Hey, don’t be so down on yourself. A score is a score and you did your best. It’s okay if your best isn’t the same as someone else’s. You do you, they do them. I get it though—it’s incredibly disheartening in our environment. But if you were your own friend, would you talk to yourself as if you’re a failure over a standardized exam you didn’t do as well as you wanted?

Step is a big deal. I don’t want to minimize that. I think take the time to grieve and be upset but also work on kindness toward yourself and being mindful of disheartening thoughts. I’m actually just an M2, so I can’t speak to your M3 year or any of that. But don’t lose faith in yourself. You can still do this and you have a long career ahead of you as a doctor.:)