Compiled Step one Experiences

[Jalby]

Hey guys. This is a thread to post individual step 1 experiences. Like what was on it, how you felt going into it, what books you used, what was helpfull, what was not. Basically anything you think would be helpfull to other students. Post your own thread so that you can get the congratulations you deserve and answer any questions, but please just cut and paste that experience onto this thread so it will be around for years. Thank you very much.

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[ytiffwang]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum , so can you please tell me where to find the 2004 FA Errata? I will appreciate very much.

 

[HiddenTruth]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum , so can you please tell me where to find the 2004 FA Errata? I will appreciate very much.

SEARCH my friend, search--there is a thread with all the erratas

 

[C-GAR]

Took my test on Friday and am so happy that I never have to do that again. The actual test was not so bad, it was the stress and anticipation that we go through in preparing and fretting over it. The last two weeks I did not study anywhere outside of my house because I just couldn't take the sight and sounds of other medical students stressing about this test. If I could have done it all over again, I would have prepared the same way, but been much more relaxed, because the test was very fair, and I truly believe people get what they deserve.

I started to write all about the sources I used and how I studied, and realized it was pretty much a mix of what most everyone else did, so I just deleted it. If anyone has a question, feel free to message me, I know I asked tons of questions and appreciated advice others gave me, so I would like to help others as well.

One bit of advice, If you have the time, get Goljan Audio and take notes. I ended up with about 160 pages of notes, and some of the stuff I had never seen before, and it did end up on my test.

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[samyjay]

So is anyone else having these attacks, i finished my exam on thursday, vowed not to look up any answers, but it sucks, i woke up this morning and three questions in which i had narrowed the answer down to two choices popped in my head. So, stupid google called my name and i looked them up, low and behold, i got them wrong. then i remembered more questions, looked them up, once again, i picked the wrong answer. I felt ok leaving the test, but now i am really doubting my perfomence, i just hope everything works out in the end

 

[nofear]

So is anyone else having these attacks, i finished my exam on thursday, vowed not to look up any answers, but it sucks, i woke up this morning and three questions in which i had narrowed the answer down to two choices popped in my head. So, stupid google called my name and i looked them up, low and behold, i got them wrong. then i remembered more questions, looked them up, once again, i picked the wrong answer. I felt ok leaving the test, but now i am really doubting my perfomence, i just hope everything works out in the end

sorry to hear that bro...why dont you tell us what they were exactly so we dont feel like that afterwards....lol jk i am sure you got everything else right..no worries

 

[CaptMorgan]

Just finished my usmle today. Whew I'm done!
I felt the test was fair and not too many unexpected topics. It didnt seem like there was a lot of biochem but too much genetics for me.

Regardless, this was much easier than the comlex. 2 days-worth almost killed me last week.

Good luck everyone.

 

[bulletproof]

Just finished my usmle today. Whew I'm done!
I felt the test was fair and not too many unexpected topics. It didnt seem like there was a lot of biochem but too much genetics for me.

Regardless, this was much easier than the comlex. 2 days-worth almost killed me last week.

Good luck everyone.

hopefully you did really well. I am sitting mine in about ten weeks. I have taken the advice of the big guns on here and picked up HY cell and molecular bio. I also plan to go through Kaplans biochem. With regard to your test...how was this material repesented, and how did you/would you recommend to prepare? All feedback welcome. thnx in advance.

 

[joshua_msu]

Wish me luck. Im taking the plunge tomorrow. Ill let you all know how it goes.

 

[allylz]

good luck! you'll survive, i know it!

 

[HiddenTruth]

Wish me luck. Im taking the plunge tomorrow. Ill let you all know how it goes.

All the best! I am sure you'll do great!

 

[guarana]

best of luck--you'll do great

 

[bulletproof]

Wish me luck. Im taking the plunge tomorrow. Ill let you all know how it goes.

Good luck fellow SDNer...

 

[opus03]

Just finished my usmle today. Whew I'm done!
I felt the test was fair and not too many unexpected topics. It didnt seem like there was a lot of biochem but too much genetics for me.

I just finished yesterday as well...and I agree with you, not too many unexpected topics. I unfortunately did have (what seemed like) a lot of biochem questions and some of the most obscure embryo questions anyone could ever come up with!! Oh well, I'm just glad it's over and it was definitely survivable!! I followed a lot of the advice on here and used the same books as everyone else....so thank you to everyone for posting!
Good luck to everyone yet to take it!

 

[DoubleL]

I just finished yesterday as well...and I agree with you, not too many unexpected topics. I unfortunately did have (what seemed like) a lot of biochem questions and some of the most obscure embryo questions anyone could ever come up with!! Oh well, I'm just glad it's over and it was definitely survivable!! I followed a lot of the advice on here and used the same books as everyone else....so thank you to everyone for posting!
Good luck to everyone yet to take it!

Okay, I'll add my voice to the crowd here too...

I just took Step 1 today, and man... The MCAT was long, but I'm exhausted.

All in all, I felt that it was really a fair test. Like others have said, I had a fair share of questions that were one line long and really straight forward. A couple of them were charts that a third grader could read and answer correctly - made me second guess myself a couple of times. Lots of up-and-down-arrow questions, but the topics tested were all common (like, parathyroids destroyed in thyroidectomy, what happens? duh!). Also a few questions with words I had never heard of before. Just guessed and moved on.

