Prepare for the USMLEs from day one

[GrouchoMarx]

The Carms match list is out and it is brutal.

My condolences to those who matched poorly, or not at all. I do not envy your position and hope that you find peace where you are or persist in trying to get what you want. Please do not give up.

Everyone else, especially the first and second year medical students, should acknowledge a bad match as a realistic possibility, no matter the desired field, and start preparations for the USMLEs.

It requires a ton of work. Start now.

Essential prep materials include pathoma, the current year first aid,  uworld, and the proper nbme prep exams.

Avoid kaplan and other prep courses, and especially avoid GIT and firecracker.

anki and sketchy seem popular but i did not use them.

If anyone requires individual assistance or advice, PM me. I scored well enough so that you can trust my opinion.,

Consider frequenting SDN and r/medicalschool for additional resource recommendations.

 

 

[Snowden]

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[la marzocco]

1 hour ago, Snowden said:

Thanks for this post. Do Canadian schools know about your USMLE score if you happen to take it? Could it affect your CaRMS matching at all (say if you didn't take it seriously and did not do well)?

No, you are not required to declare your USMLE scores to CaRMS if you happen to take it. It is optional.

Even if you do declare a presumably good score, most PDs won't even know what these scores mean. 

[Edict]

On 4/10/2019 at 9:21 PM, la marzocco said:

No, you are not required to declare your USMLE scores to CaRMS if you happen to take it. It is optional.

Even if you do declare a presumably good score, most PDs won't even know what these scores mean. 

PDs that deal with IMGs (i.e. run programs that have IMG spots) likely will have an understanding as many of them will have written it and will voluntarily declare their scores if good. Also, we aren't too far from the US and it doesn't take too much effort to understand the scores, many PDs are involved in med ed and will likely have some understanding of the american system given how important the USMLEs are in the UGME in the US. 

With that being said, not all PDs will know for sure and doing the USMLEs in order to help with CaRMS as the primary reason would not be an efficient use of your time. 

 

[ChemPetE]

Fwiw step 2 and 3 are hella straight forward. It’s just time to write and cost. Step 1 is the ugly one (and unfortunately the one with most misalignment with Canadian curriculum and the one that matters most for residencies)