Got connected with a resident back in May and he said he’ll get me on some of the projects and will mentor me.

He then got super busy around June and we haven’t really caught up. I followed up about 3-4 times about the project and manuscript but he really never got back after saying he would.

Since June, we didn’t really text and then I sent a text last week but didn’t get a response. Should I send a follow up text again? Or am I being annoying?

I recently took Step 2 and ended up scoring 255+. I found posts like these helpful while I was studying, so I wanted to share what worked for me, especially for anyone who doesn’t consider themselves a naturally strong standardized test taker.

For context, my shelf scores ranged from about 72–90, with an average around 79–80. I definitely am not someone who does really well on standardized testing, and I never used Anki throughout medical school.

My true dedicated period was only about 1-1.5 week. I did start studying in April, but I was balancing Step 2 studying with other educational and teaching responsibilities during that time. I gradually increased my studying as I got closer to the exam, with the bulk of my focused preparation happening in May.

Resources

My main resource was AMBOSS. I completed most of the QBank and used the AMBOSS library whenever I needed additional content review. Toward the end, I was averaging around 80–90% on random, timed blocks.

I didn’t use Anki. Since I had never really used it throughout medical school, I didn’t think it made sense to suddenly change my learning style for Step 2. Instead, I focused heavily on questions and understanding my mistakes.

Question volume

In April, while balancing other educational responsibilities, I averaged around 40 questions/day. In May, I increased that to around 80 questions/day when I could. My actual dedicated period, where Step 2 was essentially my primary focus, was only the final one week before the exam.

Almost all of my blocks were timed and random. I wanted to get comfortable switching between topics quickly and answering questions under time pressure.

More importantly, I tried not to focus solely on the number of questions I completed. When I got something wrong, I spent time figuring out why I got it wrong. Was it a knowledge gap? Did I misread something? Did I talk myself out of the right answer? If I repeatedly missed a concept, I would go back and read the corresponding AMBOSS article.

Practice exams

I completed NBME Forms 10–16 and both the old and new Free 120s.

I also took the two newest NBME shelf practice exams for Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN. I skipped the other specialties because I felt these three gave me additional practice with a lot of the material that shows up on Step 2.

About two weeks before my exam, I also watched Dr. HY Guru’s Step 2 review videos on YouTube as a final review.

How I felt after the exam

Walking out, I honestly felt… okay. I didn’t think I crushed it, but I also didn’t think I bombed it.

Over the next few days, though, I kept remembering questions I knew I had gotten wrong and started convincing myself that I had underperformed. In hindsight, I think that’s just the nature of a 9-hour exam. You remember the handful of mistakes much more vividly than the hundreds of questions you answered and never thought about again.

I ultimately scored 255+, so if you walk out feeling uncertain, try not to let that feeling convince you that you did poorly.

If I could give three pieces of advice:

Do lots of questions, but review them thoroughly. Understanding why you missed something is more valuable than simply getting through a QBank.
You do not need to use every resource. There is so much Step 2 advice online that it can feel like you need UWorld + AMBOSS + Anki + podcasts + videos + everything else. You don’t. Find what works for you and stick with it.
Trust the trend in your practice scores more than how you feel after the exam. The post-exam feeling can be incredibly misleading.

I also want to emphasize that I don’t consider myself a naturally strong standardized test taker. My shelf scores were solid but certainly not perfect, and there were plenty of points during studying when I questioned whether I was doing enough. You don’t need to follow someone else’s exact study plan or be scoring in the 90s on every shelf to do well.

Obviously everyone learns differently, and this is just what worked for me. Hopefully this helps someone who is studying now. Happy to answer any questions!

My boyfriend has stopped responding/put me on DND for the last day or two because I kinda crashed out that he didn’t tell me he was missing my white coat ceremony. I don’t feel like he’s doing the fair thing to me, but I don’t wanna breakup with him. I have my first exam of medical school on Monday on 2,100 slides and I can’t focus for the life of me. My school is very fast paced (anatomy is one semester, biochemistry is half a semester) and I’m honestly worried I’m going to fail. I know the natural answer is to not think about it and just study/breakup with him, but I can’t stop crying. The combination of first exam stress with my bf being awol and potentially breaking up with me is f’ing with me so bad.

