Would really appreciate any advice

[Inneedofsomehelp]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[Doctor Bob]

This is why DOs who do well on step 1 should avoid taking the USMLE. In the worst case scenario you do poorly on it thus affirming some PDs opinions that you aren't on the same level as your allopathic counterparts. Your COMLEX score will get ignored.

In this case you have a good COMLEX step 1, a decent USMLE step 1, a poor COMLEX step 2, and a lead-weight USMLE step 2.
Those last two will hamstring your applications.

There is no rush to retake the exams now. What you have is what you will go through this application cycle with.

Beyond that there is no advice to give. The dice are cast and you just have to wait to see how they land.

 

[racerwad]

...
Looking back now I have a good idea of what went wrong and already have plan in place to retake and do well on the exam. A few months back I lost an immediate family member and have pretty much been in a slump since. I had figured I could just keep myself busy with rotations and study for boards at the same time but I really had a hard time focusing and studying. However, in the end I do take full responsibility for my failure. I had taken practice exams and was at passing range but barely and that should have been an indication for me to delay my exams. But I was in a hurry to apply with all my scores and that truly cost me. I am planning on studying 5-6 weeks straight and then retake the exam..

I think the bolded parts are the most important things moving forward. As @Doctor Bob said, what's done is done - now you need to figure out how to explain to programs what you've learned and how you aren't going to let it happen again.

For the record, I do disagree with the advice that DOs who do well on Step 1 should avoid Step 2. As you alluded to, it isn't that you weren't smart enough to do well on the exam, it's perhaps that you weren't smart enough to wait until your practice exams were where you knew they ought to be. Anyhow, board failure is bad news at many (but not all) places, but if you can do well on the retake and demonstrate that your previous performance was a fluke due to circumstance, I think you'll be ok. Maybe it won't be at a top tier place like In-and-Out, but I don't think that you're shut out of EM altogether.

 

[Doctor Bob]

For the record, I do disagree with the advice that DOs who do well on Step 1 should avoid Step 2.

Sure. If you ask 5 people "as a DO should I take the USMLE" you'll get 5 different answers.
I'm rather risk averse. For me, there's a moderate upside to taking it (a chance to show COMLEX-clueless PDs that you're on par with allopaths), and a huge downside (the chance to do poorly on it). Other people see the benefit as greater, so the risk/benefit analysis skews in the direction of taking the test.
There is no "right" answer to the question.

Unfortunately you've got a failure. Doesn't matter if it's USMLE, COMLEX, NCLEX, whatever... you failed a board and are now trying to match with that failure on your record. I'd have an easier time believing it was a fluke if there wasn't a big COMLEX drop to go along with it. Now, not only is it bad, it's reinforced bad.

 

[two guys]

Sorry man, that sucks.

It's just like any other mistake. Accept it and be able to explain it and move on. This probably won't feel like such a big deal in a few years. You will very likely go on to match somewhere (likely DO, but maybe MD if you get a chance to interview and then repeat Step 2 before a decision is made). You will likely not coast through any other tests again.

I disagree about no rush to retake the exams. You already applied to a bunch of programs where you didn't transmit your step 2, right? Either way, every place that you interview at will be looking for the repeat. The higher the score and the sooner the better (Dec-ish).

Now, if you get little to no interviews there might be an argument for sitting the match out and getting a mph or something and repeating when everything is fixed. You don't want to not match.

As it seems like you already have a good grasp of - how you explain this and accept reassure people that it was a temporary problem will matter as much as your repeat scores.

 

[Makati2008]

Sure. If you ask 5 people "as a DO should I take the USMLE" you'll get 5 different answers.
I'm rather risk averse. For me, there's a moderate upside to taking it (a chance to show COMLEX-clueless PDs that you're on par with allopaths), and a huge downside (the chance to do poorly on it). Other people see the benefit as greater, so the risk/benefit analysis skews in the direction of taking the test.
There is no "right" answer to the question.

Unfortunately you've got a failure. Doesn't matter if it's USMLE, COMLEX, NCLEX, whatever... you failed a board and are now trying to match with that failure on your record. I'd have an easier time believing it was a fluke if there wasn't a big COMLEX drop to go along with it. Now, not only is it bad, it's reinforced bad.

Agreed. If it was me I would apply to more Aoa programs and not expect to match acgme. No way in hell would I withdraw from the AOA match.

 

[dotcb]

There is a high chance you may not match in EM. Somewhere in your application you need to concisely explain what you perceive as the reason for the slump. Make sure you have a back up plan. Speak to an advisor.