ACGME IM with only COMLEX?

[Jinxapotato]

Hello guys!

I am a freshly minted 3rd year DO student who just received my COMLEX. Got in the 610s, not amazing, but better than what I thought I'd get.
My goal is to get into an IM residency that offers the possibility of specializing in rheumatology, hence I would prefer if the program offers the fellowship in house. I am open to any geographical area, but I am an international student who would need a VISA (H1, J1).
I was wondering if I can get in a program like this with only my COMLEX, or do I still need to take my USMLE step 1? I did a few NBMEs and my score ranges from 230-240s, but all of my friends who took the real deal told me the real thing is totally different than NBME. Hence I am worried that if I bomb my USMLE step 1, I would do more harm than good...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[QualityProcess]

Call and ask residency programs with rheum fellowships that seem interesting, they will give you the best answers. If you have time to study though, you should take the USMLE. You will probably do decently well with a 610 and NBMEs in that range. Getting 230s on step 1 will give you good options for residency if you apply broadly. (In before the DO real talk: you have no shot at elite programs)

 

[Jinxapotato]

Call and ask residency programs with rheum fellowships that seem interesting, they will give you the best answers. If you have time to study though, you should take the USMLE. You will probably do decently well with a 610 and NBMEs in that range. Getting 230s on step 1 will give you good options for residency if you apply broadly. (In before the DO real talk: you have no shot at elite programs)

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I understand the best I can hope for is mid tier university/better community programs, never even thought about the true elite programs lol!

 

[Gocanes123]

Hi everyone,

Similar question as what was asked above- I'm a fourth year and I've applied to a handful of AOA programs but I'm putting more emphasis on the ACGME match.

I took COMLEX Level 1 and scored in the 530s and scored in the 660s on Level 2 CE. I've got some strong LORs and a couple case report publications.

I've gotten a couple interviews so far for the AOA match but not at my top choices yet.

Any thoughts or suggestions in applying for the ACGME match? I've currently got about 40ish programs saved on ERAS.

 

[QualityProcess]

If you apply to acgme programs that have taken DOs recently, they will understand where you fit in terms of standardized testing. Your comlex 2 is strong, so you will get invites from DO friendly ACGME programs as long as you apply smartly and dont have red flags. To be honest no one will care about your avg comlex 1 or case reports.

 

[Trogghunter]

With the 610 you should be fine without usmle, especially if you do well on step 2 as well, but you're not going to be training at places like JHH.. There are many posts in the forum about this specific topic 'acgme IM with comlex only', and I don't think that programs have changed their acceptance of the comlex(mine didn't). I am a few years out but I scored like 650/700s and got into a program where the average usmle is 232?, fwiw. University programs now know how comlex is scored. 530 is still above average I think, but my program and some others did have a cutoff, not sure what it was, so it might be a good idea to look into that. Ie I think the cutoff at UF was like 600 when I applied, but some didnt have them. If you get into any acgme IM program, you should be fine matching into rheum somewhere, as it's not that competitive still, compared to cards.

 

[Jinxapotato]

With the 610 you should be fine without usmle, especially if you do well on step 2 as well, but you're not going to be training at places like JHH.. There are many posts in the forum about this specific topic 'acgme IM with comlex only', and I don't think that programs have changed their acceptance of the comlex(mine didn't). I am a few years out but I scored like 650/700s and got into a program where the average usmle is 232?, fwiw. University programs now know how comlex is scored. 530 is still above average I think, but my program and some others did have a cutoff, not sure what it was, so it might be a good idea to look into that. Ie I think the cutoff at UF was like 600 when I applied, but some didnt have them. If you get into any acgme IM program, you should be fine matching into rheum somewhere, as it's not that competitive still, compared to cards.

Gotcha, thanks for the input! Do you think applying for the ACGME-AOA duo accredited programs would make a difference? Do they tend to be more acquainted with people with only COMLEX?

 

[QualityProcess]

Gotcha, thanks for the input! Do you think applying for the ACGME-AOA duo accredited programs would make a difference? Do they tend to be more acquainted with people with only COMLEX?

I don't think it matters. All that matters is that they have taken DOs recently. They see those residents' COMLEX scores, maybe some USMLE scores to go alongside those scores, and they see how the DOs they accept function in their program. As long as the DOs they have taken are alright clinically, they'll take a look at you. edit- especially if you come from the same DO school