how much pharm on step 1?

[MackandBlues]

Anyone have an idea of how much pharm is on step 1? like 25%? thanks!

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[nurmd01]

I dont know how reliable this is, but here it is

http://www.mdtousmle.com/2013/09/usmle-step-1-percentage-of-questions-on.html?m=1

 

[drimo786]

I thought I saw a more updated breakdown percentages list somewhere.. can't find it after searching. can anyone else post?
(This one was from 2014)

 

[malin]

another good way is to look at the % representation of each field in UWorld. Pharm has like ~400/2300 questions.

Those are usually easy points on Step 1 b/c it's mostly first-order facts (there is some physiology involved, particularly w/ cardiac drugs, etc). The key is just getting the sheer # of details down (random side effects, mechanisms of resistance, etc)

 

[Phloston]

Every subject is variable between exams. Not a single person can reliably answer a question about how much of anything will show up on someone's exam.

 

[Qester]

Every subject is variable between exams. Not a single person can reliably answer a question about how much of anything will show up on someone's exam.

However isn't it possible to predict a range, one like the nbme gives for their shelf
e.g.
http://www.nbme.org/schools/subject-exams/subjects/basicsci_gross.html

Sure you can't say for sure which topic will have the most questions, but based on that breakdown for Anatomy and Embryology I would be studying Cardiovascular more than skin.

Or does this not hold true for step 1 and there are much wider variations?

 

[Phloston]

However isn't it possible to predict a range, one like the nbme gives for their shelf
e.g.
http://www.nbme.org/schools/subject-exams/subjects/basicsci_gross.html

Sure you can't say for sure which topic will have the most questions, but based on that breakdown for Anatomy and Embryology I would be studying Cardiovascular more than skin.

Or does this not hold true for step 1 and there are much wider variations?

Pathophys is generally the bulk of the exam in the mere sense that it ties into most questions. But for those of us who have been reading exam experiences for years and have worked with heaps of students, the degree of variation is overwhelming.

 

[Qester]

Pathophys is generally the bulk of the exam in the mere sense that it ties into most questions. But for those of us who have been reading exam experiences for years and have worked with heaps of students, the degree of variation is overwhelming.

Ah! Thanks for the insight, I was originally planning my study plan on the idea that the subjects were pretty close to X amount of questions per test, but maybe I should prepare a bit more for the unexpected 😀

 

[Phloston]

Ah! Thanks for the insight, I was originally planning my study plan on the idea that the subjects were pretty close to X amount of questions per test, but maybe I should prepare a bit more for the unexpected 😀

That's a good idea. Unexpected doesn't mean minutiae btw but just don't be closed off to learning things comprehensively.

 

[seminoma]

However isn't it possible to predict a range, one like the nbme gives for their shelf
e.g.
http://www.nbme.org/schools/subject-exams/subjects/basicsci_gross.html

Sure you can't say for sure which topic will have the most questions, but based on that breakdown for Anatomy and Embryology I would be studying Cardiovascular more than skin.

Or does this not hold true for step 1 and there are much wider variations?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that question outline reports % of questions that directly test X topic/subject. It also says there can be multiple concepts within a question. So, for example, a vignette could tell you about this guy being treated for some unknown pulmonary disease and all the patient knows is that he is on multiple antibiotics, one of which causes his urine to be orange. Then the lead-in (the question) is "what is the most specific test used to identify the most likely causative organism?". Based on the lead-in that is a microbiology question, however you obviously need to know the relevant pharm to answer correctly.

In other words maybe there are only 10% pharm questions according to that document, but that 10% is not inclusive of all the multi-step questions that are indirectly testing pharm.

 

[worldbeater]

It's the 3rd most important section on the exam (after path, physio). Achilles of the every student who takes it, don't neglect it!