USMLE 3 weeks out - Preparation Advice!!!

[D0cHopeful]

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Hello all,

So I'm about slightly over 3 weeks out from my exam, and I wanted some advice as far as what I should focus on. I've already completed UWorld and am currently going through my second pass, have read FA at least 2x, rewatched Pathoma videos, and just completed watching DIT 2014. I am planning on completing UWorld a second time between now and the exam (already started), but was wondering if it would be more beneficial to watch DIT a second time and hit FA/Pathoma once, or hit FA/Pathoma 2-3 times before the big day without DIT. I will also be attempting to knock out 3 more NBMEs before exam day.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[jambio]

Have you taken any NBME's yet? If so, what were your scores?

Definitely don't waste your time on rewatching DIT - the first time is torturous enough. Just do as many questions as possible (NBME, UW assessments) and try not to forget the minutiae that's been crammed into your head up until this point. If you've been through UFAP twice already AND DIT, you're probably saturated and might as well take the exam tomorrow.

 

[D0cHopeful]

Have you taken any NBME's yet? If so, what were your scores?.

I have taken NBME 11 & UWA1 & 2 in the following order:

UWA1: 228
NBME 11: 236
UWA2: 244

I have taken one per week for the last 3 weeks, so was planning on utilizing these last 3 weeks to take NBME 13, 15, and 16. I'm hoping to score 240+, so I'm hoping that's an attainable goal within these next 3 weeks.

 

[jambio]

Judging by your scores, you have the basics down, so now you just have to focus on getting those left field tricky questions. Is there any specific topic that you struggled with according to the NBME 11 breakdown? If so, focus on that as you continue your review. Otherwise, I think the best use of your time would be to take as many NBMEs as possible and keep going over Pathoma and FA. I found my second pass through UWorld not as useful, but it doesn't hurt if you have the time.

3 weeks is definitely enough to get to 240+. You're basically there already!

 

[D0cHopeful]

Thanks for the response @jambio. Alright I will definitely NOT do DIT then, that was my biggest concern. From what I'm getting, DIT is great for getting the basics down, but may not help me get those left-field questions that you are referring to. I guess I'm just going to suck it up and start reading and hitting the NBMEs hard at this point!

Do you recommend maybe just hitting the UWorld questions that I marked/got wrong rather than trying to go through all of them again? I just want to make sure I know these questions cold because I don't really have opportunities to review my NBMEs after they're completed as we pretty much just get a score and a breakdown...

Judging by your scores, you have the basics down, so now you just have to focus on getting those left field tricky questions. Is there any specific topic that you struggled with according to the NBME 11 breakdown? If so, focus on that as you continue your review. Otherwise, I think the best use of your time would be to take as many NBMEs as possible and keep going over Pathoma and FA. I found my second pass through UWorld not as useful, but it doesn't hurt if you have the time.

 

[jambio]

Thanks for the response @jambio. Alright I will definitely NOT do DIT then, that was my biggest concern. From what I'm getting, DIT is great for getting the basics down, but may not help me get those left-field questions that you are referring to. I guess I'm just going to suck it up and start reading and hitting the NBMEs hard at this point!

Do you recommend maybe just hitting the UWorld questions that I marked/got wrong rather than trying to go through all of them again? I just want to make sure I know these questions cold because I don't really have opportunities to review my NBMEs after they're completed as we pretty much just get a score and a breakdown...

Yeah, when I did DIT I thought it was a good review, but it was tiring watching 4-5 hours of videos per day plus trying to read FA as you go through the material. 18 days of videos and BAM, your exam is in 3 days. That said, if there are videos that you found particularly helpful/want to review, then you can watch them on 1.5x or something. Maybe micro or derm would fall under that category (at least for me).

If you do the extended feedback NBMEs, then you know what questions you got wrong and can try to figure out why you got them wrong. Stupid mistake? Try to not make it again. Flat out no idea? Well now you know.

As for UWorld, it's definitely a good idea to go over the incorrects. Get those done first and then if you have time, do your second pass.

 

[D0cHopeful]

Alright so I have taken 2 more NBMEs (12 & 13) at this point and scored 232 and 238, respectively. I have approximately 2 weeks out from my exam. I feel like I know the concepts pretty well, but other than continuing to go through UWorld and hitting FA, I feel like I am stuck and don't know how to get over that 240 mark on the NBMEs to give me the confidence that I can score >240 on the real deal. Any advice for these last 2 weeks? Is it possible for me to get over this hump??? Thanks in advance.

 

[J ROD]

Try focusing on weak spots identified in your practice exams. And maybe look at why you are missing some questions and see if there is a testing error you are making. Work on strategy there.

 

[Psai]

Reread first aid, especially the parts you sucked on, very key.
Do NBMEs
I think looking at the uworld incorrects is okay but not the best use of time

 

[D0cHopeful]

Thanks for your help everyone. Alright so after analysis of my previous NBME subject breakdowns, it seems as though I am pretty solid in every subject (only missing a few questions total), while the only subject holding me back is Behavioral Science. Does anyone have any good and efficient resources that would be worth my time within these last 2 weeks to help me build a solid foundation?

Once again, thanks for the help in advance!

 

[rodmichael82]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT REWATCH DIT that's a massive waste of time.
At this point I would do timed, random Uworld. Re-read first aid and pathoma 2-3x

 

[aspiringmd1015]

Judging by your scores, you have the basics down, so now you just have to focus on getting those left field tricky questions. Is there any specific topic that you struggled with according to the NBME 11 breakdown? If so, focus on that as you continue your review. Otherwise, I think the best use of your time would be to take as many NBMEs as possible and keep going over Pathoma and FA. I found my second pass through UWorld not as useful, but it doesn't hurt if you have the time.

3 weeks is definitely enough to get to 240+. You're basically there already!

by going through pathoma do you mean the videos or the book?

 

[D0cHopeful]

Definitely the secret the last couple weeks is just reading FA (esp weak points) and READING Pathoma (watching the videos takes wayy too long at this point). Thankfully, after advice from this thread, I didn't waste my time watching DIT, and managed to bump up my NBME scores to 244 and 247 (15 & 16, respectively)!!! Hammering home the fine details is the key late in the game. Thanks for the help y'all! I wish all of you the best of luck in your prep!! The end is in sight, just gotta float the rest of the way with confidence!

 

[Double A]

It's all about doing what you need to do to score consistently in your goal range on practice exams. Once you're there you fill your time trying not to break your routine til exam day. Not sure if that helps even a little... I guess take practice exams and go from there.