June 2009: USMLE Step 1 Support Thread

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Deferoxamine

Deferoxamine

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When are you taking the USMLE Step 1?

For me, I'll be taking it on a Father's Day hangover, June 22. Thank God I won't be busy on Father's Day, seeing that I don't have any children, at least none that I know of.

Figured we'd stir up a support thread, see when everyone's taking their exam, and offer up some good luck for all those taking Step 1 in the month ahead.
 
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calespine said:
I'm probably going to get flamed for asking this q but are all the people that take the test mid-June going to get the score back on July 15th (target date provided by nbme)?
Click to expand...

I think that was the target date that I remember. Why would you get flamed for asking that? I'm taking it on the 29th so I probably won't receive my scores then. I don't know when the next release date is, though. Is it like every two weeks, always on a Wed?
 
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Thanks for the confirmation. I was afraid people might get upset since my q is usually asked a billion times every year. Wasn't sure if the new FRED would throw off anything.
 
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Alright, so here's our June 2009 list as of now -

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ

Sorry for any omissions or typos. Feel free to paste the list in a reply and add/edit your date on there if I got it wrong, or to add yourself to the growing list.

If any of you need a break, just do what I did for the past hour - all the non-medical school things on your to-do list. :laugh: At least my checkbook is finally (sort of) balanced.

Hang in there folks. This will be a long few weeks for most of us, but we can do it. Keep working hard and stay positive, it will pay off!



And an early good luck to you June 3rd people! Go kick some ass.
 
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Knicks said:
How long has everyone in this thread been seriously studying? (weeks/days/hours per day)
Click to expand...

This is probably going to sound ridiculous, but my school gives us ~10 weeks (at least for the current MS2's) if we use the entire time between MS2 and MS3. I started studying on May 3rd and have been doing so for about 12 hours/day every day since then. I take my exam on June 25th, which gives me just over 2 weeks vacation afterwards. I actually bought plane tickets and booked a place in Miami starting the day afterwards just to force myself not to reschedule no matter what haha. I'm still working on my first run through everything, and if all goes well I'll have the last two weeks to strictly review FA and the notes I've taken while doing as many questions as possible. I'll make a big post in the Step 1 experiences thread detailing it all after my exam haha
 
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adding myself to the list bc i'm on the 23rd


June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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silas2642 said:
About 2 weeks, and I've been procrastinating terribly-- there are days that I'm actually pretty productive, and days where I'm just not really getting anything retained. Probably around 6/day. Pretty sad and so not sdn, I know. Definitely need to step it up.
Click to expand...
I've been hit or miss, but I'm right around where you are. I've been doing better the last two days, but I got tired of reading so I've just been doing uworld for the last two days. It is tempting to strictly use this to study for the remainder of my time. I spend 2 hours going through 48 questions because I try to memorize every piece of info they give in their tutorial/explanation of the answer choices. Still got >1200 questions left. I think I could probably just do uworld and cover a lot more than I would if I tried to switch to reading all of FA right now.

Severus said:
6.11. shoot me. now.
Click to expand...
Me too. On both the request of homicide and the test date.

soonereng said:
I'm the 22nd as well. Time is going by too fast for me and not fast enough at the same time if that is possible.
Click to expand...
Possible. And seconded.

adding myself on and noticing two of you have it tomorrow! Yikes! Good luck. :luck:

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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Hi,

I'm a newbie -- would really appreciate some info to help me get started
I'm just planning to take the USMLE in the May-July period, if possible....anyone know how available the dates are in June or July? When I contact Prometric, how soon do I get assigned a date? Thanks much for your help
 
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Late2Start said:
Hi,

I'm a newbie -- would really appreciate some info to help me get started
I'm just planning to take the USMLE in the May-July period, if possible....anyone know how available the dates are in June or July? When I contact Prometric, how soon do I get assigned a date? Thanks much for your help
Click to expand...


It all depends on the site. You have to register and get a scheduling permit before you can sign up for a specific date at a specific testing site.
 
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June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ

Now that we're actually crossing people off the list (underlining is the best I can do here...), it's getting a little weird. This test will be here next time I blink.
 
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wow, so cute!
someone actually made a little table

i'm postponing my exam...after i caught tonsillitis, i lost like 1/2 a week.
 
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Oh and AMEN! to the comment about my biggest fear being that everything I learned is not on the exam...

That's pretty scary...imagine if NONE of what you learned was on it, by random probability alone

OMG!!!!😱
 
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June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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I'll add myself for June 15th! I can't believe it is getting so close! I'm hoping this will kick me in gear to really hunker down. I don't know how I'm going to keep my attention span for so long....

