For some reason, no one at my school recommends NBMEs

[sharklasers]

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I guess the no explanations thing really kills it for them.

What do you guys take out of NBMEs, other than gauging your progress?

I know it tells you your strength and weaknesses, but all question banks can do that too.


I'm honestly just wondering, I'll probably take a few just because I want to see my progress, but I know for a fact I will not change my test date, so really it is just for myself.

Is there anything I should do to help take the most out of the NBMEs?

 

[Goober11]

It gives me a better idea of my test taking strategy which I know can be a weakness of mine. Also, they give you an idea of what the NBME sees as important topics. The subject matter on those exams is likely to be repeated (in a different way) on test day so analyzing each answer choice after taking the NBMEs can be highly beneficial. I mean there are only so many ways to test certain diseases. Knowing the NBMEs' stems and answer choices through and through, I think, is an immense resource.

There aren't many people at my school who are busting through all the NBMEs and I can understand why, but if you have the time and money they can only improve your score.

 

[survivordo]

I agree. You can't move forward unless you know where you stand, the best way to do this is with an NBME. Sure, you don't see answers, but getting a feel for the actual test is crucial. You want the test day to feel like just another practice day. The nbme can be replicated but never duplicated, do at least 1 or 2.

Survivor DO

 

[coolforschool]

Definitely agree with the above posters. The NBME's style of asking questions is a little bit different than UW or Rx. There's a lot to gain and very little to lose (maybe only time).

 

[addo]

This is surprising. I think nbmes are a great resource and my school seems to think so as well... Ive gotten 2 nbmes at their expense.

 

[Kevin Baker]

I don't believe them to be an efficient use of time for the purposes of learning or assessing one's strength and weaknesses. I've heard people argue they can give one an idea of what systems/subjects one is deficient in but out of 200 questions and ~10 separate subjects and systems, the sample size is too small to generalize for all but the most tested subjects. Better imo to do the uworld self assessments for the purposes of learning (since they give answers) and to figure out what one's weakest subjects are via qbank percentages.

I do find NBMEs to be a good gauge of your overall preparation and the overall score. And they can be a great confidence booster.

 

[addo]

I don't believe them to be an efficient use of time for the purposes of learning or assessing one's strength and weaknesses. I've heard people argue they can give one an idea of what systems/subjects one is deficient in but out of 200 questions and ~10 separate subjects and systems, the sample size is too small to generalize for all but the most tested subjects. Better imo to do the uworld self assessments for the purposes of learning (since they give answers) and to figure out what one's weakest subjects are via qbank percentages.

I do find NBMEs to be a good gauge of your overall preparation and the overall score. And they can be a great confidence booster.

I see 7 different forms that you can get on the website... thats 1400 questions, not as comprehensive as uworld, but definitely sufficient to get an idea of all tested material and the best source as far as getting a pretty good feel for the question style that is most likely to be on the real thing.

 

[sharklasers]

I see 7 different forms that you can get on the website... thats 1400 questions, not as comprehensive as uworld, but definitely sufficient to get an idea of all tested material and the best source as far as getting a pretty good feel for the question style that is most likely to be on the real thing.

yeah but most people probably don't do all 1400 and say "i need to work on ___ more"

they probably just take 1, see that they had a low percentage in one subject (maybe getting 10/15 or something reproductive ?s right) and say they need to work on that.

i see his point. but to counter it, if someone is missing a higher percentage of questions in any subject compared to another, no matter what the sample size is, that particular subject could use some more work.

 

[sharklasers]

and additionally, as someone who already did UWorld once throughout M2, I would say I can no longer use the qbank as a gauge of what subjects i need to work on. I need something, and NBME's happen to be the next best thing (unless you recommend kaplan or usmlerx, which most would not recommend during dedicated period)

 

[John Lannister]

I see 7 different forms that you can get on the website... thats 1400 questions, not as comprehensive as uworld, but definitely sufficient to get an idea of all tested material and the best source as far as getting a pretty good feel for the question style that is most likely to be on the real thing.

yeah but most people probably don't do all 1400 and say "i need to work on ___ more"

they probably just take 1, see that they had a low percentage in one subject (maybe getting 10/15 or something reproductive ?s right) and say they need to work on that.

i see his point. but to counter it, if someone is missing a higher percentage of questions in any subject compared to another, no matter what the sample size is, that particular subject could use some more work.

I see both sides here, and to add to shark - yeah, hardly anyone does 1400 questions. I think SDN's crowd does 3-6 or so, which means the average person is doing like 1 or 2 or whatever. Certainly no one is doing 1400 questions (or less than 5% of the test taking pool).

and additionally, as someone who already did UWorld once throughout M2, I would say I can no longer use the qbank as a gauge of what subjects i need to work on. I need something, and NBME's happen to be the next best thing (unless you recommend kaplan or usmlerx, which most would not recommend during dedicated period)

I feel like you can get lost in all this stuff. If you've really understood Uworld and done it once (or even twice) and know First Aid well, then you will be successful. Weren't you already averaging like 85% in world or scoring 250+ on something? That's really good - saying that you need to find a way to work on your weaknesses is moving towards SDN level insanity.

 

[addo]

thats true... i doubt anyone, besides maybe phloston, is doing all of the nbmes. Ive done 5 myself and i dont really see the value in doing an extra 400 questions for $100. Drop a quarter per question 😱... i rather put em in a slot machine.

 

[sharklasers]

I feel like you can get lost in all this stuff. If you've really understood Uworld and done it once (or even twice) and know First Aid well, then you will be successful. Weren't you already averaging like 85% in world or scoring 250+ on something? That's really good - saying that you need to find a way to work on your weaknesses is moving towards SDN level insanity.

I admit, I probably do get lost in this stuff haha.

But I'm averaging ~87% now in UWorld, but like I said, its a second pass so I'm not sure thats a fair representation.

And the one practice test I have taken was the school administered one at the end of M2 and got 225 equivalent, but I am aiming for a 240, would ecstatic with 250, so I'm not quite there yet!

 

[newdoc2013]

I guess the no explanations thing really kills it for them.

What do you guys take out of NBMEs, other than gauging your progress?

I know it tells you your strength and weaknesses, but all question banks can do that too.


I'm honestly just wondering, I'll probably take a few just because I want to see my progress, but I know for a fact I will not change my test date, so really it is just for myself.

Is there anything I should do to help take the most out of the NBMEs?

The questions on the NBMEs are slightly different than the Q banks. U world is harder, Kaplan is pretty detailed, NBMEs are just right.