Oh, wait...that's passed! I guess my mediocre education and inability to think beyond what I've read just showed its ugly, narrow-minded, and racist head.
Or so I was told something like that by a stain on American culture patient today and her family. BTW: it's called a shower... take one!
Anyway, just wanted to say that I received my USMLE Step 2 CK results today. I passed. 98th percentile! Remember when I was freaking out last month? God what a waste of energy that was.
Showing posts with label Step 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Step 2. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Take That
Step 2 CK. Wow, that hurt. 6 hours, 8 blocks of 46 questions, and a desire to urinate several times throughout. What the hell happened to my bladder's normally huge capacity?
Anyway, I took 2 breaks - one for a whopping 3 minutes for the aforementioned issue, and one to eat and again take care of the issue - that took 10 minutes - and was able to complete a 9 hour exam with 3 hours to spare. Nice.
I hope I did well. I'm confident that I passed the thing, but I've already figured out a couple questions that I fucked up - the brain stopped thinking about block 5 and I had to keep trying to refocus my energies. Not fun. By the end I was ataxic and my eyes were so myopic I had to sit in my car for 10 minutes before I felt safe to drive. No, really. I had lost all peripheral vision and everything greater than 6 inches in front of me was a blur.
Interestingly though, I saw an upperclassman who matched in Anesthesia this year taking the exam. He was supposed to be in New York for both his prelim and advanced, but here he was, in my testing center, taking Step 2. At least it looked like he was. Whatever he was doing it wasn't where he was supposed to be. I know that he'd been behind and was running hard to graduate; he hadn't taken the exam before he matched, so who knows what could have happened.
I hope he didn't fail, lose his residency, and have to take the test again along with submitting to the match again this year. That would suck donkeyballs. I didn't talk to him because I just didn't want to know - and I was first done by a mile. I thought about staying to see what was up, but I decided I'd rather not hang around that ghetto area -get jacked, yo.
So, Step 2 CK: TAKE THAT! Time for a brain break. 4th year starts Monday!
Anyway, I took 2 breaks - one for a whopping 3 minutes for the aforementioned issue, and one to eat and again take care of the issue - that took 10 minutes - and was able to complete a 9 hour exam with 3 hours to spare. Nice.
I hope I did well. I'm confident that I passed the thing, but I've already figured out a couple questions that I fucked up - the brain stopped thinking about block 5 and I had to keep trying to refocus my energies. Not fun. By the end I was ataxic and my eyes were so myopic I had to sit in my car for 10 minutes before I felt safe to drive. No, really. I had lost all peripheral vision and everything greater than 6 inches in front of me was a blur.
Interestingly though, I saw an upperclassman who matched in Anesthesia this year taking the exam. He was supposed to be in New York for both his prelim and advanced, but here he was, in my testing center, taking Step 2. At least it looked like he was. Whatever he was doing it wasn't where he was supposed to be. I know that he'd been behind and was running hard to graduate; he hadn't taken the exam before he matched, so who knows what could have happened.
I hope he didn't fail, lose his residency, and have to take the test again along with submitting to the match again this year. That would suck donkeyballs. I didn't talk to him because I just didn't want to know - and I was first done by a mile. I thought about staying to see what was up, but I decided I'd rather not hang around that ghetto area -get jacked, yo.
So, Step 2 CK: TAKE THAT! Time for a brain break. 4th year starts Monday!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Calm, Cool, Not So Collected
Obviously I’ve been busy getting ready for the exam looming ever so close. Recently I had a complete panic attack - OK, Sunday and Monday I was freaking. I’ve heard multiple people talking about how Step 2 CK is now as important, if not more, than the Step1 exam that is infamous for causing medical student panic attacks worldwide (congrats to all those who’ve passed it BTW).
When I entered medical school there was a phrase regarding the 3 exams required to become a licensed practitioner: Step 1: 2 months; Step 2 CK: 2 weeks; Step 3: two number 2 pencils. This thought process essentially stated that the hardest test was first and then, based on your exposure to real medicine and patients, you’d breeze through the other 2 exams. Ha.
Unfortunately it seems that the culture has changed in the last couple years regarding this philosophy with an even more dramatic change in the last few months. It used to be that a good step 1 score meant that you postponed taking step 2 in order to avoid looking like a real dumbass (should your score be fairly low), or taking the test but hiding the results in your ERAS.
Those are, much to my surprise, no longer options for this year. Many programs will not offer you interviews without knowing you’ve taken and passed the exam while being fully able to see your score for these exams. You can’t hide it anymore. That was huge news to me since I had planned on doing that till last week.
Yes, after moving my test up a week I’ve taken a simulated exam that scared the hell out of me. I had serious anxiety and discussed postponing the test, buying another Qbank (since I’m 100% done with Kaplan’s), and dropping my elective starting next week to prepare more thoroughly.
Then I took a breath, reviewed my scores, reviewed my progress, and paid for a NBME diagnostic exam (best estimate for Step 1 last year) and have felt a huge burden lifted. No, I’m not in the same realm as my Step 1 score, but that’s probably not going to happen. I did not prepare myself like I did last year and nothing's going to change that.
