Board Semester

[Nawaab]

Can someone who is more familiar with the Board semester answer a few questions:

1- Can you take the Step 1 exam after the board semester? In other words if I feel I need more time after the board semester, can I take that extra time?

2- Once you are in the board semester, and take Step 1, can you then start clinicals within that semester?

3- Is this "Board semester" mandatory? If I take the Step 1 exam immediately after 5th semester, will I have time to start rotations the following semester?


Perhaps someone who already went through the board semester or is currently in the board semester give some input. Thanks.

[onesolo]

I have numerous questions and complaints about this so called board semester that needs to be addressed with the school. The school is advertised as a 10 semester school, with this board semester it is no longer a 10 semester school but 11 semesters. This puts us at a risk of having to sit around for a semester for no reason. Numerous studies have shown that it's best to take step one shortly after completion of Basic Sciences so what's the use for this semester? All of our caribb. counter parts have 10 semesters and it's proven to work. What has happen to make SMU feel that this will benefit the student (though it does benefit their pockets). If it's believed that we should have extra time to study for our boards then why not impliment that into 5th semester (although we should be studing for the boards from day one). I think insite and clairification should be given to the ENTIRE student body on this not just those presently about to go into clinicals. There are people that may have decided to attend school else where had they known that the course of study here is longer than other caribb schools.

[AmericanIMG]

1- Can you take the Step 1 exam after the board semester? In other words if I feel I need more time after the board semester, can I take that extra time?

Ans - yes, you can take extra time off if you do not feel adequately prepared for step1, but remember that you only have a small period that you can take off before you have to start repaying those student loans...

2- Once you are in the board semester, and take Step 1, can you then start clinicals within that semester?

Ans - i believe that you have to start clinicals at the beginning of the following semester, but with different rotations being different lengths i am sure that you could get in to something...this is definitely a Q for the clinical dean though, has he not come to Maine?

3- Is this "Board semester" mandatory? If I take the Step 1 exam immediately after 5th semester, will I have time to start rotations the following semester?

Ans - the board semester is 100% mandatory. As for taking the boards right after 5th then starting the next term, that theoretically wouldn't work, because if you had to start at the beginning of the next term (and not in the middle) then it would only give you 2-3 weeks at most to get the results of step1, and the NBME website states that it is a 3-8 week process to get the results of your scores. The only way that i can see this working is if you took step1 and just started clinicals w.o receiving the results...

Hope this helps A, i had a long talk with the admin here in Cayman about these things just the other day i think that you should really take these Qs into whoever is your campus admin rep for clinicals over in Maine. Regardless i believe that the school has the clinical dean coming to meet you guys in a few weeks?

As far as the school being 11 semesters rather then 10, it was known to students previously that the Board semester was mandatory starting last term (last term's 5ths had the mandatory Board semester, and they knew about it when they were 4ths).

I am not sure what studies show that its best to take step1 right after the completion of Basics, but at most US schools the students get the summer off after Basic Science to do some review then take the exam (i believe the that NBME talks about US students taking an avg of 6 weeks or so to review before taking the exam). The results for step1 take, again, 3-8 weeks to come back in (this info is right off of the NBME site). that puts the total time frame at 9-14 weeks...and i believe that a semester is 15 weeks? pretty close, plus gives time to move and get settled in another state that might be another country for some students.

As for other Carib schools, my cousin recently finished Basic Science at AUC, and had to take a board semester as well. A friend who is a 5th at Ross is in the same situation. Unless there is a school with a 3-8 week break in between terms or one that allows for the start of clinicals whenever a student has finishes step1 (which would mean that clinicals would be starting at any time) it would make sense that every carib med school has the students taking a board sem. I only know of those two though, maybe other schools have a long break or have rolling start dates for clinicals.

Lastly, for the remark that "There are people that may have decided to attend school else where had they known that the course of study here is longer than other caribb schools," honestly maybe you should have done some more research before coming to SMU??? i remember a few students who came here thinking that California was a lock and that they had nothing to worry about, then when Cali said no they flipped out and just dropped out at the end of med1, to start completely over at other schools (AUC, Ross). I hate to say it but you should have known these things before you applied, and if not then definitely before you took the acceptance into SMU.