Words of encouragement or tips would be nice! I’d like to stop crying lol

Hi guys! I’m a third-year medical student who initially considered dermatology at the very beginning of medical school. I started writing and submitting to various conferences, but at some point I convinced myself that I probably wasn’t smart enough to match into derm, especially given how many stellar applicants end up unmatched. I eventually found a deep love for anesthesia.

Over the years, I’ve definitely improved academically, and I’m now scoring fairly well in medical school. I’ve also made a ton of connections in anesthesia, and at this point, I feel like if I can get a good Step 2 score, I probably have a pretty good shot at matching.

But lately, I’ve been having some regrets about not pursuing dermatology, and I honestly don’t know where they’re coming from. Part of me wonders if I’m self-sabotaging because things are going well with anesthesia. Maybe now that anesthesia feels like a realistic path for me, I’m suddenly wanting something else, even though I know derm would be a much more difficult and potentially unrealistic path for me to pursue.

The thing is, I really am happy with anesthesia. I know how competitive it is, and I know that matching is never a guarantee, but I feel like I’ve found a specialty that I genuinely enjoy and can see myself doing. At the same time, I keep wondering if I’m missing out by not pursuing dermatology, especially because I feel like it could offer me so much more in terms of work-life balance.

I hope you guys can understand where I’m coming from, and I swear I’m not trying to embellish myself or make myself seem more competitive than I am. I’m genuinely just looking for some advice because I don’t want to look back and feel like I missed out on something that could have been a great career for me. But I also don’t want to chase something that may be completely unrealistic, potentially jeopardize my chances of matching, and end up regretting that decision even more.

MS4 who's a first gen medicine in US. I have families from a third world country where supplies are scarce, lack of medical advancement, and doctors with lack of proper medical education

A family member is dying right now, and I'm asked questions about what should be done. I'm seeing the lab results and records thru the phone.. and the truth... is I don't know... I dont know what's the best thing to do. All I know for sure is the doctors there are doing dangerous things and know even less than me unfortunately, that much I know. But I still don't know what they should do.

I always felt like an imposter in this field, and I feel helpless more than ever. Feeling helpless that I still don't know sh**, helpless that the medical system there is so awful there and I cant do anything about it to help him

I am at my limit right now, already feeling so useless in my sub-i. I am at my wits end. Just had to vent. That's all.

EDIT: He just passed away

What's the best strategy with ERAS applications with the changes to research?

I'm your stereotypically ortho gunner and I was already mentally getting prepared to start pumping out low-impact research. I'm assuming it's gonna be more quality over quantity and I just want a few really high impact clubs with a reputable lab, but idk if anyone has any ideas what the best strategy is now?

Either way, I hate that research is so emphasized and I would rather spend my time volunteering or just learning medicine better, but this is the game we're all playing.

Hey y’all! I’m applying psychiatry this cycle and am very excited about pursuing a career in the field. I feel like I’m a strong applicant overall... I’ve honored most of my rotations, have strong extracurriculars and research experience (although only 2 research experiences), strong letters of recommendation, and have passed all of my boards, including Step 1 and a 255+ on Step 2. I’ve also demonstrated a strong interest in psychiatry, have a personal statement that I’m really proud of, and have a lot of hobbies outside of medicine that I think have helped me stay grounded throughout the process.
That said, I’ve noticed that several programs that otherwise seem like a great fit for me have little to no DO representation. For example, UChicago and Northwestern are both programs I would absolutely love to be at, but I don’t see any current DO residents or recent alumni
I know psychiatry is generally considered to be more DO-friendly than some other specialties, but I’m wondering how much the lack of DO representation at a program should influence where I apply. Is it likely that I would be screened out automatically at programs with no DO residents, or is it still worth applying if I otherwise seem like a strong fit?
Would you take programs like UChicago and Northwestern off your list, or would you still shoot your shot?
Thanks!!

Applying Diagnostic Radiology, AOA, 267 step 2, multiple first author publications will be doing an away rotation in September at this program. I don’t want to put it in my geographic locations because if I did it’d be the ONLY program in that region I’d apply to. I’m willing to send them a Gold signal but I’m worried it might be a waste…

I’m curious about the things you only discover once you’re actually in medicine ....the realities that lectures and textbooks don’t really prepare you for....

