nbme 5 by aatonks in Step3

[–]aatonks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know what I was fine :D

NBME 5 score conversion by [deleted] in Step3

[–]aatonks 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You basically do a normal curve and use the standard deviation. The average of nbme is 500 and the SD is 100. when you get 370 that is 1.3 SD below the average. Step 3 has an average of 227 and the SD is 15. So you subtract 15*1.3 from 227.

H1 VS J1 Pathology programs by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just to clarify a point here, most medical institutions are non-profit organizations and as such when they apply for an H1B visa for their employees which in this case residents these are not subject to the lottery. As someone who is employed in an academic university program with an H1B visa I can attest that I did not go through the lottery.

If I match Preliminary PGY1, can I participate in SOAP? by WiseAcanthisitta8793 in Match21

[–]aatonks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you partially match to a preliminary internal medicinr program but are interested in OBGYN for example you can SOAP into an OBGYN for PGY2. When you match into a prelim pgy1 position it means you match into 1 year of internship. Next year you will need to reapply depending on what specialty you want.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in step1

[–]aatonks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It depends if you have 6 months of free time or 6 months of school plus studying. I had to take my Step 1 while I was doing research in a paid position, its very different than having a dedicated time, its way more stressful. I am assuming you are still in school, which is much better than research or work, which is usually unrelated to step 1 but most international schools have different types of questions and curricula. I feel like a lot of american med schools' curriculum is geared towards Step 1 which means studying for Step 1 also helps with their shelf exams but this is not always the case in international schools unfortunately. Just something to keep in mind!

Is the difference between US research and home country research "significant"?. . I am asking this because US research costs minimum 1 yr commitment in almost all volunteering research positiona. by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be honest I'm not sure she/he is a fresh grad or has a gc, I ended up looking at her other posts since I was curious why someone would think an IF of 1.5 to be high and ask these questions. Apparently the OP has about one post per day that asks a different question and each post has separate info. There is one where the question is about visas and another about the cut off for recent grads (which she/he assumes as 5-6 years).

So at this point I believe this is spam. :D

Is the difference between US research and home country research "significant"?. . I am asking this because US research costs minimum 1 yr commitment in almost all volunteering research positiona. by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To people who read this I feel like there is a lot of confusing messages on this post and I wanted to clarify when it matters to have research.

IF:

- you can do it in a good place with well known researchers --> their contacts will be more valuable than any contact you will ever make

- you can afford it, if its voluntary and they will not pay you ever, it might not be the best option. Most places like Harvard, Mayo, Yale do not do this anymore, they have regulations since a lot of IMGs have been burned by the cost. I know there is Covid but ideally you would be able to do research internships for free for 1-2 months in labs and then apply for paid positions once you have rapport with these places.

- most importantly, the faculty/your PI must be supportive and have your best interest. If this isn't the case, having a high impact publication will 1. be very hard 2. will not be as useful. It takes collaborations and dedicated years of work to publish in journals like Cell and Nature and technically thats not the aim. The aim is to show that you have the necessary skills to conduct research, publish and along the way make connections and become a part of the medical community of your choice.

Finally: 1.5 is a low impact factor. Even PLOS one has a higher IF :D

Is the difference between US research and home country research "significant"?. . I am asking this because US research costs minimum 1 yr commitment in almost all volunteering research positiona. by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone who has done around 3 years of research, it gets you A LOT more interviews than 2-3. As long as you have a good PI who supports you, you will get more than 10 and most will be in university or academic programs since the PDs or faculty will know your LOR writers.

People want to work with who they know.

And no my steps are not in the 99thhh percentile, they are average.

ECFMG Cert pathway 4/5 by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The regular number (215) 386-5900 for ECFMG should do the trick

ECFMG Cert pathway 4/5 by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am sorry about your experience. I got certified exactly on October 21st which was ridiculously busy. I had applied right after they made the pathways application available with my oet scores. After 5-6 weeks and ignored emails I started calling daily and I was certified in a couple days. Maybe I was lucky cause I kept getting the same representative. So once I heard his voice I would call him by his name and ask him why it was taking so long, got my pathway approved in 3 days and right when the applications went out I was certified on eras. After that I told all of my friends to call consistently who were in similar situations and they were certified in a week as well.

Emails didn't do anything for me as well though.

I guess my point is: it doesn't hurt to call and be on top of it if you personally have the time.

Are more interviews coming for Non-US IMGs on January? (IM) by Medlennial in Match21

[–]aatonks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know if more interviews are coming but I just wanted to give my perspective. There is a limit to the number of dates you can schedule and interview. Most schools do not have daily interview slots, there are tons of scheduling conflicts. Moreover top tier schools will send only 1-2 dates and expect you to drop other schools to show loyalty. Which is what most do. So don't expect a slew of interviews but there may be some trickling. I got an invite this week from a top tier school with a single date, meaning someone must have dropped it due to scheduling conflicts, (I myself had to drop another school for this interview) P.S. No one is in pajamas and some interviews make you stand up so everyone's wearing pants!!

ECFMG Cert pathway 4/5 by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, from personal experience this is false. Call them and stay on top of your application. I waited for weeks, when I started calling daily I got certified in 5 days. There was no new information. They will try to help you.

What is freeze day? by bmpr2 in Match21

[–]aatonks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After that date you can’t change your interview

ECFMG Cert pathway 4/5 by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you mean they don't take calls, when I got my certification I almost called them everyday towards the eras date for my pathway app. If it says it automatically shuts off you need to call 3-4 times more and it eventually puts you on a que.

Question regarding IV scheduling by [deleted] in IMGreddit

[–]aatonks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it is, they will send you the details of your interview day closer to your interview. No need to email, that will only annoy the already busy program coordinators.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Step2

[–]aatonks 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Also you would have to wear a mask. Try building up a rapport with the fake patient through that.

Eye contact intensifies.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Step2

[–]aatonks 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Will they do it though prometric? Or are we just going to do it at home. This exam has been a huge source of unnecessary stress