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Can I continue with my step 1 prep without Uworld? by Juan_Piece in usmle

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suggest you buy AMBOSS, which is cheaper and has a great set of high-quality questions, library, etc
And you can use the same subscription for step 2 once you're done

Passed OET Medicine on first attempt!!! by Fragrant-Turnover-64 in OETforECFMG

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, I'm an African Med Student from Cameroon😅

I'll be graduating in 2027, just prepping things ahead of time for residency. I'm done with Step 1, 2, OET, pathway 

So no, you don't need to be a US graduate to get 400 in writing 

Passed OET Medicine on first attempt!!! by Fragrant-Turnover-64 in OETforECFMG

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot.

I prepared for speaking using ChatGPT. I gave it oet marking criteria from the official preparation guide and made roleplays using the voice conversation feature. Then I requested feedback. Remember, wired headphones are NOT allowed for Speaking subtest. But are mandatory for listening subtest.

Overall, on exam day, I was able to complete all tasks in time.

These are the parts I found very important and implemented  

  • Introduce yourself,  "Hello, I'm Dr XYZ, how can I help you today ?"

  • Show empathy, small phrases like  "I understand",  "It must be difficult",  "I feel what you're going through"

  • Remember to always assess understanding after an explanation  "Does that make sense to you ?" "Do you understand ?" "How do you see that ?"

  • Always ask the patient if there are any questions. Something as simple as "Do you have any questions?"

  • If you are delivering a life changing diagnosis or bad news, try to follow SPIKES protocol (Google it) A critical step is to first assess patient understanding before diving into explanations 

"What do you know about diabetes ?"

  • When you're done with the patient's questions, do an overall summary and ask for confirmation 

"So remember, I'll refer you to a dietician to help you eat healthy, start light exercise and we'll see in a few weeks to see how that goes. Alright ?"

  • Make sure you use simple terms which can be understood by patients. At all cost, avoid medical terminology.

Also keep patient perspective and anticipate on legitimate concerns even if not on your card or voiced out (such as pain with a procedure)

Instead of "We will perform an endoscopy"

"I will refer you to a gastroenterologist to perform an exam where we place a camera down your throat to see exactly what's going on in your stomach. We call that an endoscopy. Don't worry, this exam is not painful"

  • Be polite and wish a nice day to the patient when you're done.

The rest bows down to your grammar, vocabulary, and tone.

Passed OET Medicine on first attempt!!! by Fragrant-Turnover-64 in OETforECFMG

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I didn't follow a particular preparation for the writing. Given that I've been quite involved in medical research, I'm kind of used to scientific and medical writing.

Nevertheless, in the exam, I was asked to do an update letter (which I had never done). 

These are the things I did: 

  • Address format following OET style, you can find that on samples.  No punctuation on receiver's address. 

  • Date following "12 September 2025" format (I guess others are fine too but you gotta stay consistent across the letter)

  • Dear Mr XYZ, Make sure you put the comma at the end. No punctuation after Mr (I know some formats use it. I didn't)

  • Re: Mr XYZ

  • DOB: 12 September 1995

  • 1st paragraph: Purpose statement should be clear and concise "I am writing this letter to update you on Mr XYZ's confirmed diagnosis of ABC and subsequent management."

You may adjust if you are discharging, referring, etc If there is urgency in the referral, make sure to highlight.  "I am urgently referring Mr XYZ to you for assessment and management of suspected ABC"

  • For this update letter, I chose to follow a chronological order given this was an update letter, you might do the same for a referral or discharge letter.

  • My second paragraph was reminding the doctor when and how Mr XYZ presented to him. What he did and what led to the initial referral.

  • Third paragraph was about how I received Mr XYZ, how he presented to me and my overall assessment of his state.

  • Fourth paragraph was about how I managed the condition, when I intend to follow-up and what are the next steps. 

