Step II Just got DEMOLISHED!

[superoxide]

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So I just took NBME 1 for CK and got a whopping 340/800 (= 174). The first 2 blocks were hard and the last two were from someplace in outer space. 😕 Total disaster! This was after doing 85% of UW (with reading all explanations, although my score didn't increase at all as I went along) and reading Secrets twice and half of FA. I have 6 weeks till my test (taking it on May 1st). So what do I do? Should I re-do UW or should I invest some time reading the Kaplan lecture notes? I'm an IMG with a poor Step 1 (203/83 on second attempt)😳 so I'm aiming to at least beat the mean on CK.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Most people using a UW/Secrets/FA strategy are somewhat fresh from core rotations and have taken the NBME shelf exams along the way.

What is your situation?

It sounds like you may need to build your fundamental clinical knowledge with sources that are more in depth. You have a lot of time so throwing in the whole package of whatever Kaplan offers, or a set of subject-specific review books may be helpful. You should also consider getting a fresh set of questions.

 

[superoxide]

Most people using a UW/Secrets/FA strategy are somewhat fresh from core rotations and have taken the NBME shelf exams along the way.

What is your situation?

It sounds like you may need to build your fundamental clinical knowledge with sources that are more in depth. You have a lot of time so throwing in the whole package of whatever Kaplan offers, or a set of subject-specific review books may be helpful. You should also consider getting a fresh set of questions.

Thanks for your response.

I finished my cores in December '07. My school doesn't administer the NBME shelf exams. Honestly, I didn't learn much during my clinicals. Psych, Peds and OB were OK. Most of IM and all of Surgery was poor.

I thought doing UW/Secrets/FA would be enough do get a decent score, but obviously that strategy is not working for me. I'm going to read the Kaplan notes along with the video lectures and try another NBME in a few weeks.

Any other suggestions? Keep 'em coming!

 

[gbwillner]

Thanks for your response.

I finished my cores in December '07. My school doesn't administer the NBME shelf exams. Honestly, I didn't learn much during my clinicals. Psych, Peds and OB were OK. Most of IM and all of Surgery was poor.

I thought doing UW/Secrets/FA would be enough do get a decent score, but obviously that strategy is not working for me. I'm going to read the Kaplan notes along with the video lectures and try another NBME in a few weeks.

Any other suggestions? Keep 'em coming!

How well did you do on the UW questions? If you did well on those but did poorly on a simulated exam, maybe your problem is test anxiety.

 

[Fexofenadine]

be careful. I thought the NBME practice exams were pretty accurate at predicting my scores for both Steps 1 & 2. I actually went down slightly from my NBME on my real exams. If you're struggling with the Step 2CK, I would recommend going through UW again and maybe consider the Kaplan QBank for additional practice. I think the more questions you do the better off you'll be. I would delay the step 2 until you see dramatic improvement on your NBME practice exam.

 

[superoxide]

Thank you for all the responses.

Lord_Jeebus: I started going through the kaplan lectures notes, and found out that my knowledge base is fairly good. I realized that most of the questions which I got wrong in UW or the NBMEs had to do with "next step in management"/ "gold standard"/ "most accurate" type questions. Most of the time I can figure out what the patient has, but when it comes down to choosing the diagnostic test etc, I can eliminate 2-3 choices and then I guess (mostly incorrectly). Now I know that Step 2 is full of exactly such type of Q's, but I feel that I can get this extra bit more by doing UW questions which I am now doing again, but this time in tutor mode and subject wise (instead of timed/random the first time through). I find that this is helping me much more with retention of the information than skipping from one subject to the next. Sure, for some questions I can remember the answers, but I can now justify why I chose a certain answer.

gbwillner: Thankfully, I've never had text anxiety.

Fexofenadine: I agree, the NBMEs are definitely dependable in determining your actual score, so I'm going to use that as a barometer of my progress. I plan on finishing UW in the next 3 weeks and take another one and see where I stand. I started doing the NBME at around 5pm and did it in self paced mode, so I finished it at around midnight (took breaks in between blocks). I got so tired half way through it that I just wanted to get it over with (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) I'm going to start the next one sometime in the morning. I think that's going to help.

Thanks again.