Step 1 score

[Amy]

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How important is your Step 1 score for a residency in general surgery? I'm a MSIII and seriously considering surgery, but my Step 1 score is below the mean. Will this really hurt me? Is there any room in the surgery field for med students who aren't at the top of their class?

Thanks for your honest opinions/ advice.

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

Hi Amy-

Don't worry too much about Step 1. Though high scores may be more of a requirement to get interviews at the "big-names," you will still get lots of interviews and will most likely match (as long as you rank enough, say, more than 5 programs.)

You could always take Step 2 early and rock it- that was my strategy and I scored 20 points higher on Step 2.

The people who I know that did NOT match in surgery seemed to have one thing in common- ranking too few (around 3) places. On the other hand, I also know of a few people who barely passed the boards and still got a nice spot.

You'll be okay- in the meantime, read up on Surgical Recall, learn how to tie the 1-hand, 2-hand, and surgeon's knot and you'll be good to go.

good luck

 

[chicagosurgres]

Amy-
I would not obsess too much about your step 1 score. Speaking from personal experience I worried way too much about my step 1 score so I took step 2 early and did even better which shows you are improving. We all know that there are certain top tier programs who have cutoffs for step 1 and will not grant interviews for scores lower, but letters of recommendation and rotation evaluations still pull alot of weight for gen surgery spots. Having been involved with new resident selection for the past two years I know that most programs would rather have a dedicated, hard working resident with average scores than a lazy pompous person with a step 1 score of 250. When we sit and rank residents we definitely move the people who worked really hard and fit the team mold up the list ahead of people with unbelievable test scores. Just work hard and get to know some mentors in the field who can help you along.

 

[Amy]

Thanks for your words of encouragement and advice. 🙂

 

[dr kevin40]

how sad. the goddess couldn't do some hoolahooolas to get above the mean?