R

[Laurie S]

Originally Posted by onesolo

...All of our caribb. counter parts have 10 semesters and it's proven to work.

Not necessarily. Read some other school's posts. Check out their "true" pass rates in comparison to how they scored with no additional study time after their last semester.

[Laurie S]

Originally Posted by onesolo

..(although we should be studing for the boards from day one).

You're are first semester. Right?

However with 700+ posts it looks like you are ahead of the average student and should not have any problems. But after a couple of semesters I think you may be more worried about doing well on your current exams than taking extra time to study material that isn't directly related to your upcoming exam.

[Laurie S]

[quote=onesolo]...What has happen to make SMU feel that this will benefit the student (though it does benefit their pockets). [/quote

I think you make a good point that if you feel you are ready to take Step I after your last semester than you should be allowed to. However, I won't be ready, and NEED that extra time to study. I LOVE that fact that we get an extra semester at home (!!), and qualify for financial aid to pay our bills so that we can STUDY. This does BENEFIT me.

[Laurie S]

American IMG,

Nice post. Well stated and written.

I don't think AUC has a board semester unless they implemented it this semester. But, they do have a lower than normal pass rate (every year) for the semester that races to take the Step in order to meet their match deadline.

[Nimmuk]

Just to make things clear, the school does not benefit from students taking the semester off as one does not have to pay tuition, though once can qualify for FA.


3- Is this "Board semester" mandatory? If I take the Step 1 exam immediately after 5th semester, will I have time to start rotations the following semester?

The only concerned about this is being certified by the school to take Step one. According to Juni, the school will certify at the end of your 5th semester. The problem with this is your three month window, as sometimes, your window will not start until mid Feb (4-8 weeks after 5th. More importantly, with this time frame, you will not be allowed to start clinicals Until May because of financial aid restrictions. You need at least 10 weeks left of the semester to start clinicals.

Say for example, you take step in Feb 1. You get your results back March 1 (3-4 weeks). Then you have to wait another 4 weeks to get your rotations schedule, which puts you in April first. Because there is only 6 weeks left for the Jan semester (May 14), You will have to start clinicals until May.

I had the same question and Juni and the admin explained this to me.

Now, I just go to school here, and do what they tell me to do, Do I agree, umm, not really, but it is just the nature of the beast.

Hope this helps

[AmericanIMG]

[quote=Laurie S]

Originally Posted by onesolo

...What has happen to make SMU feel that this will benefit the student (though it does benefit their pockets). [/quote

I think you make a good point that if you feel you are ready to take Step I after your last semester than you should be allowed to. However, I won't be ready, and NEED that extra time to study. I LOVE that fact that we get an extra semester at home (!!), and qualify for financial aid to pay our bills so that we can STUDY. This does BENEFIT me.

thanks for the props on the post, as a 5th clinicals weigh heavily on my mind...as far as the school allowing you to take step1 right after you are done with 5th it IS allowed. you can take step1 anytime after the completion of Basic Science, even the day after you finish the term (assuming that the ECFMG has your paperwork in from SMU stating you have completed **). I think what everyone is forgetting is that there is the lag period from when you take step1 to when you receive the results. 3-8 weeks is what is posted on the step1 site, which means that in order to start your clinicals the next term you would need to take step1 in the middle of your last term of Basic Science, which of course is not allowed by the NBME/ECFMG.

[Junito]

Actually the deadline to start clinical rotations actually is a week or two after the semester begins. So technically someone who takes step1 after finishing the basic sciences (ie the day after the 5th semester), if the results come within 3 or 4 weeks, can actually make the deadline.

I'm no fan of the board semester. Never wanted to register for it, and this new policy came into play after I transfered in. But this policy should have been made known to all (i.e. put it in the school bulletin). I checked the school bulletin & website and saw no mention of it (maybe I looked in the wrong place). But this info should be made known on the school bulletin so that all potential students can include this in their calculations of whether to attend the school or not.