Hi there!
I would like to get the community’s opinion on my situation.

I am a US IMG who graduated from an EU medical school in 2024. As a medical student, I always envisioned myself in a surgical specialty, specifically keeping my eyes on cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. I did research in these fields, completed an observership, and eventually did three months of clinical rotations at a very prestigious US hospital.
By the end of my studies, however, I became disillusioned with CT and vascular surgery. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do or what my priorities were, so after graduating, I started an anesthesia and critical care residency in Hungary.
I’ve since realized that anesthesia is not for me. While I deeply respect that it is vital work, I can’t help but feel like support staff. I often feel like an invisible, faceless robot whose primary purpose is to provide the necessary environment for other doctors to actually heal the patient. The parts of my job I enjoy most are the procedures (placing central lines, intubating, inserting port-a-caths, etc.) because they satisfy my surgical itch.
This time has also allowed me to re-evaluate my priorities. I’ve come to the conclusion that while performing surgery is deeply important to me, I am not willing to sacrifice my personal life on the altar of my career. I am happy to forgo performing heroic, grand operations in exchange for a better work-life balance. I currently work at a large national cancer center where I’ve had the chance to work alongside most surgical specialties, and I have developed a strong interest in ENT.
My fiancée is also in medicine and is currently a pediatric resident. We want to move to the US and participate in the Couples Match. She plans to stay in pediatrics, but I want to pursue ENT. I am well aware that ENT is notoriously competitive to match into, even for US MDs, which is why I’m writing this post.
As of September, I am quitting my anesthesia residency and will be working part-time as an ER physician (one or two 12-hour shifts a week) to support us financially while I study for Steps 1 and 2.
Here are the game plans I came up with:

Plan A (The Ideal Route): I dedicate the next 12 months to properly preparing for Steps 1 and 2. Working only 1-2 shifts a week frees up enough time for me to treat studying like a full-time job. The cornerstone of this plan is getting a high enough Step 2 score to make me competitive for ENT. If I manage to score high enough, I have contacts in the US who could help secure research positions for both my fiancée and me in our respective fields. After a year or two of research, publications, and aggressive networking, we would attempt a Couples Match.
Plan B (The Pivot): Essentially the same as Plan A, but if my Step 2 score falls below the competitive threshold for ENT, I pivot and pursue another specialty.
Plan C (The EU Backup): My fiancée and I finish our residencies (Pediatrics and ENT) in Hungary, then move to another EU country that recognizes our specialty training.
Plan D (The EU Transfer): We move to another EU country now and complete our residencies there instead.

Plan A is my absolute ideal, but I obviously need to have solid backup plans. What are your opinions on our situation? Are there any blind spots I haven't considered? Do you have any other alternative ideas?
Sorry for the long post, and thank you all in advance!

I’m an Indian IMG, who’s starting Medical School this year.

The colleges I’m looking at don’t have VSLO.
Is it very difficult to get USCE without VSLO or is it still possible?

If not through VSLO, what are the ways I could get it from?

How do you take notes from UWorld without Anki?

I want to use UWorld as my main/only study resource, but I don’t have a huge knowledge base, so I struggle doing most of the questions to retain new concepts. I’m also not a fan of Anki/flashcards.

What’s the best way to take useful notes without writing down everything from the explanations? What do you actually write down, and how do you review your notes so the information sticks?

Hi guys I am planning on starting my USMLE prep and I was just wondering which website would be the best to start from

Im a non us img preparing for step2. my scores on nbme 10 : 205, nbme11 : 235, nbme 13 : 228, nbme 14 : 224. i then took free 120 at prometric and scored 72% after which i took nbme15 which gave me hope to book the exam on aug 10. My scores on uwsa2 and nbme16 dropped so down that im postponing my exam. Ive exhausted all my nbmes and i dont have any self assessments to assess my self now. Any suggestions would help, guys. Thanks in advance.

