I just want to Pass-how much do I need to study?

[coastal]

Quick question. I'm a Canadian Ortho resident and may end up doing fellowship(s) in the States. Do you think it's reasonable to cram for 2-3 weeks and pass Step I? Score doesn't mean a thing, just need to pass.

I'm not concerned about II and III as they are similar to our licensing exams.

Thanks in advance for your replies. Cheers.

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[MoosePilot]

If the score really means nothing, take an NBME practice test. You might not need to study at all.

 

[chef]

definitely possible, this exam is designed so that it's hard to fail unless u really tried. getting a 250+ is another matter, contrary to what you may believe after reading this board (where everyone has 260+)

 

[Law2Doc]

definitely possible, this exam is designed so that it's hard to fail unless u really tried.

That's an absurd overstatement. Most folks need to study for this test. If you study hard, you tend to do well. If you don't study hard, then yeah, failing is a real possibility. Bear in mind that the folks like this dude who is saying how easy it is probably studied intensely for 6 weeks. If you do that, then yeah, you should pass no problem.

I would suggest that the further out of med school you are, the more you probably will need to study because this test really tests on second year material, which you tend to forget quite rapidly.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

If the score really means nothing, take an NBME practice test. You might not need to study at all.

Great advice.

Take a NBME practice test and see where you stand pre-studying. Then take it from there. G'luck.

 

[nowai]

I would suggest that the further out of med school you are, the more you probably will need to study because this test really tests on second year material, which you tend to forget quite rapidly.

I think that's the key here. Straight after 2nd year, it is VERY difficult to fail even with no studying but as you move further away from 2nd year, details like which receptors use IP3 signaling or the product after uridine diphosphoglucose in glycogenolysis pathway will fade.

 

[tfom08]

The national average on the CBSE exam given to students before studying for step 1 by NBME is 70 which is scaled to 200 on the USMLE Step 1. So from that data, you can assume that the average med student from US schools that participate in this exam can score around 200 without studying at all. I don't remember the standard deviation on that exam, but I would guess from this data, approx 20-30% of US med students would fail step 1 if they were to take it after second year without studying at all. So yeah, not that difficult but certainly possible to fail if you don't study, especially if Canadian schools have different focus than US schools in the first 2 years.

 

[GMDMD]

Assuming canadian ortho is competitive like it is in the US you're probably a pretty smart dude. Study FA hard (12/hrs day) for 3 weeks, assess yourself with NBMEs and I think you'll be ok. You'll be a big step behind when it comes to preclinical minutiae, but most bright people can pass the test without any studying after 2nd year (when you only remember the details for the last 4 weeks). Plus you have a lot of clinical experience to draw upon.

 

[UditNarayan]

man, some of you guys are ridiculous! for some of us, we cant imagine failing while for others, even 6 weeks of hard work may not amount to a passing score.

to the OP, i definitely agree with the advice that you should take an NBME to see where you stand. there will undoubtedly be stuff on there where you will say, "i know i learned that before, just cant remember" but overall it will give you a good baseline to build your step 1 study strategy off of.

as tfom08 mentioned, the CBSE exam has a mean of 70 (scaled to 200) and a standard deviation of 8 (20 for the scaled score). Scores from that exam were very similar to NBME (at least for me).

 

[coastal]

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably do a practice test of the Step I and Step II and see how they go. We don't spend as much time up here on the basic science stuff-the curriculums tend to go towards clinical relevance relatively quickly. Thus, I think Step 1 is just going to have to be a cram job, binge and puke it out.

It's kind of cruddy cause I doubt I'm going to want to go stateside for fellowship, but I'd hate to close the door out of hand by not writing the requisite tests!

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably do a practice test of the Step I and Step II and see how they go. We don't spend as much time up here on the basic science stuff-the curriculums tend to go towards clinical relevance relatively quickly. Thus, I think Step 1 is just going to have to be a cram job, binge and puke it out.

It's kind of cruddy cause I doubt I'm going to want to go stateside for fellowship, but I'd hate to close the door out of hand by not writing the requisite tests!

For the bolded reason you may find you have a lot to make up -- cramming may not get you to where someone who spend two years on the basic science stuff should be. Take the NBME test (not form 1) and see where you end up.

 

[osli]

FWIW, form 1 of NBME seemed just as predictive for me and many others here on SDN as the other forms. Yes, it feels much easier when taking the test, but NBME knows what they are doing with the statistical analysis and difficulty scaling. And "easy" test may just mean you have to get more questions correct to make the same scaled score as on other forms. If your knowledge base isn't up to snuff, perhaps it is possible to get more of these easy questions correct, and also that you would have scored relatively worse on a test with more difficult questions, but that seems a stretch. Self-reporting on SDN doesn't appear to show any correlation like that at all.