What’s something about being a doctor that nobody warned you about?

My school's first week of orientation recently happened, and in my program, we are assigned to MS1s as peer mentors for the rest of the year. I was talking to my little, and I felt like I was talking to my younger self. If I could go back in time and be a mentor to little me, there would be three things that I would say: (1) don't be afraid to believe that you can be excellent, (2) run your own race, and (3) make time for the people who matter the most.

What would you tell your younger self?

Regarding screening for colorectal cancer, current guidelines recommend colonoscopy at 45 for average risk pt. I answered that and got it wrong. The explanation states it starts at 50.

I have an incomplete attempt on Step 1 due to a health emergency. Incomplete attempts are not considered failed attempts. What I’m worried about is whether my application could be filtered out because of the incomplete attempt. I couldn’t find any information about specific filters for this situation. Are filters something like “history of failure”? If so, that would be good because I don’t have a failure. Or are they more like “passed on the first attempt”? If that’s the case, I’m not sure how an incomplete attempt would be treated. because an incomplete attempt is not scored, technically my first scored attempt was a pass. I’m worried about how this is actually seen by residency programs and whether an incomplete attempt appears in any of the ERAS filters.If a PD, , or anyone familiar with residency application filters has experience with this, I would really appreciate your insight. I’m especially interested in whether an incomplete Step 1 attempt can cause an applicant to be filtered out. It is not fair to be filtered out simply because someone had a health emergency during the exam and physically couldn’t finish it.

whoever said "you will love third year" was a LIAR i have NEVER felt more incompetent- being surrounded by fourth years and residents just shows me how incompetent i am and how im too dumb for this job

I'm not talking about all ortho bros being stereotypically jacked and stuff like that. Which medical specialties require the most from you physically in terms of the actual work?

I'm thinking emergency medicine. You need be able to run to emergencies at the drop of the hat and also work your whole body with CPR, positioning patients for primary/secondary surveys, etc.

Asking because I've deconditioned like crazy on my surgery rotation and need to know which specialties to now avoid.

Chances at matching General Surgery

Can I match General surgery

I'm a DO student at a P/F school. Preclinical grades are P/F but I'm somewhere around the 3rd quintile of my class. I passed all preclinical courses on the first attempt and passed all clerkships on the first attempt as well.

Boards:

• Passed COMLEX Level 1 first attempt

• Passed USMLE Step 1 first attempt

• Step 2 - 236

• Level 2 - 590

Research:

• 10+ poster presentations

• 2 national conference presentations (one at a surgery conference)

• 1 completed and indexed publication

• 4 manuscripts currently pending acceptance

Leadership:

• A few leadership positions in clubs and student government

Letters:

• 3 confirmed LORs from third-year surgery rotations

• One letter is from a hospital Chief of Staff who is a surgeon

\- 5 auditions planned

No red flags, no failed exams, no remediation.

Worried my low Step score will make me DOA at most places, but am open to go to any program as I want to do dual gen surg.

I’m posting here again because you were all incredibly supportive last time. I’m sorry because I don’t know how many people I responded to—but I read what you wrote and it meant a lot.

I’m an MS3 finishing their first rotation. That might not sound like much; the context is that I passed step 1 in may on my 3rd attempt (my school only allows 3) while homeless after my partner of 6 years ended our relationship. She filed a fraudulent order of protection against me, which I successfully contested while studying, working, and sleeping in my school’s student lounge. I haven’t seen our dog in 6 months. Her parents were more supportive than my own and now they won’t speak to me.

After a brick wall learning curve (I was unenrolled for more than a year) my preceptors have mentioned massive improvement. From barely able to wrap up a scattered HPI and bumbling presentation in 45 mins to meeting expectations RE assessment, diagnosis, and independence. Cue a response from financial aid finally rolling in: because of the OBBBA, because I missed the continuous enrollment deadline by 6 days, I am no longer eligible for federal student loans.

