Terrified that I failed step 2CK

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SoontobeMD2011

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Hi everyone,

This is my first post on SDN.

I recently took Step 2CK and have been unable to shake the uneasy feeling that I may have failed this exam. Has anyone else felt this way leaving the exam and actually did well? I can't seem to distract myself from this feeling and find myself even dreaming about it. This test was much harder and trickier than USMLE world or the NBME exams. I felt really pressed for time and ended up guessing on a whole lot of questions. Just wondering if anyone else was/is in this same boat?

Also, worst case scenario, what happens if one finds out that he/she failed after the rank order lists have been submitted? I am applying into OBGYN and have finished all of my interviews. If I successfully match into a program, other than making sure I pass prior to the first day of residency, will having failed step 2CK affect me in any way?
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I know how you feel. Believe me.

Step 2 comes at a convenient time in our academic lives when it's just an over-priced test that 1.) the score doesn't really matter so much and 2.) no one really wants to study for because by this point we're all a bunch of burn-outs. Great, right? So, anyway getting back to my story, I read this forum, studied the requisite "2 weeks for Step 2", did my USMLEworld qbank, and basically futzed around with practice tests which made me feel great.... until test day happened.

Block 1 showed no mercy as did none of the ensuing 8 blocks. It was a grade A chitshow from start to finish. The whole time I kept randomly clicking on answers because I had some gut feeling that it was the "right" one but with no real basis for choosing it over the others. Question stems blurred into one another. I got the first part of each sequential question wrong which did wonders for my confidence and I swear to the flying spaghetti monster that every female patient I read about on that test was obese, had some chronic ulcer somewhere not pretty, and was presenting with hypercalcemia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding (all of which, I didn't study so in-depth).

I walked into that test confident, and I walked out feeling like the new guy at the county jail. Like you, I was positive that I failed Step 2. I searched the ying-yang out of the correlation thread. I wanted to believe that despite feeling like a gigantic turd on test day, the statistics of SDN would not let me down. It was three weeks of highs and lows. Three weeks of reading other people's experiences and test results on that same thread and scoffing at yet another "omg... 1.4 weeks of studying, NBME 4 was 234, real deal 278". I lost faith, my brother (or sister). And then some Wednesday in December rolled around, and I checked my scores at 11AM and you know what? I didn't fail. I actually did pretty well, and all my three weeks of bellyaching and worrying was for nothing (actually not true... i lost about 4 pounds b/c of stress...but i digress). My point in this whole nonsensical, train-of-thought response is that you probably did a lot better than you think you did. Trust your qbank and nbme test results... i didn't believe it when I was in your shoes, but they really are the best predictors of your performance (especially nbme 2).

So, g'luck. I'm going to pass you an e-beer now, and a couple of celebratory e-beers when you get your not-only-passing-but-pretty-good test results back. 👍
 
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Another first-time poster, but I haven't taken the exam yet. Hopefully will be doing so in 6-8 weeks. I'm glad to read about people having experiences like yours, in case I do come out of the test center feeling like I've been eaten alive. Glad everything worked out for you, hope the same happens for the OP and myself.

Severus said:
I know how you feel. Believe me.

Step 2 comes at a convenient time in our academic lives when it's just an over-priced test that 1.) the score doesn't really matter so much and 2.) no one really wants to study for because by this point we're all a bunch of burn-outs. Great, right? So, anyway getting back to my story, I read this forum, studied the requisite "2 weeks for Step 2", did my USMLEworld qbank, and basically futzed around with practice tests which made me feel great.... until test day happened.

Block 1 showed no mercy as did none of the ensuing 8 blocks. It was a grade A chitshow from start to finish. The whole time I kept randomly clicking on answers because I had some gut feeling that it was the "right" one but with no real basis for choosing it over the others. Question stems blurred into one another. I got the first part of each sequential question wrong which did wonders for my confidence and I swear to the flying spaghetti monster that every female patient I read about on that test was obese, had some chronic ulcer somewhere not pretty, and was presenting with hypercalcemia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding (all of which, I didn't study so in-depth).

