good compensation is important to me so I was thinking Derm or maybe radiology or anesthesia or Ophthalmology?

Given that I have a whole year, and given that I really want to do well on STEP 1 (and ideally not worry about it later), do you think that I could do well if i dedicate a year to prep?

Would getting another masters really help much with residencies at this point?

 

[ancoraimparo]

You took a gap because you needed a treatment and failed a course. I am sorry it happened, but it is indeed a setback and you should slow down before you make more mistakes. I would forget all about medicine for a year...maybe get that MPH OR MHA (not both). Then a month before you want to remediate Anatomy, spend a month with dedicated review. Other than that, you need to spend a large majority of your time learning how to avoid further medical gaps because another one would could be a huge setback to the prospects of your residency match. All the best.

Thank you.

I just feel so ashamed and frustrates for requiring treatment and I know residencies will see it as a negative/ ask about it.

And I'm already so much older than average in starting med school. I don't want this year to go to waste.

Given that I have a whole year, and given that I really want to do well on STEP 1 (and ideally not worry about it later), do you think that I could do well if i dedicate a year to prep?

 

[Redpancreas]

Thank you.

I just feel so ashamed and frustrates for requiring treatment and I know residencies will see it as a negative/ ask about it.

And I'm already so much older than average in starting med school. I don't want this year to go to waste.

Given that I have a whole year, and given that I really want to do well on STEP 1 (and ideally not worry about it later), do you think that I could do well if i dedicate a year to prep?

To be 100% honest, absolutely not. I know that last post may have hurt to hear man, but everyone’s got their own path to things and you’re on your own path. There was once a genius inventor who invented some kind of battery in his teens and then spent the rest of his adult life depressed that he’d peaked before inventing something even more remarkable with great application in his 80s. Point is if you commit to your own path and don’t compare, you’ll excel at being you and do or contribute something no one else can.

 

[Oso]

Thank you so much for your kind words and thoughts about this.

I do not want to go into research (I want to do clinical work) so I don't know that doing additional research would be a good idea - I do want to get into a competitive residency program, etc. so will research help even if that is not my career aspiration?

Having a good work life balance and good compensation is important to me so I was thinking Derm or maybe radiology or anesthesia or Ophthalmology?

If you want to go into a competitive field then research will be essential, regardless if you actually want to make research a part of your career. It's way too early for you to know what field you want to go into. However, if you think you may be interested in fields like derm or optho, then I think getting started on research would be a great idea.

Would getting another masters really help much with residencies at this point?

Meh. Again, if you really think the MPH or MHA would be valuable for your career then you could do it, but I definitely would not do it solely to impress residency programs, because it probably won't (and will cost you extra $$$)

Given that I have a whole year, and given that I really want to do well on STEP 1 (and ideally not worry about it later), do you think that I could do well if i dedicate a year to prep?

I really don't think studying for and taking step 1 before you've finished M2 year is a good idea. Also, a whole year of studying for step 1 seems like a good way to get burnt out and exhausted. If you want to review high yield material you covered in M1 with review things like First Aid, I think that's fine. After you finish M2, 1-3 months of intense studying should get you a competitive score.

I just feel so ashamed and frustrates for requiring treatment and I know residencies will see it as a negative/ ask about it.

I don't think you should feel ashamed. Life is life and sometimes **** happens that requires treatment and time to heal. You'll see this a lot more, from the other side of things, as your training continues. Programs may ask, but a 1 year medical leave should not be a problem, especially if the rest of your residency app is solid.

And I'm already so much older than average in starting med school. I don't want this year to go to waste.

We had plenty of older than average people in my class. Nothing you can do about your age now. This whole thing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you can take the time to recover from whatever is going on then that alone makes this year not a waste. If you can get some research and/or travel time in there too, then I think that's a bonus.

Best of luck.