09-15-2015, 11:37 AM
Hi sam, sorry to hear about what you're going through. U know we put in so many years and sacrifice so much to get to a certain point and sometimes life just doesn't seem to be to kind to us. I'll give you some general advice, I hope that some of what I say might get you on the right track 
First things, when you say "old" IMG, exactly how old? Are you a US citizen or do you have a green card? Some people consider 2010 old, others say 2005 or before, some are from the US, others have never been here, how about you? The reason why I'm asking is many programs have an automatic cutoff date for when someone has graduated from medical school as well as rules on being a US citizen, visa status, etc. Now if you've been working as a physician in your home country thats a different story, but if you've been out for a long time without practicing, no board exams or Step 3 exam is going to help. Unfortunately that's how the system is set up, and with new grads coming out every year the more years we're out of residency the worse it gets.
Being an old IMG with a failing Step 3 score is def. a bummer. Competition is so tough these days it's like any 1 thing can hinder your application. Like me for example, I feel like I have a good app but I have a failure on the CS exam. I think last year it hurt my application and I didn't match. But again it's hard to tell. But keep your head up, here's my advice if you're sincere about taking the Step 3 exam.
First, the exam is difficult, as you already know. But with the new format there are more biostats qs on day 1 with several Step 1 oriented qs thrown in on the first day as well. Then of course CCS with the 13 cases. These are the very basics. So you have to ask yourself, how good is your clinical knowledge meaning from Step 2 CK. Do you remember the basics of clinical medicine? If not then you have to start with CK first, meaning you should get MTB 2 by Conrad Fischer, and start there. If you read it before you know it's a great book, if not then I'll tell you it's a great book and easy to read and gives you the basics you need for the Step 3 exam. Read MTB 2 several times from front to back until you have a good grasp on the content.
From there you need USMLE World Step 3 Q Bank, USMLE World CCS, MTB 3, Crush Step 3 CCS, and possibly Archer's CCS review and Mapping for CCS. There are about 700 less qs in the Step 3 UWorld qbank than in the CK qbank, so it doesn't take that long to go through the material. The way I used the q bank was I would start reading on Monday and read through Sunday with no days off. Monday I would do let's say Infectious and Cardio in MTB 3, and then do the corresponding qs in UWorld. Of course you can't do all of the Infectious/Cardio Qs in 1 day so just do 2-3 blocks and then repeat the process the following week. Then on day 2 I would do Endocrinology and Pulmonology, and do the corresponding qs again in UWorld. So using this pattern I would end on Sunday doing Ob/Gyn and do the qs in Uworld, then the next day on Monday I would just repeat the process. You do this over and over again week in and week out. This is how I studied. About a month in you should take a NBME just to gauge where you are.
In terms of CCS, this is where most students get messed up on and fail the exam. My CCS actually improved my score and my CCS was more to the right in the higher performance. Here's my advice, do not over do or use too many resources for the CCS. All you need is UWorld CCS the 52 cases, forget about the printouts, they are unnecessary. Also get the Crush Step 3 CCS book. It's a great book with 120 cases that tells you step by step in a very nice fashion what to do with each case i.e. what to order, how to move pts, step by step. Between Uworld CCS and this book that is all you need to pass CCS. Of course make mental notes of the CCS tips in MTB 3 as well, but that is all you need to pass CCS. I tried mapping in the very beginning, and it was a pretty good source but I found Crush CCS much more effective. Also, many kids use Archer because it's just passed on that Archer is a must, you have to do Archer. It's BS. You don't need Archer to pass CCS. I'm sure it is useful so if you want you can ask someone about it, but it's not necessary to pass the exam. Again if you have no clue about the software or are totally lost, it may not be a bad idea. But honestly the CCS software is not that difficult to manage, it just comes down to whether or not you know how to handle and proceed with a clinical case with the proper diagnostics tests and treatments.
