Behavioral Sciences for USMLE Step 1

[Discobolus]

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I just got back my grade report for the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Examination and my behavioral sciences score was so bad that it exceeded the chart and had an asterisk next to it. I'm really confused by this because I thought the behavioral science questions on the test were really easy and straightforward. They were mostly of the "what to say next" variety with some biostatistics sprinkled in.

Did I really do that bad or is the curve on this stuff just really, really steep (eg. one gets 80% right but is still at the 10th percentile)?

The other possibility is that the neuroanatomy questions were also considered behavioral sciences and I know I really need to brush up on that stuff.

Overall I was pretty happy with my score (I was in the top 15% of my class), and it looks like a 240+ will be possible with studying, but the behavioral sciences score really threw me.

 

[Stinger86]

I just got back my grade report for the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Examination and my behavioral sciences score was so bad that it exceeded the chart and had an asterisk next to it. I'm really confused by this because I thought the behavioral science questions on the test were really easy and straightforward. They were mostly of the "what to say next" variety with some biostatistics sprinkled in.

Did I really do that bad or is the curve on this stuff just really, really steep (eg. one gets 80% right but is still at the 10th percentile)?

The other possibility is that the neuroanatomy questions were also considered behavioral sciences and I know I really need to brush up on that stuff.

Overall I was pretty happy with my score (I was in the top 15% of my class), and it looks like a 240+ will be possible with studying, but the behavioral sciences score really threw me.

Well, there are a couple of possible explanations

1) You felt that a lot of the "what would you say next" were easy, but a lot of them can seem simple but in fact be tricky/picky.

2) I'm not sure if neuroscience stuff is included in the behavioral score, but if you're right, that would probably explain things

Also, (not really explanations)
3) I don't think biostatistics is considered "behavioral science" on the boards, at least not for our year. Our BS NBME was purely psychology, psychiatry, and "what do you say" questions-- not a single epidemiology question.
4) Also, of the above, at least 50-60% of our shelf tested how you would handle situations and what you would say to patients.

Explanation 2 is more likely than 1, I would think. Just remember #4 and #1 when you take the shelf at the end of this year. The content bias shocked the hell out of a lot of people in my class

 

[Discobolus]

I hear our BS course does not prepare us well at all for the shelf exam? Of course I've attended a grand total of 2 lectures and still have an A in there. I guess I'm going to spend the next 2 weeks memorizing the Behavioral Science BRS and doing as many "real" questions as possible.

Well, there are a couple of possible explanations

1) You felt that a lot of the "what would you say next" were easy, but a lot of them can seem simple but in fact be tricky/picky.

2) I'm not sure if neuroscience stuff is included in the behavioral score, but if you're right, that would probably explain things

Also, (not really explanations)
3) I don't think biostatistics is considered "behavioral science" on the boards, at least not for our year. Our BS NBME was purely psychology, psychiatry, and "what do you say" questions-- not a single epidemiology question.
4) Also, of the above, at least 50-60% of our shelf tested how you would handle situations and what you would say to patients.

Explanation 2 is more likely than 1, I would think. Just remember #4 and #1 when you take the shelf at the end of this year. The content bias shocked the hell out of a lot of people in my class

 

[Chandler]

I just got back my grade report for the NBME Comprehensive Basic Science Examination and my behavioral sciences score was so bad that it exceeded the chart and had an asterisk next to it. I'm really confused by this because I thought the behavioral science questions on the test were really easy and straightforward. They were mostly of the "what to say next" variety with some biostatistics sprinkled in.

Did I really do that bad or is the curve on this stuff just really, really steep (eg. one gets 80% right but is still at the 10th percentile)?

The other possibility is that the neuroanatomy questions were also considered behavioral sciences and I know I really need to brush up on that stuff.

Overall I was pretty happy with my score (I was in the top 15% of my class), and it looks like a 240+ will be possible with studying, but the behavioral sciences score really threw me.

I had the same problem on NBME form B. I bombed behavioral science (barely above bordeline performance). I bought the book by Barbara Fadem called Behavioral Science in medicine as a reference book. The book is in prose rather than outline form that plagues most review books. Here is the link below. Browse through it at a bookstore, you might find it useful. If you use BRS Behavioral Science or High Yield Behavioral Science it might be a nice reference book to look up concepts for clarification since it is by the same author.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...9/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0260810-1431254

Good luck

 

[Pox in a box]

I had the same problem on NBME form B. I bombed behavioral science (barely above bordeline performance). I bought the book by Barbara Fadem called Behavioral Science in medicine as a reference book. The book is in prose rather than outline form that plagues most review books. Here is the link below. Browse through it at a bookstore, you might find it useful. If you use BRS Behavioral Science or High Yield Behavioral Science it might be a nice reference book to look up concepts for clarification since it is by the same author.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...9/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0260810-1431254

Good luck

What other alternatives are there to BRS and HY?

