Convinced I Failed My Step 3 Board Exam

[rebster]

They are the boards you take during your first year of internship/residency. I am convinced I failed. I took them at 30 weeks pregnant and my back hurt so bad I had to read questions multiple times just to remember what they said. The test took me the entire time - usually I finish with 3-4 hours to spare. I guess I just needed a little stress release from this. Here are the good things I have decided could come from this.

1. It will be humiliating and it will be a humbling experience. I have those daily as an intern because you get pimped until you don't know the answer. However, this is a little different.

2. Studying for the test again can only make me a better doctor than I would have been barely passing it.

3. Failing can be a good a life experience if you grow and learn from it.

Bad things:

I will be out almost 1000 bucks. Yikes

I will be embarrassed (Almost no one fails step 3). It is supposed to be the easiest of the 3 board exams - for me it was the most difficult.

I will have to take the test at 40 weeks pregnant or with a newborn - I'm pretty sure that will be worse.... I really hope I passed.

Anyway! Thanks for listening. This only goes on the budget board because I will be out a ton of money if I fail!

 

[PelletierBears]

Best of luck to you! I hope you passed but if not you've identified some positives to take away at least. Losing that money is a bummer though...$1000 yikes! How many exams in total do you take through your residency?

 

[rebster]

We take steps 1 and 2 in medical school. Step 3 in the first year of residency. And your specialty boards at the end of residency. I am in a Family Medicine program. Thanks for your encouragement!

 

[pocomom]

Just wanted to say sorry, we all have those days now and again. It seems like you have a good attitude about it , and there's really nothing left to do but continue studying and hope for the best! Good Luck! and I hope you don't have to take it again with a newborn, yikes! If so, plan on some nighttime help then, so you can take it with at least a semi-clear head!

 

[MEK]

Best of luck to you! I really hope you passed your exam and don't have to retake it. But if you do I am certain you will be more prepared. You can always blame it on "pregnancy" brain and laugh it off.

 

[Eastern]

I failed the easiest part of my boards when I took them. I was embarrassed more than anything else. I easily passed the next time I took it.

Good luck

 

[akcire]

I hope you pass but if you don't..,,,, I will tell you the first 3 weeks after my daughter I had more energy than any human being. I am assuming it must have been hormonal overdrive. The baby slept most if the time and I literally could have pulled a car down the street. By week 8 I was in a more normal sleep deprived mom mode. But those first few weeks were excitement and hormones, it was awesome. I wish I could bottle it and tap it once or twice a year, professionally I was able to write better than I have in years.

 

[TTUCaric]

Almost impossible... I've never seen a resident fail, even those who say they got shut off during the computer simulation portion. If you made it through Steps 1 and 2, you're almost assuredly fine!

 

[pocomom]

I hope you pass but if you don't..,,,, I will tell you the first 3 weeks after my daughter I had more energy than any human being. I am assuming it must have been hormonal overdrive. The baby slept most if the time and I literally could have pulled a car down the street. By week 8 I was in a more normal sleep deprived mom mode. But those first few weeks were excitement and hormones, it was awesome. I wish I could bottle it and tap it once or twice a year, professionally I was able to write better than I have in years.

Actually come to think of it that is true - those first 2-3 weeks I did feel energized and like a super woman. It's after that once the baby wakes up and mommy doesn't get any sleep that are so hard!

 

[rebster]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. I am starting to calm down a bit. I will look forward to those 2-3 weeks right after giving birth! Goodness knows I could use a little spark!

 

[midwestdee]

well, I don't know about the Supermom thing for 2 or 3 weeks after the baby comes (didn't happen for me either time) - but I can tell you that being a mother will make you a better doctor than anything else on the planet - not to be sexist - but being a father is NOT the same as being a mom. do your baby a favor - take a deep breath - believe me, compared to losing $1,000 on your test and having a healthy baby - it isn't even close. It is truly the little things that matter - a dear friend of mine - her son has been through 3 kidney transplants (she was the donor the 2nd time) - they just had to remove the
3rd kidney - he got back on the pediatric transplant list just before his 18th birthday - count those blessings! Good luck with the test and your baby!

 

[rebster]

Thanks! I do have a one year old son. But my delivery was complicated and I was in surgery for a few hours and we didn't think we could get pregnant afterwards. And then...holy moly, 6 months later we were pregnant (Taught me to question everything I ever tell a patient...haha). I hope this will be a normal delivery and I can be "superwoman" because I wasn't after my first delivery for obvious reasons. So far no complications this pregnancy!

Anyway, I still have a lot to learn about being a good doctor. That is for sure. But for me, being a mom and being a patient myself taught me the most so far!

 

[Crystal824]

Hopefully, you didn't fail but are just anxious about it. Good luck to you.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Cross that bridge when you get to it. Just relax and get some rest and worry when you have proof you didn't pass.
When I took my nursing boards, the computer program was such that the test would end at 85 questions if you did really well or really bad. When my computer shut off I thought of course I had failed and started making plans to be a paramedic instead. I was shocked when my license came in the mail a month later.
Good luck on your boards and your little one!

 

[nycdisneygal]

i am sure you passed. I felt that wasy after step 3 and i didnt even open my scores for weeks! but it was fine.. I kept harping on the things i knew i got wrong, forgetting that i had probably gotten most right...

My friend who is very smart did fail. She took it again. No biggie...Step 3 is not as big a deal as step 1.

eta: i had to study for my specialty boards including my orals with my crazy child around. and it was fine too....

 

[horseshowmom]

How long until you get the results? I suspect that you really will be okay. I know that when my husband took his administrator's licensure exam he was completely convinced that he had failed it, but he didn't. Keep us updated!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

OP, I hope you did better than you think.

I work in radiology and for sure being a patient, or even having a family member be an inpatient, reminds me of what our patients go through. Empathy is so important.

I loved when one of the pediatricians at the practice where my kids go had a baby and she later admitted how now she really can relate to those stressed out new moms with feeding issues. Crying & sleep deprived. Until you're actually living la vida loco, all you can do is nod your head and try to understand.

 

[wallawallakids]

Good luck! I am sure you did much better than you think. My husband has panicked after his boards and he has always passed. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I remember taking mine (I am an RN) and thinking no way I passed because the machine shut off so much earlier than I was expecting. I worried and worried about it. I passed. My point is, I don't think we can always trust ourselves in these situations. We are always our own worst critics. Good luck and congratulations on the baby too!

 

[msammon]

I was sure that I failed every single board exam that I took, and the more outside stressors I had, the more sure I was!
Congrats on your new addition! Being a doctor and a new mom is tough, being a resident is tougher. You will always feel that you are failing at both, but you will wrong, at least most of the time! (I went thru a 7 day stretch where any reasonable mom would have taken their kid to the ER 5 times, and any mom who shows up in an ER 5 times in 7 days is likely to raise an eyebrow or 2! Thank god for dermabond...)
Being a mom has made me a much better doctor, and I think that being a doctor helps a bit with the mommy thing as well!
Good luck!

 

[rebster]

I thought I would post an update! I did pass my boards (actually did well!). And I have a new baby boy snuggled next to me. Thanks everyone for your encouragement.