The blocks varied in difficulty and content. The first few I had were okay, then they got really easy, then the last one had like ten neuroanatomy questions that I'm sure I got slammed on. So I ended on a down note, but ah well...

Breakdown: lots of behavioral science. Many study design questions, all straight forward. Some odds ratio calculation. Many "what do you say next", most were easy but some... I just narrowed it down to two and guessed. Don't know how you can study for that stuff. Path was all pretty straightforward stuff - a few oddballs, but mostly easy stuff. Almost no embryo (thank god). Fair amount of anatomy, most straight forward, but again some that I had no idea. Lots of immuno, but if you know your cytokines from FA, I felt that was enough. Pharm was also straightforward - common reactions (like drug induced SLE). There were no "which drug from this class?" would you use - if there was a questions about adrenergics, it would be a beta-blocker, an alpha agonist, etc. Biochem - more concept oriented than pathway oriented (like, patient is fasting, what's in his blood?), but I did have a couple of straight pathway questions. Not a single Fabry's Disease or sphingolipidosis which I was ready for, the bastards! Microbio - again, nothing that wasn't in FA and Ridiculously simple. One virus question about single/double stranded DNA/RNA in some odd virus. No trematodes or loa loa or praziquantel, so don't waste your time memorizing that stuff!

Should I say "straight forward" one more time?

Many questions were long - I highly recommend reading the last line first on the long ones with patient data. You can save a lot of time that way.

As for what I used... Qbank was my main study tool. I did every question in tutor mode and wrote every explanation that I didn't understand into FA (including all the wrong answer choices). The feeling seems to be mixed around here but I definitely felt like the actual test was easier than Qbank. The questions on the actual test just seemed... more concept oriented than detail oriented. Qbank is good as a study tool (like, I picked up that Cri du Chat is a 5p syndrome, and sure enough...!), but I think it would be hard to figure a correlation. Since I used it mainly to as a study tool, I didn't worry too much about my percentage.

Other books: I also used HY Gross, HY Embryo, HY Behavioral, Ridiculously Simple. No BRS Path (heresy around here, I know, but it's overkill in my estimation). Listened to Goljan's audio. Then spent the last week reviewing FA (in excrutiating detail - I mean, I literally opened it and started reading - if I didn't remember some fact, I scribbled it on a piece of paper. I ended up with over a ream of paper with notes when I was done, but [for me] I don't remember something unless I write it down with my own hand) and Goljan's HY 100 pages - which I highly, highly recommend. I had many questions that were right out of it - as in, "earthquake in California... " Others have said it, and it's true - the man knows his USMLE!

I won't post my scores, because they are essentially useless until I know how I did!

Good luck everyone, it's a long day but it isn't that bad, and it feels so great to be done!

LL

 

[VJWDO]

Just finished USMLE today and I gotta say that I feel pretty good. Will have to wait and see what the scores are, but all in all the test wasn't bad. I swear that I got hypoparathyroidism due to accisental excision post thyroidectomy like 10 times, and each time had parasthesias and tingling lips in the stem. The hardest stuff for me was the gene/biochem crap. That was the worst. I had a ton of Buzzwords which I had heard would not happen. I am talking blue sclera, kind of buzzwords, awesome!!!

After having completed the Comlex and USMLE I must say that I thought the Comlex was harder. They both tested on the same things, but the comlex had such vague and difficult stems that I wanted to blow my head off. This test was just more doable.

I used FA, BRS physio and path, Step up and high yield behavioral for light reading. That is it. I studied 5 hours a day for roughly 1 month, but I kicked butt all through first and second year, so reviewing was pretty easy. I am only hoping for like a 220 though so not a big gunner. I just did the bare minimum to hopefully reach my goal

Good luck to all who have to take it still and don't worry, I went into the test completely refreshed and with plenty of sleep and it totally helped.

will let you all know how I did a few weeks

 

[dynx]

Just finished it up. Had to say that overall it was pretty much easier than I expected. I think I could have studied about half as much and done just as well. The thing is the questions are mostly pretty easy, then about 10% are a challenge, and I got about 1 or 2 a block that were straight the F*ck out of left field...for example, dust off those old organic chemistry books and refresh your memories on the cleavage of diazo couplings...yep, thats right, I didn't see that one coming at all! (I didn't bother to look and see if maybe its burried in a side note in FA cause im pretty sure its not). So the moral of the story is there is some wack crap on this test that nobody is going to get right. My quick and dirty advice is to focus on the big ideas like there is no tomorrow and try not to sweat the small stuff. I'll type up a more detailed analysis tomorrow but for now I have to hit the bars. To all of you still studying....HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!! Just kidding, good luck.

 

[Flintstone]

Thanks for sharing and Congratulations on being done

Anyone has renal calculations on their version? Or Rx clearance?

 

[4424]

Hi everyone. Just finished up today, finally! Overall, I thought it was a lot better than I anticipated. Probably irrespectice of my score, it was a very fair exam. Doing a lot of questions helped me the most, I"m pretty sure I saw some of the similar questions at some point.