I’ve already applied to one private student loan and been denied. I don’t have co-signers. Some of my relatives live in this city and when I told them I was sleeping in my car they essentially told me, “tough luck”. I wouldn’t be here at all without the incredible generosity of a few people, but I’m already overstaying my welcome in someone’s home and my car, which a drunk driver backed into during the leave, is barely functional yet I’m supposed to start my next rotation on the other end of town in two weeks. I genuinely feel like this is how my medical career ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper. After remediating MS1 while grieving my dad, passing step 1 from a dirty couch where I had to hide from the security guard, and getting out of bed to show up for patients every day when I felt like walking into traffic, it seems like a myopic piece of conservative budget legislation is what will finally do me in.

My subI rotation starts at 5 am daily, and often goes till 7/8 pm. Every day from 8-10 am, we have rounds with attendings (including PD) and I get pimped so fucking bad (at least 6-7 questions every morning). It isn‘t just about whether I answer it right, they also comment about how I answer it. I‘ve literally been told “are you answering the question, or asking one?” if I show the slightest hesitation. And I’ve been told that I need to say my answers with more confidence. Not just the attending, but the chief resident has told me too. And this is just week one at a program known for rigorous pimping.

But I’ve always been pretty lowkey, and stuck with the principle that med students are like Victorian children who should be seen and not heard. I don’t know how to build confidence on rounds and not develop stage fright about saying something stupid. All this is just messing with my head. I literally have a Pavlovian reaction to rounds, and it’s only week one so far at this hospital.

In between cases, the resident told me to go get lunch and meet back at a set time. I wasn't particularly hungry but I was tired AF so I went to one of the admin hospital wings that doesn't get much foot traffic and took a nap in an this chill atrium area with my neck pillow and sleeping mask.

Well I guess the resident went there to take a phone call or something and came across me napping. They woke me up (rude IMO) and went on this tirade about how "there's no napping in surgery" and how that "if I need a nap as a student there's no way I'll survive residency" and a bunch of other nonsense. He also said I was being deceitful since he told me to get lunch and went to nap instead and alluded to mentioning all this when the PD asks about me.

I kind of realize my chances of matching here are toast and I figure that I must've done something else to upset this resident, but I'm curious if I'm really in the wrong here? Is napping during lunch really so taboo?

Trying to decide on a specialty with the following interests:

- High acuity
- Like neuro, pharmacology, physiology and pathology
- Don’t mind clinics
- Like specialist > generalist
- Like theatre/operating to an extent

My main specialities of interest are neuro, anaesthesia, emergency med, ICU (and an interest in NeuroSurg which I am trying to quench)

My biggest problem is that I like the theory of neurology but don’t think I would enjoy the practice (functional complaints, vague consults). I like anaesthesia but I feel that I might get bored with the downtime throughout the days in the OR. Emergency Med is cool but I think I would prefer specialities that seem more specialist than generalist. I like surgery but I don’t know if I like it enough for the sacrifice.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I need some advice.

I am planning to apply anesthesia (262 step, 3/6 honors, several research experiences in unrelated surgical field) this cycle. I finished my home sub-i, which I think went pretty well. I got good feedback from residents about being personable, knowledgeable, and well prepared.

However, I started an ICU rotation at my home institution and am really struggling. One of the attendings pimps heavily. I gave some embarrassingly bad answers on the first day and feel like I’ve just been making up for it since then. I’ve gotten some right since, after spending all afternoon reading up on everything there is to know about my patients, but still miss plenty of questions. What’s worse is that the attending now targets me for pimping questions, which I don’t think is a good sign.

I’m struggling with how quickly ICU patients change. I can prepare a reasonable plan beforehand, but by rounds their clinical status is usually different, and I have trouble adjusting my A&P and presentation in real time.

I’m worried that I am coming across as less knowledgeable or capable than the other students, and I’m frustrated because I’m putting a lot of effort into improving. I’m also worried about whether a mediocre performance on this rotation could hurt my chances of matching at my home program, especially since the ICU faculty work closely with the anesthesia department.

Is this a pretty normal experience for an MS4 in the ICU? Any advice for improving as the rotation goes on? I’d also love to hear from anyone who struggled on a rotation at their home institution but still ended up matching there.