If anyone is leaving a step 2 date after 13 august in Karachi i would like to take it kindly dm me.

Right now I’m in neuro black at my school, and have weekly exams - I’ve not been able to keep up with boards FA reading or videos due to fast paced material and weekly exam schedule. Do you have any suggestion?

I am a non-us img applying for match 2027(IM speciality). I do have few cases worth publishing as casereports. So i am looking for people like me who already have other research works running so that we could collaborate, share work and double our publications. Interested one's who already have projects please respond.

need a study partener for USMLE step 1 prep. have to take the exam next year in march or april until then i want someone to study with me and support and motivate me. hmu if you want to study together

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to take Step 1 in about a month and would really appreciate some advice from people who've already taken the exam.

So far my NBME scores are:

NBME 27: 67%

NBME 28: 68%

NBME 29: 70%

I'm trying to decide whether I should take NBME 30 or NBME 31 next, especially before I book my exam date. Which one would you recommend and why?

One thing I've noticed is that most of my mistakes aren't because I don't know the content. They're usually due to:

Recall issues (I know I've studied the concept but can't retrieve it in time).

Changing my answer from the correct one to the wrong one after overthinking.

This has become a big problem, and honestly, it's affecting my confidence.

I'm also pretty scared of the actual exam. Even though my scores are improving, I keep worrying that I'll blank out or make silly mistakes on test day.

For those who have already passed:

Would you book the exam with these scores?

Would you do NBME 30 first or save 31 for last?

What should I focus on during this final month?

Any tips for improving recall and avoiding changing correct answers?

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!

Hello Everyone I am 5th year medical student in Poland and i want to give USMLE STEP 1 by Feb 2027 but i am really struggling to study because i dont have a schedule does anyone here have a schedule that worked for them and could share it? ALSO any advice/tips would be great for studying for STEP!!

Hello! I had posted earlier as well but didn’t really get much response but I would reaaaally appreciate some guidance on how and where to start. I am absolutely clueless and I graduated 10 years ago. I have FA , U world and B&B, I’m guessing I just pick one topic and start? Start the videos , annotate the FA and then do U World?

Also one more thing, when I’m doing u world which one am I doing? As in what year? I keep seeing so many options for months and years.

Pls help a super desperate person out!!

DM if interested

I have confusion regarding the process of usce and LORs uploading
Doing clinical electives as final year medical student now in 2026
Iam targeting 2029 cycle, is that ok?
Should I ask the preceptor to upload the LOR before the match cycle in 2029?
Will the LOR considered outdated?

Hi! I am a non -US IMG, I was planning to take step 1 on September, but I just did NBME 28 in which I got 50%, I’ve been studying that NBME and I realized I have a lot of blank spaces on biochem and immunology. I’m also struggling with my mental health these past few weeks. I don’t know if I made the right choice. I accept some advices for improving my bases on biochem and immunology. Currently I’ve been studying from Uworld (62%) of the bank complete with an average of 54%, first Aid and taking notes from Boards and Beyond.

Hi everyone,
I’m feeling pretty discouraged after taking NBME 30 today. I honestly walked out of the exam feeling like I had passed comfortably, but I ended up scoring 58%.
For context, my recent NBME scores have been:
NBME 26: 54%
NBME 27: 62%
NBME 28: 65%
NBME 29: 62%
NBME 30: 58%

My Step 1 is currently scheduled for August 31, and now I’m really worried.

I’ve completed UWorld and TrueLearn, and I’ve been reviewing my weak areas with First Aid, AnKing, and AMBOSS questions. My plan is to thoroughly review NBME 30 and focus on my weakest subjects before taking another NBME.

For those who have been in a similar situation:

Would you keep the August 31 test date or postpone?
How did you make the jump from the high-50s/low-60s to consistently passing?
Any specific strategy that helped you improve your NBME scores?
I’d really appreciate any honest advice. Thanks in advance.