i got a mail just now - docdesi

[ArchivalUser]

Hi everybody ,
I just got a mail and it says PASS , so if anybody wants to know my exam experience i will be glad to answer any question.......
Everybody in this forum was so cooperative and helpful too ,so god bless all of you .
Thanks to everybody in this forum.

[ArchivalUser]

hi, congrats!; im currently waiting very anxiously for my result, and hoping to expect it this week (8weeks); can u tell me about your exam experience? when/where? mine was nov 22 chicago, and after the exam, and currently feeling of not sure how i did; im worried, and need assurance; although felt ok overall, but really not sure what the result mite be, kinda like a 50/50 or 60/40 feeling, but could be better, dunno; did u feel the same/similar way? would appreciate your reply and assurance, thx; if ud like to discuss the experience by email or chat ID, i would appreciate that; have yahoo and aol email and chat IDs.

[ArchivalUser]

Dear docdesi,

Please tell us your detail experiences. It will be very valuable for all of us. Please explain clearly.

Thanks!

Pasco

[ArchivalUser]

hi docdesi congrats!!!

[ArchivalUser]

hi docdesi, can u reply back, to our comments at your earliest convenience, pls? i agree with pasco, would really appreciate it, thx.

[ArchivalUser]

congrats!!!!!!!! got mail means regular postal mail or email. will u please reply, thankq and all the best.

[ArchivalUser]

Thanks drhabib ,pasco,mlelper4 and 2005csstep3.
I feel sorry that i am replying little late .
I took my exam on 22nd November in Philadelphia and oasis updated on 11th of January and i tried to reapply for the exam which the system didn't let me apply saying that i have already passed this componenet of the exam and on 14th of January i got my results by postal mail not by e mail , i dont think ecfmg send email results.
Drhabib and pasco i m putting my exam experience down here if you guys want to anything more or if you have any questions feel free to ask.
My Exam experience- I was nervous when i arrived at the centre and after orientation and talking to the proctors i felt more ready for the exam . First case i didn't even realise that time was already over while i was just done with physical examination so i apologised to the SP by telling him that there is an emergency and i got page so i will be back shortly and i asked him if he has gotten any questions for me , they are trained not to ask questions or anything after the buzzer i guess so he didn't ask anything. Second case there was no physical examination was required though mother of child was taking forever to explain things and was not cooperating enough again i think they are trained to be like that with every student ,this was my worst case . Third case this lady was not in a mood to talk and rather went offensive for everything i said and also made a face at me. After 5th caes we got a breaktime in which i ate for 5 minutes and then for rest of the time left i tried to concentrate on what i did wrong or missed in all the 5 cases . Next 4 cases went good as the sps were really good and cooperating and i was more confident. Again break and then 4 more cases . At 10:30 i was done with exam.
My mistakes:
I was slow in writing notes and my handwriting is bad. Every time proctor had to ask me stop writing.
I forgot to drape one patient untill middle of the physical examination, though i apologised and i did drape.
First case i ran out of time.
One case i only did half of cns examination and it was cns case.
Half of the cases i forgot to pull legrest of the bed .
In a gynaec case i didn't ask menstrual history in detail.

I think i was good in-
Introducing myself , communicating to patient , i was confident except in first case , I did counseling for every patient except the first one, spoken english was good.

Advice to the future test takers from my expperience--------
1) Guys dont go on cramming about the 50-60 cases you get your hands on, i know it sounds kinda out of line advice but all the cases in the exam are like the cases expected to be seen in the family physician's office .I am not saying this because i passed and its different for me now, i have friends who crammed all the cases in usmleworld and firstaid or some read from other sources coz they only emphasised on cases and ignored the big part communication skills and failed. As you all know that step 2cs has 3 components whic are ICE(history taking, phy.exam and filling patients note),CIS and SEP. So that patient over there evaluates you for everything but patient notes. Patient notes are evaluated by professionals. While you do cases from any source remember to spent same time if not more on Communication skills that is you KNOCK the door, you SMILE , you INTRODUCE yourself after saying his/her name ,you SHAKEHAND, you LOOK INTO HIS EYES while talking , you DO NODDING, you use LITTLE PARAPHRASING( that is simply try to repeat some of the things they say that shows your interest) ,you use TRANSITIONS (like before every component of history and physical examination you tell them what are you doing even in the shortest possible sentence , like now i am going to ask some questions about your family's health ,is that okay) , you DON'T INTERRUPT their sentence, you REASSURE in between and in the end too. you always do CLOSING/SUMMARIZING of the case ( c/c ,lil bit of history , and physical examination ), you EXPLAIN TESTS REQUIRED AND D/D. you ALWAYS DO COUNSELING (like for a smoker you say that " Being your physician i think its my duty to warn you about serious problems related to smoking ,mention some and say i strongly recommend you to quit smoking ,if you need any help then we can get you involved with support groups and then mention nicotine patch) ,you USE LAY MAN TERMS, you ASK IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS before you leave. ....................guys this much only is 1/3 rd of the total exam ,you can read this part from any source of book or course ,they all have pretty much same things. I read from kaplan book ,it was given very well in couple of pages only.
Treat the patient like you would do if somebody is coming to your private office for the first time and you want them to keep coming back (when they get sick) , be nice and gentle and confident at the same time , they shouldn't see you are nervous or hesitant or looking at floor .
2) SEP , they are not biased for any accent , you try to SPEAK SLOWLY AND SOFTLY ,if each of you can understand other for 15 min .,you are done with another 1/3rd of this exam.
3)ICE( history , physical,patient note) ,practice with anybody if you dont have somebody taking exam or even by yourself ,try to wrap up the case in 13 -14 minutes. visit digidoc's blog ,that is an excellent effort by him , read from any book and also practice writing patients note atleast for like 7-8 cases before exam so you get good idea. Physical examination, do general examination first as it takes only 30 seconds then do required system examination . Divide your time like 1min-doorway information, 6 min-history,4min-physical,3min-closing ,1min -answer to pt's question in between. almost every patient will ask you something or other so called challenging questions ,answer those , don't panic those are simple questions .

In the end guys i would just like to tell you that everybody makes small mistakes in this exam ,there is room for small mistakes but definitely not for big ones so keep your sp happy by paying attention to him/her for 12-13 minutes and you will gain his confidence and your passing grades. Don't be shy or nervous , be confident.Practice cases with all the communication skills and history and physical in timely manner. practice patient note before the day of exam .
good luck to all of you guys waiting for results,drhabib will soon get his results.
lemme know if i could be of anymore help. Feel free to ask any questions .

[ArchivalUser]

hi drhabib,
Thanks .
I know what you mean and can totally understand your anxiety and mixed feelings that you are having ,i had the same feelings before result.Its pretty normal i guess and i can assure you that if you feel ok overall you will definitely pass. I took mine on 22nd nov.also in afternoon session in philadelphia.i felt the similar way as you are feeling. my email is mattmaster00 you can email me at this address if you got any questions or wanna talk about it.Especially before the result i know what you are going through as every fmg goes through this coz this is different type of clinical exam what we all are used to so we cannot be certain about the results untill we get the passing one.Then in retrospect from our experience we can corelate .
gl to you and have faith in almighty.

[ArchivalUser]

thx docdesi, have emailed u my experience and questions/concerns, pls chek ur email, and reply back asap, or at your earliest convenience, thx.

[ArchivalUser]

docdesi,
Congratulations!GL on the match.
matoka