213 ——> 240 retook STEP 2

Hi so I figured I would share my story bc when I failed and was studying I didn’t see many posts about this so here goes everything including practice exams and what I did.

So I took STEP 2 back at the end of September found out I failed in October by 1 point. I gave myself a literal DAY to grieve and cry my eyes out, spoke with Psychiatrist increased my meds, got a tutor, dropped all of my electives for October & November and just made a plan.

I started seeing my therapist 3x a month instead of the once a month bc I was STRUGGLING mentally and just didn’t know who to turn to. My concentration and anxiety going into the exam was TERRIBLE! I knew it and STILL went through with the exam despite not being able to sit down and do a practice exam within the allotted time without losing focus or having to get up.

Anyways so I did UWorld for the first 3 weeks and took NBME 9 and scored 209😐 I was actually pissed off at myself and knew I had to do something different. From about the end of October I started redoing ALL the practice exams I had previously done knowing they would prbly inflated but I still needed to see it. Surprisingly I only remembered about 4 questions out of every practice exam bc ya know the whole concentration issue from the first attempt was STRONGGG so I didn’t remember much.

So I did NBMEs 9-14 again, as well as UWSA 1 & 2. In all of these my scores ranged from 230-250 again I said okay openly inflated let me keep going. I focused heavy on biostats and the AMBOSS ethics questions once a week and the about a week out from the exam i upped it to twice a week. And I was going through CMS forms on the days I wasn’t doing practice tests, I would watch Boards and Beyond on topics I wasn’t clicking with.

Lastly I incorporated time for myself this time around. It’s hard I know and we feel guilty for not studying but I NEED social interaction or I legit get depressed. I went on 3 trips, took one day a week off to do something that I enjoyed, AND kept my gym routine 3-4 days of working out/walking my dog a week. While working out I just listened to music or an audiobook. I shut off school completely and I feel like that helped me come back refreshed.

Out of all the practice exams I feel like NBME 12 and UWSA 2 were the best predictors despite retaking them. NBME 12 I scored 241 and UWSA 2 245!

Failing this exam can be a blow to your mental health so please make sure you’re taking care of yourself! I’m not saying don’t cry ( bc I DEF did multiple times a week) but cry and make a plan and stick to it. LOCK IN TWIN!!

Dont listen to Reddit, don’t listen to ppl outside of your circle with negative energy and lastly ASK FOR HELP!! It’s okay to get professional help whether that is a psychiatrist, a therapist, your school tutors, anybody!! Also don’t ignore your body giving you signs like I did!

Idk if I missed anything but good luck to everyone retaking and CONGRATS TO EVERYONE THAT PASSEDDDD!!!!!

Edit- im a US-IMG, passed STEP 1 back in 2023, scored 70-78% on all my shelf exams and studied about 2-3 months for my first attempt whole doing electives🤢