Of course, if form one "feels" easy when taking it, you might get a false sense of security on how difficult the real deal is, but your score prediction should help you know where you stand in preparation.

 

[Law2Doc]

FWIW, form 1 of NBME seemed just as predictive for me and many others here on SDN as the other forms. Yes, it feels much easier when taking the test, but NBME knows what they are doing with the statistical analysis and difficulty scaling. And "easy" test may just mean you have to get more questions correct to make the same scaled score as on other forms. If your knowledge base isn't up to snuff, perhaps it is possible to get more of these easy questions correct, and also that you would have scored relatively worse on a test with more difficult questions, but that seems a stretch. Self-reporting on SDN doesn't appear to show any correlation like that at all.

Of course, if form one "feels" easy when taking it, you might get a false sense of security on how difficult the real deal is, but your score prediction should help you know where you stand in preparation.

I think the bulk of folks on SDN in other threads felt that form 1 was too easy to be representative. But it's better than nothing. I actually wouldn't put much stock in the predictive value in terms of actual score -- I know too many folks for whom it wasn't close and NBME itself says all over their site that it isn't meant to predict how you will actually do. So you do a harder form and then at least you will have a sense of how much you need to learn, not what your score should be. But best to evaluate this on a harder test than an easier one. Too easy to sucker yourself into thinking you are more ready than you are.

 

[osli]

I don't understand. It may not be as representative as the other forms, but it is just as predictive (from a rough survey of the various SDN threads). If you think the predictive value of all NBME's is poor, so be it. But then why even suggest taking one in that case? What is gained? Without the score prediction, knowing what the questions were like would only tell you how to study, not whether or not you needed to (or how much, the questions posed in this thread).

In any case, I only took forms 1 and 2. My step 1 had many "easy" questions that were as much like form 1 as 2... in fact, I had plenty of nutrition type questions that were very much like what I found on form 1.

I wouldn't suggest forgoing studying if you got a 190 on any of the NBME's, but I'd certainly feel comfortable about my chances of passing with a 225 on any form. But hey... they all cost the same amount, so take the "hard" one, whatever that means and whichever one that is. I just don't get the perpetuation of the myth that because it feels easy it has less predictive value. Not all questions on the USMLE are difficult.

 

[phase12007]

Hi coastal,

I think the only one that can truly answer that question is you, because only you really know how fresh the material is to you.

Never underestimate these exams.
And dont just settle to pass, dont give your self such limitations through your words. (even if you do not necessarily care for your score.)

Apparantly you seem to have a great background, its just putting sometime, and following some of the advices given above from the forum members. Taking the NBME's will be helpful, to see where you stand at this time.

Good Luck in your exam, I know you will do great!

 

[jey2283]

My opinion

This test was not a hard test (if you can read english well, as the questions can be lengthy).


My Biased recommendation:
Just to Pass- First Aid (BE WARE OF ERRORS!) & Goljan Book (NOT THE BOOT LEG..the real book).

 

[Law2Doc]

I don't understand. It may not be as representative as the other forms, but it is just as predictive (from a rough survey of the various SDN threads). If you think the predictive value of all NBME's is poor, so be it. But then why even suggest taking one in that case? What is gained? Without the score prediction, knowing what the questions were like would only tell you how to study, not whether or not you needed to (or how much, the questions posed in this thread).

In any case, I only took forms 1 and 2. My step 1 had many "easy" questions that were as much like form 1 as 2... in fact, I had plenty of nutrition type questions that were very much like what I found on form 1.

I wouldn't suggest forgoing studying if you got a 190 on any of the NBME's, but I'd certainly feel comfortable about my chances of passing with a 225 on any form. But hey... they all cost the same amount, so take the "hard" one, whatever that means and whichever one that is. I just don't get the perpetuation of the myth that because it feels easy it has less predictive value. Not all questions on the USMLE are difficult.

NBME itself says their tests are not predictive of actual scores. So use them as they were meant -- to highlight areas you need to work on. For this it's helpful to take one of the harder forms. Because there i no guaranty that your actual test will be any easier, though it certainly could be. Prepare for a war and be pleasantly surprised if it ends up being only a minor skirmish.

 

[osli]

NBME itself says their tests are not predictive of actual scores.

Yet everyone on SDN uses them for exactly that purpose, and while no one expects them to be clairvoyant most feel comfortable with a range around the prediction. As I said in the post you quoted... "I wouldn't suggest forgoing studying if you got a 190 on any of the NBME's, but I'd certainly feel comfortable about my chances of passing with a 225 on any form."