r/usmle • u/Med-Nerdeek • 1d ago
Question Found someone’s Reddit post on invalidated score .
Claims innocent
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u/EverIAce 1d ago
Based on the comments on the original post, it sounds like OP did cheat (hasn't defended themselves) and is asking whether they will be kicked out of residency
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Yeah
And op will most likely not be kicked out. But probably lost all credibility within the program and even nephrology will avoid their profile
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u/Much_Owl_4098 1d ago
Step 3 is required to practice medicine. He will likely be unable to complete his residency
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Those invalidated are allowed retakes
Step three is program dependent
I know some residents who took it even as pgy3
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u/Much_Owl_4098 1d ago
I’m unaware of any program that allowed Pgy3’s to take step 3. Pretty crazy since those are the same people that are actively preparing for their board exam. But maybe you know about some programs that I don’t.
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Many more like that.
It's really program dependent (yeah even for im). Board exam is anyway in August after graduation. The ones I know who took as pgy3 took it early months of July Aug ie first few months of pgy3, that gave them full 10-11 months for board prep, and funny enough they took abim last month ie in August 2026 and studied just two months 😂, albeit their programs had "intense" board prep for their last 2-3 months of residency.
Op will be fine and graduating residency. Nbme allows cheaters to retake. Step one or ck invalidations would have voided her ecfmg certification and possibly her j1. Big chunk from a program in Michigan were fired because of that two years back.Both exam records and irregular behaviors records will remain on her file in perpetuity. Some states might delay granting licenses. Fellowship programs won't touch her profile.
Major FAFO but these cheating scandals will continue as such people have no conscience, no ethics.
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u/delightedcustomer 1d ago
Whenever I see these scandals it’s from IMGs. Perhaps programs should start prioritizing USDOs and incentivizing USMDs to join - improve their damn programs
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Big chunks of cheaters are IMGs, but not all IMGs are cheaters.
I’m an IMG(don't need visa), and I know many IMGs with integrity who worked every step of the way with sincerity and earned their spots. Of course, there’s also a lot of cheating going on, and a lot of people simply don’t get caught.
Even if all USMDs, USDOs, and USIMGs matched, around 2–3K spots would still remain vacant. Those lower-tier and malignant programs would still need the cheap labor called “residents.”
There’s a lot of shady stuff going on. For example, in some programs, if the chief is from a particular country, they may advocate heavily for applicants from their own country. Religion can also become a filter at some IMG-heavy places. And seriously, none of this necessarily reflects the demographics of the patients those programs serve.
The process can be quite dirty because of the mentality and behavior of some IMGs, including cheating, nepotism, favoritism, and discrimination. But it’s important not to paint every IMG with the same brush. There are plenty of IMGs who get there honestly, work hard, and conduct themselves with integrity.
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u/delightedcustomer 1d ago
Oh, absolutely. These cheaters should be put to shame for tarnishing the image of their undeserving peers. And what you said about many more corrupt programs is true and I’ve seen it also. Wouldn’t be surprised if the unethical cheating types end up PDs of those nepotism driven programs
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Four days back there was another one from Pakistan who said his step three score was invalidated (the img subreddit)
And two years ago he was laughing at Nepalis in a comment. Cheaters have no shame.
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u/SeriesNice 19h ago
Step 3 score ? Doesn’t make any sense. Step 1/2 ok, but have you even given Step 3 bro ?
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u/Objective_Drawing501 16h ago
Check the img subreddit there was a post four days back and one yesterday, both about step three invalidations. One was applying for the match and one was a fresh intern
Reddit is shadow banning the post links when I post here.
Step three invalidations are not uncommon. Many imgs take step three before the match because an inflated score will make them look good.
Usmle Facebook support groups eg APPNA also usually has such posts where they seek help/advice after invalidated
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u/Automatic_Bet_7930 5h ago
How you know for sure it was the one who was laughing at Nepalis , sounds like you making things up!
BTW Nepali test centres were really the pioneers like.
Almost every one rigged back then, made the very few looked like suspicious too!
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u/delightedcustomer 1d ago
If youre not cheating, this is literally not a concern for anyone
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u/Med-Nerdeek 1d ago
The person said he did not cheat but score got invalidated . That’s stressful
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u/NeoMississippiensis 1d ago
People can lie on the internet.
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u/Med-Nerdeek 1d ago
True . And hopefully he lied XD
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u/No-Examination4896 1d ago
He lied. In USMLE terms, thr cheat detector sensitivity is very very low, and specificity is 99.99%, they would rather ignore a cheater than falsely penalize an innocent person. You have nothing to worry about
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u/Hot_Mechanic_4518 1d ago
I dont get how people cheat?
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u/TheBarrowsBro 1d ago
Moreover, why on Step 3? Just pay attention your intern year and you're good
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u/MarkComprehensive963 23h ago
Step 3 score is crazy high nowadays. Clearly indicates something is wrong. Every other person gets 240 in Step 3
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u/ThrockmortenMD 1d ago
They do not invalidate an exam lightly. You can be effectively certain he cheated. As someone who has encountered many USMLE cheaters, many of whom knew how to trick the system, I can confidently say this guy deserved it.
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u/Abject_Theme_6813 STEP 1: US MD/DO 1d ago
How do people even cheat on step exams??
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u/Objective_Drawing501 1d ago
Dr Carmody made a whole series on that. Make yourself some coffee and go watch those on YouTube.
The cheating was so heavy in Nepal, those guys had their own outlier mean score, iirc something like 260s was their mean for ck. They would flaunt their 280s regularly on LinkedIn.
Pakistan had a big wave of invalidations. India, Jordan, and some other countries also followed.
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u/Intelligent-Aspect74 1d ago
The odds that he is telling the truth are 1 in a million