Failed NBME!!!! - What to expect on Step 1 now?

[grw0o]

Gah - After listening to goljan all the way through, reading his book cover to cover, and then going through all of UsmleRx, and 15% of UW - still failed form 3.

I'm stressing out - any suggestions? Anyone know someone that did bad on the NBME test but still faired out well on the real deal?

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[virilep]

yes. depending on how far it is. maybe change up a couple things. get more sleep? or maybe breath when you're takin the test. I heard that helps

 

[lord_jeebus]

Fewer questions, more content review?

How much time do you have?

 

[grw0o]

2 more weeks so I have some time... I am reading first aid more carefully and trying to get those buzz words to stick better..

 

[buddindoc]

2 more weeks so I have some time... I am reading first aid more carefully and trying to get those buzz words to stick better..

buzz words wont help ya.do more of UW and understand the pathophysiology of goljans path.
just my 2 cents

 

[grw0o]

Here's my performance profile - Micro/Imm/Biochem need the most work..
I had to crop is all weird to get it to fit...

 

[lord_jeebus]

Stop the buzzwords now. Waste of time, might even hurt you if you don't understand the basics.

 

[GOGETA]

Sorry ti ask, but what is your score? on the NBME 3.

Also try to do at least 100 questions from UW everyday AND read your FA to see if you can improve.

 

[grw0o]

Yeah it was a dowsy - 172!! I do notice on UW I miss a lot of the easy ones most people get right, which is what is really killing me especially in Micro and Immunology.

 

[buddindoc]

micro use FA..AND memorise the $hit out of it...of course know your drugs for the bugs.
immuno dont know wat u used initially but this point if you can do it listen to kaplan immuno once and see if you can get the big pic.
biochem...lord!! i hate this subj.when i took the falcon course..one of the things they said was you have to memorise the "rate limiting enzymes" of evry cycle..and know what hapens if one of them is missing.

 

[vtucci]

I liked deja review for overall board prep. They have some standard scenarios in each of the disciplines. Micro Recall is good too.

 

[Teejay]

Do as many World questions as you can before your exam and most importantly, understand the concepts behind thier explanations. Find out the reasons why you failed the question and make nots in FA. Make sure you go through FA the last week before your exams. Can't you ask for an extension in your school cuz that ''ll be a good idea so you could have more study time.

 

[mountainman123]

I would focus on a lot more content review if I was in your position. I really liked the Microcards for Microbiology. You can get through them all in one day and do it for 3-4 days straight and you will get them down. Repetition should help them stick. Also, read RR Pathology, and if you have- read it again. FA is plenty for most of the Immuno you will see and also for Pharm. Just try to stay calm and focus on the subjects.
The micro on my exam was pretty easy and straight forward. RR Pathology helped me beyond belief.

 

[mountainman123]

I would focus on a lot more content review if I was in your position. I really liked the Microcards for Microbiology. You can get through them all in one day and do it for 3-4 days straight and you will get them down. Repetition should help them stick. Also, read RR Pathology, and if you have- read it again. FA is plenty for most of the Immuno you will see and also for Pharm. Just try to stay calm and focus on the subjects.
The micro on my exam was pretty easy and straight forward. RR Pathology helped me beyond belief.
Just my opinion.....

 

[Thaitanium]

I took the exam like over a year ago....I was in a similar position but I had a passing score on my NBME although low.

Here's my opinion...

You most likely do not know the concepts. I used Kaplan QBank at the time and it seemed i saw similar questions in physio in the QBank as I did in the real deal...you have to take the questions and understand the concept behind the question....don't go memorizing answers to questions, but be able to understand the concept behind the question because the testtakers can twist and turn the question in several ways you wont believe. If you memorize answers to study questions, if the test asks you a question in a different way you are in trouble...if u know the concepts...you can attack the question in any way it is presented.

From what I remember, goljan was good as well as Kaplan QBank questions...but back then there were NO USMLEWORLD questions...

good luck...i thought i'd add an opinion...what you do is entirely up to you

try to get an extension if possible...step 1 is too important..

 

[Terpskins99]

Diagrams diagrams diagrams!

I think thats the easiest and fastest way to clear up both topics.

Rapid Review biochem has a lot of great diagrams (not to mention rapid review pathology's diagram of vit B12/folic acid pathway). You can either just read them over and over again (or my personal recommendation... WRITE IT OUT YOURSELF).

Note the locations for all of the key enzymes... note what screws up each enzyme (think drugs/toxins, disease). Know which direction each pathway wants to go when stressed by glucagon and insulin... etc.

The better you can visualize this in your head, the better that these topics will stick (biochem in particular).

Good luck!