I have resigned myself to this fact and evaluated the score I was estimated to receive - 233. That’s good. Really good. So why am I freaking out about not being higher? Exactly, fuck it.
I’ve reached a good healthy level of anxiety - not too little, not too much. Hopefully this carries over on Friday.
So, with that lengthy discussion of boring test minutia, no more updates till after the exam is over - I need to read some of my notes and review weak areas. Then I’m getting toasted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Done with this shit.
When I entered medical school there was a phrase regarding the 3 exams required to become a licensed practitioner: Step 1: 2 months; Step 2 CK: 2 weeks; Step 3: two number 2 pencils. This thought process essentially stated that the hardest test was first and then, based on your exposure to real medicine and patients, you’d breeze through the other 2 exams. Ha.
Unfortunately it seems that the culture has changed in the last couple years regarding this philosophy with an even more dramatic change in the last few months. It used to be that a good step 1 score meant that you postponed taking step 2 in order to avoid looking like a real dumbass (should your score be fairly low), or taking the test but hiding the results in your ERAS.
Those are, much to my surprise, no longer options for this year. Many programs will not offer you interviews without knowing you’ve taken and passed the exam while being fully able to see your score for these exams. You can’t hide it anymore. That was huge news to me since I had planned on doing that till last week.
Yes, after moving my test up a week I’ve taken a simulated exam that scared the hell out of me. I had serious anxiety and discussed postponing the test, buying another Qbank (since I’m 100% done with Kaplan’s), and dropping my elective starting next week to prepare more thoroughly.
Then I took a breath, reviewed my scores, reviewed my progress, and paid for a NBME diagnostic exam (best estimate for Step 1 last year) and have felt a huge burden lifted. No, I’m not in the same realm as my Step 1 score, but that’s probably not going to happen. I did not prepare myself like I did last year and nothing's going to change that.
I have resigned myself to this fact and evaluated the score I was estimated to receive - 233. That’s good. Really good. So why am I freaking out about not being higher? Exactly, fuck it.
I’ve reached a good healthy level of anxiety - not too little, not too much. Hopefully this carries over on Friday.
So, with that lengthy discussion of boring test minutia, no more updates till after the exam is over - I need to read some of my notes and review weak areas. Then I’m getting toasted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Done with this shit.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Taking the Plunge
I moved my test date up a week despite the couple bad days I had. I'm just not seeing much improvement or a considerable lapse in my question taking practice to justify putting it off for another couple weeks. I'm good about where I'm at and that's that. I had to change locations, but this test site is actually closer to my home anyway - why didn't I just go there in the first place? Oh yeah, kinda ghetto area and I'm an elitist.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bad Day
Ever have one of those days were everything just doesn’t go your way? I had that yesterday, which resulted in me almost plowing my car into a light pole just to end the misery. Not really, but you get the point – no, I AM NOT suicidal, just maniacal. My car was almost hit 4 times either leaving my apartment or during the morning rush hour, I realized I'd forgotten my study materials and had to turn around when I was almost to the school, I had computer issues all day long resulting in low test scores (I hope it was because of this), and was stuck in traffic from 6pm-7pm because it fucking rained when I tried to get home.
Because I was so stressed I had a clove cigarette while sitting in the rain for the first time in while. My car door was soaked, but it helped - a little (and don't get going on the dangers of smoking here; I've had this clove pack for almost 4 months now so I really don't think I'm in much danger of cancer or COPD!).
To top the day off, while trying to get something to eat for dinner last night I completely annihilated the package of shredded cheese I was fighting to open and was forced to spend about half an hour cleaning up the mess. And, to add insult to injury, when I truly needed a beer we had none in the fridge. GOD!
My friend told me that she feels I need some counseling. Most likely anger management based on her response to a story I regaled her with while we waited to hear about applying for residency. I guess damn near throwing a pen into the wall because you’re computer’s internet connection is fucking around with you while taking practice tests is not “normal” Hmm, who knew?
Because I was so stressed I had a clove cigarette while sitting in the rain for the first time in while. My car door was soaked, but it helped - a little (and don't get going on the dangers of smoking here; I've had this clove pack for almost 4 months now so I really don't think I'm in much danger of cancer or COPD!).
To top the day off, while trying to get something to eat for dinner last night I completely annihilated the package of shredded cheese I was fighting to open and was forced to spend about half an hour cleaning up the mess. And, to add insult to injury, when I truly needed a beer we had none in the fridge. GOD!
My friend told me that she feels I need some counseling. Most likely anger management based on her response to a story I regaled her with while we waited to hear about applying for residency. I guess damn near throwing a pen into the wall because you’re computer’s internet connection is fucking around with you while taking practice tests is not “normal” Hmm, who knew?
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Eyes Don't Have It
I’ve hit a rut in my Step 2 studying. Ophtho keeps kicking my ass because 1) I don’t give a shit about the eye, 2) eyes are gross, 3) I never-EVER listened to the ophtho people who lectured during surgery, and 4) I’ve avoided studying this material because it pisses me off (I get mad when I study something that doesn’t interest me in the least). Therefore my latest exam demonstrates a large abundance of ophthalmology related questions resulting in a 64%. Bastards.
