Still can't decide if I should take USMLE

[Eudjinn]

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Hey everyone,

The time has come to schedule COMLEX and think about the USMLE and despite the fact that I've been thinking about this for a while and have read numerous discussions about it, I still can't decide.

I'm considering IM>Cardiology or possibly GI, Anesthesia, Radiology (probably not, since it's too competitive), Neurology and I'm not quite sure what I'll fall in love with during rotations.

I do pretty well on nycom exams, but I know that isn't a great indicator of what boards will be like for me.

I just can't seem to decide if I should take the USMLE. Is it possible to get into an allopathic residency (lets say IM) with only a COMLEX? And then what if I want a cardiology fellowship? Will not having the USMLE hurt me then?

I'm not necessarily looking for super competitive IM residencies like NYU or Columbia or anything like that if I do try for Cardiology.

Any help/advice is appreciated. So far everyone always says "only take the USMLE if you think you will rock it" and that is hardly helpful considering I have no idea how I will do on either board.

 

[Haole]

There are always programs that will take the COMLEX without the USMLE, but I would guess the USMLE is always preferred. Some programs will not even consider your application without a USMLE. Don't limit yourself before you even apply by not taking the right test.

 

[Eudjinn]

hypothetically speaking:

COMLEX: good score
USMLE: decent score, not "stellar"

is having a non-stellar score better than having NO score by not taking the test at all?

 

[FutureInternist]

People get into allopathic IM residencies w/o USMLE all the time....the difference lies in the quality of the program. If you're thinking Cardiology (very competitive) you need to be in a good program that either has the fellowship already or helps you out a lot when it comes to securing the fellowship.

My take is even if you are set on doing FP in rural Alaska, TAKE THE USMLE. It's a much better written, and hence, I think easier exam than the COMLEX.

I don't think that your USMLE (specially step 1) score will have any bearing on fellowships since by the time you apply Step 1 is 4 yrs old & Step 2 is 2-3 yrs.

 

[FutureInternist]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=680044

 

[MDpride]

mis post

 

[J1515]

Do not listen to what anyone here is telling you. There are a good number of residencies (allopathic, a few of which has fellowships) in the vicinity of your school that will accept COMLEX. I don't know anyone who got a 600+ on the COMLEX and failed the USMLE, so the tests aren't quite as different as people would like you to believe.

If you want to take the USMLE, study for it. Then a week before the exam take two NBME practice tests. If you do well, go ahead and take it. If you bomb them, forget it. Your school prepares you well for both tests.

 

[BobBarker]

You need to take usmle. Allopathic rads, anesthesiology, and im will all be much easier to get into with usmle. Anesthesia this year actually had a number of schools wanting both step 1 and step 2. Score above 230 on both exams is my suggestion. All do students should take usmle unless they are already dead set on doing a surgical subspecialy.

 

[p30doc]

Take USMLE, like you said you don't know what you will fall in love with during rotations. It is much harder to go back and do well than to just take it now, while you are the studying the same material anyway for the COMLEX.

 

[countthestars]

Eudjinn, as a fellow classmate of yours and I am going to take the USMLEs along with the COMLEX. I don't want to shut any doors in terms of residencies. The one big problem i see for us with taking the USMLEs is that we were not taught as much biochem as other MD schools were (I think this is true for almost all DO schools). So, i think if anything, we are going to have to study that on our own if we are planning on taking the USMLEs. Good thing we were taught physio, pathology, pharam, immuno and micro. I plan on taking the USMLE on a Friday and then taking the weekend to study OMM and then take the COMLEX. I'm going to be focused on doing well on the USMLE and then take the COMLEX having studied for the USMLE.

 

[DrWBD]

I'm not necessarily looking for super competitive IM residencies like NYU or Columbia or anything like that if I do try for Cardiology.

Well, as a DO you have less than a snowball's chance in hell of getting an interview at Columbia for IM, USMLE or no USMLE. NYU is not exactly on the same level of residency for IM competitiveness as Columbia but I'd imagine it would be difficult nonetheless.

But to get back on topic, what insight do you hope to gain here that hasn't been brought up in the 80 kajillion threads about this same topic? Either take the USMLE or don't. Only you can make that decision.

 

[scudrunner]

Just take it, you will not regret it.

 

[ceftazidime]

The subject material of both exams is essentially the same, with the addition of OMM for COMLEX (use the Savarese book) and more biochem and biostatistics for USMLE (any well-known books should cover these). So you're basically studying for the same test.

You have to ask yourself what kind of student you are. If you've barely made it this far in med school and have the attitude of "I'm probably gonna fail the COMLEX", then don't take the USMLE. If you've done relatively well so far and have the attitude of "I'm studying the exact same material as MD students, and probably would've done this well at any school (DO or MD)", then take the USMLE.

 

[FutureDocDO]

Plenty of ACGME university IM programs accept DO students with just the COMLEX including those in California. If you do well on your COMLEX, above 500, you should have more than 10 interview invites if you're not too specific on locations. If you want to do a fellowship in Cardio or GI, I would just stick with university programs. If you want to do Anesthesiology or Rads, I would encourage you to take the USMLE if you want to do allopathic residency. I don't see why you can't do osteopathic residency if you're not considering a fellowship in those. Neurology is VERY doable with just the COMLEX; I wouldn't waste my time or money.

Good luck.

Hey everyone,

The time has come to schedule COMLEX and think about the USMLE and despite the fact that I've been thinking about this for a while and have read numerous discussions about it, I still can't decide.

I'm considering IM>Cardiology or possibly GI, Anesthesia, Radiology (probably not, since it's too competitive), Neurology and I'm not quite sure what I'll fall in love with during rotations.

I do pretty well on nycom exams, but I know that isn't a great indicator of what boards will be like for me.

I just can't seem to decide if I should take the USMLE. Is it possible to get into an allopathic residency (lets say IM) with only a COMLEX? And then what if I want a cardiology fellowship? Will not having the USMLE hurt me then?

I'm not necessarily looking for super competitive IM residencies like NYU or Columbia or anything like that if I do try for Cardiology.

Any help/advice is appreciated. So far everyone always says "only take the USMLE if you think you will rock it" and that is hardly helpful considering I have no idea how I will do on either board.