BOTH Class of 2018 Study Thread

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ortnakas

ortnakas

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A lot of us loved our study thread for Step 1, so why not recreate it for Step 2?

I know we won't be thinking hardcore about USMLE/COMLEX until next spring/summer, but figured we could use this for strategizing now, and for shelf exams too.

Paging: @W19 @gobigorgohome22 @Entadus @Ibn Alnafis MD @AlgernonMed @TheShaker @Mad Jack @NontradCA
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apr27 said:
I goofed on these two questions from nbme 6: 1) post operative pain management for a patient in severe pain 2) an old dude trying to start a new exercise regimen, what's the best test. Does first aid or any resource kind of cover these scenarios? thanks!
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Since it's fresh in my mind like 4 days ago....
1. Im assuming you're talking about the pt who had a TAH-BSO? Answer was PCA of morphine.
2. Not sure I agreed with the answer to this question. The answer was cardiac stress test (forgot what I put). He was ~52 but I think had comorbidities of family history of early cardiac problems, diabetes, overweight, etc.
 
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I also tried goljan step 2 audio, but it seemed kinda dated to me. I found myself correcting things in my head as I listened. Also really unorganized in the way the audio was broken down, and as Mel said, lots of background noise. If you're needing help with pathophys, might be worthwhile. No one explains how disease happens like goljan. Otherwise, probably unnecessary, possibly detrimental.

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PianoMedic said:
I also tried goljan step 2 audio, but it seemed kinda dated to me. I found myself correcting things in my head as I listened. Also really unorganized in the way the audio was broken down, and as Mel said, lots of background noise. If you're needing help with pathophys, might be worthwhile. No one explains how disease happens like goljan. Otherwise, probably unnecessary, possibly detrimental.

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How did your test go today?! Congrats on being done!
 
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It went like comlex goes: weird, random, sometimes questioning whether the person who wrote the question understands english. Didn't think there could ever be so much OB/GYN on a single test that wasn't the obgyn comat... Also felt way longer than level 1. The 10+ matching questions at the end of each block on level 1 were a LOT less common. I finished both sessions without having to guess, but didn't have time to fully review the fourth block in either session. First time I've had timing issues with a comsae, comat, or comlex. Having the ten minutes as a set break halfway through each session was awesome, though. Really needed it in the afternoon. One week to step 2! Got a ton of learning to do apparently...

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apr27 said:
I goofed on these two questions from nbme 6: 1) post operative pain management for a patient in severe pain 2) an old dude trying to start a new exercise regimen, what's the best test. Does first aid or any resource kind of cover these scenarios? thanks!
Click to expand...

I think there were a couple of scenarios on uworld the explanations cautioned against undertreatment of pain (due to fear of addiction), can't remember more specifics although one was a pt having a sickle cell crisis
 
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My USMLE is this upcoming Wednesday, and unfortunately my study plans have fallen apart completely. My current rotation is significantly more intense than I was expecting. Got through COMLEX this week, which ate several days prepping omm and then the test itself. I was hoping to be about halfway through a second UW pass as of now, but haven't had time on my current rotation to even begin a second pass. I can either reset the qbank to start a second pass and try to get through a few blocks a day, or try to do my incorrects. With it now completed, overall percentage correct first pass is 79%, Medicine was 79%.

The way I see it, I'm likely to only get through a maximum of a dozen blocks plus two practice tests before I test. COMLEX helped me figure out areas of weakness that really need shoring up before I take the USMLE. So I can either hammer out those UW blocks, or try to just do 2 per day to keep me sharp and work on my weak subjects. (I'm on this weekend for this rotation, so losing a bit of time due to that)

So two questions then: Do I reset UW or do incorrects? Just hammer UW or do less blocks and shore up weak areas? Thanks all!
 
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Took NBME 6 the other day and COMSAE C this morning and passed both of them (was actually pleasantly surprised, score-wise). I have another month before my exams.

I'm still debating if I'm going to take the USMLE or not. Currently planning on going the AOA IM route, so I'm not sure if the benefits of getting a good score (or better than my lackluster Step 1 score) outweigh the risks.
 
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ortnakas said:
Took NBME 6 the other day and COMSAE C this morning and passed both of them (was actually pleasantly surprised, score-wise). I have another month before my exams.

I'm still debating if I'm going to take the USMLE or not. Currently planning on going the AOA IM route, so I'm not sure if the benefits of getting a good score (or better than my lackluster Step 1 score) outweigh the risks.
Click to expand...
You still have plenty of time to increase your score...
 
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W19 said:
I am taking it in October and my advisor told me it won't be a big issue for community and low tier university IM programs...
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That's not too late? I was told that a lot of programs are no longer sending out IIs without a CK score?
 
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recycledpaper said:
That's not too late? I was told that a lot of programs are no longer sending out IIs without a CK score?
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I guess that's a little late... I know someone at my school who got into an IM program in NY without CK/CS scores in during ROL... My advisor told me to apply to ~50 with a 215-220 step1, but I will be applying to ~75 (mostly community programs) to be safe...

