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I am making on average 15 silly mistakes ( miss reading, not reading properly, not reading the entire question, over thinking etc) on each of the NBMEs i have taken (5 so far). Thats like wrapping up approximately 10 points atleast and giving them away.


Anyone has any particular strategies to tackle that?

Thanks smart folks!

Originally Posted by RedSoxSuck

I am making on average 15 silly mistakes ( miss reading, not reading properly, not reading the entire question, over thinking etc) on each of the NBMEs i have taken (5 so far). Thats like wrapping up approximately 10 points atleast and giving them away.


Anyone has any particular strategies to tackle that?

Thanks smart folks!

I do that too. I read fast and choose an answer quickly. Then, I go back through each relevant point in the question stem and ask myself "how would this change my answer?" Takes a bit longer but it cuts down on dumb mistakes.

I was almost going to send you a PM because you've set up the title of this thread such that anyone who responds is inevitably considered full of him or herself.

I would just get lots of sleep. It is that simple. If you're not fully rested, you're much more likely to misread/mess up, period.

I was so tired while doing the first Kaplan full-length exam the other day, that while I was doing one of those two-part questions (i.e. the ones where you can't go back after clicking 'next'), I had arrived at the correct answer in my head, but then simply clicked the wrong one, then clicked next. I was like, "how stupid could someone be?"

Originally Posted by Phloston

I was almost going to send you a PM because you've set up the title of this thread such that anyone who responds is inevitably considered full of him or herself.

I would just get lots of sleep. It is that simple. If you're not fully rested, you're much more likely to misread/mess up, period.

I was so tired while doing the first Kaplan full-length exam the other day, that while I was doing one of those two-part questions (i.e. the ones where you can't go back after clicking 'next'), I had arrived at the correct answer in my head, but then simply clicked the wrong one, then clicked next. I was like, "how stupid could someone be?"

Well, everyone is smart here. Most of the people who normal post or will post on sdn in general have scored 230+ which is smart.

Originally Posted by Phloston

I was almost going to send you a PM because you've set up the title of this thread such that anyone who responds is inevitably considered full of him or herself.

I would just get lots of sleep. It is that simple. If you're not fully rested, you're much more likely to misread/mess up, period.

I was so tired while doing the first Kaplan full-length exam the other day, that while I was doing one of those two-part questions (i.e. the ones where you can't go back after clicking 'next'), I had arrived at the correct answer in my head, but then simply clicked the wrong one, then clicked next. I was like, "how stupid could someone be?"

I am full of myself, and jsut so happens that i know what I'm talking about, so here you go.

1. Read the last line of the vignette first
2. Read the answer choices
3. Read the vignette last (highlight, and strikethrough)

1. Read the last line of teh vignette first. Ask yourself, what question am I answering? This is going to put you in the mindset of the answers to follow, and will give you an idea of what you actually need to look for in the vignette. Rather than getting bogged down by all the detail of the question, trying to guess what is important and what isnt, read the question first.

2. Read the answer choices. If you are choosing between 5 types of gram negative rods, getting to "gram negative rods" isn't going to help you. If you are choosing between "GPC, GPR, GNC, GNR" well, thats a very different story. Similar concept to #1, you know what to look for

3. Read the vignette last. Step 1 has no curveballs. They also have a very limited amount of space. If they take the time to say something is POSITIVE, then its important. It will separate one or two answer choices. If they take the time to say something is NEGATIVE, that is going to be your clinch pin. That "pertinent negative" essentially takes one of your answer choices off the list.

Try it out. See if it works. Dont be distracted by obnoxious questions with superfluous detail. Hone your thinking, hone your reading of the question to narrow down what is going to be the essential information for you to answer. Win!

There are so many ****ing questions on the step1 that there is absolutely no way you won't make any silly mistakes.

Hell, during the drive back from the testing center, I came up with so many questions I KNEW but selected the wrong answer for. It's frustrating but one strategy is to study your test taking mistakes like you study the material.

For example, you could write down the things you failed to pay attention to and then write them all down and make a list of this. Then review this list every once in a while to remind yourself of the traps you fall for.

Originally Posted by OveractiveBrain

I am full of myself, and jsut so happens that i know what I'm talking about, so here you go.

1. Read the last line of the vignette first
2. Read the answer choices
3. Read the vignette last (highlight, and strikethrough)

1. Read the last line of teh vignette first. Ask yourself, what question am I answering? This is going to put you in the mindset of the answers to follow, and will give you an idea of what you actually need to look for in the vignette. Rather than getting bogged down by all the detail of the question, trying to guess what is important and what isnt, read the question first.

2. Read the answer choices. If you are choosing between 5 types of gram negative rods, getting to "gram negative rods" isn't going to help you. If you are choosing between "GPC, GPR, GNC, GNR" well, thats a very different story. Similar concept to #1, you know what to look for

3. Read the vignette last. Step 1 has no curveballs. They also have a very limited amount of space. If they take the time to say something is POSITIVE, then its important. It will separate one or two answer choices. If they take the time to say something is NEGATIVE, that is going to be your clinch pin. That "pertinent negative" essentially takes one of your answer choices off the list.

Try it out. See if it works. Dont be distracted by obnoxious questions with superfluous detail. Hone your thinking, hone your reading of the question to narrow down what is going to be the essential information for you to answer. Win!

Thanks. I actually tried your suggestion of reading the last line, reading the answer choices and then reading the stem. It worked fairly well. I felt alot more in control and no timing issues. It was especially helpful on pharm questions because all they were asking mechanism. However, i still missed 18 questions (such as serum values for DKA, metabolic alkalosis, did not read the entire question or just read too fast) on NBME 5 (last one took) because of stupid mistakes.

I took the time to write down these mistakes and how to fix them on a separate sheet of paper and using it as a study guide. Reminding myself everyday how to avoid those mistakes. Just identifying that i was making stupid mistakes isn't enough. Had to figure out how to AVOID them in future.

Originally Posted by panicattackmode

There are so many ****ing questions on the step1 that there is absolutely no way you won't make any silly mistakes.

Hell, during the drive back from the testing center, I came up with so many questions I KNEW but selected the wrong answer for. It's frustrating but one strategy is to study your test taking mistakes like you study the material.

For example, you could write down the things you failed to pay attention to and then write them all down and make a list of this. Then review this list every once in a while to remind yourself of the traps you fall for.

Bingo! Thats what i did. Its like a study guide.