I had no equations that I had to solve and no formulas from pulm or renal or anything. I feel as if I knew a lot more than what was tested and not sure if I knew the basics as must as they asked.

Let's see, I used BRS path (knew well) and phys (sparingly), High Yield histo, molec cell and neuro, and FIrst Aid. I also used Step 1 made ridiculously easy just as a refresher at night. It has some good charts, nothing that amazing but good to flip through after u know all the details from another source. I did lots of questions.

I had quite a bit of anatomy, nothing that impossible but I thought Qbank Anatomy covered it all for it. Lots of MRIs for neuro but nothing beyond High Yield. Biochem I really didn't notice that much. The genetics were definitely there, I recommend High Yield Molec like everyone else, but some of it was just hard. Micro was very basic, no strange parasite that i never heard of,etc. BehSci/Biostats were straightforward..tons of what the dr would say to the patient if..Pharm had its moments. Lots of drug x and drug y are__ with pictures. Path was a few buzzwords here and there and lots of pathophys that I hope I got right.

Overall it was a fair test that I hope I knew the basics well enough for. I felt that I knew more than they were asking but I didn't know the basic at some times that were quite frustrating. I even blanked out who made the cytokine for fever I think i recovered though good luck to all!

 

[opus03]

Thanks for sharing and Congratulations on being done

Anyone has renal calculations on their version? Or Rx clearance?

yeah i had a creatinine clearance where they had messed up all of the units and one ? on how much drug would be left in the body after certain time period. Nothing too difficult though.

 

[JCserver3]

For calculation type questions, would I be allowed to use paper and pencil or do I have to do the math in my head?

Thanks.

 

[Flintstone]

You will be given a soft tip felt pen to write on some erasable laminated "paper". They give you an eraser as well. At least that was how it went for me during my practice test.

 

[Flintstone]

Lots of drug x and drug y are__ with pictures.

I hope they are not chemical structure!

 

[me454555]

Took the USMLE today. Overall I had a fair test. Not really heavily weighted either way. Had a bunch of real hard embryo but the rest was pretty fair. More anatomy than I expected but most of it came from FA. I thought all the facts were in FA but again its not what you know, its how you think and applay the facts. Goljan was money for a bunch of Qs and I highly recommend listening to his lectures. Q bank was pretty accurate to what I saw on my exam. Let's hope I did well.

 

[4424]

I hope they are not chemical structure!

that would've made the day so much more interesting. no no, it was the graph kind with an inc/dec in BP then give drug Y now and inc/dec of BP,etc

 

[hoptoit]

i don't know if i had some really hard version or if i'm just dumber than everyone else on this forum but i thought the test was a lot tougher than i expected. i had a bunch of really long experimental based questions (let's say we gave one mouse this gene and another this other gene... etc) that were complicated and gave me a headache to read. i didn't have much cell or biochem or embryo which i guess is good but at least those tend to be more straightforward. the path questions were so clinical based that i don't think i'll really learn those answers until residency. having first aid in front of me wouldn't have changed more than a couple of my answers. i would have needed google to look up stuff. i even had drugs that weren't in first aid - i definitely wasn't expecting that. again, this forum might just be full of way above average people but i'm at a pretty top school near the top of my class and i studied for 4 weeks and did all that people say you should do yet i have no idea if i passed. so i just thought i'd put that out there since i keep reading about how fair the test was and how everyone thinks they did well. good luck everyone.

 

[guitarguy]

I took the exam this week. My final conclusion is that it felt to me like a standardized exam. What I mean is that all my studying in the past month probably did not make a significant impact on my score. The test items I was sure of, any student spending 2 years in medical school would have no problem answering. Then there were questions I had no clue -- asking about concepts I had never come across and would never have learned even if I spent a decade studying for step 1. But most of the questions were in the middle and required thinking about topics in new and creative ways. Many of these I was able to reason my way to an answer, and I just hope that my reasoning was valid.

Like standardized tests are supposed to, I felt that most of step 1 is testing our ability to think....not merely rugurgitating facts. So, the very most important thing is to arrive to the exam with a clear and well-rested mind. I highly suggest not studying the day before. The chances of you actually studying something that will appear on the exam are slim.

Looking back at my exam, it seems like 90% of it covered second year material. I had very little anatomy, physiology, histology,etc. I felt Q bank was valuable, and several almost identical questions appeared on my exam. But again, when you're dealing with a 350 item exam, even several extra questions correct isn't all that significant.

So, again, all in all, this is a thinking exam. Don't stress yourself out studying, or do anything to risk burning out. I think the chances of you hurting your score this way exceed any chance to increase your score. Looking back at the books I used when studying, first aid without a doubt tops the list. Goljan audio was helpful in that he stresses how to approach the thought process involved in answering questions...but don't count on many of his questions showing up on the real thing. Also, I was surprised that several of my questions contained "buzzwords" that lead me right to the answer.

Twice, I was given an almost identical question two times on different blocks. You would think their "test generating system" would be sophisticated enough to prevent things like that. Also, in one block the answer to one question appeared in the stem of a question just a few items later. I also had one identical question to that of one appearing in the free step 1 150 item practice exam.

