Too low Step 1 score for Anesthesia?

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Blair

Blair

nerve or just fascia?
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Hi all,

Super disappointed in myself - I don't need to go into the details and list my pitfalls and excuses - I ended up with a 207 on Step 1. Obviously, this is below what I was aiming for in order to be competitive for anesthesia residency positions. I know I could have done better, but, c'est la vie...

Anyhow, my purpose in wanting to "be competitive" was for the sole purpose of not having to have anxiety attacks on a bimonthly basis - the truth of the matter is, I don't really care *where* I get a residency slot in anesthesia, so long as I get one. Naturally, I could certainly come up with some preferences, whether that's based on geography or whatever other criterion, but I was a military kid and will go where-ever the wind blows me.

All of that to say, with a Step 1 of 207, is an anesthesia residency position in the cards for me? Should I start attempting to convince myself I'd be happy doing something else?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
 
all is not lost. change the things you can going forward: study like crazy for step two. line up some away rotations at middle of the road places and shine. interview well.
you can still definitely match into anes. that said, it would also not hurt to have a backup plan
 
I'm sure you already know this but since you asked - there is no way in the world for anyone to predict whether you will get an anesthesia residency or not or even what your chances are. A 207 is not great but it's not the worst score either. Assuming the rest of your application is good, and you get good LORs, and interview well there is no absolute reason why you couldn't match SOMEWHERE. To maximize your chances, you should apply to as many programs as you can afford monetarily and timewise.
 
As above, the best thing you can do is really study for Step 2, take it early, and improve. Your personal statement can touch on your Step 1 score for a paragraph/what you learned/etc.

Honor your anesthesia rotation at home, find a mentor and get get a couple strong letters.

Do away rotations at "average" programs (smaller names in big cities, or places in less desirable locations). Meet the program director there and stay in contact. That opens up doors.
 
If you're an American grad from an allopathic school and do otherwise reasonably well in your rotations/classes you should get interviews, even without Step 2. That's about where I was and I got plenty. Apply regionally, you're probably most likely to get interviews in the area of the country where people know your school, know faculty from your school, and preferably even have had residents from your school. I applied super-broadly but only got 4 interview offers at programs that were not in a state that bordered my medical school. On the other hand, I got interview offers at almost all of the schools I in my region and I matched at one of my top 3. Hindsight being 20/20 ERAS could have cost me a lot less money; I would have applied to all the programs nearby and selected 10-20 middle of the road programs outside my area instead of the $1500 shotgun and pray approach. Good luck!
 
A friend of mine matched "somewhere" in anesthesia in 2008 with the minimum passing Step I (I think it was 179 at the time). It can be overcome but you may need to apply broadly.
 
Blair said:
Hi all,

Super disappointed in myself - I don't need to go into the details and list my pitfalls and excuses - I ended up with a 207 on Step 1. Obviously, this is below what I was aiming for in order to be competitive for anesthesia residency positions. I know I could have done better, but, c'est la vie...

Anyhow, my purpose in wanting to "be competitive" was for the sole purpose of not having to have anxiety attacks on a bimonthly basis - the truth of the matter is, I don't really care *where* I get a residency slot in anesthesia, so long as I get one. Naturally, I could certainly come up with some preferences, whether that's based on geography or whatever other criterion, but I was a military kid and will go where-ever the wind blows me.

All of that to say, with a Step 1 of 207, is an anesthesia residency position in the cards for me? Should I start attempting to convince myself I'd be happy doing something else?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.
Click to expand...

Get some good letters of rec, extra activities and work hard in your clinical years... you'll be ok
 
leaverus said:
I'm sure you already know this but since you asked - there is no way in the world for anyone to predict whether you will get an anesthesia residency or not or even what your chances are. A 207 is not great but it's not the worst score either. Assuming the rest of your application is good, and you get good LORs, and interview well there is no absolute reason why you couldn't match SOMEWHERE. To maximize your chances, you should apply to as many programs as you can afford monetarily and timewise.
Click to expand...

All is not lost. Things could have been worse. A failure would have been worse. Your step one score is just part of your application. Your are still in the game.

Cambie
 
Look at Anesthesia Step 1 Match Data 2009

From CIM/AAMC website:

Step 1 score of 201-210

US Seniors 152 matched, 17 did not match.

That's 89.9%
👍
 
stiz said:
Look at Anesthesia Step 1 Match Data 2009

From CIM/AAMC website:

Step 1 score of 201-210

US Seniors 152 matched, 17 did not match.

That's 89.9%
👍
Click to expand...

Realistically, though, you have to improve significantly on your step 2 CK. I was in the 201-210 range on my step 1, btw.
 
How do programs view LORs from non-Anesthesiologists (Peds, Surgery, Internal medicine?
 
Precedex said:
eras.
Click to expand...

haha

not sure if its sarcastic, but i think the original question dealt with more of a qualitative assessment rather than a physical viewing of the letters.

i think one letter from a non-anesthesiologist is fine, but it should be great, and it wouldnt hurt if it was from a surgeon or other proceduralist.
 
