ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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how's everyone today? is it just me, or is it weird that ecfmg is STILL scanning documents received on sept. 4th?! hopefully they'll get it done today and have it ready for eras...
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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yep still sept 4. The thing is, it was a long weekend before sept 4 (labor holiday) so the mail that was supposed to be received sept. 1, 2, 3 all arrived at ecfmg on the 4th, so that's a whole lotta mail to scan and upload. Haven't you noticed when they were scanning mail received from aug. 31, it just suddenly jumped to sept. 4.
I was also waiting for my final lor to get scanned and uploaded, it was also "received" sept 4 (but I guess it was delivered around sept.1), coz it was already uploaded monday night, when they were still scanning aug 31 mail.
Another no new news day for me. surgery is still quiet, haven't heard of any invites coming out.
Good luck!
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| clyde driver
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 31
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No news for me too in the surgery programs except for one. A rejection from UTGSM.
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| deoriverajr
Forum Newbie
Topics: 5
Posts: 35
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to ustmd2006:i believe you will pass coz language wise you're very good basing from the posts you made here..hope everything will turn good...matching etc!!!
to everybody waiting for interviews or in the process of matching GOODLUCK!!! 
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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hey clyde, got the same rejection this noon. They didn't specify though if it was for categorical or prelim, coz some programs send out separate mails for the two types of positions. Somehting in me is still hoping its just for their categorical positions, and I'm blindly believing that I still have a chance for prelim at that program.... haha, talk about not letting go.
Seems surgery started the ball rolling already.
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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deoriverajr, thank you very much for your faith in me...and basing it merely from my posts here. really flattered. and little comments like that go a long way during this match period. i don't know about you guys, but not hearing from programs tends to crush my confidence. i start to doubt myself and my abilities and begin to lose hope. i know it's still early...and that my app isn't quite complete yet...but i can't help being overly dramatic.
thanks to all of you guys who keep this forum alive...it's a comfort to know that others are going through this very stressful process with me. it would be better to hear good news from everyone, but i guess all we can do is wait.
no news for me today...well, except that my 2nd lor has FINALLY been upload (7pm tonight)...i hope programs will take a look after downloading that...i applied so early i'm afraid they've forgotten my app!
good night everyone! 
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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just as someone commented on my language abilities, i make a mistake on my post...hehe...change upload to uploaded...lol!
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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ustmd2006,
Don't lose hope. I know what you're going through. I've been there.
As most of you already know, I participated in the match last year, and I NEVER got an interview. A few months after I sent my application, and after a ton of rejections afterwards, I started to question my abilities. True, surgery is very tough to get into, but I still came charging into the match knowing that i CAN do it, that i'll be able to accomplish what others haven't. Being fresh from internship then, having been praised by residents/consultants for my so called "surgical" skills, I did have a bit of an ego growing as I entered the match. But it all went away as the months slowly dragged towards march. Thats when I started to doubt myself, that I might not be up for the challenges of surgery. I did eventually get an interview during the scramble but unfortunately they picked the other applicant.
My point is, this is a very humbling process. That's why I'm back for the match this year (harder, better, faster, stronger as daftpunk would put it into tunes, haha!), still attempting to take a crack at surgery. I realised I was being too idealistic last year, I thought what I had was already enough to impress everyone. But its a bigger world out there, and the competition is tighter, and I had to realize it the hard way.
You will get frustrated, and the rejections will pierce through you as many times as it needs to until you feel numb already, and it will just keep on coming. But you know makes me feel better when these things happen? The fact that I'm still here in the game. Others quit the moment they fail an exam, a handful would give up if their visa gets rejected for the CS exam - that separates us from them, the winners from the quitters.
and just take into consideration what rocky balboa said "Life will bring you to your knees and keep you there. Permanently. If you let it. It's NOT about how hard you hit. IT'S ABOUT HOW HARD YOU CAN GET HIT. And keep moving forward. Keep moving forward. If you know what you're worth, go out and get it. But you have to be WILLING to take the hit."
We have to face it, radiology, surgery, heck even anesthesia, and I'm pretty sure pathology also, is quite a challenge to get into. Believe me when I tell you, you're not even half way through the frustrations you'll be experiencing in the match. But, you got to take the hits.
Hope that eases you up a bit.
Or maybe I can just tell you that it's still early, hehe 
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| lilacmd
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 12
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hello rightsaidfred, thanks a lot for all the info u gave me..i already tried downloading the goljan audio files but unfortunately the last 2 were not available..i also looked at the 2 websites that u gave me and i was so amazed with all the books and information that are available there..thanks i also found the goljan audio there, but the 3rd and 4th part were not available either.anyway, i found other audio files of goljan there, and i think that would be enough..super thanks! god bless!
xthine: hello! i called the two numbers that u gave me and fortunately the globe number is still in the photocopying business. i have a copy of crush now, thanks to you! my copy is not the latest edition though, do u think there's a lot of updates fr the latest ed (3rd ed)
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| lilacmd
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 12
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hecmd23: that was really a nice speech!(thread #333) wat u said is true. and if u think that this is for u, u should really go for it! btw, thanks for the study schedule, m making my own now.. godbless!
kaikangaru: thanks thanks also!
taz: about the white coat, during the time that i took my exam everyone was wearing long sleeves..i dont have one, since during my internship we were required to wear the short one but i borrowed from a friend..from my opinion, the long one would make u look like a "doctor" hehehe..boost ur self confidence and make u look more mature since we look younger than them..