 

[katieb]

Took it yesterday. I am somewhere between the last poster ('hoptoit') and the ones that say it's easy. Here are my random thoughts:

- Some questions were giveaways, like person with elev T4 and exophthalmos, what disease? Maybe I missed something, who knows.
- Some questions, sure, read HY Micro, Histo, but also make sure you get a couple of PhDs in molecular biology before you attempt to answer them
- Even distribution, I didn't feel like there were too many of one subject. Then again, my theory is that people report more questions in the subject in which they are weakest in. Perhaps I'm weak all across the board?
- True, lots of up and down arrows. Know your hormones. I repeat. Know your hormones.
- Lots of scenarios with MRIs or CTs, where is the lesion? Do look at some brain atlas and abdomen MRIs.
- A few Km, Vmax graphs, and also a few Oxygen Dissociation Curvers. FA stuff.
- Arm and leg anatomy more than any other anatomy. I think others have reported the same thing. Also some lung anatomy (which lobe gets punctured at what level type of stuff).
- Drugs: Many were in the form: person was on X, Y, Z. He recently started taking A, B. He now has the following symptoms. What drugs caused it.
- Drugs: Many were simply in the form: person develops the following symptoms after taking drug X, what was drug X?
- Drugs: Some where, how does drug X work?
- Drugs: Some where, get a PhD in Pharmacology, please.
- Most of the exam was path, pathophys. Very little phys without path. Some easy some hard. I hate the breasts and reproductive organs. Don't quote me on that.
- Behavioral: Lots of what do you do next questions. And this kills me: it's easy to rule out most answers ("You tell the patient you hate them and never want to see them again."), then down to two. And I didn't know how to prepare for that before, and I don't have any advice after.
- Random stuff: no HLA (I knew them all, including A1, damnit), only one translocation, but you didn't need it to get the answer (again, I knew them all). Biochem: almost no pathways, but lots of "kid comes in with this symptom", what is the missing enzyme. Embryo, a few derivatives (ex. MRI shows A-E, which is from neural crest). Only one "what type of study is this."

Step1 vs. Qbank. I know everybody says Qbank is harder, and that's what I was expecting, but no. It was about equal, maybe even harder for Step 1 because of the pressure. I always ended my 50q random blocks on Qbank with 15min to spare. Whereas here I barely had time to go back and review marked items on some blocks. In retrospect I missed an "easy" stats question b/c I didn't have time to go back.

Some blocks were easier, some were really hard, as in many questions in a row where you're just like WTF. Get ready for that, and move on.

True, know FA cold is the best advice. Then, BRS Path, Phys, BS. HY for the rest.

Best of luck to those still climbing.

 

[allylz]

hi all! i finished today, just wanted to say thank you.

especially for the Step 1 minutia thread which I worked on memorizing and got several questions from that, and then probably got another bunch of questions from the high-yield associations at the end of First Aid, especially the autoimmune anti-whatever antibodies.

I loved the Goljan lectures and highly recommend them to anyone. We bought the Goljan Rapid Review Pathology Book and it's great because it's got all the stuff he talks about in the order he talks about it (except some of his tangential non-path stuff) and that stuff really is on the boards.
Also doing lots of Qbank questions was really helpful, I felt the difficulty level was really similar and made the test so much more doable. plus the questions are designed for teaching you things when you review the answers. I would definitely advise people not to get any lesser question bank. Qbank is worth the money and the NBME self-assessment is worth double the money. the NBME CBSSA was like the best thing I did while studying, I had questions directly from that, the 150 practice Qs, and Qbank as well.

Things you need to know that are NOT in First Aid!
Know more about HIV - not just p24 and gp120, know more, and know the HAART mechanisms and side effects.
also, need to know which vaccinations are attenuated viruses/bacteria and which are surface antigens and stuff like how to make a vaccine, what an adjuvant is.
also, West Nile virus, had 2 questions on that, they were easy but then again I knew about West Nile beforehand and didn't need to review that.

by the way I thought it was a great strategy to do 5 blocks before lunch, but then again I am a fast exam taker so at that point it was only 1pm and I hadn't gotten completely hypoglycemic yet.


hope that's helpful. good luck!

 

[Flintstone]

Also finished today! Wanted to thank you all and this forum. Although I don't come here often but it is just good to know people are out there like me, worrying and trying....

Anyways, I think the distribution of questions is balanced, except on microbiology. I may perhaps have 5 micro, that's all, and micro is my strong field!

I believe that this exam is a fair exam although I do not think it is easy at all. I was thinking of postponing the test but didn't, and after today, I realized that it wouldn't make any difference. As many have said, they test you how well you know your concept and being able to think your way backwards. I think of it as like playing chess, you can't go by just knowing the rules.

On my version, there are very few rare diseases, except those concerning mucopolysach and metabolic diseases. There are virtually no pure Physio Qs. Most of what I have are Pathophysio mixed with either Biochem or Pharm. I did get pathways Qs on Biochem. I got maybe about 10 pure Pharm Qs; 10 pure Anatomy Qs and maybe 2 mole bio; a bunch of biostats and beh sci.

