I only got a 186

[QuasiMed]

I only got a 186 on my step1.
I'm hearing that's only good for family practice out in the country.
But I'm not interested in family or general practice.
And I want to stay in a big city.
Is there any other option for me ?

[stephew]

I only got a 186 on my step1.
I'm hearing that's only good for family practice out in the country.
But I'm not interested in family or general practice.
And I want to stay in a big city.
Is there any other option for me ? well two things; first of all, anyone who tells you you have to go rural is wrong. Obviously the better you do, the better, but it hardly rules out other possibilities; seoncd of all, even if you wound up in a rural place for residency, that doesnt mean that youd have to stay there after residency. there are FP jobs all over the place. Remember: residency is 3 years. Then life goes on.

[jim]

dont limit yourslef. you should NOt be thinking "Iwant to do residency in FP in the city". you should be thinking " I want to do the best possible training program I can get into". Even if that means fairbanks alaska. its only 3 years. the people I graduated with who had problems mathcing into decent programs almost always had the same thing in common . "I will only work in NYC". or California, or whereever. The ones who applied to varied geographical locations got into great programs and are happy. I am in SC, and if you had told me thats where I would be now when I first started at Ross, I would have said"Put down the crack pipe son". But i got inot an excellent university program, because I didnt limit myself. after interviewing here, i hated every other place in comparison. I know a coupel people who got FP in placeslike wyoming and montana, and the one advantage they have is that they are in "unoppsed" programs. they get to do everything, as they have no competition from other residents. Think about it, you were willing to go to athird world country , but you dont want to go soemplace with no power problems, no brown water, and a mall? not to mention that most rural areas have a cost of living that is a joke. I have a friedn who is a resident in NYC. he lives with his mom. My friends in rural areas(and myself) own houses. nice houses. and have money to spare. dont limit yourself, you will regret itin the end.

[NaggingWife]

Quasimed DOESN'T want a family practice/general practice residency. I think they are asking about other options.

[jim]

sorry, I am post call:( but yes, I had a couple friends who got community surgery positions with scores like that. I would say anything like nuerosurgery, derm, ortho, plastics, etc, is totally out of thequestion now. My answer still holds true to others who are intersetd in FP though. study hard and do much better on step 2. take step 2 prior to mid sept of the fall you are apllying to the match, so as to have new, higher scores to show programs.

[NaggingWife]

[quote="jim"]sorry, I am post call:(


Oh Jim.....I forgive you for being over-worked and tired. Good night!! :D

[awdc]

I only got a 186 on my step1.
I'm hearing that's only good for family practice out in the country.
But I'm not interested in family or general practice.
And I want to stay in a big city.
Is there any other option for me ?


You could try for the best internal medicine or pediatrics program you can get into. After residency, there are plenty of subspecialty options available.

[link626]

just curious...

do you think you studied too little too late for step 1?

I've always had doubts about the way people prepare for step 1.... i.e spending a few months after miami to cram it all in. It doesn't sound like the right method. :?

[charlottenian]

at least you passed a major hurdle!

[singer]

Quasimed:

Congrats on passing step 1.

If you had it to do over again what would you have done differently to prepare for the exam? How did you prepare for Step 1.

Thanks

[FoxTrot]

How else do you do it then?? You'll see that after 1st semester, there is Zero time to do anything else except to keep up with your current course load. And with Miami being so busy (from what I've heard), the only free time youll have is after the miami course is over. just curious...

do you think you studied too little too late for step 1?

I've always had doubts about the way people prepare for step 1.... i.e spending a few months after miami to cram it all in. It doesn't sound like the right method. :?

[awdc]

How else do you do it then?? You'll see that after 1st semester, there is Zero time to do anything else except to keep up with your current course load. And with Miami being so busy (from what I've heard), the only free time youll have is after the miami course is over.


I've had the mentality since day 1 that I am really here to do as well as I can on Step I. With that in mind, I try to learn even more than what was presented in class. For example, if it was in BRS or the Robbins Pathology Review and wasn't presented in class or not in the class notes, I'd still make it a point to learn it. And I read the textbooks whenever I can. Since third and (especially) fourth semesters basically build on semesters 1 and 2, I also tried going back and reviewing the relevant histo, physio, anatomy, biochem, etc. of whatever I didn't feel comfortable with. With Miami, I'm hearing mixed news about how busy it is. I know a few people just finishing up 5th semester and it seemed that they had time to study for Step I. They might not have had the time they would like but they were still able to do it. Plus, there's still a couple uninterrupted months after that. And yeah, through the grapevine I still hear that people don't have time to do any studying. I guess it just depends on the individual. But from what I hear about the schedule, it doesn't seem that bad. And putting things into perspective, we probably should be grateful for the 2 1/2 to 3 months that we have after the Miami semester. All my friends who are/has been US med students had anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to take Step I before starting rotations.

[link626]

I've had the mentality since day 1 that I am really here to do as well as I can on Step I.


shooting for 260. who's with meh?! :twisted:

[QuasiMed]

Quasimed:

Congrats on passing step 1.

If you had it to do over again what would you have done differently to prepare for the exam? How did you prepare for Step 1.

Thanks

Sure I didn't study long or hard enough. But that's how I got rejected from US schools in the first place. At the end of each day I was pretty tired. And I sure do hate to study. Good point that its only a few years more, and INSIDE the USA. Better than not being a doctor at all.

[julestx]

CONGRATULATIONS on passing Step 1 on the first attempt. That is a great accomplishment right there!

I wish you well on the Step 2. You'll do well.

You can do some checking online for the programs you are interested in...have you ever seen the lists of "unmatched" programs? Even some great, top-notch programs end up with unmatched spots each year. By carefully evaluating places you're interested in, and old stats, this MIGHT give you a leg up when you're applying. Ie> George Washington University had 7 Anesthesiology programs but only matched 2 spots...or Emory had 3 Neuro Surg spots but didnt match any of them (these are from 2004!). St Vincent Hosp in Worcester, Mass had 2 radiology spots but didnt match them. So knowing information like this, for whatever specialty you're interested in, you might consider throwing in an app to places like this. Or, being an FMG, you can even jump the gun and try for signing outside the match. They MAY be more eager to fill their spots quickly and not get caught going unfilled later. The whole issue of signing outside the match as an FMG is something to keep in mind, too.

Just do well on Step 2, and get good clinical grades and LOR's.

Jules