Exam soon advice needed

[firstaid2012]

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i just did nbme 6 got 200/410
did nbmes 11 12 13 n got 205 203 203 a month a part
have 20 days left before my exam?? can i improve??
i want to get a score of 215 to 220 is it possible??
someone please help !!!

 

[6achill]

Definitely have First Aid memorized cover to cover before you walk into that exam.

 

[firstaid2012]

thanks thats wat im trying to do plus uworld.

 

[firstaid2012]

anyone else????? 🙁(

 

[firstaid2012]

Anyone??

 

[Myxedema]

Identify your weak points on NBME's and question banks and focus on them.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Identify your weak points on NBME's and question banks and focus on them.

How does one go about identifying their weak points? Reason why I ask this is because everything is integrative. So if my performance profile graph says I am weak in MSK but there were only 2 MSk qs on the test then does this really qualifies as a weakness?

Using my nbme 5 as an example on which you shared your pov which is greatly appreciated. It said I am weak in repro/endo but there were only a handful of repro/endo questions. And the ones I missed fall into pharmacology even though pharm section is NOT shown as a weakness. So should I review everything related to endo and repro which includes anatomy, phys, path, embryo and pharm?

I guess what always confuses me when ppl say to focus on your weakness is how to really identify your weakness? Not sure if any of that made sense.

 

[firstaid2012]

ya it makes sense i think i have the same problem, i guess. like for nbme 13 i swear i failed it bad n it would be the lowest instead i got a star in it:/. but i dont know what to do are your reading your uwrold notes or just doing questions n answers from the qbank. i think your exams in 2nd week sept mines around same time, at least your improving for me im stuck! n i dont know what to do!!! just going thru uwrold again with fa. dont know what else to do in 20 days

 

[Myxedema]

How does one go about identifying their weak points? Reason why I ask this is because everything is integrative. So if my performance profile graph says I am weak in MSK but there were only 2 MSk qs on the test then does this really qualifies as a weakness?

Not necessarily, but trends are important. Think of yourself as an athlete or basketball player. For example, a star rookie player might have a bad day and score 0 per 10 attempts at 3-pointers. But if he were to score under 10% for 20 consecutive matches, that's definitely a sign that he has to work on his outside shot.

This is is questions banks are more valuable in this aspect. Since there are more questions, they can portray your weaknesses more accurately.

Using my nbme 5 as an example on which you shared your pov which is greatly appreciated. It said I am weak in repro/endo but there were only a handful of repro/endo questions. And the ones I missed fall into pharmacology even though pharm section is NOT shown as a weakness. So should I review everything related to endo and repro which includes anatomy, phys, path, embryo and pharm?

Compare it with your question bank averages. How did you do for that section in UWorld? Then if you deem it's your weak point, then go ahead and study that subject. A good rule of thumb is this: If you can explain it to someone else, then you've learned it. If you've reviewed it again and still doesn't stick, approach from a different angle: For example, consult a textbook.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Not necessarily, but trends are important. Think of yourself as an athlete or basketball player. For example, a star rookie player might have a bad day and score 0 per 10 attempts at 3-pointers. But if he were to score under 10% for 20 consecutive matches, that's definitely a sign that he has to work on his outside shot.

This is is questions banks are more valuable in this aspect. Since there are more questions, they can portray your weaknesses more accurately.



Compare it with your question bank averages. How did you do for that section in UWorld? Then if you deem it's your weak point, then go ahead and study that subject. A good rule of thumb is this: If you can explain it to someone else, then you've learned it. If you've reviewed it again and still doesn't stick, approach from a different angle: For example, consult a textbook.

What do you think? Attached Usmle World qbank screen shots!

 

[RedSoxSuck]

.

 

[Myxedema]

Subject-wise,
- Anatomy & embryology & histology (52/61/59); there was an improvement in NBMEs
- Behavioral science & biostatistics (59/62); there was an improvement in NBMEs,but weakest NBME6
- pharmacology (63): also an improvement in NBMEs

Subdivision-wise;
- Cardiovascular (65/59): Cardiovascular was average in NBME6, worse in NBME5. Vascular component was lower, but had less questions
- Dermatology (51): MSK was weakest in NBME6
- Genitourinary (62) and renal (60): Renal/urinary good in NBMEs, but genital-endocrine was weakest in NBME5
- Head & neck (60): MSK was weakest in NBME6

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Overall anatomy has the lowest percentile, and MSK was your weakest subject in NBME6. Also, subdivision wise, head&neck (which is quite anatomy heavy) and dermatology also had low percentile points. From this, I think MSK anatomy might be a weak point. (Upper&lower limbs, head&neck). When you add dermatology to that list, going over the entire MSK section might be high-yield.