Good luck everyone! (especially the people on the 5th!)

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 15: AggieSarah2007
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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June 9th here - I'm so glad this is almost over!!!

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske
June 8: jsong812
June 9: arroser
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 15: AggieSarah2007
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ
 
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Eeeeek.....I take it tomorrow. I am soooooo nervous, yet so ready for this to be over.

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske, skitskat3025
June 8: jsong812
June 9: arroser
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 15: AggieSarah2007
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3, Ihateverbal
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ[/QUOTE]
 
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pseudoknot said:
Ugh. I just had my worst block of UW questions ever. They were horrific. 17/48 were answered correctly 40% of the time or less (yes, I counted). Hope everyone else is having a better day.
Click to expand...

For some reason I tend to do better during morning blocks (64)compared to night blocks (low 50, even 40ish). Has this happened to you or anyone here?
 
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pseudoknot said:
Ugh. I just had my worst block of UW questions ever. They were horrific. 17/48 were answered correctly 40% of the time or less (yes, I counted). Hope everyone else is having a better day.
Click to expand...

Yesterday was my bad day. 20+ points lower than my usual score for a timed random block of 48, and yet I still managed to squeak ahead of UWorld average because there were TONS of answers with 10-30% of users getting them correct. 0/4 on Hepatobiliary, WTF?!

Tonight was going great, but apparently even getting the first 17 questions correct tonight wasn't enough, as I tied my highest score on a block for the 6th time in the past week. Hoping for a breakthrough one of these days where I just start hitting these sets out of the park.

Also, anyone else notice how poorly some of the UWorld questions are set up to have the last choices (usually E, or E and F) as some completely ridiculous answer choices that have nothing to do with the question?

Sample UWorld Q:
Verapamil's antiarrhythmic effects can be attributed to it's action as a:
A. Na+ channel blocker
B. B-blocker
C. K+ channel blocker
D. Ca2+ channel blocker
E. Purple monkey dinosaur saxophone football
 
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List update

June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske, skitskat3025
June 8: jsong812
June 9: arroser
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 15: AggieSarah2007
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng, Ihateverbal
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ



Ugh. June 22nd just keeps getting closer. Hope you Friday the 5th kids had a good day today.
 
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Deferoxamine said:
Yesterday was my bad day. 20+ points lower than my usual score for a timed random block of 48, and yet I still managed to squeak ahead of UWorld average because there were TONS of answers with 10-30% of users getting them correct. 0/4 on Hepatobiliary, WTF?!

Tonight was going great, but apparently even getting the first 17 questions correct tonight wasn't enough, as I tied my highest score on a block for the 6th time in the past week. Hoping for a breakthrough one of these days where I just start hitting these sets out of the park.

Also, anyone else notice how poorly some of the UWorld questions are set up to have the last choices (usually E, or E and F) as some completely ridiculous answer choices that have nothing to do with the question?

Sample UWorld Q:
Verapamil's antiarrhythmic effects can be attributed to it's action as a:
A. Na+ channel blocker
B. B-blocker
C. K+ channel blocker
D. Ca2+ channel blocker
E. Purple monkey dinosaur saxophone football:laugh:
Click to expand...

15% of the users marked E as the correct answer.:laugh: Ah, I so hate the obscure facts.
 
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Whats_up_doc said:
15% of the users marked E as the correct answer.:laugh: Ah, I so hate the obscure facts.
Click to expand...

They were counting on you mixing it up with Valpiramil which is a drug well known for working through the Purple monkey dinosaur saxophone football pathway. It's all about attention to detail. :prof:
 
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Depakote said:
They were counting on you mixing it up with Valpiramil which is a drug well known for working through the Purple monkey dinosaur saxophone football pathway. It's all about attention to detail. :prof:
Click to expand...
I love when someone kills an otherwise good joke.🙄
 
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Can you check the scheduling calendar to see if anyone's cancelled without actually changing your date? Prometric wants you to log in with your info, and I don't want to if it's going to somehow cancel or change my date.
 
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SeminoleFan3 said:
Can you check the scheduling calendar to see if anyone's cancelled without actually changing your date? Prometric wants you to log in with your info, and I don't want to if it's going to somehow cancel or change my date.
Click to expand...

you have to log in, but it doesn't change anything until you actually confirm the change. So don't worry. I've logged in several times to check different times and my original time has stayed the same.
 
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SeminoleFan3 said:
Can you check the scheduling calendar to see if anyone's cancelled without actually changing your date? Prometric wants you to log in with your info, and I don't want to if it's going to somehow cancel or change my date.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can. Click on the option to "reschedule your date" which will allow you to view available dates at the coveted site within a 3 month period. Just don't click on any of them or confirm any of them. Or hit cancel after you see the available dates and decide you don't want to switch, or something like that. I forget.
 
