yahoo kate!!!
you go girl!!!
i know what you mean - i literally felt like a million pounds had been lifted off my shoulder once i saw those 6 letters
“PASSED”
whew now next on my list is to conquer the COMAT for surgery :eek:
i do not know what kate did, but i took the same philosophy as I did the MCAT. I tended to focus more in my studies on areas where I knew I was weaker or had more difficulty based on test scores or personal struggle with material.
pathoma is gold!!
other than that - questions, questions and questions!! COMBANK is worth it’s weight in gold as are the COMSAEs. work up to doing 50 questions in one block then do two back to back block of 50 for 100 total since that is what you do for the exam… you will be surprised how exhausted you can get and how click happy you can get when you first start doing longer stretches of questions. do them timed - i think that was huge for me going in. i knew my average time per question so i knew i had plenty of time per question and therefore if i did not know a question or had to reason through i was not panicking about how it would affect my timing because i knew i had extra time to spare.
i can volunteer to be your personal cheerleader!!!
Thanks Becky. I think I’m going to need the cheerleading!! My 3rd year big sister at KCUMB just got her results and passed both COMLEX and USMLE. She still had time (1 wk) left on her COMBANK and Kaplan and let me access it so I could see what they were like. I liked both, but found the Kaplan easier and much heavier on OMM stuff, at least in the 48 question test it created for me. I’ll keep in mind the timinig issue. I’m usually OK on my tests and exams, but every now and then, one of them seems longer or harder and I start stressing about time.
Congrats and I hope you enjoy 3rd year.
Lynda
Lynda -
I used Pathoma (and I agree, it’s golden). If nothing else get that, watch the lectures and take good notes.
THen I did parallel chapters in First Aid and made summary pages of whatever diseases (hardly any) or relavent normal stuff/infective stuff there was in First Aid that wasn’t in Pathoma.
Wish I’d studied harder on first aid - only really went thru once in depth. In some systems I made Path flash cards and Pharm flash cards (in others, just Pharm flash cards), and I’d highly recommend doing Path and Pharm cards.
Did the green book (Savarese) for OMT, and then the week before the test did several of the “finals” in the back. I think the OMT book and case studies for Boards Boot Camp were pretty good resources.
Where I fell down - not reviewing ENOUGH from my texts/notes for each system and physiology/ anatomy. If it was unclear, you should be able to review and get really clear about an area.
I used COMBANK too and thought it was great. Not enough questions in some areas so I’d look for more questions there - particularly Heme/Onc - a BRS book there might be good.
Had a separate MIcro book - several people in my class used Microbiology made ridiculously simple. I used the Lippencott Micro board study book, plus my copy of Schaechter’s
“Mechanisms of Microbial Disease”. I’d have done TONS better if I’d made flashcards of each organism with its virulence factors and some pertinent facts, including drug of choice.
Anytime you hear “The most common organisms causing ____ are” or “causing pediatric ____ are” highlight that and try to learn those - definately high yield.
I think memorizing some classification schemes like the one in First Aid for Gram + and Gram negative organisms is also helpful – could figure out lots of questions with that.
Well, that’s all I remember. Bought “crushing Step 2” so will let you all know next year what I thought of that!
Kate
Thanks Kate - Got Pathoma for the final section last year and really like it. Now have to start going over stuff that we did previously in Pathoma.
Hope your clerkships are going well.
Lynda
Kate429 I was wondering, what did you use to study for the MCAt? Did you take a class or just buy prep books and study on your own?
I did the Kaplan review course. The lectures were somewhat irritating in that sometimes they seemed a waste of time, but we had the option to come to any one of several nights. I tried the three teachers in my location and realized I always got something out of one of them, so then made sure I went to her nights.
I feel the study materials were good, I used my course textbooks to review any areas that I realized I was “fuzzy” on. Meant to buy Examkrackers and look at that too, but did not end up having sufficient time to do that. The people in my postbac who DID do EK as well as Kaplan said they thought it helped a lot. For me the Kaplan course was good because it helped me be systematic and paced. YMMV. But their practice tests were NOT helpful. I did AAMC tests which I purchased.
Hope that’s somewhat helpful.
Kate
Becky -
So - Have you taken Step 2 yet? I just took it a week ago (woohoo!) and took a week vacation (having learned from last year that my brain would be fried for at least a week after). Slept a lot, and went to see the Pony Swim at Chincateague.
I did DIT for prep for Step 2, which I think helped a lot, and did more question bank questions, and 2 Comsae’s. I did not walk out thinking I’d failed, like I did for Step 1, so hoping for a decent score.
On to 4th year rotations!