There was also improvement in behavioral science, but subjectwise it has the 2nd lowest percentile. Going over it again might pay off.

After those, going over pharmacology (63) -maybe you can try to identify which part of pharmacology is the weakest- and genitourinary and renal systems (62 and 60) looks like a good idea, especially the genital part.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Subject-wise,
- Anatomy & embryology & histology (52/61/59); there was an improvement in NBMEs
- Behavioral science & biostatistics (59/62); there was an improvement in NBMEs,but weakest NBME6
- pharmacology (63): also an improvement in NBMEs

Subdivision-wise;
- Cardiovascular (65/59): Cardiovascular was average in NBME6, worse in NBME5. Vascular component was lower, but had less questions
- Dermatology (51): MSK was weakest in NBME6
- Genitourinary (62) and renal (60): Renal/urinary good in NBMEs, but genital-endocrine was weakest in NBME5
- Head & neck (60): MSK was weakest in NBME6

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Overall anatomy has the lowest percentile, and MSK was your weakest subject in NBME6. Also, subdivision wise, head&neck (which is quite anatomy heavy) and dermatology also had low percentile points. From this, I think MSK anatomy might be a weak point. (Upper&lower limbs, head&neck). When you add dermatology to that list, going over the entire MSK section might be high-yield.

There was also improvement in behavioral science, but subjectwise it has the 2nd lowest percentile. Going over it again might pay off.

After those, going over pharmacology (63) -maybe you can try to identify which part of pharmacology is the weakest- and genitourinary and renal systems (62 and 60) looks like a good idea, especially the genital part.

True. Just to clarify few things. Numbers that you are using such as 63 in pharm are NOT % correct rather "percentile."

Also what is your cut off point in terms of weakness. Meaning is anything less than 60 percentile is a weakness etc?

Also how did you compare percentiles from uworld to nbme bar's? Did you just used borderline performance as being at 50th percentile and if i scored >50th percentile then i am hovering to the right of borderline performance vertical line?

Thanks

 

[Boardz]

i just did nbme 6 got 200/410
did nbmes 11 12 13 n got 205 203 203 a month a part
have 20 days left before my exam?? can i improve??
i want to get a score of 215 to 220 is it possible??
someone please help !!!

chances are, you will not get 215 or 220 range. you will probably get around 200-210. If you're unlucky with the questions, and you don't get much sleep beforehand, you're in even worse shape. best of luck. i would push it back.

 

[Myxedema]

True. Just to clarify few things. Numbers that you are using such as 63 in pharm are NOT % correct rather "percentile."

Yes.

Also what is your cut off point in terms of weakness. Meaning is anything less than 60 percentile is a weakness etc?

These are all compared to your average percentile in UWorld (73rd).

Also how did you compare percentiles from uworld to nbme bar's? Did you just used borderline performance as being at 50th percentile and if i scored >50th percentile then i am hovering to the right of borderline performance vertical line?

Not directly, but it wasn't necessary. For example, MSK score on your NBME 6 was on the lower end, marked with a (*). That's consistent with the UWorld anatomy percentile being lower than your overall average percentile.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Yes.



These are all compared to your average percentile in UWorld (73rd).



Not directly, but it wasn't necessary. For example, MSK score on your NBME 6 was on the lower end, marked with a (*). That's consistent with the UWorld anatomy percentile being lower than your overall average percentile.

Good points. Thanks for the info. Why do you think i am struggling to translate uworld performance into NBMEs. I know that uworld is more content drive compare to NBME which is more synthetic and it even reads more vaguely. I have noticed that i have been missing ~14q on average per nbme via stupid mistake (not reading properly, not reading the entire question, thinking too much).

 

[panicattackmode]

Now this is contrary to the majority belief on these boards but i'll just share my experience in case it helps you feel motivated. I think NBME is ****.

I took NBME 7 exactly 2 weeks before my real test. Got a 214. Went into depression for a couple of days then kicked myself in the ass and went super gunner mode for about a dozen days.

Step 1 score: 241. It's doable. You have a lot of time.

 

[firstaid2012]

thank you for the motivation 🙂🙂 means alot