For those who failed step one

[monet]

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Could you send me a private message and tell my your qbank scores and/or other diagnostic tests.
I take step one in a week and do not feel very confident. 🙁

 

[CharlieMurphy]

First of all, you honestly think someone that failed will private message and basically tell you that they are an idiot. Second, say there is someone stupid enough to PM you, do you honestly want to listen to her advice, its like asking a DO for advice. Finally, and most importantly, you studied and put a lot of time into preparing for this exam. God willing you will do fine.
Good Luck

 

[Heliums]

Gotta have that DO jab. LOL

 

[monet]

Shut up charliemurhpy if you don't have anything constructive to say then stay off this forum

 

[mjl1717]

Monet See my post and you can reply:
Entitled "Big Frank Idio, anyone 911"

 

[roady]

Shut up charliemurhpy if you don't have anything constructive to say then stay off this forum

I agree 110%. Come back when you shed some of your arrogance, "CharlieMurphy". People/doctors like you are the reason I'll never go to a hospital unless I'm just about dead; I might still not go then.


Monet--

What I really wanted to do was thank you for putting this post up; I am in the same shoes as you with 2 weeks to go--and very scared. I was really glad to see you put this post up--from my mind to yours, I need to know the same things.

That leads me to ask for a favor if you could do it. On an entirely anonymous basis--could you post the correlations you find between NBME, Qbank, and final USMLE scores? I can already tell you I saw one post earlier this week: they had 380 on both NBMEs and failed: 180; I don't remember Qbank if it was there at all..

G-D, that really sucks, and creates A LOT of anxiety. I hope and believe you will get many replies, since I am sure that people who failed know what a disaster that is. They might find a degree of comfort in knowing that at least they have helped someone else learn from their heartbreak--and never feel dumb for discussing it. If absolute anonymity is the issue, registering with a pseudonym takes only a minute.

Thank you, and thanks for everyone who replies to help those about to take this crazy thing 😍

 

[CharlieMurphy]

I agree 110%. Come back when you shed some of your arrogance, "CharlieMurphy". People/doctors like you are the reason I'll never go to a hospital unless I'm just about dead; I might still not go then.

How do you plan on being a doctor if you will never go to a hospital?

 

[RickJames]

DOs can't enter a hospital with all that garlic around their neck and when they do sneak through they are DOA (dumb on arrival)

 

[Wednesday]

First of all, you honestly think someone that failed will private message and basically tell you that they are an idiot. Second, say there is someone stupid enough to PM you, do you honestly want to listen to her advice, its like asking a DO for advice. Finally, and most importantly, you studied and put a lot of time into preparing for this exam. God willing you will do fine.
Good Luck

I like how you assumed that someone who failed would automatically be female.

 

[CharlieMurphy]

I am impressed you caught that. Kudos to you.

 

[monet]

I know someone that made a 380 on the NBME and passed with flying colors. I will post any info I get for you guys.

I am going to take the NBME tomorrow. I am scheduled to take step one next tues! 😱

 

[roady]

Shake that NBME down, MONET!

Good luck, and be careful not to soil yourself with all the crap on this thread 🙂 👍

Keep pushing...

p.s. Look, the crap got banned! 😀

 

[Chicago Doc]

I take it on Tuesday too and I'm petrified but I will SURVIVE!!!

 

[IlianaSedai]

I went and looked through old threads comparing Qbank scores to real USMLE scores a few months ago, and used those to gauge whether I thought I had a fair chance of passing. I got:

Qbank - 65%, with some 70's during the last week and a couple of 80's
NBME - 480 (mean=500, SD=100)
USMLE - 233

In general, it seems many people who get upper 50's on Qbank end up doing average on the real thing, and 60's are almost all passing for sure. If your Qbanks are scaring you, try the NBME and see how you do; if you're within 1 SD of the mean of 500, I would say you're fairly certain to at least pass, if not do close to average or better.

 

[monet]

I think you are correct. My student affairs office told me today a score of 380 on the NBME is about a 190.

 

[KittenKnows]

Well, not to burst anyones bubble of anticipation , but the stats are not always correct for predicting your score:

Qbank: started in the 50%'s, random blocks of 50
overall cumulative: 68%
70-75% average in the end with some random blocks of 80-85% in the end

USMLE $45 released item exam: scored about 480-490 (don't remember exactly, just remember it being slightly under the mean of 500)

Actual USMLE score: a stinking 185 (221 mean) due to excessive molecular biology

I wasn't going to bother posting my pathetic score, but I got a ton of molecular on my exam which is my weakest subject. I fully expected to at least get the mean on the real deal. Just goes to show that you don't know what you are really going to get on the real exam. If you haven't taken the exam yet, don't blow off molecular bio because if you do, you might end up in my situation. Sure I passed, but what does this crappy score leave me with? 😡

 

[monet]

Thanks for sharing!
A guy at my school had the same exam! He had tons of mol bio. It killed him! He failed.
So, you are not alone. It is a little bizare how diff the tests are and the material that is weighed more heavily than others.

