Step 2 CS October Score Release Thread

[chocoholicsoxfan]

I believe this week is the week!

My permit is still up

Now I can't help but feel I failed

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[johnnytest]

lol im getting off this thread for today. If it comes today I'll get an email otherwise another week it is

 

[jagster92]

^You have greater resolve than i do. Unfortunately today is my one day off this week so I'm freely available to worry bout this score all day long

 

[ScreamingInternally]

Jeebus. Glad I didn't see a thread like this when waiting for mine, would've given me crazy anxiety. A) you're probably fine, the pass rate is what like 96% or something? B) My permit didn't lock till the day I got my scores released (which they emailed me about 3 hours after they had already been released and I found out from a friend who had taken it the same day as me).

 

[Theseus]

Jeebus. Glad I didn't see a thread like this when waiting for mine, would've given me crazy anxiety. A) you're probably fine, the pass rate is what like 96% or something? B) My permit didn't lock till the day I got my scores released (which they emailed me about 3 hours after they had already been released and I found out from a friend who had taken it the same day as me).

Pass rate is 94% for USMD and 86% for DO takers.

 

[financetomedicine]

Pass rate is 94% for USMD and 86% for DO takers.

I believe 95 percent for first time US MDs, 94 when you include repeaters

 

[MicrophageVSLeukocytes]

It is totally unacceptable what they are doing to us. Today, I've got serial of mini heart attacks everytime I hear a phone alert and it turns to be nothing related to CS.

 

[financetomedicine]

It is totally unacceptable what they are doing to us. Today, I've got serial of mini heart attacks everytime I hear a phone alert and it turns to be nothing related to CS.

I dont understand why it is so hard for them to have more transparency around this? Like an announcement that scores would be delayed by 1 week at a bare minimum out of courtesy.

 

[belltower]

They are definitely changing the exam/ grading. My med school generally expects less than 2% to fail each year. This year they already had double the annual norm by the spring. It raises my anxiety since you have to pass our school exam to be allowed to sit for CS.

 

[ScreamingInternally]

They are definitely changing the exam/ grading. My med school generally expects less than 2% to fail each year. This year they already had double the annual norm by the spring. It raises my anxiety since you have to pass our school exam to be allowed to sit for CS.

I know that feeling. They changed the exam pass rate last year though. Our school dropped 6% (previously 99ish and that year 93 ish) so they made us do the same thing your school does where we had to pass a mock CS and remediate/have a meeting with one of the attendings who graded it if needed. I had one of those meetings and they offered for me to remediate (which I did not). I then passed and was on the higher end for both metrics (clinical knowledge and interpesonal skills or whatever they called them).

 

[ciestar]

I know that feeling. They changed the exam pass rate last year though. Our school dropped 6% (previously 99ish and that year 93 ish) so they made us do the same thing your school does where we had to pass a mock CS and remediate/have a meeting with one of the attendings who graded it if needed. I had one of those meetings and they offered for me to remediate (which I did not). I then passed and was on the higher end for both metrics (clinical knowledge and interpesonal skills or whatever they called them).

I wasnt even given the option to remediate but spent hours with Novak figuring things out lol (i didnt prepare for CSA at all..)

 

[ScreamingInternally]

I wasnt even given the option to remediate but spent hours with Novak figuring things out lol (i didnt prepare for CSA at all..)

Yeah I don't think anyone did CSA prep. lol Meeting w/ Novack definitely didnt help, just another waste of time. Also Fitzpatrick told me I was going to fail... based on literally nothing. So I was happy to prove her wrong!!

 

[ciestar]

Yeah I don't think anyone did CSA prep. lol Meeting w/ Novack definitely didnt help, just another waste of time. Also Fitzpatrick told me I was going to fail... based on literally nothing. So I was happy to prove her wrong!!

She is the last person id want to talk to... haha

 

[MicrophageVSLeukocytes]

I dont understand why it is so hard for them to have more transparency around this? Like an announcement that scores would be delayed by 1 week at a bare minimum out of courtesy.

Because they have no emotional intelligence.

 

[financetomedicine]

Because they have no emotional intelligence.

Or they literally just dont care and have no incentive to care since there are no consequences to inflicting emotional damage on us

 

[throwaway1000000]

The reporting site now says October 14th (Monday) as the release date.

Where?

 

[JHUDJA]

Where?

OOPS! My bad I accidentally read it wrong. What I saw was for 2020. My apologies. I have no idea what's going on here.

 

[NotaCop]

I took it like two days after the cutoff to be in this reporting cohort fml

 

[123tcp]

The reporting site now says October 14th (Monday) as the release date.

Where did you see that?

 

[ciestar]

So at my interview today i was asked when did i take CS/when i was expecting my results..

Thought of you guys

Hahaha

RIP

 

[Nephronlearner]

So at my interview today i was asked when did i take CS/when i was expecting my results..

Thought of you guys

Hahaha

RIP

This must have been interesting! What did you tell them?
Wonder if the description of today could also work for the "tell me about a difficult time in your life" type of questions?