I don't know what specialty you are aiming for, so for something ultra competitive, you definitely should have your CK score in Sept 15. But for IM/FM/Path etc..., I think you might have some leeway depending on your step1 score and where you are applying.
 
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W19 said:
I guess that's a little late... I know someone at my school who got into an IM program in NY without CK/CS scores in during ROL... My advisor told me to apply to ~50 with a 215-220 step1, but I will be applying to ~75 (mostly community programs) to be safe...

I don't know what specialty you are aiming for, so for something ultra competitive, you definitely should have your CK score in Sept 15. But for IM/FM/Path etc..., I think you might have some leeway depending on your step1 score and where you are applying.
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October is not late if you are a USMD, you'll be fine with your step 1 score. And i think your selling your self short applying to mostly community programs.

Oh and its actually the opposite for what you say in that second paragraph. Competitive specialties care a lot less about step 2ck and a lot of folks applying to those specialties wait and take step 2ck around october/november.

Also wanted to add that a lot of my friends that are going into IM that did 245 and above on step 1 are waiting until at least September to take step 2ck. Thats what our IM chair/program director recommends, this is at a mid tier USMD school



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recycledpaper said:
That's not too late? I was told that a lot of programs are no longer sending out IIs without a CK score?
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This is total bs. Maybe for IMGs or possibly some DO students. But definitely not for USMD students.


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Is the general consensus that the UWSAs are better than the NBMEs?

And DO peeps-- I know the COMSAEs are generally less than helpful, and I already took C because I had to, but is there any value to taking A or B?

W19 said:
You still have plenty of time to increase your score...
Click to expand...

True, and I appreciate the vote of confidence. Just have to weigh the pros and cons and see if the benefits of doing well on it outweigh the risks of not doing awesome-- especially if I'm probably planning on going the AOA route and I don't know if those programs will see my USMLE scores anyway.
 
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ortnakas said:
Is the general consensus that the UWSAs are better than the NBMEs?

And DO peeps-- I know the COMSAEs are generally less than helpful, and I already took C because I had to, but is there any value to taking A or B?



True, and I appreciate the vote of confidence. Just have to weigh the pros and cons and see if the benefits of doing well on it outweigh the risks of not doing awesome-- especially if I'm probably planning on going the AOA route and I don't know if those programs will see my USMLE scores anyway.
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If I were you I would cancel CK or take it late. You don't need it for ACGME programs, much less for AOA ones. Therefore, it wouldn't be wise to risk a significant score drop for a minimal, theoritical gain.
 
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i was planning on taking step2 end of august, applying IM from a DO school with an above average/decent step 1 score.. won't have it back by sept 15 but definitely before ranking
 
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Ok so I survived. The exam felt like UWSA in the length of the questions. It reminded me of step 1 with some gimmes, a bunch of tough ones and then a few WTF each block. I felt like there were a couple that were beyond the scope of a 3rd/4th year medical student. I had some biostats but nothing crazy. I read secrets to step 2 the 2 days prior to my exam and I felt like it helped me remember some little details from past rotations. So glad I can delete uworld from my phone! COMLEX tomorrow so just going to go over some omm today.
Oh and I didn't have an issue with timing but I never do. If you finish a block early it gets added to your break time.


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MackandBlues said:
Ok so I survived. The exam felt like UWSA in the length of the questions. It reminded me of step 1 with some gimmes, a bunch of tough ones and then a few WTF each block. I felt like there were a couple that were beyond the scope of a 3rd/4th year medical student. I had some biostats but nothing crazy. I read secrets to step 2 the 2 days prior to my exam and I felt like it helped me remember some little details from past rotations. So glad I can delete uworld from my phone! COMLEX tomorrow so just going to go over some omm today.
Oh and I didn't have an issue with timing but I never do. If you finish a block early it gets added to your break time.


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Click to expand...

Took it yesterday. IIRC blocks 2-4 were insane for me. I remember eating my sandwich at lunch looking like a sad sad man. The afternoon blocks were better. They were more like Uworld with a few gimmes. I really hate myself for changing an answer to the wrong one at that end.
 
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Ouch... @AshNiffler: Wish I had your form. I marked up over half of each of my blocks. Actual thought during my lunch break: "Did the USMLE decide to start using COMLEX style questions?" Everything seemed either very vague or had terrible answer choices. Occasionally both. COMLEX at least had the advantage of having easy questions, matching sets and omm to break it up...

Oh, and I had 318 too.

And just saw you switched your post to the experiences thread... My bad.
 
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ortnakas said:
Took NBME 6 the other day and COMSAE C this morning and passed both of them (was actually pleasantly surprised, score-wise). I have another month before my exams.

I'm still debating if I'm going to take the USMLE or not. Currently planning on going the AOA IM route, so I'm not sure if the benefits of getting a good score (or better than my lackluster Step 1 score) outweigh the risks.
Click to expand...

Not sure how IM views Step 2. It's very important for EM so I took it. Have to wait and see how it turns out, but can confirm: it's brutal. I'm questioning whether I passed, as I had upwards of 10 questions per block where I'd have 2+ possible answers after my first pass through the questions. I would ask around with upperclassmen at your school that went IM and see how Step 2 was viewed if they did/did not take it.
 
