Help: Physiology NBME

[random1234]

Hello,
I'm failing physiology [multitude of reasons]. I'm doing fine in all of my other classes. Our final exam is the NBME...so far I've done pretty well on these [for other classes] with minimal study, but I really need to ace this one. In case I have to remediate (since the NBME final only counts 20%), the remediation exam is the NBME again (a month and a half later) [and I only have to score above 50 percentile, I think].

So I need the best resources you guys used (especially questions) for the NBME. I've already read most of the 'big Costanzo' book, but our class slides are garbage. The test questions are poorly written and have nothing to do with the text (our last test avg was a 69).

please help...from a fellow med student... I started doing BRS but dropped it because it was too easy and didn't help at all w/our exams. I have Guyton and Pre-Test too. Does anyone know a good question bank to help for the NBME specifically?

Thanks mucho..

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[cbrons]

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[cbrons]

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[random1234]

edited, I see the pics now, thanks

ANy other advice from anyone who's done the NBME?

 

[Jabbed]

The physio NBME is regarded as one of the tougher NBMEs and really tests your understanding of fundamental concepts. I thought that BRS/Costanzo combo was great prep. I never got around to her question book but I imagine that it would similarly be a great resource.

I don't like the pre-test series for most subjects. Guyton question book can be a bit pedantic and relies heavily on being familiar with his textbook if you want to get the most out of it, but it is worthwhile if you have the time.

UWorld and Kaplan question banks are also great prep.

Fwiw I scored well over 1 std dev using just BRS/Costanzo and no question banks (aside from the handful of Guyton questions that were supplied by my professor as practice Qs). If you're pressed for time I would just read through BRS multiple times rather than spend time with the qbanks.

 

[random1234]

My laptop is dumb, I see the pics on my phone now, thanks cbrons. And thanks Jabbed. Okay, I have 6 weeks to try to salvage this, on top of my other courses. I can get access to a 2nd yr's uworld questions. I am trying hard to find a tutor. This course is the only obstacle to me making it to 2nd yr. I will get those books and sleep with them everyday.

Should I try to read thru the Guyton textbook? I've read most of big costanzo. need a new strategt. I know facts but I am not applying them correctly in questions, esp pathology questions, which brs lacks.

 

[Jabbed]

My laptop is dumb, I see the pics on my phone now, thanks cbrons. And thanks Jabbed. Okay, I have 6 weeks to try to salvage this, on top of my other courses. I can get access to a 2nd yr's uworld questions. I am trying hard to find a tutor. This course is the only obstacle to me making it to 2nd yr. I will get those books and sleep with them everyday.

Should I try to read thru the Guyton textbook? I've read most of big costanzo. need a new strategt. I know facts but I am not applying them correctly in questions, esp pathology questions, which brs lacks.

I would not recommend reading Guyton in your position. It's a great textbook, but everything that you need is covered in costanzo and reading Guyton would likely just confuse you if your knowledge base isn't solid already.
Check out "Physiology Cases and Problems", it's a question book by costanzo that sounds like it'll suit your needs. If you have this much time, I'd actually consider doing the Guyton question book as well as a secondary resource if you're able to work through uworld and the above question book.

 

[random1234]

I would not recommend reading Guyton in your position. It's a great textbook, but everything that you need is covered in costanzo and reading Guyton would likely just confuse you if your knowledge base isn't solid already.
Check out "Physiology Cases and Problems", it's a question book by costanzo that sounds like it'll suit your needs. If you have this much time, I'd actually consider doing the Guyton question book as well as a secondary resource if you're able to work through uworld and the above question book.

SOrry for the delay, we had spring break 🙂 Thank you so much, I'm going to read BRS and do UWorld Phys + Pathophys and take a look at that book. It seems like our class exams in general have nothing to do with the NBMEs so I think that's why there is such a gap between my class performance and my performance on NBME exams .

1 last question: According to this site that shows the content breakdown: http://www.nbme.org/schools/subject-exams/subjects/basicsci_phys.html
Neurophysiology isn't represented on the physiology NBME?? Is this true? Should I spend a lot on this teaching myself or focus on the other chapters more?
We spent 1 poorly taught week on neurophys and they skipped over a lot of stuff. BRS includes a lot of details on it. UWorld doesn't even include it in their physiology section, it's lumped with the neuroscience section, but we take that next year.

I couldn't even find a sample question representing it. Some upper years said don't waste time w/neurophys. What's the SDN verdict??

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I couldn't even find a sample question representing it. Some upper years said don't waste time w/neurophys. What's the SDN verdict??

I would trust your upper years. The neurophys questions are an optional add-on, and if your upper years say don't bother with it, then your school doesn't subscribe to those questions.

 

[Dave89]

I did use in-house materials for physio, but the only book I opened was BRS Physiology. It was my textbook for the course. Book is solid gold, and mastering it will get you at least a very high NBME score.

 

[random1234]

Thanks guys, will report back when the course is done on how it went!

 

[qw098]

i dont c cbrons pics

 

[random1234]

Hey guys, I passed, thankfully. Scored around an 86 after it was scaled...76% percentile. Did better than the class avg.
So basically first year sucked and I didn't want to think about it again, but I wanted to update in case any future students need help. The advice was good.
I went thru BRS multiple times but after the director confirmed there would be no neurophys, I skipped chapter 2. I made sure to read as much as the BRS as possible the weekend before.
I also went thru all of the physiology and pathophysiology questions on UWorld at least twice. (~350 questions). This was pretty difficult for me because a lot of the stuff I had never heard before, so I also read some pathology from a step I review book.

The shelf was extremely random and very difficult without a pathology background. Almost none of the UWorld stuff was on it. But I'd still recommend knowing BRS and trying the UWorld questions...and just don't panic and hope for the best...