DO with a "Miss" on Step 1
Here's the story of osteopathic student who overcame a failure on Step 1 Comlex and the loss of a loved one:
"Never let your scores stop you from acheiving your dreams!" - Dr. Barone
Dr. Barone,
Failed first comlex, my mom passed away that year, it's so weird that I came across your status today!
I'm so happy to hear that I'm an inspiration because really, You are my inspiration!!! My teachers!!! My family!!! Here is my story.
Failed comlex 1 - 69
Retake - 78
Comlex 2 - 80
Applied to 31 all osteopathic programs (FM and FM/NMM) got 16 invitations. Later on I decided I didn't want to move far away from home, so I turned down 3 interviews because they where too far away.
Went on 13 interviews.
Turned down 4 prematches. My school said its at your own risk and I was feeling off because I wasn't sure if this was a trick or something by the directors to gauge my interest in the program...& I wanted to go through all my interviews before I would let them know. There was one program asking me to sign a sheet saying that was for them letting me look at a sample contract but it was not a prematch position-- loved the place but didn't feel comfortable signing anything no matter that they kept saying its not a contract...maybe they wanted to see how I would react in this situation, I still don't know or see the need for that on us.
I applied to a lot of programs to increase my chances and I picked FM. A friend of mine has perfect board scores and is very competitive even for FM that I thought I wouldn't make it. I'd advise anyone to stay away from people who are way too competitive because it stresses you out. Just like asking students how they study and they list on and on how they're doing it, that makes you feel inadequate. That's no way to lift your confidence and damages self esteem. So first take care of you, that's number one. That goes especially if there is a medical condition you might have. Don't worry about how others are doing their studying. And your advice Dr.Barone about doing a lot of questions and learning from them was the best advise for me. It put me in focus. It didn't matter then where those questions were coming from. That made a huge difference. And also the fact that my board scores steadily increased & I'm not a good standardized test taker. My MCAT's were national average twice that I took it.
Unfortunately, connections did not help. The places where I did my rotations and where I got my recommendation letters did not offer me an interview which really hit my self esteem but everything happens for the best, I'm a firm believer of that.
Today, I got my top choice here by where I live and that all that matters. Studying for comlex level 3 now. Thank you for making it happen for me. I really mean that. You have been a Big part of my journey, thank you!
Many blessings your way!
E.K. 3/15/13