Should I delay my initial cert exam?

[DrOMG]

Currently in fellowship but also on maternity leave after having my kid the beginning of october. I thought I would be able to study for my initial cert while at home but having two under 2yo just isnt working out like I had planned. I'm averaging a ****ty 65-75% on my rosh questions. I've definitely done more intense studying the last 5 days with the help of my husband and will continue to do so this week.

Should I just go ahead and take it with plans to retake it next year if I fail or should I just delay and do it next year and not live with "I failed my boards" looming over my head if I go on interviews for post-fellowship?

I wish they offered it more than just one week per year.

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[cyanide12345678]

What’s rosh predicting as your likelihood of passing? When is the actual test?

If you have another 2 weeks of studying, id just bunker down and put in 10 hours a day and do it now.

You’re probably never going to get this chance of not having to juggle work, studying, and kids. At least it’s just kids and studying right now and no work.

 

[DrOMG]

I've done about 800 questions and Im at 88% right now. My test is in a week.

 

[gutonc]

I'm not in EM, but I'd just go for it and see how it shakes out.

 

[cyanide12345678]

I've done about 800 questions and Im at 88% right now. My test is in a week.

The probability is in your favor. Put in 10 hrs a day and push it as much as you can. You should be able to do 1000 more questions if you take this week very seriously. You are not going to get this opportunity of having exclusive time off, and next year your kids will be more active and needing attention.

What if you are in the exact same situation next year and fail?

 

[PianoMedic]

How did your in training exams go? Your third year ITE is usually fairly predictive. I agree with the others that with your chance of passing in the high 80s now with 800 questions done, it seems like a good idea to try to push through and attempt this year. Especially if you did well on your third year ITE. You will need a good amount of studying from now until test time to make sure you’re prepared, but seems reasonable to keep your exam date this year.

 

[CoolDoc1729]

I've done about 800 questions and Im at 88% right now. My test is in a week.

With a 3-4 week old .. are you sleeping at night at all? I would have had a hard time testing that soon after a newborn. Mad respect for trying, if you end up trying this year. If you fail your first attempt in this context And that causes someone not to hire you then they are probably going to be a pain to work for in many other ways. Good luck either way 😊

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

Another vote for just hunkering down and taking it.

I also agree with the earlier comment that the ITE is very predictive.

 

[gro2001]

As others have said, delaying it till you are even further out of residency training might only make things harder. If your husband can't get you 6-8 hours of completely protected time a day for studying, I think your best bet would be to push through.

Is it possible to get away from the house completely for a few hours a day?

 

[DrOMG]

The best I can get is 200 questions a day with sporadic reading. Running on around 4 hours sleep a night. Solidly scoring in the 70s%. I'm just going to try my best and give it a shot.

This whole one week a year deal for testing is really unfortunate.

 

[watermanMD]

I say just go for it. Just took mine. It was kind of a weird test. Don’t really know if my dedicated studying did much with respect to tested knowledge, rather, probably just helped me get back into the test taking game mode

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

The best I can get is 200 questions a day with sporadic reading. Running on around 4 hours sleep a night. Solidly scoring in the 70s%. I'm just going to try my best and give it a shot.

This whole one week a year deal for testing is really unfortunate.

If your exam is in 2 days, just focus on questions.

I think I was also in a time-crunch towards the end (I don't believe I finished the full Rosh Qbank), so I prioritized reviewing only the questions I got wrong.

 

[DrOMG]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Will let you know how it turns out in a couple weeks 😂

 

[bravotwozero]

Good luck!

 

[Rekt]

I say just go for it. Just took mine. It was kind of a weird test. Don’t really know if my dedicated studying did much with respect to tested knowledge, rather, probably just helped me get back into the test taking game mode

Yeah felt like studying was useless. Somehow extremely vague and at the same time mostly testing over extreme minutiae and zebras.

 

[HoosierdaddyO]

I just heard from my buddy today who took the test that halfway through the test his computer glitched and they had to cancel the exam from Pearson Vue. Just out of curiosity what happens when something like that occurs, I feel like I would put my head in the sand and wanna cry for a week lol!!!

 

[justwantin]

Currently in fellowship but also on maternity leave after having my kid the beginning of october. I thought I would be able to study for my initial cert while at home but having two under 2yo just isnt working out like I had planned. I'm averaging a ****ty 65-75% on my rosh questions. I've definitely done more intense studying the last 5 days with the help of my husband and will continue to do so this week.

Should I just go ahead and take it with plans to retake it next year if I fail or should I just delay and do it next year and not live with "I failed my boards" looming over my head if I go on interviews for post-fellowship?

I wish they offered it more than just one week per year.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Will let you know how it turns out in a couple weeks 😂

How did it go?

 

[bravotwozero]

I just heard from my buddy today who took the test that halfway through the test his computer glitched and they had to cancel the exam from Pearson Vue. Just out of curiosity what happens when something like that occurs, I feel like I would put my head in the sand and wanna cry for a week lol!!!

They clearly have to reschedule you to another day.

I would think such a scenario works out to the test takers advantage. Now you know what you’re up against! You may even remember questions from the exam, go back and look it up!