(for what it's worth as a FMG, I can only really apply once I get this score so the wait is... well... damaging hahaha)

 

[johnnytest]

So USMLE just lied to us huh?

 

[Sarnob]

Maybe they're trying to punish us for trying to find out whether we passed or not through the fsmb trick

 

[DocSyl242]

My whole day has been OFF because of this ....Welp I’ll be back on here Wednesday morning ...until then guys.......

 

[chocoholicsoxfan]

The bright side is maybe the tricks WILL still work so some of us can find out Sunday/Monday if we passed or not?

 

[Pandy4993]

The bright side is maybe the tricks WILL still work so some of us can find out Sunday/Monday if we passed or not?

Yeah, considering people found out they passed CK with the FCVS trick at 1:00 AM, maybe nothing at all has been patched. I know I’m going to keep my expectations way down if I don’t see my permit disappear some time before Wednesday.

 

[eduh]

Watch results come out on Friday or something, at a random time.

 

[star.buck]

Do results usually only come out on Wednesdays?

 

[NotaCop]

Do results usually only come out on Wednesdays?

yes

 

[Dr larynx]

Announcement from USMLE website:

We anticipate releasing all scores for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exams administered during the July 14-September 7 testing period between Wednesday, October 16, 2019 and November 6, 2019


They killed me over last 2 days.

Good luck

 

[financetomedicine]

Announcement from USMLE website:

We anticipate releasing all scores for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exams administered during the July 14-September 7 testing period between Wednesday, October 16, 2019 and November 6, 2019


They killed me over last 2 days.

Good luck

Wow so much for "there is no delay"...

 

[Nephronlearner]

Announcement from USMLE website:

We anticipate releasing all scores for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exams administered during the July 14-September 7 testing period between Wednesday, October 16, 2019 and November 6, 2019


They killed me over last 2 days.

Good luck

Interesting decision to write the announcement now after we all realised nothing was coming before the 16th... just hope this isn't some weird way of announcing that this time many of us will be waiting till November.

 

[Theseus]

Next week, “We anticipate releasing all scores for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exams administered during the July 14-September 7 testing period between Wednesday, October 23, 2019 and November 6, 2019.”

 

[star.buck]

Interesting decision to write the announcement now after we all realised nothing was coming before the 16th... just hope this isn't some weird way of announcing that this time many of us will be waiting till November.

What absolutely sucks is that if any of us did fail... trying to reschedule and retake, AND get the scores back before ranking is going to be brutal difficult... the further out they push it, the harder this becomes.

How could it possibly take 1/4 of a YEAR to get us these scores??

 

[Nephronlearner]

What absolutely sucks is that if any of us did fail... trying to reschedule and retake, AND get the scores back before ranking is going to be brutal difficult... the further out they push it, the harder this becomes.

How could it possibly take 1/4 of a YEAR to get us these scores??

That would be horrible indeed. It seems like nowadays CS dates get booked 4-5 months in advance - a fact I underestimated when booking this exam so I eventually felt lucky getting a date in August (expecting results on 9 Oct) and then travelling all the way from Europe to LA just for this test. It's beyond ridiculous that some people's careers may depend on whether they can click and solve captcha fast enough on the exam registration website.
As a FMG I need the score to apply and I am already pretty late. But at least I have the option to work in my home country if things don't go as planned.
Hopefully we all pass (and get the results next week) though. Fingers crossed!

 

[ciestar]

That would be horrible indeed. It seems like nowadays CS dates get booked 4-5 months in advance - a fact I underestimated when booking this exam so I eventually felt lucky getting a date in August (expecting results on 9 Oct) and then travelling all the way from Europe to LA just for this test. It's beyond ridiculous that some people's careers may depend on whether they can click and solve captcha fast enough on the exam registration website.
As a FMG I need the score to apply and I am already pretty late. But at least I have the option to work in my home country if things don't go as planned.
Hopefully we all pass (and get the results next week) though. Fingers crossed!

This is what worries me the most. If i fail, i have to majorly scramble and that terrifies me.

 

[Nephronlearner]

This is what worries me the most. If i fail, i have to majorly scramble and that terrifies me.

That is unbelievably scary! I hope you all get the positive results next Wednesday. It's pretty impressive how you remain even remotely calm throughout this whole ordel. And also, I find it a bit surprising that US medical schools aren't putting more of a pressure to change the way this exam works in the first place.
Regardless of the outcome for me personally, I just felt the whole experience from scheduling to the actual exam was rather strange to say the least.

 

[bananafish94]

Sometimes I’m having a good day and then I remember that CS exists and I’m filled with rage.

 

[bananafish94]

This is what worries me the most. If i fail, i have to majorly scramble and that terrifies me.

I tried to register for a spot the day after I took the test because $1300 would be a very small price to pay relative to the anxiety I have every time I think about what will happen if I fail. Sadly they wouldn’t let me.

 

[ciestar]

I tried to register for a spot the day after I took the test because $1300 would be a very small price to pay relative to the anxiety I have every time I think about what will happen if I fail. Sadly they wouldn’t let me.