I think understanding the physiology and how a disease presents are the 2 most important things to beat this test. And, of course, doing Qbank. As for Goljan, none of his High Yield showed up on my test but the notes did point out some important areas to focus on. Goljan's notes and audio helped me most in applying pathophysio concepts clinically. His audio lectures are really really good. If I had time, I would re-read his notes (I read both his pdf notes and book, I think the pdf version is better but it is more detailed and not as organized, hence not good for last minute reviewing).

If I were to study for this again, I would start with the Kaplan set (but do not use their Path book, use Goljan's). Kaplan's webprep is really good as well. However they do not cover everything and while some lecturers are really engaging, some are just boring. The biochem webprep actually helps me answer about 3 biochem Qs. Not that the information are not in the Kaplan book but it just sink in more when someone is saying it to me. But, do not use the webprep as the main study tool, it only helped me AFTER I read the Kaplan book. My opinion for FA is mixed. I think I find it very very useful only after I finished reading the set of Kaplan books and Goljan lectures. I do not suggest to start your studying with First Aid unless you are a top student in class or already have a very solid background (I wasted my spring break on FA). But then, FA is a must because everyone is using it; and it is a near perfect summary of whatever we need to know. But truthfully, I don't think anyone posting here is relying on FA only I think it really helps if a person is well read and is always interested in asking how, why and what, etc. during the first 2 years of med school.

My weakest area is Pharm. I used Kaplan and Pharmacology for Boards and Wards + FA and Qbank. My biggest mistake is to not focus on Qbank. Because this is my weakest field, it is very hard for me to beat the fear of giving up the reading and to do questions instead, I hope you know what I mean......If I did the the Qbank pharm Qs over and over again, I could have gotten more Qs right. Having said that, you still have to read Kaplan or Lippin, etc BEFORE doing the Qs. You will then discover a pattern, what concepts are important; how side effects are presented clinically; or what kind of Rx are heavily tested on, etc.

Oh, and Rapid Review Questions are very good too, on par with Qbank. Just wish I have more time to go through those. However, their CDs have big design flaw. You can't check off the Qs you did. The Rapid Review Patholgy Qs are written by Goljan. They are much harder then the actual Step 1. It is best used when you just finish a subject and want to see how you are doing before you mess with the Kaplan Qbank.

For those who are going to take it in a few days: Don't sweat too much. It really is not going to make a difference with a few days more or less of studying! Read lightly on your weak subject the night before and make sure to "train" you sleep-wake time to your exam a few days before the exam! Bring earplugs (ppl type loud) and extra sweater (A/C is cold in my center).

OK those are my opinion. Sorry for mumbling. Good luck!

 

[Pox in a box]

Took it today.. I have a bone to pick. The survey at the end of the new FRED software does not work. Any question that has check more than one option is not recognized and left as incomplete no matter what you do. I told the prometric people and they said not to worry since survey is optional. Made me think about the rest of the exam. That was a little uncomforting to see that happen. Other than that, ill wait for the result, but overall very equally distributed test without much low yield material. FA is definitely the book to memorize once you go through your other sources. Anyone else have a problem with the survey??

I also got annoyed by this. The last screen actually went blank and said PROMETRIC in big letters at the end before I got a chance to read it all...I was taking my time since it said I had 25 minutes left. Luckily, they had a computer printout of the last screen.

 

[Pox in a box]

so nobody has any thoughts on this matter?
should you bring your FA to the test to look up answers during breaks?

it may be helpful to get you a few questions.. but it may also be kinda discouraging, you know?

what do you guys think?

thanks!

Bring it. USE IT.

 

[monkeyarms]

i took the test yesterday and am thrilled to be done! i was really surprised that in spite of "training" pretty hard to get my endurance up, i was completely exhausted when i walked out. luckily i was able to keep the focus pretty sharp throughout the test but it was intense! i am pretty sure i got a hard version, as very few of my questions were straightforward or buzzword. maybe 15-20. the two areas i got hit really heavily on were female reproductive and toxicology. i'd guess 40 of my questions were about a pregnant woman, breast cancer, or ovarian cancer. the tox was probably only 8-10 q's, but that seems like an awful lot for the topic. luckily it's a good one for me! the rest of pharm accounted for another 15 or so. i had a decent amount of micro, perhaps 15-20 q's (including 4-5 on worms, protozoans, and fungi). the behavioral scince questions are just bizzare, as has been repeatedly stated here. i'd guess there were about 12-15 of those. the genetics questions were really simple and straightforward, but the cell/molecular/whatever you wanna call it bio was pretty tough. they took a lot of the path and pharm and expanded it into the realm of cellular mechanisms. that part was tough. anatomy was well-represented at around 30 q's with a handful of embryology q's mixed in. of course the bulk of the exam was path/pathophys, i'm guessing right around 50%. overall i was caught off-guard by very little, though there will definitely be some total nonsense (anybody here able to name 5 mosquito sprays that aren't para- or malathion?). be well-rested and be ready to feel a little more crunched for time than most people have been for qbank. i was around 3-4 minutes slower getting through each section than i had been on kaplan and was also reviewing more questions due to the altitude of the stakes! good luck to all. glad to be done!