Seriously though, I’ve already peaked on my studies and am now irritable, bored, unmotivated, and all the other dangerously stupid things that happen with studying too much without tremendous improvement. Based on a Step 2 estimator I’ve been using I’m in the 230-240 range, but there’s a confidence interval of 14 points. Eh, whatever.
I know I’ve improved a lot, but then I have tests that are in the 60’s again (at least not in the 50’s anymore) and I lose motivation. So I keep plugging along, reading and taking tests only to see my performance remain stagnant. I think I’m going to move my test up a week rather than risk the loss of intellect that may happen during the first week of my Anesthesia rotation. I have to first check the available dates out first, though, to see if I can actually do this.
I also feel bad because a good friend of mine is getting married in September, but is having a bachelor's party this weekend that I'm unable to got to because of this exam. I haven't seen many of the guys who'll be there since I moved out here 7 years ago and it just sucks to not be able to be there for a friend. I can't even get to his wedding because I'll be on an away rotation that I fought hard to get.
Goddamn test.
Seriously though, I’ve already peaked on my studies and am now irritable, bored, unmotivated, and all the other dangerously stupid things that happen with studying too much without tremendous improvement. Based on a Step 2 estimator I’ve been using I’m in the 230-240 range, but there’s a confidence interval of 14 points. Eh, whatever.
I know I’ve improved a lot, but then I have tests that are in the 60’s again (at least not in the 50’s anymore) and I lose motivation. So I keep plugging along, reading and taking tests only to see my performance remain stagnant. I think I’m going to move my test up a week rather than risk the loss of intellect that may happen during the first week of my Anesthesia rotation. I have to first check the available dates out first, though, to see if I can actually do this.
I also feel bad because a good friend of mine is getting married in September, but is having a bachelor's party this weekend that I'm unable to got to because of this exam. I haven't seen many of the guys who'll be there since I moved out here 7 years ago and it just sucks to not be able to be there for a friend. I can't even get to his wedding because I'll be on an away rotation that I fought hard to get.
Goddamn test.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Cursing My Computer Out
OK, here is the dilemma. My school includes Kaplan for both Step 1 and 2 as part of your tuition. I’ve said before that they “buy it for us” before, but in reality I’m paying for it whether I really wanted it or not. Honestly I think it was great for Step 1. I totally kicked that test’s ass! But for Step 2 I’ve heard mixed reviews. Especially about the Qbank.
People seem to believe that USMLEWorld is a better resource for the 2nd test and say that Kaplan people suck (no you suck USMLEWorldies - you go away now). You can see how the fight gets going, what with territoriality and all.
So what’s my problem besides gang warfare over Qbanks? Simple people. Kaplan has been kicking my ass these last couple days and is apparently the lesser of the two question resources. My test scores were looking good last week - low to mid 70’s - and I felt good. This week? 50’s and 60’s. Below other test takers. That only ever happened twice last year! WTF?
I’m supposed to take this test earlier so that residency coordinators know you've passed, but at the same time you need to be close to your Step 1 score. If your well below then residencies might think that you're a moron who can only read a book and suck at real world medicine.
Couple this with the fact that I’m actually trying to study the review books from last year to help me bone up on Physio, Pharm, and Path and you can see why I’m getting a little miffed. I’m regressing, not improving. I understand the pathophys again, but not the damn diagnostics and treatments. Jeezaloo.
Where’s the love, Kaplan? You’re supposed to encourage me to study, not make me blow a gasket in a “quiet” study room with underclassmen because I’m making ridiculous mistakes! It’s not cool how you made me curse and yell at my laptop in public. Several times. I don’t like you now. You go away.
I think I’m done studying for today.
People seem to believe that USMLEWorld is a better resource for the 2nd test and say that Kaplan people suck (no you suck USMLEWorldies - you go away now). You can see how the fight gets going, what with territoriality and all.
So what’s my problem besides gang warfare over Qbanks? Simple people. Kaplan has been kicking my ass these last couple days and is apparently the lesser of the two question resources. My test scores were looking good last week - low to mid 70’s - and I felt good. This week? 50’s and 60’s. Below other test takers. That only ever happened twice last year! WTF?
I’m supposed to take this test earlier so that residency coordinators know you've passed, but at the same time you need to be close to your Step 1 score. If your well below then residencies might think that you're a moron who can only read a book and suck at real world medicine.
Couple this with the fact that I’m actually trying to study the review books from last year to help me bone up on Physio, Pharm, and Path and you can see why I’m getting a little miffed. I’m regressing, not improving. I understand the pathophys again, but not the damn diagnostics and treatments. Jeezaloo.
Where’s the love, Kaplan? You’re supposed to encourage me to study, not make me blow a gasket in a “quiet” study room with underclassmen because I’m making ridiculous mistakes! It’s not cool how you made me curse and yell at my laptop in public. Several times. I don’t like you now. You go away.
I think I’m done studying for today.
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