Avoid Stupid Errors on Step1

[diet_dr_thunder]

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How? When I review my NBME exams afterwards there are at least 5 errors per section. Most of them are careless--like not reading all the answer choices or misreading the actual question. Do you guys have any advice on how to avoid these traps? I take the beast in exactly a week.

 

[chintu]

Seriously, same thing happens to me. Just thinking harder and being more careful would get at least 25 more points on this test. I am open to advice too..

 

[Dunce]

I have noticed the same on Qbank and the free 150 released items. I think it is primarily because these are just "practice" for me, and I don't treat them the same as I would on the real thing. I find myself speeding through Qbank all the time, and I will invariably miss a few because I know it doesn't matter at all if I miss every single one or get a perfect score. It's just a learning tool.
Here's a good example of a bad mistake: earlier today I missed a super easy "choose your own adventure" behavioral question because I didn't scroll down to see all of the answer choices -- the correct answer was J all the way at the bottom. That is an extreme example, but I also find that I miss some questions just because i am not taking enough time to stop and think like I know I should.

It's easy to say that I will be very focused for Step 1. but the key is to have a conscious effort to stay focused and really understand both the question and the answer choices.
Good Luck

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

How? When I review my NBME exams afterwards there are at least 5 errors per section. Most of them are careless--like not reading all the answer choices or misreading the actual question. Do you guys have any advice on how to avoid these traps? I take the beast in exactly a week.

I do this as well -- I often speed through the exams and as such may make silly mistakes. You will probably be more focused during the exam, which helps. Also, I finished each section in about 25-30 minutes, so I had plenty of time to recheck every question. This makes it easy to spot any silly mistakes you may have made.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the testing day is an extremely long and taxing one. Therefore, relying on improved concentration may not be as effective towards the end of the day. You might want to practice doings questions/tests by taking a little more time and reading the question and answer choices all the way through -- this way it may become more of a natural behavior, rather than a conscious one that may suffer as you get fatigued and lose concentration.

 

[juddson]

I do this as well -- I often speed through the exams and as such may make silly mistakes. You will probably be more focused during the exam, which helps. Also, I finished each section in about 25-30 minutes, so I had plenty of time to recheck every question. This makes it easy to spot any silly mistakes you may have made.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the testing day is an extremely long and taxing one. Therefore, relying on improved concentration may not be as effective towards the end of the day. You might want to practice doings questions/tests by taking a little more time and reading the question and answer choices all the way through -- this way it may become more of a natural behavior, rather than a conscious one that may suffer as you get fatigued and lose concentration.

Regarding the actual test day: is the four hour block before lunch or after lunch?

judd

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Regarding the actual test day: is the four hour block before lunch or after lunch?

judd

There are 7 one-hour blocks. You have 45 minutes of break time, and 15 minutes of tutorial time, which can be added to the break time. You can take breaks and have lunch whenever you wish (but only between blocks, of course). Also, since the extra time from each exam section is added to your available break time, I think most people have plenty of time for breaks during the day. I took 10-15 minute breaks after each section except the first one, and also took a long lunch after the fourth block. I finished the day with 60 min of break time remaining, so it was plenty of time.

 

[elperro]

Try to think of the answer before you look at the choices. Then, you can avoid distractors and think through the question more fully, examining all the pertinents. This can take time, so it may not be doable for the whole test, but it helped me avoid dumb mistakes when I did it. Plus you get faster with practice.
I would also consciously ask myself if X answer was consistent with the clues from the question. It makes you really analyze things more fully. Its kind of a memory jog a lot of times, it makes you say "oh yeah, I remember now." Then at least you have a better idea of what is being asked.
Hope that makes sense. Good luck!

 

[dynx]

It's easy to say that I will be very focused for Step 1. but the key is to have a conscious effort to stay focused and really understand both the question and the answer choices.
Good Luck

Yeah. And the problem is that the extra focus (if applied) will take extra time. You'll throw your timing off and that may get you a little frazzled. Its better to practice actively focusing on every question now so you can get your timing down and a realistic idea of how much time you'll have at the end of the block to review.