 

[Doc Ivy]

well i walked out of that test feeling that I knew some stuff but I guessed on alot - usually narrowing down to 2-3 choices. Or 2 choices. I hope everyone feels this way cuz i didnt know alot!
Gluck everyone

Later
Omar

I totally agree. This is why when people ask me how I felt, all I could say was "I don't know". Could be 215 could be 250 There were a good 150 questions where I knew I had narrowed it down to 2 answers and that the right one was one of the two, but then I just had to make an educated guess as to what they wanted. If I'd had more time I would have been able to reason out the correct answer with more confidence-- the problem is you DON'T have the time to stare at a question until the right association pops into your head--at least not if you want to finish the section.

 

[kaos]

I totally agree. This is why when people ask me how I felt, all I could say was "I don't know". Could be 215 could be 250 There were a good 150 questions where I knew I had narrowed it down to 2 answers and that the right one was one of the two, but then I just had to make an educated guess as to what they wanted. If I'd had more time I would have been able to reason out the correct answer with more confidence-- the problem is you DON'T have the time to stare at a question until the right association pops into your head--at least not if you want to finish the section.

I felt exactly the same way. Still feel the same about it today.

Done with the monster yesterday. Feeling kind of numb about it. Time was an issue for the first two blocks, but I breezed through the rest. I really dont remember much from it all, except being really puzzled by the high amount of cell bio questions. I had one straight up reaction/enthalpy question, and one question that had answer choices in the form of drug structures. Lots of "what would you the physician tell the patient/the family?" questions, but none really hard. I had the drug aledronate come up 2 or 3 times. There were tons of "pt was in a motorcycle accident" questions, some w/ CTs, asking what the effect of damages were. There were some stats questions, all doable w/o major calculations. The HIV questions were really detailed, like someone else mentioned; know the side effects of drugs and the functions of different viral proteins. I had one question that had "abdominis inversus" as an answer choice, and the CT looked like it could be, but all I could think of was, "WTH? That can happen??" Only one or two embryo questions, very few anatomy. One question about HLA, one question on a glycogen storage disorder, for which they wanted to know inheritance. And I had forgotten it. So my exam was mostly either cell/molecular bio or path related.

I got up and walked around after almost every block, but it made me feel weird because none of the 4 other students taking it got up for breaks. Almost all the questions were 2-3 step problems, which took a lot of time thinking out.

In the end, I felt really unfulfilled, probably because I'm worried about how my score will turn out. It was something I felt I had studied enough on, and no amount of more studying could have possibly prepared me for it, there would have just been no way. I felt like half of it I knew, but the rest I was hoping I was making intelligent guesses on, or it was just a crapshoot in the dark.

Hurrah for vacation time! Time to go sleep!

 

[Flintstone]

Concerning if we should bring FA to the testing center:

Bring it. USE IT.

I second Pox's idea. I used it in between breaks. Since I brought some snack with me that day, I skipped lunch and took break between each block and use FA to find out/look up things that I forgot or would like to find out. Since I have the biggest problem with pharm, I need to constantly go back to that Rx-reaction page and "re-memorize" them. It just make me more confident that way. Therefore, I really think it depends on personality.

 

[omarsaleh66]

be careful guys. Bigbrother is watching!!! I got this from the prep4usmle website.

http://www.usmle.org/news/2003cib.htm

 

[2TIM4:7]

The exam was last thursday and boy am i glad i did not study the last 3 days. I cleared my mind and had great sleep during my study hiatus...it payed off as far as testing endurance goes.

I will reiterate what other test takers have mentioned about the exam; fair exam. Some were extremely hard, easy, and most were critical thinking and narrowing answer choices down to 2. I was tested on something that is currently being researched, obscure definition questions...stuff you can't study for.

Thanks Omarsaleh for the heads-up! I was gonna go into specific questions but now i won't.

Best of Luck to all who will take the exam soon. Have confidence!!! Even if you don't know some stuff, be confident in the stuff you do know and use that to answer questions!

BTW!!! Ummm...I think i had the most balanced exam from what i've seen in this forum...and no! it is not recall bias.

ANATOMY!!! i had 6-8 questions alone on the shoulder, 5-7 on the knee, 10-15 on the lower/upper extremities, and about 10 miscellaneous x-ray ID ?s. about 30-40 overall (10%)

EMBRYO 15-20 Overall

PHARM!!! OMG! I had tons of questions that Katzung went over but the Step exam took that info one step further; distinguishing among the DOC within a group that Katzung says are used for that indication. Oh well...

PATH!! I did not have a path heavy exam!!! (That's my strongest subject )

Biochem 15 SPECIFIC questions on pathways and enzymes!!!

PHYSIO very heavily hit on my exam.

Micro 30-40 fairly straightforward ?s/Immuno had a couple of ?s where answer choices were not correct! I believe there was a typo (experimental ? maybe)...i even did a literature search and nothing came up (yea, i know...but i just wanted to make sure.)

Cell bio/molec bio 30-40?s on stuff that was kinda doable.

All told, here are the topics most heavily hit in descending frequency of ?s:
Pharm
Physio
Path
Anatomy
Cell/molec bio
Micro/Immuno
Embryo

I am glad I had a difficult exam...greater margin for error.

