Gradual decline in med school first year...

[esile]

I'm just finishing my first year and I started off the year pretty strong being first quartile in my courses, rocked clinical skills/OSCE stuff, found some research to get into and have a publication in the works. But gradually my grades have been declining and I've fallen into the 3rd quartile and bombed my first NBME, not even coming close to the class average (but we haven't had GI, cardio, endorepro, behavioral health, neuro yet so most people we're guessing on a lot of it so maybe I'm just unlucky?)
I've heard a lot about how the first two years don't matter much, but my confidence and self esteem are gone and I'm concerned that this alone could lead me to failure.. I'm still able to do well on OSCEs, it's just class work. I'll get questions that I KNOW the answer to wrong. I look back and get so frustrated that I didn't just pick what I know. I'm not overly anxious when taking exams and I take my time, I just have no confidence my answers. I always get distracted by irrelevant details in the question or tempting answer choices.
In addition, I've developed terrible social anxiety and difficulty working with my classmates.
Raising my scores and rank in my class is important to me, but I'm most concerned about taking step 1 in two years (we take it during out 3rd year) and still having this problem. Or worse, my lack of confidence causing me to fail a course and not being able to consider the specialties I've been most interested in (gen surg/ortho).
Has anyone else had experience with this or any advice?
I have boards and beyond and pathoma, but not a ton of practice questions beyond the school supplied USMLEasy. I have the $$ to buy uworld and USMLE Rx, should I buy those (even though I'm still 2 years out from step 1) and just start cranking out questions to help me get more comfortable answering questions and avoiding those tempting answer choices?

(Sorry if this isn't the correct place to post this, I'm very new to sdn.)

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[Goro]

I'm just finishing my first year and I started off the year pretty strong being first quartile in my courses, rocked clinical skills/OSCE stuff, found some research to get into and have a publication in the works. But gradually my grades have been declining and I've fallen into the 3rd quartile and bombed my first NBME, not even coming close to the class average (but we haven't had GI, cardio, endorepro, behavioral health, neuro yet so most people we're guessing on a lot of it so maybe I'm just unlucky?)
I've heard a lot about how the first two years don't matter much, but my confidence and self esteem are gone and I'm concerned that this alone could lead me to failure.. I'm still able to do well on OSCEs, it's just class work. I'll get questions that I KNOW the answer to wrong. I look back and get so frustrated that I didn't just pick what I know. I'm not overly anxious when taking exams and I take my time, I just have no confidence my answers. I always get distracted by irrelevant details in the question or tempting answer choices.
In addition, I've developed terrible social anxiety and difficulty working with my classmates.
Raising my scores and rank in my class is important to me, but I'm most concerned about taking step 1 in two years (we take it during out 3rd year) and still having this problem. Or worse, my lack of confidence causing me to fail a course and not being able to consider the specialties I've been most interested in (gen surg/ortho).
Has anyone else had experience with this or any advice?
I have boards and beyond and pathoma, but not a ton of practice questions beyond the school supplied USMLEasy. I have the $$ to buy uworld and USMLE Rx, should I buy those (even though I'm still 2 years out from step 1) and just start cranking out questions to help me get more comfortable answering questions and avoiding those tempting answer choices?

(Sorry if this isn't the correct place to post this, I'm very new to sdn.)

Suggest going to student health services. This is NOT medical advice!

 

[esile]

Suggest going to student health services. This is NOT medical advice!

I'm seeking out first hand experience. I would say it's pretty normal for med students to feel discouraged and lose confidence after getting tripped up by tempting answer choices when you work hard/know the answers. I just want to know how others prevent getting caught up in irrelevant details so I can do well and feel more confident around my peers.

 

[21Rush12]

I think that what you’re going through is normal in a lot of ways. It’s a hard adjustment and even though you feel like you’re already well into first year, things may be catching up to you.

Your test taking strategy seems to be heavily influenced by your confidence, so maybe rethinking the way you’re studying and being willing to think outside the box on strategies might help.

I think you’re much too early to be worrying about step 1, especially considering you’re taking it in two years. Using board study materials along with curriculum isn’t a bad idea but if you want to do well on your inhouse exams you have to focus on that as well, maybe even more than you are now.

Switching answers and all that sounds like a test taking strategy problem mixed with not being quite as prepared as you could be.

First year is all about learning to study and finding the methods that work for you, and you have to be willing to change it up if it’s not going the way you planned.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

I'm seeking out first hand experience. I would say it's pretty normal for med students to feel discouraged and lose confidence after getting tripped up by tempting answer choices when you work hard/know the answers. I just want to know how others prevent getting caught up in irrelevant details so I can do well and feel more confident around my peers.

Confidence can ruin even the most prepared. My friends have gone through this at time. The best thing they did that helped change it were just mental health things. Some of them did positive affirmations on the car ride to school or just in the mirror in the morning. Others would meditate for 10 minutes or so every morning. It sounds so stupid but one of my friends, before every exam or quiz, he'd go to the bathroom and in the stall he'd literally do a superman pose (both hands on hips) and just visualize himself destroying an exam and being happy with his grade.

All of those worked for them haha Ive tried a couple of them at different times and they helped me too.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I'm seeking out first hand experience. I would say it's pretty normal for med students to feel discouraged and lose confidence after getting tripped up by tempting answer choices when you work hard/know the answers. I just want to know how others prevent getting caught up in irrelevant details so I can do well and feel more confident around my peers.

Hey this is super normal. Happened to me a lot. You’d probably be better served asking people in your class for how their doing so much. But probably causes some anxiety which is understandable.

General test taking advice:
Read all the answers before the stem. That way you know what your looking for before you do the question.

When you don’t have a clue what’s even being asked, read the answers and figure out what each answer is trying to tell you. Sometimes you can rule out stuff because once you know what each answer is really saying you find out half the stuff is ridiculous. Before I started doing this it was easy to get overwhelmed.

No turning back. Unless you have a new idea don’t change it. Leave it alone! We’re all pretty type A. And we all think that since we went back that we should tweak it somehow. This screws so many people up. It’s like falling in a trap that you set for yourself! Answer and move on. Sorry if you’d heard this advice before.

I wouldn’t worry about rank. Do your best and everything. But I know people in the bottom of the class because who struggled just in first semester. Most people are over their issues but at this point it’s impossible to get it to move. But that doesn’t mean you should feel uncomfortable around these folks. If the situation were reversed and someone felt unconfident around you, you’d probably think that’s silly right?

You should really go to your counselor. Best of luck!