The Whatever--Random Medical School Stuff

<p>there is a period where the volume of test takers is extremely high and it slows down. I forget exactly what the window is but I believe it was memorial day through about mid june. I took it july 2nd 2012 and had the standard 3 weeks.</p>

<p>DS took the test after memorial day. It could take a longer time for him. But, it seems to me that July 10 is a little bit too late for the test on May 29 (wait time = one month and 12 days?)</p>

<p>Straight from the usmle site</p>

<p>“Most score reporting of Step 1 results occurs within four weeks of testing. However, because of necessary modifications to the test item pool, there will be a delay in reporting for some examinees testing beginning the week of May 13th. The target date for reporting Step 1 scores for most examinees testing the week of May 13th through late June will be Wednesday, July 10, 2013. For examinees whose circumstances require that they receive Step 1 scores before July 10, it is recommended that they take Step 1 no later than May 10, 2013.”</p>

<p>^ Thanks for the info.

I do not understand this. Does it mean that a higher percentage of test items on the tests between May 13th and late June are “new” as compared to other tests?</p>

<p>that’s what it sounds like to me. That’s definitely not an every year thing though. The message I’m thinking of from last year clearly stated to expect a delay (without an exact time to expect when your report would come) due to high volume of tests.</p>

<p>“How long would it take to receive the STEP-1 score after the test?
Is the score reported by email?”
-About 3 weeks. It might depend on the number of people who took the test at the same time. D. received an email, then she actually linked to see the report. We have saved it and printed it. She said it goes away after some time. </p>

<p>On the bright side, there are talks in D’s class that supposedly their average so far is 242. It will change over time as more people will take it. D. is really proud of her class.</p>

<p>Hey, I’m back from my travels. Chiming in on the cost of living, DD scheduled her 3rd year rotations at various sites, if you are out of the big city the school provided housing, so she saved a great deal of rent & utilities by being a nomad, but the DMV argued with her for about 15 minutes that she had to provide her current address for her DL renewal. They could not process the fact that she had no current address!</p>

<p>Do most med school students change their DL to the state where their med school is in? (If they do not own their own cars.)</p>

<p>DS just had some experience of being asked to “work” in a night shift. And it is his first rotation!</p>

<p>I think your DL is based on your state of residency, if you go to an OOS med school, like undergrad, you can choose which state you want for your residence.</p>

<p>Some states have restrictions on what it means to be a resident there (e.g. number of days per year resided which as a med student is going to be easier to hit than as an UG since the vacations are shorter) so it’s not always just “pick your state.”</p>

<p>I am a rising soph UG and premed. I just caught glimpses of this conversation, but can someone summarize the meaning of Steps 1, 2, and 3?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>[Let</a> me google that for you](<a href=“http://lmgtfy.com/?q=step+1]Let”>http://lmgtfy.com/?q=step+1)</p>

<p>As much as I agree with this^ I am surprised that USMLE step 1 is the top google hit for “step 1”</p>

<p>What do you think the FMGs the world over are googling for? :p</p>

<p>Touche.</p>

<p>Still, I would have guessed you needed “med school” or “doctor” or “US” or something besides just “step 1”</p>

<p>The algorithm probably keeps track of the most common search term and I would think many abroad start with the simplest term they know as a starting point.</p>

<p>I see. Thanks for the google link.</p>

<p>DS has had his first experience with night shifts, in pediatrics. He also said he had not had weekend off for several weeks. I think he will do some outpatient at some offsite location next (or soon). Luckily, it will be on the route of the school’s bus.</p>

<p>Somehow he thinks doing the pediatrics rotation first is a good preparation for IM, which of today he thinks he may be most interested in.</p>

<p>He said even the babies of several weeks old only may have IV. Since they may remove the IV or the arms are too small, they put the IV on their heads sometimes.</p>

<p>When there is no night shift, he needs to get to the hospital very early (6:00 or 6:30 am?) this pediatrics rotation is supposed to be an “easier” one, and all the “superiors” like interns are very friendly to the MS3 students as I heard.</p>

<p>How often do MS3’s need to do the night shifts? Do they need to do this on a regular basis? Without knowing his schedule, we try not to initiate the call on our end (we text him instead, and it is up to him to decide when to call us.)</p>

<p>DD definitely did some overnights and some night call. On her sub-i she had to be there by 5AM every day.</p>

<p>Night shifts are great for medical students - we liked the chance to do more procedures, and could really help out the tired interns. I can recall following around a particularly unlucky intern who was placing central lines and kept getting pneumos - I got very good at emergency chest tube insertion. Came in a few times even when I was not on call just to practice more chest tubes. </p>

<p>I became a surgeon!</p>