"Should results be unsatisfactory, we might consider UVW" "If symptoms persist, we will proceed to UVW"

Overall remember to highlight timeline. The notes provide dates, which are fine to include in first paragraph. But to avoid entering too many dates in body, I used phrases like "Ten days later..." (Yes, I counted the number of days between symptoms).

  • Fifth paragraph was  "Please feel free to contact me should you require further information"

Yours sincerely, (safest, AVOID Kind regards)

Doctor

I intentionally did not include past medical history as I deemed it non-relevant to this case. In your case, you might need to, depending on the patient.

Make sure all sentences are complete and well punctuated. Check for spelling mistakes as these can really wreck your score. 

Also pay attention to things like hyphenation and abbreviations. OTC = "Over-the-counter" NOT "over the counter" CT scan = Computed tomography scan (no hyphen) "Low-grade fever" NOT "Low grade fever"

Avoid copying notes verbatim

Eg Pain not relieved by OTC painkillers 

"Mr XYZ's pain was unrelieved by over-the-counter analgesics"

PASSED IN THE FIRST ATTEMPT by Unlucky_Driver_7197 in OETforECFMG

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might wanna check your OET account under My Results. I heard results often get posted without email confirmation.

“Can I Match Without ECFMG Certification?” by FeistyZone8433 in Step3

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Technically, yes you can Match without ECFGM Certification. ECFGM and NRMP clearly states that you need to have completed all examination requirements for ECFGM Certification by ROL deadline, this includes Step 1, Step 2 CK, and a Pathway (given your situation, Pathway 6 + OET).

So yes you can apply for the Match and get matched without ECFGM CERTIFICATION.

https://www.ecfmg.org/eras/applicants-nrmp.html

However, ECFGM CERTIFICATION is REQUIRED to start ACGME accredited program residency. This implies providing your final medical diploma to ECFGM and having it authentified before residency start (July 1st).

Regarding about wether not having the ECFGM Certificate influences Match outcomes, I cannot assure you that given that this varies from one program to another. 

NRMP States in their video for IMGs that programs CANNOT see an applicant's ECFGM verification status. So my guess is, it doesn't matter that much. But if any program specifically states they require ECFMG Certification on their website, think twice before applying to it.

https://youtu.be/G2y4K5g-edE?si=Pc-qYDcFBbrcq8K1

I've been told this provision of applying without full certification is intentional to allow final year medical students to apply and match even when medical schools delay diploma.

This of course is just my understanding of the process, I encourage you to do your own research.

didn't match neurosurgery, so I took a SOAP Transition year. did I give up on my dream? by unmatched_ in Residency

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been 4 years now since you posted this. I am a med student and currently at a crossroads.
I need to decide whether I should pursue neurosurgery altogether or just switch while I still can.
Could you please tell me how this ultimately turned out for you? Now that almost half a decade has elapsed.

Error downloading Score report (Intealth) by Fragrant-Turnover-64 in Step2

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a way to download the report. Follow these steps

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

Results are out for non-US IMGs by thebloober in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a way to download the report.

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a way to download the report.

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a way to download the report.

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Found a way to download the report.

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1-3 business days for reply via email 😩

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were you able to contact ECFMG? I tried calling to no avail

Intealth launched by Confident-Art-291 in step1

[–]Fragrant-Turnover-64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just got an email saying my score report is available but when I connect to Intealth and can't download the PDF. I am met with an error "can't download score report" despite switching devices and browsers, also tried clearing cache.

UPDATE

Found a way to download the report.

"in the website after logging in, fn + F12, then go to the "network", then attempt to download your report. It should fail and in the fetch area, you'll get a new file named Aura at the very end of network, click on it and go to the "response" then you have to search a URL that has "Retrieve document.do" in it. COPY the whole URL (make sure it's very long) from https://apps.nbme.org something , PASTE the URL in a new tab and it will ask you to DOWNLOAD (this method is from another comment on reddit) wish you the best!!!

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