 

[grw0o]

I really apppreciate everyone's input! I did analyze my test taking skills a bit more. I found that when I do UW questions untimed I am able to figure the questions out and get 70-90% on new questions.

So my main goal now is to work on my thought process and creating a method on how to dish out what I know on each topic quickly enough to get to all the questions. I'm taking another NBME this weekend, so if I can't pull that up I will likely delay the exam a couple months and drill over usmleworld 2-3x, go over rapid review again thoroughly (I've already read it once while listening to audio). And go through FA again.

Gotta knock this one where it counts!!

 

[Pathlesstrvld]

.....I found that when I do UW questions untimed I am able to figure the questions out and get 70-90% on new questions.......:

Hey buddy, you're either lying or you're doing something terribly wrong. If you can answer 70-90% of the USMLEworld questions correctly, then you should have no problem with the NBME exams. Then again, you claim that you are doing practice questions untimed, therefore your lack of stamina maybe hurting you. Try doing UW questions in timed mode, all unused, 50 question blocks. Do at least 100 questions per day, and take no more than 50sec to answer each question.

 

[goodies]

how do you guys read through the answers so fast?!?! to do 100 and read all of the explanations and understand why answers are right and wrong would take me the entire day. am i going too slow and being too nitpicky? how the heck do i speed it up. please help!

 

[goodies]

I took the exam like over a year ago....I was in a similar position but I had a passing score on my NBME although low.

Here's my opinion...

You most likely do not know the concepts. I used Kaplan QBank at the time and it seemed i saw similar questions in physio in the QBank as I did in the real deal...you have to take the questions and understand the concept behind the question....don't go memorizing answers to questions, but be able to understand the concept behind the question because the testtakers can twist and turn the question in several ways you wont believe. If you memorize answers to study questions, if the test asks you a question in a different way you are in trouble...if u know the concepts...you can attack the question in any way it is presented.

From what I remember, goljan was good as well as Kaplan QBank questions...but back then there were NO USMLEWORLD questions...

good luck...i thought i'd add an opinion...what you do is entirely up to you

try to get an extension if possible...step 1 is too important..

whats the difference between understanding a concept and memorizing the answer to a question? the answer to the question is usually the concept behind the question it seems. maybe i am studying entirely wrong.

 

[Medikit]

You need to push back your test date

 

[anesthesiarocks]

You need to push back your test date

nonsense.....he has two weeks to raise his score 12 pts. Seeing as how he's indicating there is lots of high yield stuff still out there that he is missing and hasn't covered, he can do it.

Kick ass for the next two weeks, improve your score some, and hit about a 195 or so. When you're at that level you can't be 100% sure you passed, but you can feel pretty good(85%) that you'll pass.

 

[Pathlesstrvld]

how do you guys read through the answers so fast?!?! to do 100 and read all of the explanations and understand why answers are right and wrong would take me the entire day. am i going too slow and being too nitpicky? how the heck do i speed it up. please help!

Do 100 questions per day, but come back to study those questions at a later time. The second time around you read the question, and this time answer the question without looking at the choices. Formulate an answer and explanation in your mind or write it down on paper. This may include graphs, diagrams, or pathways. Then look at the choices, justify why the other choices are incorrect, and finally read the explanation. Repeat this exercise for every question, taking some reference notes along the way.

 

[grw0o]

Woohoo! Just took Step I today and I felt like it went much better then NBME III I took two weeks prior. I spent more time studying UW like everyone said - Worked on my thought process on the questions so I focused more on what I knew then what I didn't know. Thanks everyone for the advice on picking apart different strategies and helping me bring it together in two weeks time.

 

[grw0o]

Hey buddy, you're either lying or you're doing something terribly wrong. If you can answer 70-90% of the USMLEworld questions correctly, then you should have no problem with the NBME exams. Then again, you claim that you are doing practice questions untimed, therefore your lack of stamina maybe hurting you. Try doing UW questions in timed mode, all unused, 50 question blocks. Do at least 100 questions per day, and take no more than 50sec to answer each question.

Doing the problems in the timed mode was my initial problem. I never took the time to just do a couple sets of problems untimed - spend 30-40 mins on only a 10 question block - and just pick apart the thought process behind unraveling the correct answer. Then after doing that a couple times - I was able to determine how to condense that thought process down from 5-6 minutes a question to 1 minute a question. Then in the end I was able to drill out about average consistently in Usmleworld timed as opposed to below average like I previously was performing.

My main regret was not starting UsmleWorld earlier so I could get through all their questions - In the end I only did about 40%. All the concepts were there and seriously even a few questions were almost verbatim from usmleworld that i only spend 5 seconds on. Usmleworld hands down is the best anxiety breaker for step 1. There were some lengthier questions (10-15 per block) that were similar to UsmleRx - but by far the majority at UW oriented.