It was one of those days! The day started with a Kaplan Neurology block where I scored 52%. Seriously?! I don't know if the block was hard or if I was really bad at the topics in todays block.And to add on to my irritation, most of the observership positions that I wanted to apply for this July need both Step 1 and 2 scores. The applications of which will be closed by the time I finish Step 2. I had a minor panic attack. Took a while for me to be 'okay' again.
Then I started doing Pulmonology Kaplan notes. This is one of my least favorite subjects. But, had to do it. Made myself do two-thirds of it before I just could not do it anymore. I decided to do radiology. As it is a small topic I thought it would be a light read. Finished that really late. Did not have time to go to the gym(which maybe contributes to my irritable mood).
Sorry if it was a 'rant' kind of post. There are all kind of days. It it not always rainbows and sunshine!
Anyways, hope everyone had a great day.
See you tomorrow.
Cheers.
Sorry to hear things didn;t go your way today. Keep your head up! What about doing externships instead?
ReplyDeleteHey thanks! :) I heard externships are almost obsolete nowadays(if I am not mistaken)....looking into some other options....can be frustrating at times...hope tomorrow is a better day!
ReplyDeleteReally? I didn't know that. I am applying to do 3 months through Chicago Clerkships. From comments on the forums observerships are not looked upon as favorably as externships (hand-on experience). I think I may rethink spending $5K on externships if it won't help. But I also lack US LORs. Any advice?
ReplyDeleteBeing an IMG, the first thing that any program director will look for is your STEP 1 and STEP 2 ck scores...getting an above average score in these should be your priority...and a score improvement in STEP 2 ck is important...because I know ppl who got 240s on STEP 1 and 230s on STEP 2 ck, who were grilled in the interview for the drop in score...No matter how much money you spend on clerkships(which are definitely better than observership/externship) they kind of don't trust what you do during that period because they know these are paid...USCE is good for getting LORs...in MTB 2 there is a section in the first few pages that talks about IMGs and USCE...you should check it out...hope this helped...:)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I didnt read the first few pages in MTB2. SMH. I guess the only value of externships are the US LORs. High scores mean a lot more. Which is discouraging for me because I got a very low Step 1 score. :(
ReplyDeleteHey do not freak out...You cannot change your STEP 1 score...but STEP 2 CK is very different from STEP 1...you don't have to know the itty gritty details like you have to for STEP 1...I know cases where people have improved from 210s in STEP 1 to 250s in STEP 2CK...which will greatly impress residency directors...it is all about perseverance...there is always a door open somewhere! :)
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