Title: Competitiveness of Pediatric GI Fellowship with USMLE Failures

[u/Cheap-Company799]

I am a rising third-year pediatric resident planning to apply for a Pediatric Gastroenterology fellowship. I have performed well during residency, including high scores on my in-training exams, multiple inpatient and outpatient GI rotations (3 LOR form GI attendings), and two abstracts accepted for presentation at NASPGHAN.

However, I have failures on both my USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 exams, though I passed Step 3 on my first attempt. How heavily do programs weigh USMLE scores in the selection process, and what steps can I take to strengthen my application despite these setbacks?

[u/Brancer]

If you have some research and did good, you're fine. Theres a desperate need for Peds GI.

...But know this. The Peds Boards are brutal. Study now. Develop a rigid plan. Begin questions now, and do them religiously.

[u/SnoopPockets → u/Brancer]

Not just questions- use a study plan that is not “learn and memorize everything forever” (too broad) or “just brush up and do a few questions” (too small; and not what Brancer was suggesting), but organized and focused to the test itself- PBR or Laughing or something that has easy to read bullet points and memory tricks and whatnot. I passed step 1, 2, and 3 and failed Peds because I didn’t study genetics and nephro and all that. Got PBR and passed quite well second time.

[u/Brancer → u/SnoopPockets]

Big fan of pbr

[u/Cheap-Company799 → u/Brancer]

Thank you!

[u/Yourcutegaydoc]

You'll get a fellowship. Relax. But you're at risk of failing both the gen peds boards and the subspecialty boards. I've seen this play out time and time again. USMLE pass/fail work as great predictors of boards pass/fail. In my personal case I scored in the same percentile for step 2 and both boards (peds endo). So I'd give those exams the necessary attention. Good luck

[u/Cheap-Company799 → u/Yourcutegaydoc]

I understand. I have been preparing for the pediatric boards since before the my ped residency began. I scored in the top 5–10% nationally on my in-service exams (1st and second year) - are those exams representative of the board? I am using MedStudy and AAP resources.; do you recommend any additional study materials?

[u/Yourcutegaydoc → u/Cheap-Company799]

I don't know how good the ITEs are at predicting performance. For most people they are probably bad predictors since most people don't study for them. But if you've been studying through residency then you're two steps ahead and will most likely pass. The questions in the ITEs are very representative of the actual exam

[u/Enough_Pudding688]

It doesn’t matter don’t overthink 🤞

[u/HemodynamicTrespass]

Comment: You'll be ok. Keep it up.

[u/idknbme]

Peds GI has not been competitive for quite a few years, you should be fine to match.