 

[nrosigh]

Two ways to reduce stupid mistakes:

1) [quick way] Ask yourself for every answer if the answer you chose makes sense. Briefly reframe the question backwards, to see if the answer you chose leads to what the question stem is asking.

2) [long way] Go through all other answer choices and reason why each of those is an incorrect answer. With these NBME tests, it's important to remember that the distractors are actually part of question, if you know what I mean: Many questions can be solved without the specific knowledge that is being asked, but with a little bit of logic and reason to eliminate the distractors.

 

[mjl1717]

True , you dont want to miss something that you know. I believe it calls for MORE total focus and concentration.

 

[exmike]

Your first hunch is probably the right one

Of "first hunch" answers i have that i go back and change, I'd say 2/3 to 3/4 were orginally correct but I went against my first hunch. So statistically it would have been better to leave my answer.

Basically I'm going to go with the theory that unless I have compelling evidence to change my first hunch on a difficulat problem, I'm not going to change it. Lets hope it works.

 

[ambientbaby]

I am a speed demon with Qbank and NBME. When I reviewed answers, I too found that I made many stupid mistakes and misread some questions. Having taken step 1 a few days ago, I can safely say that THIS BEHAVIOR TRANSLATES TO THE REAL EXAM.

If I do not score well on this exam, this is the reason. This phenomenon is my nemesis. I have a bad habit of glazing over the question the first time. This could be due to my potential ADD. When I made it a point to focus on each question, I would have to rush to finish the block. I needed to keep reminding myself that "This is the real thing. Take your time and focus."

My advice is to practice doing things the right way. Try your hardest not to skim Qbank...at least the week before you take the real thing. Trust me, your bad habits will transfer to the real thing...even if your sympathetics are flowing on test day.

 

[Paws]

This is a great thread, I am taking notes as I read it!

Honestly, I noticed that I also sort of rushed through a Kaplan full length and yet, by the time I got to the last block I was so pooped I just sat back and read every question like it was a bill from the IRS. Kind of tired and kind of mad, but wanting to know exactly what they were saying.

I did awesome in that last block!!! 😱 the other blocks were so-so.

Lesson learned: act like this is the real thing baby and read each question carefully. I know that when I sit through normal three hour exams I am incredibly careful and slow so I am hoping that this rush thru phenom will be temporary. Good thread tho, it's important to be thinking about this.

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Your first hunch is probably the right one

Of "first hunch" answers i have that i go back and change, I'd say 2/3 to 3/4 were orginally correct but I went against my first hunch. So statistically it would have been better to leave my answer.

Basically I'm going to go with the theory that unless I have compelling evidence to change my first hunch on a difficulat problem, I'm not going to change it. Lets hope it works.

This is highly variable though -- definitely not advice everyone should follow. QBank is helpful in this regard because it has statistics on right and wrong answers, and when you changed answers, if you changed them correctly or incorrectly. From looking at my QBank comprehensive results, I saw that when I changed my answers, I was several times more likely to change an incorrect answer to a correct answer than an correct to an incorrect. So based on my tendencies, it is probably advantageous to change an answer when I see fit. Also, if the OP has a tendency to make silly mistakes, he may want to be fairly willing to change his answers if he feels they may be wrong. On the other hand, people who want to change a lot of answers or who are indecisive may want to exercise more restraint. The appropriateness/successfullness of changing answers is highly individual.

 

[lord_jeebus]

This is highly variable though -- definitely not advice everyone should follow. QBank is helpful in this regard because it has statistics on right and wrong answers, and when you changed answers, if you changed them correctly or incorrectly. From looking at my QBank comprehensive results, I saw that when I changed my answers, I was several times more likely to change an incorrect answer to a correct answer than an correct to an incorrect. So based on my tendencies, it is probably advantageous to change an answer when I see fit. Also, if the OP has a tendency to make silly mistakes, he may want to be fairly willing to change his answers if he feels they may be wrong. On the other hand, people who want to change a lot of answers or who are indecisive may want to exercise more restraint. The appropriateness/successfullness of changing answers is highly individual.

Exactly.

I found that when I get the urge to change my answer, both the old and new answers are usually wrong. So I learned to take a step back and consider everything whenever I felt like changing something.

 

[diet_dr_thunder]

Thanks for the great responses guys!