Ustmd2006: i think it's more likely that CS results would come in late since there's a lot of people taking their CS during this time..
Grace4pink: Godbless on your step1..if u have any questions, feel free to ask.
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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have a great day everyone!
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| kaikangaru
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 15
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it's oh so quiet on the interview front...buti pa ang forum, may nangyayari! haha hello friends! taz naisip ko na who you are!!!
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| xthine
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 127
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Hey lilacmd that's good to know!! I read in another forum there is not much difference between the 2nd and 3rd ed of Crush.
Happy studying!!
Will you be reviewing full time or balancing moonlighting/residency with the USMLE?
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| taz31
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 24
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Thanks for all the replies to my inquiry. still have to practice for the CS. Good luck to all!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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I got my first invite from Boston University today! Woohoo!!!
Hopefully this is just the start...not only for me, but for all of us...Hang in there guys!
Good luck everyone!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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By the way, I'm going for Pathology, just in case I haven't mentioned it.
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| lilacmd
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 12
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hello xthine! m actually working right now.im planning to leave from work maybe 2 months prior to my exam date.u think thats enough? i plan to start reviewing ds oct even if im working..since my work is benign naman.
congrats ustmd2006!
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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congrats ustmd2006, things are looking up.
Good luck and wow em away
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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and to everyone still waiting (including myself), just hang in there, the next weeks will start to liven up.
g'luck everyone!
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| honeysuckle
Forum Senior
Topics: 3
Posts: 139
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Hi! is it hard to get the J1 waiver from DOH? i don't really mind going back after training but my problem is majority of the programs in neurology just issue j1 visas. hecMD--good luck! i will be sitting for step 3 in oct and i really appreciated your inputs. would appreciate any more extra tips if you have. im a little scared.
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| honeysuckle
Forum Senior
Topics: 3
Posts: 139
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oh yeah...zero interviews here...hopefully will get a first, then a second, then a third...and so on
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| kaikangaru
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 15
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congratulations ustmd2006!!! and to the rest of us, may this be a pleasant-email-surprise week ahead!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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thanks lilacmd, hecmd23 and kaikangaru! this is just the start for all of us!
have a great weekend!
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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hi honeysuckle,
good luck with step 3. One advice though, don't make the mistake of studying step 2 for the step 3 coz they are very different exams. Don't get me wrong, it's not harder than step 2, probably just the same level (considering i studied only a month for step 3 and still passed it, compared to my 4 month prep time for the other steps). but having to face a computer screen for two consecutive days is just plain energy draining. It's more of a test of endurance....longer vignettes, longer choices, and tests more on your judgment - when to do things AT THE RIGHT TIME. The format is different, all blocks were grouped together based on the clinical setting - inpatient, out-patient, and emergency. There are 8 blocks on the first day, and if I remember it right, I got 5 outpatient blocks, 2 blocks of inpatient, and one emergency setting block. The hardest were the inpatient blocks, longer questions and more stuff to look at such as labs and ancillaries. The first day, was really fast, i can't even remember the questions and check if i got the correct answers afterwards (something i did after I finished taking the first 2 steps, hehehe). Time was really fast, and you just have enough to answer every freaking question in each block, not much time (maybe a few seconds) to go back to previously marked items.
The second day was more tolerable. shorter questions and most types of questions were like a mixture of step 1 and step 2. And the CCS cases were really enjoyable. Practice the CCS cases from uw and FA, and you'll find the actual ccs cases like some sort of bonus questions. Cases were not really hard, but they're more challenging than the CS cases. For example, i remember this one vividly, I got an african american woman complaining of cough and fever for 2 weeks. did some xrays and other stuff, and the thing that only stood out was pneumonia. No compelling reason for me to admit her, vitals were fairly stable and no dob or any distress. and so i sent her home with antibiotics and antipyretics to come back for followup. When she came back, still has the same symptoms minus the fever, not a bit better (according to the computer, haha) so i ordered a lot of specific stuff, which turned out negative, except for silver stain which, say it with me, positive for p. carinii. So I admitted her and gave the right meds, and I just thought of getting an elisa and western blot "just to check", which turned out to be positive for hiv. and that's when the case ended. So the tip for the CCS, you should order, at least the minimum that the case requires, before the case ends. If it's taking too long for the case to end, then that means you missed something. The only way to get around this is to practice and know by heart what needs to be done in common cases.
For the rest of my cases, I got a newborn with trisomy 21, hashimoto's thyroiditis, lung CA, lumbar disc herniation, prenatal screening, iron deficiency anemia, megaloblastic anemia, the girl with HIV and pneumonia, and I can't remeber the last one... all in all 9 cases 25 mins each. felt I was just playing a computer game when I was answering them, glad they all got better except for the disc herniation lady.
Anyway, good luck! and I'll be glad to answer any of your questions if you still have some.
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| honeysuckle
Forum Senior
Topics: 3
Posts: 139
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Thanks : )
Just subscribed to UW, and I'm sweating it out! I'm getting 40s!!!I really want to take this test in OCtober so it doesn't go with the interview season, not that I have any invites yet, but...well...here's hoping! With the ccs, did you write down on the papersheets before you started hacking on the pc?
Goodluck everyone! The Pinoy docs I've met so far are doing quite well. They say the biggest hurdle is really getting into residency, like a giant door that has to be kicked. Many, especially the newbies, get the slots via scramble, but i really hope we all match...heck, let's pray for a prematch : ) We can dream...
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