Anecdotal evidence: A dear friend of mine had your exact step 1 score during the match of 2010. He applied broadly, did an away rotation at what he thought was his number one anesthesia program, took step 2 early and didn't do that much better on it (215 I think), was still receiving interviews off wait-lists in December, and wound matching at his his eventual #1 (strong program with excellent reputation and clear on the other side of the country). Morale of the story: It will happen for you if you make it happen. Good letters, a strong interest in anesthesia(as evidenced by the away I suppose), patience, and persistence (some excellent posts were made this season on how to communicate with programs once ERAS is in and you haven't yet heard from them) will carry you through the agony of the interviewing season and on to a successful match day. That, and a lot of scotch of course.
 
I know that this is an older post but what are my chances with a step 1 score of 225 for anesthesia?
 
partydoc said:
Come on, just look up charting outcomes.
Click to expand...

I have looked it up and the average is 226 for the latest score reports but the reason I ask this question is that I'm a DO student and all I've heard thus far is you need to be in the 230's or 240's to be able to be competitive to my MD counter parts.
 
partydoc said:
Come on, just look up charting outcomes.
Click to expand...

depends on whether he's MD or DO. American MD, yeah charting outcomes works. For DOs, since we're thrown in with FMGs, it becomes a little more cloudy
 
buccsmf1 said:
depends on whether he's MD or DO. American MD, yeah charting outcomes works. For DOs, since we're thrown in with FMGs, it becomes a little more cloudy
Click to expand...

Agree, this information would have been helpful.

If you are a DO you need to apply broadly to a large number of programs. This has not changed a bit since I went through the process in 2003.
 
buccsmf1 said:
depends on whether he's MD or DO. American MD, yeah charting outcomes works. For DOs, since we're thrown in with FMGs, it becomes a little more cloudy
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately you have to rely on anecdotal evidence, but there's been plenty of threads about it. Try to talk to people that matched from your school last year. Apply broad and do an away.

If you want objective data, stick to charting outcomes. It's probably a conservative estimate for DOs.
 
apevo8 said:
I have looked it up and the average is 226 for the latest score reports but the reason I ask this question is that I'm a DO student and all I've heard thus far is you need to be in the 230's or 240's to be able to be competitive to my MD counter parts.
Click to expand...

You should be fine if you score 235+ on step 2, apply broadly (40+ programs), and have all your letters, scores and ps ready to be submitted on the day eras opens.
 
buccsmf1 said:
depends on whether he's MD or DO. American MD, yeah charting outcomes works. For DOs, since we're thrown in with FMGs, it becomes a little more cloudy
Click to expand...

Really? This I did not know, makes it a bit more difficult to acquire anesthesia. I know a physician that is a DO who went to the same allopathic program I would like to be at for my residency so I'm sort of relying on this connection and doing even stronger on my step 2.
 
apevo8 said:
thanks for that! that was very helpful, now I feel pretty good about my chances. Now to get a plan together to destroy step 2
Click to expand...

I just got the new edition of FA for Step II and I like it a lot. Kind of similar to the 2012 FA Step I but more written out instead of blips.
 
TeamZissou said:
I just got the new edition of FA for Step II and I like it a lot. Kind of similar to the 2012 FA Step I but more written out instead of blips.
Click to expand...

I keep reading reviews about how its incomplete, have you had this problem yet? I'm only on my second rotation (ob/gyn, first was psych) so I'm very low in my step 2 knowledge.
 
apevo8 said:
I keep reading reviews about how its incomplete, have you had this problem yet? I'm only on my second rotation (ob/gyn, first was psych) so I'm very low in my step 2 knowledge.
Click to expand...

I used DIT and Uworld for step 2. Haven't gotten my score back yet so I guess I can't comment on well they worked. But I have heard similar things about FA, which is why I didn't use it.
 
partydoc said:
I used DIT and Uworld for step 2. Haven't gotten my score back yet so I guess I can't comment on well they worked. But I have heard similar things about FA, which is why I didn't use it.
Click to expand...

If I need to supplement so be it, but I'll be damned if I don't have my color textbook with pics/illustrations. 👍
 
Do you guys think 202 on step 1 (my score) is a death knell for anesthesia? Or am I pretty much in a similar boat with the OP who got 207 except slightly less off?
 
BlueElmo said:
Do you guys think 202 on step 1 (my score) is a death knell for anesthesia? Or am I pretty much in a similar boat with the OP who got 207 except slightly less off?
Click to expand...

From the post history of the OP (yes quite stalkerish), it looks like they got 10 interviews from whatever amount they applied to. Not sure if s/he matched or not, but I think that gives a decent chance of matching. OP didn't give much else about them, but looks like MD from a decent allo school. Obviously there's other factors that come into play other than Step 1 too.
 
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