A story for all the average students..

[argazul]

You are modest, while your scores maybe "average", your hard work and continued dedication to medicine makes you much more than average. It must have required great courage to face and overcome what you did. You are not average in my eye, but much more.

[CPR_ME]

I wish more people would be honest like you. You are courageous for sharing.

[HaitianSensation]

Congrats I would like to knowhow you studied for step 2 the first time versus the second time thanks

[nrai2001]

Would u mind telling us what program you matched into? Also if your scores were so bad, what do u think it was that the programs liked enough about you to accept you? Did you interview well at the university program? Is it a true university program or an affiliated community or hospital?

Thanks.

P.S. you can PM if you dont want to reveal info?

[PRE1TY]

Great job... turely inspirational!!
I do agree w/ the person who said that you're modest... b/c you worked sooo hard, and it payed off.

Best of luck for your residency

[lil-o-me]

Hey friends... it's me again... As I stated in one of my post, I have been following this forum for some time now, but never registered until yesterday to give hope to those who need it... I didn't plan on logging back on here, but I have received so many private messages (which gets directed to my personal email) from students in seek of my help, to show them the way, to guide them to residency too.. I would have writen each of you back, but you have to post atleast 5 posts to message people, hence, here I am again. Like those of you who have emailed me, I was just like you (am still just like you), nervous, anxious and scared (scared of not getting residency and now, scared of not performing well during residency)...

I wish I could give you a formula that I used which brought me to where I am, but I dont have one. I didn't do anything extra special after I failed step 2 the first time... I didn't do anything special during my interview other then the normal (shake hands, smile, dress appropriate, have a good solid answer for each possible answer you think they can ask which is fair and truthful/honest).. Actually, I'm probably the wrong person to ask for advice on how to succeed.. I'm just an average student who made some terrible mistakes who didn't give up, who kept going despite the odds... If I was the program director, I'm not even sure if I would have taken me since there are so many candidates with better scores and CV then mine.. I'm not sure why I matched...

I could tell you to do this and that, but the one thing I've learned is that what works for someone may not work for you.. and you have to find that.. you have to find what is it that will work for you...I finally learned it for myself but it took me to fail step 2...

The best advice I can give for you, especially the ones who have written me is to not panick. PD's know we are humans and like any human being, we all make mistakes. There is no perfect candidate... Another advice I can give you is to not listen and absorb everything other students say -- if they claim to have gotten a 99/99/99, good for him -- what you need to do is focus on yourself, your goal and how you can become the best student/candidate/physician you can be. And when you go into your interviews, present yourself as the BEST YOU.

You, like me, may not be perfect, but if you (or me) were perfect, life would be kinda boring, wouldn't it? These little and big bumps we encountered on this road to becoming a physician can only make us better physicians by what I hope, installing humility and compassion towards our patients, future medical students/residents we may teach, and people in general.

[BlessedDR]

lil-o-me, thank you so much and may God Bless you. This is what I needed to hear!! Stories about people who may have been average on paper but are truley extraordinary in real life!! I start in May and this has given me hope. You are going to make a wonderful physician and any patients appointed to you should feel blessed

[ssg1980]

Congratulations. I must say I will admit I am in the same place you were in. Thanks for giving us hope. Good luck!

[medicine2k6]

hey lil-o-me, congrats and what carribean medical school did you attend?

[devildoc8404]

Thank you so much for this thread, lil-o-me. You have courage and determination far above the norm, and it will stand you in good stead during residency and beyond. Congratulations on your match, and for sticking with it!