 

[maxine]

what are the chances of getting the same exam. I too failed the molecular bio exam... first block, totally foreign.
I am prepping again, but don't want to ignore the big 3 in order to focus on this subject only. I know, we should know it all, but i am running out of time

 

[KittenKnows]

You for sure can't ignore the big 3, but let me put it to you this way. Much of the molecular bio that I had was incorporated into a physio or biochem or pharm type question. I left this exam thinking "what aspect of this test was medicine?"
For some reason molecular is big on some of the exams. In hindsight I should have just got up and left, but I kept hoping it would get better. Some of the questions were really bizarre type of research experiments too. For example: removing an organ then putting it back and asking you physiologically what was going on after you put it back. Like how the crap are we supposed to know??? My entire test was like this and it was a joy to get one or two straighforward micro or path questions.
Before I got my scores back, I dug up my old molecular bio book from undergrad with the intention of using it to study in case I failed.
Just pray you don't get the hard molecular version or you are screwed unless you have a solid background in this area. Because think about it: how many practice questions did you come across in Qbank or anywhere else that dealt with a combination of molecular bio and physio for example. If I had studied more molecular on my own I am certain my score would have at least been around 220.
Good luck!

 

[lotanna]

You for sure can't ignore the big 3, but let me put it to you this way. Much of the molecular bio that I had was incorporated into a physio or biochem or pharm type question. I left this exam thinking "what aspect of this test was medicine?"
For some reason molecular is big on some of the exams. In hindsight I should have just got up and left, but I kept hoping it would get better. Some of the questions were really bizarre type of research experiments too. For example: removing an organ then putting it back and asking you physiologically what was going on after you put it back. Like how the crap are we supposed to know??? My entire test was like this and it was a joy to get one or two straighforward micro or path questions.
Before I got my scores back, I dug up my old molecular bio book from undergrad with the intention of using it to study in case I failed.
Just pray you don't get the hard molecular version or you are screwed unless you have a solid background in this area. Because think about it: how many practice questions did you come across in Qbank or anywhere else that dealt with a combination of molecular bio and physio for example. If I had studied more molecular on my own I am certain my score would have at least been around 220.
Good luck!

wow thanks for sharing!!
Yeah many people complained about mol bio, and most of early takers advised folks to go read up on it, I know even bigf posted on a thread after his exam to get the HY book.
Thats a mess, I hope it works out better this time around.

 

[roady]

Maxine and KittenKnows and Monet--

I just wanted to say I love you guys. Thanks for giving me some inspiration through your stories as I trudge ahead with 12 days of preparation to the big one.

Don't fret KN especially--I know that you'd be worse off if you failed, plus there's still other chances for redemtion. FREAK molecular bilogy!!

😍 😍 😍

P.S. Any good , hi-yield sources for Molecular Biology preparation with my 12 days to go?? Thanks!!

 

[lotanna]

Maxine and KittenKnows and Monet--

I just wanted to say I love you guys. Thanks for giving me some inspiration through your stories as I trudge ahead with 12 days of preparation to the big one.

Don't fret KN especially--I know that you'd be worse off if you failed, plus there's still other chances for redemtion. FREAK molecular bilogy!!

😍 😍 😍

P.S. Any good , hi-yield sources for Molecular Biology preparation with my 12 days to go?? Thanks!!

some on here like bigf used HY mol and cell bio, they've the preview pages on amazon. Its really small but supposedly should be sufficient.

Goodluck!!

 

[maxine]

i had it shipped overnight from barnes noble... but it may be in your library. I am a caribbean grad, so that was not an option for me. It's about 100 pp... lets hope it does the trick. Personally, I hope i wasted the money and I get a version that is light on the topic. That was my original post... what are the chances of me getting the same version that i had before, that reeked of cell bio, genetics and ct scans.???

 

[KittenKnows]

You just never know what you will get. I keep wondering how it would have been if I had just bailed on that test and retook it at a later date in hope of a better version. I also wonder if maybe it would have just been better if I had failed, since I was so close to failing anyway. Then at least I could try to redeem my score. Now what? 185 is going to stick out like a huge zit! Do you think it would make any difference if I did really well on Step 2?

 

[lotanna]

i had it shipped overnight from barnes noble... but it may be in your library. I am a caribbean grad, so that was not an option for me. It's about 100 pp... lets hope it does the trick. Personally, I hope i wasted the money and I get a version that is light on the topic. That was my original post... what are the chances of me getting the same version that i had before, that reeked of cell bio, genetics and ct scans.???

The book is real small, I have it, do a search on here and supposedly they said it was sufficient. Just study it again seems like all step I takers so far got quite a bit of it maybe not as much as urs but still enough to make a difference.
Goodluck!

 

[maxine]

kitten, you should be proud... you passed! Of course you can redeem your score... but you are still way ahead of me... for what its worth... i would change places with you in a heartbeat. I appreciate your help. 🙄

 

[KittenKnows]

I am sorry Maxine. I really shouldn't be such an ingrate. Really, for the sake of licensing, all they care about is if you passed or not.
It is just such a big let down when you expect something that you didn't get. It would be one thing if I didn't study as hard as I did, then at least I could say I deserved what I got.
Good luck on your exam, don't skip the molecular and you will smoke it, I just know it! 👍

 

[sherpagyrl]

You just never know what you will get. I keep wondering how it would have been if I had just bailed on that test and retook it at a later date in hope of a better version. I also wonder if maybe it would have just been better if I had failed, since I was so close to failing anyway. Then at least I could try to redeem my score. Now what? 185 is going to stick out like a huge zit! Do you think it would make any difference if I did really well on Step 2?

You never hear of people seriously considering bailing in the exam and they always tell you not to. And everyone walks out feeling like they failed. Before the score came back did you still feel you should have bailed?
I have heard a big difference in scores (either up or down) does make an impression.
Thanks for sharing. I was getting a little despondent seeing only the posts from the 240+ crowd. 🙂
Other than HY cell molec, do you have any other advice about books to use?
And would you please share the books you found helpful or not so helpful? Thanks.