I walked into that test confident, and I walked out feeling like the new guy at the county jail. Like you, I was positive that I failed Step 2. I searched the ying-yang out of the correlation thread. I wanted to believe that despite feeling like a gigantic turd on test day, the statistics of SDN would not let me down. It was three weeks of highs and lows. Three weeks of reading other people's experiences and test results on that same thread and scoffing at yet another "omg... 1.4 weeks of studying, NBME 4 was 234, real deal 278". I lost faith, my brother (or sister). And then some Wednesday in December rolled around, and I checked my scores at 11AM and you know what? I didn't fail. I actually did pretty well, and all my three weeks of bellyaching and worrying was for nothing (actually not true... i lost about 4 pounds b/c of stress...but i digress). My point in this whole nonsensical, train-of-thought response is that you probably did a lot better than you think you did. Trust your qbank and nbme test results... i didn't believe it when I was in your shoes, but they really are the best predictors of your performance (especially nbme 2).

So, g'luck. I'm going to pass you an e-beer now, and a couple of celebratory e-beers when you get your not-only-passing-but-pretty-good test results back. 👍
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I am so terrified that I cannot even open my score report. Today I went so far as to open the pdf; cover it with hand; and with trembling hand, closed it. I feel like I want to live by that poem INVICTUS. (I am the master of soul); that Mandela lived by when he was in prison. I feel like my soul gets ripped apart by the bureaucracy of the medical system. Trying to find my soul within this system is the hardest thing ever in the history of the universe in the USA.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I am so terrified that I cannot even open my score report. Today I went so far as to open the pdf; cover it with hand; and with trembling hand, closed it. I feel like I want to live by that poem INVICTUS. (I am the master of soul); that Mandela lived by when he was in prison. I feel like my soul gets ripped apart by the bureaucracy of the medical system. Trying to find my soul within this system is the hardest thing ever in the history of the universe in the USA.
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You. are. a. drama. queen.
 
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This entire thread is absurd. How could you have your score for weeks and not check it? If that's how you are acting about a score, what are you going to do with a patient??
 
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No, I have not checked yet. That is a big IF I PASSED. I actually opened the pdf today, put a piece of paper over it and freaked out and could not glance at it. I even tried to print it; but could not press the buttons. freaking out...
 
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I felt that way my first two attempts at Step2 ck. And it was real. I did not pass. This last attempt; I even think the test was harder. But I came home to my home state, took a LONG break, and gathered my strength again. I studied a much different way this time (all audio podcasts, AN UNPROVEN Method for me); but I figured something had to change. What I was doing (Kaplan videos and notes) was not working twice.

But since my study method was unproven, I am too scared to open scores.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I guess I will be scrambling in my home state if I passed.
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Ok. Let's get a few things straight.

In many other threads, you bemoan the fact that you have "missed" the Match and that you are hoping to find something in the scramble.

To be honest, according to an old post, the reason why you "missed" the Match this year was because you waited until your Step 2 scores were available before submitting ERAS, which was not a smart move. Seeing as they weren't available until December 22nd, that's a big problem.

So...HAVE YOU registered with ERAS yet? Have you even submitted your application yet? If you have not, then you cannot participate in the Scramble either. And if you don't open your score report, then you won't be able to register with ERAS and participate in the Scramble!

Have you even applied to a single program yet? Again, if you haven't, then you cannot participate in the Scramble!

Have you applied to the NRMP? If you haven't, then you won't have access to the list of programs that went unfilled.

There is no nice way to put it. You are your own worst enemy, and you're doing a bang-up job of ensuring that you will never find a residency.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
My school, Ross, will not let us join the match until we pass Step2ck.
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Right, and they're still not going to let you join the Match because you don't know if you passed Step 2 CK because you're too afraid to check your scores.

Again, you are your own worst enemy.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I am really starting to think that someone should open my scores for me.
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ok, maybe next time, you should take a look at your distribution (page 2) and take it from there. if your dots are mostly in the left hand side, THEN you should panic.

plus: the more you know about your chances (aka your step 2 score), the more you can do to plan your next step. keep yourself in the dark = NO PLAN = sitting duck.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I am so terrified that I cannot even open my score report. Today I went so far as to open the pdf; cover it with hand; and with trembling hand, closed it. I feel like I want to live by that poem INVICTUS. (I am the master of soul); that Mandela lived by when he was in prison. I feel like my soul gets ripped apart by the bureaucracy of the medical system. Trying to find my soul within this system is the hardest thing ever in the history of the universe in the USA.
Click to expand...
talk about a freak..........I really hope you are not a doctor somewhere now............wtf
 
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