Luck and GOD
- Step 1: 193
- Step 2 CK: 209
- CS: Pass
- Step 3: 206
- US IMG
- YOG 2012
- FOUR Unsuccessful Attempt at Matching
Here's an inspirational story of an IMG with low board scores, year of graduation 2012, and 4 unsuccessful attempts who never gave up and was able to match with hard work, luck, and GOD!
Hello Dr Barone,
Thank you for maintaining the success stories… when I wanted to give up.... I read and reread them countless times. I had you as a Kaplan online prep course teacher in 2013 I believe. I wanted to share my story.
I am a US IMG from a Caribbean medical school. I went to a school that does not require and undergraduate degree or the MCAT. I was an average student and ended with a 3.2 gpa. All my clinical rotations were done in Dominican Republic. I regret that choice and I didn’t realize that I should’ve done clinicals in the US until after I had graduated.
As you can see I had a lot to work against. I graduated in November 2012 and started studying for my step 1. In late 2013 we were evicted from my home. Being 23 at the time I started working as a busboy and renting rooms in peoples homes in Florida (where I was raised and went to high school). During this time I had my left eye surgically removed and was awaiting a prosthesis due to complications of premature retinopathy of birth. I had lost my left eye vision and it was increasing my intraocular pressure in my face giving me debilitating headaches.
After about 6 months of working as a busboy for 5 dollars an hour plus tips in early 2014, I was able to get a medical assistant(MA) job through a church contact who’s father ran an IM outpatient clinic. I was in charge of transitioning the paper charts to the EMR. I took an nbme and got a 188. At this point I had paid for the exam and had already cancelled one time previously. I didn’t want to lose the money so I took it. I ended with the resulting 193. 1 point just above the pass mark 192. The current pass mark is 194.
Shortly after I lost my job as an MA due to the clinic having low patient volumes. I moved to buffalo New York where my aunt housed me for 6 months while prepping for CK. I took the exam again with low nbme scores mainly because I was needing to leave within 6 months from my aunts house. Got a 209, 1 year after having taken step 1. Again right on the ball 209 is the passing score. Took the CS in Atlanta while staying with my sister in Boston a month later and passed.
I tried to match in 2016-2017 got 1 IV in psych through a connection and didn’t match. I was working as a medical assistant for an outpatient family medicine and psyc clinic. I found most of my jobs by typing medical assistant on Craigslist.
Last 2 years worked as an assistant physician with a full medical license in Missouri (license where med grads with no residency can practice as primary care physicians under collaborative agreement) in an urgent/ primary care setting. Also worked as a mid level provider with same license in disaster medical assistance team for state of Missouri.
I then did 2 months of subinternship (I did lots of saving money for this) in Florida in a family medicine program where I matched. COVID allowed me to be one of the few interns on rotations meaning I could stand out. Also knowing Spanish in a predominantly Spanish population helped.
D.R.
March 2021
Dr. Barone: “Wow! You are an inspiration and an example of never giving on your dreams! What would you say made the difference in matching this year?”
I matched at the program where I did my subinternship. My Low scores were offset by collegiality during my rotation and the clinical competence I showed. The 2 years of urgent care/primary care as a practicing physician in the US gave me clout as well.
Speaking the language and cultural competence helped a lot too as I could help the interns with the large Hispanic patient population with their h and p’s.
Dr. Barone: “Did your red flags come up on the interviews?”
Interview was short and mainly focused on my current practice prior to this in Missouri. During my rotation I had informal IV with the PD who asked about scores and I stated that I was not the best test taker and that I had taken them at a particularly rough time in my life.
Dr. Barone: “What would you have liked to know earlier that might have made the journey a little easier?”
Things that would’ve made the journey easier are rotating in the states in IMG-friendly hospitals and making social connections early that could facilitate a match. This is especially true if you have low boards like myself.
It takes a village. I had a lot of luck and God, moments where things just fell into place!
Photo credit: ©2019 David Monje Unsplash.com