Overall I found the exam to be very difficult. I was convinced I failed when I left after day 1, day 2 was a little better but still I was like ehh I failed. But I actually did better than I thought. So take it from me, the exam is def. difficult but you have to prepare as if this is your last hoorah. I kept telling myself this is it, after this I'll be done with USMLE forever, and I used it as motivation. I hope that you look deep inside yourself and find that same motivation. Again, Step 3 isn't the cure for or a guarantee that you will match, but it will def. help. But you're YOG, and other step scores will also dictate whether it's worth taking the Step 3 exam. I hope what I said helps a little, if you have any more qs feel free to ask. Good luck
First things, when you say "old" IMG, exactly how old? Are you a US citizen or do you have a green card? Some people consider 2010 old, others say 2005 or before, some are from the US, others have never been here, how about you? The reason why I'm asking is many programs have an automatic cutoff date for when someone has graduated from medical school as well as rules on being a US citizen, visa status, etc. Now if you've been working as a physician in your home country thats a different story, but if you've been out for a long time without practicing, no board exams or Step 3 exam is going to help. Unfortunately that's how the system is set up, and with new grads coming out every year the more years we're out of residency the worse it gets.
Being an old IMG with a failing Step 3 score is def. a bummer. Competition is so tough these days it's like any 1 thing can hinder your application. Like me for example, I feel like I have a good app but I have a failure on the CS exam. I think last year it hurt my application and I didn't match. But again it's hard to tell. But keep your head up, here's my advice if you're sincere about taking the Step 3 exam.
First, the exam is difficult, as you already know. But with the new format there are more biostats qs on day 1 with several Step 1 oriented qs thrown in on the first day as well. Then of course CCS with the 13 cases. These are the very basics. So you have to ask yourself, how good is your clinical knowledge meaning from Step 2 CK. Do you remember the basics of clinical medicine? If not then you have to start with CK first, meaning you should get MTB 2 by Conrad Fischer, and start there. If you read it before you know it's a great book, if not then I'll tell you it's a great book and easy to read and gives you the basics you need for the Step 3 exam. Read MTB 2 several times from front to back until you have a good grasp on the content.
From there you need USMLE World Step 3 Q Bank, USMLE World CCS, MTB 3, Crush Step 3 CCS, and possibly Archer's CCS review and Mapping for CCS. There are about 700 less qs in the Step 3 UWorld qbank than in the CK qbank, so it doesn't take that long to go through the material. The way I used the q bank was I would start reading on Monday and read through Sunday with no days off. Monday I would do let's say Infectious and Cardio in MTB 3, and then do the corresponding qs in UWorld. Of course you can't do all of the Infectious/Cardio Qs in 1 day so just do 2-3 blocks and then repeat the process the following week. Then on day 2 I would do Endocrinology and Pulmonology, and do the corresponding qs again in UWorld. So using this pattern I would end on Sunday doing Ob/Gyn and do the qs in Uworld, then the next day on Monday I would just repeat the process. You do this over and over again week in and week out. This is how I studied. About a month in you should take a NBME just to gauge where you are.
In terms of CCS, this is where most students get messed up on and fail the exam. My CCS actually improved my score and my CCS was more to the right in the higher performance. Here's my advice, do not over do or use too many resources for the CCS. All you need is UWorld CCS the 52 cases, forget about the printouts, they are unnecessary. Also get the Crush Step 3 CCS book. It's a great book with 120 cases that tells you step by step in a very nice fashion what to do with each case i.e. what to order, how to move pts, step by step. Between Uworld CCS and this book that is all you need to pass CCS. Of course make mental notes of the CCS tips in MTB 3 as well, but that is all you need to pass CCS. I tried mapping in the very beginning, and it was a pretty good source but I found Crush CCS much more effective. Also, many kids use Archer because it's just passed on that Archer is a must, you have to do Archer. It's BS. You don't need Archer to pass CCS. I'm sure it is useful so if you want you can ask someone about it, but it's not necessary to pass the exam. Again if you have no clue about the software or are totally lost, it may not be a bad idea. But honestly the CCS software is not that difficult to manage, it just comes down to whether or not you know how to handle and proceed with a clinical case with the proper diagnostics tests and treatments.
Overall I found the exam to be very difficult. I was convinced I failed when I left after day 1, day 2 was a little better but still I was like ehh I failed. But I actually did better than I thought. So take it from me, the exam is def. difficult but you have to prepare as if this is your last hoorah. I kept telling myself this is it, after this I'll be done with USMLE forever, and I used it as motivation. I hope that you look deep inside yourself and find that same motivation. Again, Step 3 isn't the cure for or a guarantee that you will match, but it will def. help. But you're YOG, and other step scores will also dictate whether it's worth taking the Step 3 exam. I hope what I said helps a little, if you have any more qs feel free to ask. Good luck
and when I gave it, it HAD to be consecutive days. And I was approx 7 months pregnant!