 

[Stinger86]

I hear our BS course does not prepare us well at all for the shelf exam? Of course I've attended a grand total of 2 lectures and still have an A in there. I guess I'm going to spend the next 2 weeks memorizing the Behavioral Science BRS and doing as many "real" questions as possible.

Behavioral Science, as taught by our school, is completely worthless when it comes to the shelf exam. You could study BRS Behavioral Science for one week and pass the shelf exam easily without having ever set a foot in class or having read a single powerpoint slide.

Sad but true: At the end of the course, when filling out evals, most of our class commented on how 90% of the lectures in BS were useless and totally off-topic from the NBME/Step exams and that the course needs to be refocused and/or reworked, and yet, was anything done about it?

 

[Chandler]

Behavioral Science, as taught by our school, is completely worthless when it comes to the shelf exam. You could study BRS Behavioral Science for one week and pass the shelf exam easily without having ever set a foot in class or having read a single powerpoint slide.

Sad but true: At the end of the course, when filling out evals, most of our class commented on how 90% of the lectures in BS were useless and totally off-topic from the NBME/Step exams and that the course needs to be refocused and/or reworked, and yet, was anything done about it?

I think most schools have this same problem. The fundamental dichotomy seems to be that a medical school's main goal is to prepare students for M3 and M4 with "relevant" basic science material i.e. behavioral science lectures to prepare for psychiatry rotation. On the other hand, majority of the student's main goal is to pass (184) or excel (260+) on Step 1. Therefore, this discord frustrates many students. The chief argument of the students seem to be that the material we are forced to memorize is not NBME/USMLE relevant. However, the faculty's response is that teaching for just the USMLE is extremely short sighted, and the goal should be to attain a broad basic science foundation for M3 and M4. The faculty's philosophy has one major flaw though, because there are some topics that are NEVER discussed in lecture but is highly tested on NBME exams (one reason I don't buy the argument that JUST studying hard in coursework is helpful for the boards).

This is why it is very important for each student to be proactive and figure out what stuff is Board Relevant on their own. I'm just lucky I found out about SDN, so I won't have to worry about this problem.

 

[Discobolus]

I looked at some of the questions at the end of the BRS Behavioral Science chapter on patient communication and I'm starting to think they were not as easy as I thought they were. It seems like there is sort of a set of "rules" and if you can learn those it will be very high yield. Of course the rules seemed to change from question to question.

 

[Stinger86]

I looked at some of the questions at the end of the BRS Behavioral Science chapter on patient communication and I'm starting to think they were not as easy as I thought they were. It seems like there is sort of a set of "rules" and if you can learn those it will be very high yield. Of course the rules seemed to change from question to question.

The mistake a lot of people make about those kinds of questions is that they're "common sense" and you don't need to study for them. Sadly, many of the principles are anything but, and often the correct answer is completely opposite from what would seem correct and/or consistent with common sense.

It's good that you've got BRS Behavioral though.... that book, along with BRS Path and BRS Physio, were by far my favorite resources for the Step. Very organized and well written 👍

 

[HiddenTruth]

I looked at some of the questions at the end of the BRS Behavioral Science chapter on patient communication and I'm starting to think they were not as easy as I thought they were. It seems like there is sort of a set of "rules" and if you can learn those it will be very high yield. Of course the rules seemed to change from question to question.

Those rules definately seem "common sense". But, I still don't think knowing those rules will allow you to answer some of thoese behav questions. The rules are pretty straight forward, but the patient scenarios and "what would u do" questions are definately harder than the review books make them seem. At least that was my experience with both the behav sci shelf and cbse.

 

[streetdoc]

Our BS shelf is right around the corner. I thought it was supposed to be more about pathophys? someone reccommended pre-test pathophys to me...
any thoughts on pre-test vs. HY vs. BRS from those who have taken it?
thanks,
streetdoc

 

[Stinger86]

Our BS shelf is right around the corner. I thought it was supposed to be more about pathophys? someone reccommended pre-test pathophys to me...
any thoughts on pre-test vs. HY vs. BRS from those who have taken it?
thanks,
streetdoc

BRS Behavioral Science worked beautifully for us (or HY Behavioral if you don't want the questions for some reason).

I hate pretest across the board, but that's a personal thing

 

[ispic]

Our BS shelf is right around the corner. I thought it was supposed to be more about pathophys? someone reccommended pre-test pathophys to me...
any thoughts on pre-test vs. HY vs. BRS from those who have taken it?
thanks,
streetdoc

Hi,

just took the BS shelf yesterday, WOW the BRS was right on the money. the test also definitely followed right along with the NBME objectives posted on their site. good luck on the exam, streetdoc. 👍

 

[streetdoc]

Thanks you guys!
i'm heading to the bookstore now to exchange my HY for BRS! i love questions.
streetdoc

 

[NIQ]

On my practice exam the BS score was pretty atrocious as well. It seems for the scenario questions I can't find a proper way to study for them. Our school focused on all the development theories, etc. So I'm trying my best to get through BRS Psych right now.