 

[p53]

Bring it. USE IT.

Horrible advice. USMLE is a thinking exam, you need a clear mind. I can't believe someone would actually advise this to someone. The best ally you have on test day is not to panick. Studying between blocks fuels self doubt. Self doubt is the last thing you need when you take the exam.

The reason the exam is tough for EVERYONE is because it is designed that way. They want to see how you respond when you are stressed and see if you become ruffled. They purposely give you a tough cell biology question during the exam and see if you can rebound back to answer an easy question. Some people won't be able to deal with this stress and freeze.

The USMLE folks know that you have the memory ability to be a physician. You passed two years of medical school proves that fact. What they want to know are two things in this exam. One how do you apply core knowledge. Two, what happens if you are thrown an unknown. How do you respond to this stress. These last two traits are very important as a physician because all the brains and memory skills in the world won't make a difference if you FREEZE when one of your patients codes right in front of you.

That's why they give you an impossible cell biology question. Not to see if you can answer that question right, but to see if you will maintain your composure and get those questions after the tough one.

You are a guinea pig when you take USMLE Step 1.

 

[Pox in a box]

Horrible advice. USMLE is a thinking exam, you need a clear mind. I can't believe someone would actually advise this to someone. The best ally you have on test day is not to panick. Studying between blocks fuels self doubt. Self doubt is the last thing you need when you take the exam.

The reason the exam is tough for EVERYONE is because it is designed that way. They want to see how you respond when you are stressed and see if you become ruffled. They purposely give you a tough cell biology question during the exam and see if you can rebound back to answer an easy question. Some people won't be able to deal with this stress and freeze.

The USMLE folks know that you have the memory ability to be a physician. You passed two years of medical school proves that fact. What they want to know are two things in this exam. One how do you apply core knowledge. Two, what happens if you are thrown an unknown. How do you respond to this stress. These last two traits are very important as a physician because all the brains and memory skills in the world won't make a difference if you FREEZE when one of your patients codes right in front of you.

That's why they give you an impossible cell biology question. Not to see if you can answer that question right, but to see if you will maintain your composure and get those questions after the tough one.

Haha. I guarantee you that you had your FA in your locker. If you don't want it, then don't retrieve it during the breaks. It would be the worst feeling to forget a simple detail that you know might get asked in an upcoming block and realize your First Aid is at home. They repeat question topics within an administration. If you've had a topic show up 4 times, do you think it's not just as likely to show up a fifth?

Having already taken the exam, FA not only fueled self-confidence, it removed doubt. Instead of worrying about a question that was tricky, you didn't have to worry about it. It was over. You either get it right or you get it wrong. If you were trying to prove why you shouldn't use First Aid, you failed miserably. I agree with everything you said. Too bad that's just a new thought to add to your wall.

 

[idq1i]

Just took the exam. Here are my thoughts:

Don't take any study material to the test site. It's not worth it.
Always read the whole question. The longer the paragraph, the easier the actual Q
You have plenty of time - no need to rush.
Skip hard questions - come back to them later
If a question says that your G+ coccus is pen-sensititive....well...USE PENICILLIN! (q made up, but similar examples were encountered)
DON'T OVER-THINK!!!!! It could be detrimental to your score

Behavioral:
Blah, blah...Don't insult the patient, do pretend you care. Always respect pt's autonomy. Easy

Biochem: Familiarize yourself with the major pathways. UNDERSTAND feedback mechanisms - don't memorize lists. Porphyria...*^*(&^(*&%

Mol.bio:
Longest paragraphs, lots of pictures, dumb questions. Don't panic - most of the time they are testing to see if you know the difference between DNA and protein. BASIC genetics

Neuro:
Some off-the-wall questions. The rest required you to know the major bv and the homonculus

Histo:
Safe to completely ignore

Path:
What can you say? It's path - the Robbins 1500 page version. Anything is fair game. The best way to study for it is to do well in your second year. Do try to read cecil/harrison for the BIG topics. Emphasis on renal, autoimmunity, arthritis (all of them)

Physio:
Some VERY straight-forward questions. Shockingly, AP bio-like

Micro:
2 odd bugs, 2 fungi, 2 protozoa, all with our favorite catch phrases. The rest were completely obvious. Some viral genetics.

Immuno:
Do you know anything about NK cells? How about MHC? What's a cytokine?

Biostats:
FA is enough

Pharm:
1 specific antimicrobial action. One uncommon CA drug sidefx. The rest - Even FA has too much info.

Anatomy/embyo:
Know your lymphatic drainage. FA is enough

My scores:
Qbank: 81%; NBME comprehensive basic sciences exam (took it w/o studying in late march): 223/79

 

[geromine]

Ok...its finally over. Mine was a tough test. Here's is the story:
Q-bank: 75% random timed
150q: 90%
Form 1: 650
Form 2: 710
Kaplan fulllength: 78%
Step1: ? (probably around 75% , hoping and praying for a whopping curve)

It turns out, form1,2 and the 150 questions were much easier than the real test. I found fewer give aways on my exams than any of those released items. The level of difficulty and time pressure was very similar to the full length kaplan exam that i took 2 days before the test.
The questions were more or less of uniform level of difficulty. I think a lot of people that report supereasy questions and super-tough random questions are just strong in some areas and weak in others. I didnt really have any glaring weaknesses according to my practice exam results, neither was i stellar at any particular subject. There was a lot of pathology on the exam, major concepts mostly - if you have time to study - focus on major stuff you're not 100% clear on rather than minute details (HLA crap)

As far as books pretty much the standard pattern: first AID, high yield series, (BRS and NMS throughout the two years but not during the past month.)