This exam sucks

 

[MicrophageVSLeukocytes]

This exactly explains why doctor lifespan is less than a normal person. Thanks ECFMG/NBME for making our life filled with stress and emotional distress. You turned to be a major risk factor for IHD, GAD and MDD for medical students and I dont want to talk about the PTSD we suffer after every step we take. And in the end, you ask us to treat our patients in sanity. Keep it up guys!

 

[DoctorWHO007]

So i guess the rumors were true and this is the reason for the delay. You guys will be fine just trust your prep and good luck.

 

[throwaway1000000]

So i guess the rumors were true and this is the reason for the delay. You guys will be fine just trust your prep and good luck.

This seems to indicate the ddx accuracy are what we are mainly being graded on.
Cannot see how a computer can understand anything about the note other than terms that you can already input into and verify that they are present in your note.
Kind of ridiculous because tests like these are supposed to be about your thought process and documentation ability.
This test scares me more and more everyday like my future hangs around it. I am hoping for the positive pass on Wednesday and moving on with my life.

 

[nebuchadnezzarII]

So i guess the rumors were true and this is the reason for the delay. You guys will be fine just trust your prep and good luck.

Does this computer scoring nonsense apply to this cohort? I assume they have the vast majority of our tests graded by now...right? They say the computer scoring will start in October.

 

[throwaway1000000]

Does this computer scoring nonsense apply to this cohort? I assume they have the vast majority of our tests graded by now...right? They say the computer scoring will start in October.

I hope not.

 

[Nephronlearner]

Does this computer scoring nonsense apply to this cohort? I assume they have the vast majority of our tests graded by now...right? They say the computer scoring will start in October.

Personal experience with computer grading of essays/notes:
A few years ago I had to sit the TOEFL (language test that required me to write an essay) and before the real exam I did a practice test. Unlike the real exam where the essay is graded by humans, the essay on the practice test was graded by the computer. The software was basically searching for key words and phrases that they expected everyone to use. I simply never used most of those and the software gave me a score that would make me ineligible to even apply for electives in the US. With no extra prep on the actual exam I got the highest possible score for the essay part despite not being a great essay writer in general... so I sincerely hope the NBME has better software than this, otherwise computer scoring of patient notes sounds like a potential disaster that would make an already subjective exam even worse. Hopefully our tests are not being scored like that.

 

[ciestar]

Personal experience with computer grading of essays/notes:
A few years ago I had to sit the TOEFL (language test that required me to write an essay) and before the real exam I did a practice test. Unlike the real exam where the essay is graded by humans, the essay on the practice test was graded by the computer. The software was basically searching for key words and phrases that they expected everyone to use. I simply never used most of those and the software gave me a score that would make me ineligible to even apply for electives in the US. With no extra prep on the actual exam I got the highest possible score for the essay part despite not being a great essay writer in general... so I sincerely hope the NBME has better software than this, otherwise computer scoring of patient notes sounds like a potential disaster that would make an already subjective exam even worse. Hopefully our tests are not being scored like that.

Would also hope there is a good appeals system.. ugh

 

[echidna001]

It also says notes below the 50th percentile will be manually scored. I'm sure this new computer method is just meant to decrease the workload so that no one has to look over the top half the notes if they fall into the "clearly passed" category. But we can rest assured that someone will manually score our notes if there is any danger of failing.

 

[ciestar]

It also says notes below the 50th percentile will be manually scored. I'm sure this new computer method is just meant to decrease the workload so that no one has to look over the top half the notes if they fall into the "clearly passed" category. But we can rest assured that someone will manually score our notes if there is any danger of failing.

Will never be assured when it comes to this exam

 

[throwaway1000000]

It also says notes below the 50th percentile will be manually scored. I'm sure this new computer method is just meant to decrease the workload so that no one has to look over the top half the notes if they fall into the "clearly passed" category. But we can rest assured that someone will manually score our notes if there is any danger of failing.

"average of computer and physician graded score."
I don't understand the logic of a computer and standardized actor assessing your clinical skills in 8 hrs when real physicians are doing it evaluating you in a span of 2 years.

 

[bananafish94]

Well I don't know about any of you, but I for one sleep soundly at night knowing that my future is in the hands of a "computer assisted scoring system" overseen by a reputable and trustworthy organization like the National Board of Medical Examiners. Who better to implement a computer-assisted scoring system (which is certainly not a random number generator) than the NBME? I think I speak for all medical students when I say that every time I visit the NBME's website I think, "Why can't all websites be like this? Has Google ever considered hiring their IT team as consultants?" And because the test is universally considered to be a fair, equitable, and transparent measure of our competency as physicians, I see no reason why they shouldn't take as long as they need to ensure that Step 2 CS faithfully fills the gaps in evaluation missed by four years of medical school, several high-stakes standardized exams, and 3-10 years of residency and fellowship training, ensuring that our nation's physicians are held to the best possible standards. And if I do fail this exam, I know that the NBME will provide me with useful feedback to improve my performance, and will allow me the opportunity to remediate for a reasonable price that certainly wouldn't involve flying across the country on a day's notice.