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Took my USMLE Step 1 yesterday. HUGE relief. Here's the 411:
Man, those SDN'ers got me freaked out for the test!!! In retrospect, it really wasn't that bad...what's definitely true is that the exams are TOTALLY different--mine was not similar to anyone else's here.
Here's the shocker: my USMLE was A LOT like the COMLEX!!!
I even got 2 pictures that were the EXACT SAME ones as the ones used on the COMLEX!!! throughout the exam, I kept rubbing my eyes and triple-checking to make sure I was in fact taking the right test. TONS of muskuloskeletal questions!!! I think there was a physical therapy question in it also...
With that said, I think the only difference was in the subject of the questions... the style wasn't all that similar. But it kinda sucked, because I concentrated mostly on learning biochem and molecular bio and didn't read that much m-skeletal stuff, only to find out I had a lot of questions on it and forgot a good portion. Lots of anatomy too, on my exam. I had exactly 7 questions on genetics--1 in each block
crazy, crazy exam--that's all I can say. The writing was really weird, I don't know why people say USMLE questions are well-written. I had to re-read most questions 3-4 times just to understand what they were getting it. Oh, here's a really good recommendation: read the actual question before you read the stem--I had a bunch of questions where the stem just serves the purpose of trying to confuse you, and the actual question is about something totally different. One question, the stem kept going on an on, telling the pt's history for like 2 years, with all hospitalizations and labs, and the actual question was about the action of a hormone on the receptor. That kinda stuff.
Oh, another tip is bring in some books!!! And look in them during breaks--I did that a couple of times, there are repeat topics/questions among the blocks. So what I would do, i would write down on that dry-erase sheet the topics I wasn't sure about...then during the break, I'd go look it up in First Aid. It's totally legit and such a relief when you get a repeat question and you know the answer b/c you just looked it up.
About figures/graphs--mine were decent and easy to read and not at all bad...I got a couple of enzyme kinetics ones, couple of lung physio ones, one on the cardio physiology stuff. Not too shabby.
Well, that's that for me--I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck to all who haven't taken it yet!!!
Man, those SDN'ers got me freaked out for the test!!! In retrospect, it really wasn't that bad...what's definitely true is that the exams are TOTALLY different--mine was not similar to anyone else's here.
Here's the shocker: my USMLE was A LOT like the COMLEX!!!
I even got 2 pictures that were the EXACT SAME ones as the ones used on the COMLEX!!! throughout the exam, I kept rubbing my eyes and triple-checking to make sure I was in fact taking the right test. TONS of muskuloskeletal questions!!! I think there was a physical therapy question in it also...
With that said, I think the only difference was in the subject of the questions... the style wasn't all that similar. But it kinda sucked, because I concentrated mostly on learning biochem and molecular bio and didn't read that much m-skeletal stuff, only to find out I had a lot of questions on it and forgot a good portion. Lots of anatomy too, on my exam. I had exactly 7 questions on genetics--1 in each block
crazy, crazy exam--that's all I can say. The writing was really weird, I don't know why people say USMLE questions are well-written. I had to re-read most questions 3-4 times just to understand what they were getting it. Oh, here's a really good recommendation: read the actual question before you read the stem--I had a bunch of questions where the stem just serves the purpose of trying to confuse you, and the actual question is about something totally different. One question, the stem kept going on an on, telling the pt's history for like 2 years, with all hospitalizations and labs, and the actual question was about the action of a hormone on the receptor. That kinda stuff.
Oh, another tip is bring in some books!!! And look in them during breaks--I did that a couple of times, there are repeat topics/questions among the blocks. So what I would do, i would write down on that dry-erase sheet the topics I wasn't sure about...then during the break, I'd go look it up in First Aid. It's totally legit and such a relief when you get a repeat question and you know the answer b/c you just looked it up.
About figures/graphs--mine were decent and easy to read and not at all bad...I got a couple of enzyme kinetics ones, couple of lung physio ones, one on the cardio physiology stuff. Not too shabby.
Well, that's that for me--I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck to all who haven't taken it yet!!!