Graduation and Post-Graduation

Standard duration of medical school is 4 years. I completed school in that timeframe, but post-graduation, the standard timeline is to start residency after about 2 months of graduation. I did not immediately start, because I had other plans in mind. I have currently applied, and I will let you guys know how it turns out. The residency process is very intricate, and I would like to dedicate a post to that specifically later, so keep an eye out. I will also describe what I did during my gap year in the same post. Keep posted!

However, I will mention this: to increase my chances to match into residency and with the goal to complete all three USMLE Step examinations, I sat for Step 3. This exam is a little difficult prior to completing intern year. I would say my experience was alright. Taking it after Step 2 CK was definitely a good idea, as the same subjects were on the exam. However, the questions were were clinically based. I want to take this time to fully describe the exam:

USMLE Step 3 is a 2-day exam. The first day consists of 6 blocks of questions. Each block consists of 38-39 questions. The questions on this day also consists of questions in Biostatistics. The second day the first part of the day is 6-blocks of 30 questions and the second part are what is known as 'CCS' cases. Using a question bank to study from is very important. Keep in mind that the UWorld 'Biostatistics Review' is what is included in the set for Steps 1 and 2 CK, but these are not enough to study for the Biostats that will appear on the exam. Additionally, the CCS cases in the UWorld subscription, I feel were not enough. If you have had intern year under your belt, then the CCS component is not very difficult. However, if you are like me and are taking it before residency, your best bet is to invest in a software program that will help you gain that experience. In addition, studying out of review resources from Steps and 2 CK will be beneficial. I recommend using Pathoma, First Aid for Step 1, First Aid for Step 2 CK, First Aid for Step 2 CS, and Master the Boards for Step 2 CK to review from. I had some questions from the Step 1 examination. On Step 3 thought, the format would worded as a clinical question, yet you would need to refer back to those areas. I can give you an example: patient comes in for x disease/condition, you prescribe them y drug, what is the mechanism of action of this medication? (i.e. inhibits 30S ribosome) OR patient has this condition, histology would show what? You can see all the resources I used on Instagram in a story under the 'Medical School' highlight.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

If anyone from a medical school (U.S. or Caribbean) and especially RUSM is reading this, I would like to how think medical school should be:

  • MS1, MS2: 4 Semesters (16 months) (i.e. I started in May 2016 and ended in August 2017) AND we do not take 'Comp' on the island
  • Give us 1 month to study strictly for 'Comp' (i.e. by October 1 of that year)
  • Give us 4 months to study strictly for Step 1 (i.e. by March 1 of the following year)
  • MS3 (12 months of cores - 48 weeks, plus 8 weeks of IMF) (i.e. March-May of next year)
  • Give us 1 month to study strictly for 'Comp' (i.e. by July 1)
  • Give us 2 months to study strictly for Step 2 CK and CS (i.e. August & September, so by October 1)
  • MS4 (9 months - 46 weeks) (i.e. October-June next year)
  • Give us 1 month to study strictly for 'Comp' (i.e. by August 1)
  • Give us 1 month to study strictly for Step 3 (i.e. by September 1) *I recommend this time period, as it took me about 2 strict months of studying to pass Step 3, and because the standard Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) submission is September 15th
  • Residency Match Process (i.e. September 1-mid-March) *Students can start preparing for this while they are in their MS4 (gathering LOR, writing personal statement, filling out ERAS, etc.) 
  • Graduate (i.e. graduation date in November but can walk in May before starting residency) + ECFMG certification = 4.5 years to become MD while passing all of the USMLE examinations (will have everything before residency starts) *I know that having intern year is beneficial for Step 3, but if we have all 3 exams required for graduation, I feel that more people would focus on all 4 years of medical school. Step 1 would be considered the exam after MS1 & MS2, and Step 2 CK and CS would be the exam to be considered after MS3 and Step 3 would be considered after MS4. This way, we could use MS3 and MS4 to truly grasp how clinical medicine would be, and prepare for these exams accordingly. **Also, I recommend that students start using materials for Step 1 and study for it during MS2, since this is the first USMLE exam, and it would be the 'hardest' experience. Having Step 3 will prepare interns for intern year, as well, (even though vice versa). I feel that the only board examinations residents should be worried about is their specialty board exam after graduating from residency (i.e. Internal Medicine)
  • Note: students will finish in December if started medical school in September or in May if started medical school in January. With this timeline, everyone should be done by May Commencement (which should be scheduled for May 31st of every year)
Thank you for reading this post. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out: info.doctorpdg@gmail.com.

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