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trying to confirm my test date with prometric, but neither the website nor the crazy automated computers that you reach when you call prometric recognize my confirmation number.

does anybody know if something is up with prometric's system right now? or do i really not have a valid confirmation number? f* me.
 
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LadyKae said:
trying to confirm my test date with prometric, but neither the website nor the crazy automated computers that you reach when you call prometric recognize my confirmation number.

does anybody know if something is up with prometric's system right now? or do i really not have a valid confirmation number? f* me.
Click to expand...


website works for me. did you use the right number? the confirmation number is the one with a bunch to 0's at the front.
 
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i just tried the website again, and it worked (thank freaking goodness)

i also ended up calling prometric again and got through to a real live person -- and they said the system was down earlier today.
 
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So Prometric was down earlier today?

Would that have anything to do with the fact that NBME still has not sent me a Ticket/Pass to register for that free Practice Exam with Prometric 5 hours later? Usually those emails get sent to you like 1 minute after you log off.
 
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Deferoxamine said:
So Prometric was down earlier today?

Would that have anything to do with the fact that NBME still has not sent me a Ticket/Pass to register for that free Practice Exam with Prometric 5 hours later? Usually those emails get sent to you like 1 minute after you log off.
Click to expand...

No it actually takes a few business days, it actually says that in
the confirmation email, take a look.
 
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So I've already registered for my test date. Is there anything else I need to do before then or do I just show up with my ID?
 
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What are your best and worst areas in UWorld / Qbank?

Me:
82nd percentile in Oncology
26th percentile in Hepatobiliary... started out as low as 8th percentile in the beginning :laugh:, never fully recovered.
 
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June 3: tdd340, hateroftheyear
June 5: morriske, skitskat3025
June 8: jsong812
June 9: arroser
June 10: tomorrowgirl99
June 11: Severus, leahmaria, jwax
June 12: Disinence, LadyKae
June 13: ZagDoc, flyingdutchman
June 15: AggieSarah2007
June 17: NCF145, Re3iRtH
June 19: SeminoleFan3
June 22: Deferoxamine, Depakote, soonereng, Ihateverbal
June 23: ACE Stimulator, rahulb
June 24: frangeo, sendwich, chaostheory, Vonsmack, Redrox, sprinkibrio
June 25: confuse, BONENIBBLER
June 26: pseudoknot, bretticus, mahdego
June 29: RisingSun
June 30: PBandJ

Good luck, aroser! Hope test day went well, jsong!
 
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Deferoxamine said:
What are your best and worst areas in UWorld / Qbank?

Me:
82nd percentile in Oncology
26th percentile in Hepatobiliary... started out as low as 8th percentile in the beginning :laugh:, never fully recovered.
Click to expand...

I think oncology is also my highest for organ systems.
I think that means that UW oncology is probably weaksauce.
Embryo and genetics are my lowest by far :laugh: 🙄
high/low yield?
 
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I thought I was the only one with a crappy embryo average. That definitely brought down my average👍
 
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Deferoxamine said:
What are your best and worst areas in UWorld / Qbank?

Me:
82nd percentile in Oncology
26th percentile in Hepatobiliary... started out as low as 8th percentile in the beginning :laugh:, never fully recovered.
Click to expand...

High is Phys at 75th
Low is Derm at 22nd

Most of my stuff is closer than the highs than the lows though, which is nice.
 
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Histology (88th percentile) granted i only did 8 questions :laugh:
Pharmacology (43rd percentile) I suck at pharm
 
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Deferoxamine said:
What are your best and worst areas in UWorld / Qbank?

Me:
82nd percentile in Oncology
26th percentile in Hepatobiliary... started out as low as 8th percentile in the beginning :laugh:, never fully recovered.
Click to expand...

85th percentile in biostats
30th percentile in embryo (haven't reviewed it, didn't learn it in the first place)

I think I was at the 20th %ile in micro before I reviewed it but now it's up around the mean. Yay.

I don't know if I can do another 18 days of this. I don't even care anymore.
 
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omg i second that =)
but i feel like i don't know anything and feel really guilty...
i totally zoned off today and was VERY UNRPODUCTIVE.
 
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I am trying to make my weaknesses my strengths - but damn, I hate reading micro over and over and over and over ... I have never felt like my memory is that bad but for some reason I am having a hell of a time remembering this stuff (actually I think that it is starting to come together, finally).

We should choose a time to simultaneously crack open a beer and call it a day. Anyone drink Hefe-Weizen?
 
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