Kate
kate,
i just took it last monday. i also used DIT and combank again.
i walked out feeling like i had passed and of course the day afterward i had convinced myself i had failed.
now we wait for the score - i will be happy to pass. i had the brilliance of foresight to attempt to take the thing during the middle of my 4 week surgery required rotation 4th year which ends dup being in Trauma - yeah that was brilliant 
other than that i have had one interview already which did not go as i would have liked it to and i have 8 more scheduled 
not bad for an old gal 
how goes your application season??
(oh btw i had some of your colleagues here with me on my last rotation but i highly doubt you were one of them - unless you changed genders and magically de-aged about 30 years…lol)
Becky - congrats on taking it! Yeah, during surgery would be the worst!! Hope for what you are looking for in score!
Have not certified my application yet so don’t have any interviews but the one at my first audition rotation set up yet. That’s this coming friday. Having said that, I freakin’ LOVE this program and hope I get to do residency here! No pressure!
I couldn’t figure out the NMP match part - looked like it wouldn’t let you sign up yet. That’s obviously wrong? Can’t find the date I took ACLS --trying to track that down this weekend (not at my home site which has that card in it–didn’t bring it with my paperwork). Just entered my personal statement yesterday and find I still have thousands of characters left. I wrote one page and now I feel like I need an entire chapter…and I worked so hard to get it to one page! Geez! Want to talk to my schools GME office to find out which of the LOR’s that just came back this last week (( I saw, Friday night) are the strongest, so I know which to send. Tearing my hair out over the whole process and no one to ask questions of! Going to wait till beginning of next week to certify the app, after I have talked to GME office (IF they are in Monday (prob not) or if I can find time while at rotation Tuesday to call them. So that’s how MY application season is going 
Kate
Kate,
The NRMP just opened Sunday.
The osteo match opened earlier.
My personal statement was also a page and I left it at that. Like you I had a ton of characters left but I was happy with what I had. Simple is better is my philosophy.
Found out I passed step 2 CE today - I am done!! That feels so good to say
And the interview count is at 17 - I am freaking out!!!
Oh, I need to register for the NRMP! Thanks for the reminder. I knew that ERAS opened up their applications to ACGME residencies on the 15th and finished submitting 10 applications (1 DO, 1 MD, 8 dually accreded) - I’d only had 3 in before the 15th.
Have 2 interviews with it up 2 days - First one is tomorrow.
Spent the night of the 15th reworking my personal statement for some programs and uploading a version to each.
Unfortunately, 3 of my 4 LOR’s are not uploaded yet - but 2 of those 3 mailed them to my Dean’s office Monday, so I have hopes of them getting uploaded soon.
Crazy!
Congrats on all your interviews!!!
I take COMLEX PE on October 11th. Passed the written part fine.
Kate
Kate,
Tell me about it. The whole ERAS then NMS then NRMP. Too many acronyms for this old brain
You will have no issue with your PE. Just be yourself and you will be fine. The only thing I will say is that it is a really long day. By the end I was so tired and my brain was just shut down. Of course it could have made a difference that I was in the middle of my OB rotation (yes there is a trend ;))
I am applying family medicine with few family/nmm and a few IM/peds. What did you decide?
I’m applying all family med - but that’s what I started my post-bac program planning on, and I’ve not wanted to change. The one thing I thought about was maybe doing IM, but I really have not enjoyed any in-hospital IM rotations, and peds has been unexpectedly wonderful, so I’m sure I’m right where I should be.
Kate
How did the PE go? I know you did fine
Interview trail is going well
Got an unexpected invite which I can not turn down but has opened up a whole slew of questions for me
Oh? Tell me more about the “unexpected invite”!
I’ve had one interview, will have one during current family med rotation and during a later rotation, and have 3 others scheduled and was called with another interview offer today (have to call back). So that’s going well!
How did the PE go? Well - I had bad vertigo the night before and worse the morning off - could not walk without staggering --holding on to the wall. Reviewed Epley maneuvers (for treating vertigo) via youtube (I’ve done them before but wanted to be right) and did them once the night before and twice the morning of, at which point I was better enough to walk. Very nervous during part of the PE but feel overall I probably did ok. Wasn’t stuck for any of the diagnoses --hopefully my differentials and plans were reasonable and not too incomplete due to running out of time to write more… 8-10 weeks to find out.
Kate
kate,
i had applied to a few integrated FM/NMM programs. I had applied for the fellowship here but did not get it - too much politics but alas i digress.
Anyway, I had only put in a few and being well me and average i figured i would not get a nibble.
And I got a nibble - from kirksville.
and there is the kink.
i have heard from those in the know that medicare will most likely push for a unified GME in the next few years with all the changes to health care taking effect. at risk when/if this happens could be things like NMM which are distinctly osteopathic and have no allo counterpart. so the question becomes am i spending time on something which may not exist as an entity when i am done?
also i was thinking of a sports med fellowship and i am basically shooting myself in the foot if i do a straight AOA residency
aggghhh!!!
i thought this was supposed to be the easy part?!?!?!?!?