When to take Step 1 (this isn't another P/F vs scored thread!)

[spottedpothos]

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My school takes Step 1 after clerkships, meaning I will take it pass/fail at the end of 2022/early 2023. I was wondering if I should attempt to take step 1 halfway through clerkship year instead of at the end to shift my focus to Step 2, or if I should just follow the schedule as intended. Given the structure of my schedule I would be taking step 2 shortly (within 2-3 months) after my clerkship year ends, so it would be nice not to squeeze both board exams into a relatively short timeframe.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

My school does it exactly how yours does, and it doesn’t seem to be overly burdensome. In fact, switching from the old model to this one improved the school’s scores. Obviously less important now that it will be pass/fail, but you want to be comfortably passing. I would just take it when you’re scheduled to, as you are unlikely to get any real time off to study if you try to take it halfway through the year.

 

[deleted1064759]

My school does it the same way. I can't help but think that taking it a summer or winter break before would help on Step 2 though. For example, instead of going through UW for both exams simultaneously, you can focus on one at a time. As is, we'll have ~8 weeks of dedicated to get both our boards in.

But I digress, taking Step 1 during clerkships sounds awful.

 

[spottedpothos]

My school does it the same way. I can't help but think that taking it a summer or winter break before would help on Step 2 though. For example, instead of going through UW for both exams simultaneously, you can focus on one at a time. As is, we'll have ~8 weeks of dedicated to get both our boards in.

But I digress, taking Step 1 during clerkships sounds awful.

I was planning to take it during elective time, if that makes any difference.

 

[calivianya]

I would take it early with that schedule, unless you basically choose to study off of step 2 material instead of step 1 material for the year.

I honestly think you might miss a few biochem and/or drug mechanism questions if you studied that way since there is much less of that kind of stuff on step 2, but the material does overlap tremendously and I think you could easily pass a pass/fail step 1 by mostly studying step 2 material. You could also account for this by focusing on step 2 material all year long but just adding in uworld step 1 biochem questions or something.

 

[drducky.]

Also there was a poll on reddit, so not the most scientific, but 640 people are taking it scored and 95 p/f for the class of 2023. So if you’re aiming for a competitive specialty and you feel ready, I’d probably go for a score.

 

[spottedpothos]

Also there was a poll on reddit, so not the most scientific, but 640 people are taking it scored and 95 p/f for the class of 2023. So if you’re aiming for a competitive specialty and you feel ready, I’d probably go for a score.

I'm definitely not going for a competitive specialty, so I'm fine with taking it P/F.

 

[drducky.]

I'm definitely not going for a competitive specialty, so I'm fine with taking it P/F.

Ahh i see. I would still spread it out though. There’s a lot of overlap between the 2 exams, but it’d still be rough to study for both of them in a short period. Heck, it was tough taking both step and comlex back to back even though they’re testing the same material, besides omm.

Also, another thing that people don’t talk about much is the post step burnout. I couldn’t sit down and study for my first 2 rotations because i had no motivation to study after step1. I’d imagine this wouldn’t be good for step 2 if you’re taking it 2 months later

 

[Melchizedek]

My school takes Step 1 after clerkships, meaning I will take it pass/fail at the end of 2022/early 2023. I was wondering if I should attempt to take step 1 halfway through clerkship year instead of at the end to shift my focus to Step 2, or if I should just follow the schedule as intended. Given the structure of my schedule I would be taking step 2 shortly (within 2-3 months) after my clerkship year ends, so it would be nice not to squeeze both board exams into a relatively short timeframe.

When do you have IM clerkship?

 

[spottedpothos]

When do you have IM clerkship?

If I decided to go for this plan, I would complete IM before I took Step 1. Do you have thoughts on that?

 

[spottedpothos]

Ahh i see. I would still spread it out though. There’s a lot of overlap between the 2 exams, but it’d still be rough to study for both of them in a short period. Heck, it was tough taking both step and comlex back to back even though they’re testing the same material, besides omm.

Also, another thing that people don’t talk about much is the post step burnout. I couldn’t sit down and study for my first 2 rotations because i had no motivation to study after step1. I’d imagine this wouldn’t be good for step 2 if you’re taking it 2 months later

Thanks for the input!

 

[Melchizedek]

If I decided to go for this plan, I would complete IM before I took Step 1. Do you have thoughts on that?

The general thought is that IM clerkship really helps with studying for S1, but it's on the student to go fill in some of the more esoteric concepts tested. I think it is only going to help ease the burden of studying for S1, especially in light of P/F.

 

[Lawpy]

Also there was a poll on reddit, so not the most scientific, but 640 people are taking it scored and 95 p/f for the class of 2023. So if you’re aiming for a competitive specialty and you feel ready, I’d probably go for a score.

Reddit polls suffer from severe selection bias (on top of fake poll votes, disinformation etc.). Making a recommendation on that is a bad idea.

 

[spottedpothos]

The general thought is that IM clerkship really helps with studying for S1, but it's on the student to go fill in some of the more esoteric concepts tested. I think it is only going to help ease the burden of studying for S1, especially in light of P/F.

Thank you, that's helpful.