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PianoMedic said:
Not sure how IM views Step 2. It's very important for EM so I took it. Have to wait and see how it turns out, but can confirm: it's brutal. I'm questioning whether I passed, as I had upwards of 10 questions per block where I'd have 2+ possible answers after my first pass through the questions. I would ask around with upperclassmen at your school that went IM and see how Step 2 was viewed if they did/did not take it.
Click to expand...

I think that most people feel the way you feel after the exam. I came out thinking I failed.
 
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Took NBME 6 today (offline). Missed 26 questions, so that puts me somewhere between 230 and 235. I am kinda troubled with this. I was hoping for a better score giving that I have done 1.7x passes of UW. I have a little more than 3 weeks till my exam. I seriously contemplating not taking the test and just stick with COMLEX. Scoring 230's after scoring 250's on step1 would suck.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Took NBME 6 today (offline). Missed 26 questions, so that puts me somewhere between 230 and 235. I am kinda troubled with this. I was hoping for a better score giving that I have done 1.7x passes of UW. I have a little more than 3 weeks till my exam. I seriously contemplating not taking the test and just stick with COMLEX. Scoring 230's after scoring 250's on step1 would suck.
Click to expand...
Take form 2 of the UWSA and see how you feel. I think that was like the exam more than the NBME I took. I also have classmates who said that one was the most predictive of their score.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Took NBME 6 today (offline). Missed 26 questions, so that puts me somewhere between 230 and 235. I am kinda troubled with this. I was hoping for a better score giving that I have done 1.7x passes of UW. I have a little more than 3 weeks till my exam. I seriously contemplating not taking the test and just stick with COMLEX. Scoring 230's after scoring 250's on step1 would suck.
Click to expand...

I know I'm leaning toward making that call, but I don't think you should decide quite yet-- you just started dedicated this week, right? Do some review and take the UWSAs and see how you feel. I think you have room to go up.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Took NBME 6 today (offline). Missed 26 questions, so that puts me somewhere between 230 and 235. I am kinda troubled with this. I was hoping for a better score giving that I have done 1.7x passes of UW. I have a little more than 3 weeks till my exam. I seriously contemplating not taking the test and just stick with COMLEX. Scoring 230's after scoring 250's on step1 would suck.
Click to expand...

I would take the UWSA's if I were you and put more stock in the score you obtain from them. My NMBE's were all 10 to 20 points lower than my UWSA. Got my score back yesterday and my UWSA was within 2 pts (I scored higher). Just my two cents, but I don't think the NBME's are reliable for step 2
 
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The difference one week of dedicated makes is huge. Part of it is due to learning material, part is due to just getting into groove of doing questions.

Consider the NBME 6 as your baseline, and just plug away. If you are scoring <250 one week away, maybe consider postponing or canceling altogether.
 
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Thank you everyone.

NBME 6 was a very easy test imo. However it was also easy to miss few qs, especially if you aren't careful. I went back and realized that half of the qs I missed were due to my carelessness.

I'll reset my UW today (feeling a little nostalgic about it), and do 3-4 blocks a day. Then I'll be doing an assessment every 5 days until my test. Next assessment will be NBME 4 on Monday.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Took NBME 6 today (offline). Missed 26 questions, so that puts me somewhere between 230 and 235. I am kinda troubled with this. I was hoping for a better score giving that I have done 1.7x passes of UW. I have a little more than 3 weeks till my exam. I seriously contemplating not taking the test and just stick with COMLEX. Scoring 230's after scoring 250's on step1 would suck.
Click to expand...
Well, take another one a week before the actual exam and if you score <245, you should let your step1 score do the talking...
 
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OK Last 3 days Home stretch (taking it Monday)

NBME 6: 213 (2.5 wks out)
2300 UWQ's FP: 65% (2.5 wks thru Now)
UWSA1: 255 (1 wk out)

Havnt touched OME, 2nd Pass UW, Incorrects, or FA.

Suggestions on what to do with the last few days?

Also does anyone have simple strategy on how to approach the marketing Qs? I pretty much always get them wrong and never find exactly what the question is asking about the pamphlet unless I spend like 3min+ looking (obviously a no-go)

Thanks!
 
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PennDippody said:
OK Last 3 days Home stretch (taking it Monday)

NBME 6: 213 (2.5 wks out)
2300 UWQ's FP: 65% (2.5 wks thru Now)
UWSA1: 255 (1 wk out)

Havnt touched OME, 2nd Pass UW, Incorrects, or FA.

Suggestions on what to do with the last few days?

Also does anyone have simple strategy on how to approach the marketing Qs? I pretty much always get them wrong and never find exactly what the question is asking about the pamphlet unless I spend like 3min+ looking (obviously a no-go)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I only had one. My strategy = save it for last and use whatever time I had left for it. Otherwise I'd literally spend 5+ minutes staring at it.

A friend of mine said he did the same thing and never had time left at the end. Ended up guessing on all of them and still got a 270.
 
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