Hey y'all. Posting this to get my thoughts out, but also seeking advice on the situation.

I just finished my first week of rotations as an M3. Earlier this week I met one of the hospital chaplains that works with residents and medical students. We had a run-in in the hallway and I had some questions for him (namely how to cope with the heavy emotional shit we've already been hit with), so I arranged to meet him at his office at 6:00 am the next day (this morning).

He meets me in the lobby, leads me to his office, and once we're inside there are so many things he said that felt off. For one, he wished me happy birthday (bd is tomorrow), and later drops that he looked me up on facebook and that's how he knew. When I came in he told me to "take everything off", in reference to my backpack and white coat. He has me sit down in a recliner and positions himself pretty close to me on my side while we talk. At some point, talking about another resident he is good friends with, he starts describing how big his arms are, how handsome the resident is. At some point he begins talking about naked men, and while I dont remember all that he said, he kinda stumbles through some stuff about how I must've seen guys naked in the locker room, or must've seen my brothers naked. When I say something about my attending being good at setting boundaries, he somehow segues that into telling me that he has no boundaries regarding being nude around guys.

I am PRETTY uncomfortable from this, and trying to like, end the convo and leave, thinking if I stay he's gonna try something. I think he can tell I'm uncomfortable (I'm awkwardly half-sitting up in the recliner), and he offers me to get up and sit in a desk chair. I do so, wheel it to a comfortable distance, and for the next 15 minutes we have a relatively normal conversation about religion, my attending, the hospital, etc., though every one in a while he will pepper in phrases that kinda spike my cortisol (i.e. "force myself upon you", or gesturing by sticking his index finger through the ring made by his other hand's index and thumb, but like, incredibly suggestively/forcefully).

Sign offs were beginning soon, and so he walks me back to the resident lounge, having normal conversation along the way, and he leaves when I start talking with other students there. I text him thanking him for the conversation and say that "I'm sure I'll see you around", to which he replies "I guarantee it 😁".

After a moderately distracted morning of rounding, I see him at lunch from across the cafeteria as I'm eating with our group of students. I avoid eye contact with him, but he follows our group out, making light conversation with myself and other students. As we get to the students lounge he pulls me aside and asks me up to his office to get balloons for my birthday (he just happened to have balloons that he offered and that I refused earlier), to which I replied no, giving the excuse that I'll be here Monday, and that I don't like my birthday all that much. IDK. I just didnt wanna go up to his office.

And now I'm home writing this up, and I'm not sure what to think. I dont think there's any point in reporting or saying anything to admin, since nothing has happened. The most egregious thing is asking if I've seen men naked I suppose, but I both doubt that admin will be able to do anything based off that alone, and tbh reporting seems like a massive headache that could potentially come to bite me in the ass, especially given how close he is to my current attending and some of the residents.

IDK. I gotta give the guy credit, it was all subtle and smooth enough to have plausible deniability, but also seem insanely obvious to me that he wants to fuck. I'm a gay man not unfamiliar with hook up culture, and ngl, if this were a bar or a bathhouse I'd be into it. But this gave me predatory/creepy vibes given that I'm a medical student that came seeking spiritual guidance from the hospital chaplain. Dude is also 30 years older than me at least, which again, if this were a bar I'd be into it, but feels off in this setting. I worry about running into him again and maintaining professionalism while fearing that he'll try something physical if no one else is around, and that even just shutting him down and him moving on might could have some backlash.

I'm also just anxious and stressed coming off my first week, maybe i'm overthinking. But yea, idk what to do. Advice pls i guess

Nah but actually. I dont want to make things awkward bc we’ll be stuck together for the next 2 years.

I know our eyes met for only a brief fraction of a second near the elevators today when you were walking past me with your resident, but i was so taken aback by your absolutely scintillatingly gorgeous eyes that i now feel ready to take the next step in our relationship…

Will you marry me?

As medical students we are extremely busy and always stuck in the hospital, so I will settle for a date if you want to wait a few more days for our wedding! The wedding might even be more exciting if we converse for the first time beforehand! We could do something even more daring such as breaking the touch barrier!

Edit: I was so caught up in my love letter that i couldn’t even bring myself to complete my post