Im a little bummed about the test and i donna if i should be giving out a lotta advice about how to study for it at least until i get my grade back...so i guess if it turns out fine, i'll write some more.

-geromine

 

[thedman]

any advice on how to manage the 8 hours?
when should i take my breaks?
how does the taking a break process work? do u just get up and walk out?

 

[VJWDO]

I did 2 blocks then took a 10 minute break. 2 blocks 30min break. 2 blocks 10 minute break. 1 block DONE!!!!!! Finished with like 3 hours left so plenty of time.

 

[Long Dong]

just took it today, typing on my pda while waiting to take off to hawaii. well give details, when return. felt like i guessed on most of it.

 

[ytiffwang]

alas! you finally made it..with all your endeavors and intelligence, you should be able to pass with flying colors, bon voyage to hawaii and remember to give us a good account of the whole deal--your preparation and your exam niche report...!

 

[ziffy 850]

Took it today-my version was weird-nothing like I thought it would be. I thought it was more difficult than NBME questions, and much more difficult than qbank. I did not think the questions were direct and I got asked NOTHING about the major stuff -no cardio pharm-no diabetes questions-no lyme disease stuff-weird. I know I've asked this before, but how many questions right(or wrong) to get a decent score(220-240)

 

[idq1i]

any advice on how to manage the 8 hours?
when should i take my breaks?
how does the taking a break process work? do u just get up and walk out?

Take breaks when you feel you need them. You can leave the testing room, you can eat a snack, you can step outside. You will have to sign out, and back in.

Don't worry about the time. 35 out of 50 questions/block don't take more than 15 sec each. My closest call was 10 minutes remaining - this was after I reviewed all my answers for the block.

 

[xaelia]

Just took the exam. Here are my thoughts:

Don't take any study material to the test site. It's not worth it.

Nah, bring it. If you don't need it, don't use it...but, seriously, you never know when you're going to blank on something stupid and reasonably signnificant like the physiology of regulation of GFR, and you're going to want to look it up during a break just in case they ask something similar again. Like three more times. Damnit.

 

[UCSBMed1]

Hey everyone.

I took Step I on Saturday and wanted to wait a few days to make sure I truly felt the same way about it as I felt about it right afterward. I went to a wedding in Orange County the next day (I took the test in San Jose but left for the wedding in Sacramento--420 miles!).

Well I thought I was well rewarded from my studying for the test. The test was heavily, heavily Path dominated, and am so glad I decied to tackle the monster at the end, where most of the little details would still be in my head. Little did I know that the test really is more about thinking than memorizing.

I really felt good coming out of the test, and I applaud the NBME for testing us like we should be if we are going to take others' lives into our hands--they tested our thinking abilities instead of rote memorizing abilities. Afterall thats what all that truly matters when you get down to it.

 

[WISC-ite]

Whew, finally done!

As stated above... props to the USMLE people for creating that test.... so many times I was saying "I know what that is, but I never thought of it that way."

Overall... fair test, but very long and grueling. The most important advice I have is to sleep well the night before (I was on the schedule of going to bed at 9 and up at 6am, so I slept well the night before), bring lots of PowerBars and the whole thing will be over before you know. Half way through the test I actually lost track of which block I was on....

The best way to study is to do well all second year. The SYSTEMS or BLOCKS you take off are the ones that will haunt you on test day. I would say read Robbins during the second year and try to nail things down when they come up.

As far as before the test day... I promised myself that I would not study the day before.... I woke up and found that my body NEEDED the DRUG. I pulled out First Aid and I started to freak. I stopped myself from a near panic attack and drove to the movie theatre. I came home after the galaxy had "falling to the darkside" and then to bed. I woke up and looked at THREE things that I always get confused (they were all three on the test) and put my FirstAid in my bag just in case of an emergency.

My advice for taking the test is to pace yourself and to break between each block. I actually let the computer end the block for me as I did find TWO OBVIOUS errors that I had made (really dumb), so I saved myself on those two points. I didn't take a lunch as I was eating PowerBars/bananas/candy bars during the breaks and really wasn't hungry.

My final advice (which could be bad advice as I have no idea what my score is) is when you get stuck, ask yourself what concept are they trying to ask and what is the MOST OBVIOUS disease. I had several moments of "WTF" and then "Ahh" because I said... What is the concept? Also, if you get stuck on a 50:50 reread the stem... there are lots of clues in the stem.

Out,
WISC-ite

PS I would like to thank all those that made this USMLE study period possible. Quick shout-out to the makers of Pringles for making my waist two inches bigger, the guy who put the lime in Dt. Coke, and ENT resident who scarred the bejezus out of me prior to me starting to study.