just got Uworld

[jeesapeesa]

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so i bought the Qbank. any suggestions on how to go about it? untimed, timed and how many questions do you guys generally do at a time? just looking for different perspectives and will kinda figure out how it will work for me. thanks.

 

[McGillGrad]

I always did them tutor mode and random when in step-study mode.

 

[Elixir86]

I'm an M2 (haven't taken the Boards yet) and plan to start UWorld on January. I plan to do them tutor, untimed, and include question on the subjects I have already covered so far in school (1st semester stuff and then add more organ systems as we finish them up during 2nd semester). My goal ideally would be to try and do all or most of the questions one time through and then go through them again (this time random, test mode, timed) during crunch month. We'll see what happens: "Best laid plans of mice and men..."

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I used it in 48 question timed random blocks. This is the closest you'll get to the real test. But I'm sure plenty of people had success doing tutor mode or just about any other combination you can think of. My hesitance to using it now would be that the consensus seems to be that UWorld is the best resource and if you use it now it won't be as good of a resource during your dedicated study time.

 

[McGillGrad]

I took the exam and UW is simply a learning tool so using it in timed mode is a waste of time if you have no issues with finishing blocks on time.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I took the exam and UW is simply a learning tool so using it in timed mode is a waste of time if you have no issues with finishing blocks on time.

I took the exam too. For me and others I have talked to, UW was both a learning tool and a tool to see if we were actually improving over the course of studying. Doing at least some blocks timed can show you if you're on the right track, as your % correct should (hopefully) trend upwards over the course of your studying. But to the OP, try some in tutor mode for learning. Do some timed blocks to make sure you can finish with time to spare and to see if you're improving. Whatever works best for you, stick with it.

 

[go lakers]

UWorld is the best resource and if you use it now it won't be as good of a resource during your dedicated study time.

What do you think about working through UW twice, versus another question source and then UW towards the end? Do you think doing all the questions 2x diminishes what you get out of it?

 

[nogolfinsnow]

What do you think about working through UW twice, versus another question source and then UW towards the end? Do you think doing all the questions 2x diminishes what you get out of it?

I really have no idea, I just barely finished it once before the test. But I'm not sure it would diminish it if you're doing something like untimed tutor mode, because re-reading the explanations will reinforce that information. You can always use one of the UWorld simulated exams or NBME exam to gauge your progress.

 

[SweetTonics]

What do you think about working through UW twice, versus another question source and then UW towards the end? Do you think doing all the questions 2x diminishes what you get out of it?

i haven't taken the exam yet, but i've tried just about every Qbank out there. UW really is the best to learn from - do it as many times as you can. (i think WebPath is another great Qbank)
i used to do them timed mode, but switched over to tutor after reading this thread actually and personally i'm learning A LOT more that way. lol it's hard sometimes not to change answer choices though 😛
my friend took the exam a few days ago and stressed understanding the concepts presented in each UW question (both the right and wrong answer choices). she said about 3-5 ques in every block were "wrong ans" in UW

 

[ACSurgeon]

so i bought the Qbank. any suggestions on how to go about it? untimed, timed and how many questions do you guys generally do at a time? just looking for different perspectives and will kinda figure out how it will work for me. thanks.

I only had the qbank for 5 weeks before step1. I did one block of 50 every day (rarely I'd do two). Then I tried to learn something from the explanations (without writing notes, although selective note writing might be worthwhile). One thing that I'd do differently is to also do smaller blocks (of 5 or 10) during the day as I got bored from reading (that would have helped me see more of the questions before test day).

 

[ZagDoc]

I took the exam and UW is simply a learning tool so using it in timed mode is a waste of time if you have no issues with finishing blocks on time.

I agree... if you're a quick test taker.

When I was studying for Step 1, I started off doing timed/random. Always finished with enough time to go back and check some questions. It was a useful enterprise for getting used to the pace of the exam, which is VERY important or you're in for a rude awakening on test day. I know people who were EXTREMELY pressed for time with Step 1, so I think its dangerous to call timed mode a waste of time until you've done it.

After a while, I switched over to untimed/tutor. I found it more useful to see if I was 'thinking through' questions the right way with the instant feedback about my answer. I think tutor mode is a much more effective way if your goal is to learn the material in the questions.

So, yeah, do both. If I could go back, I'd do more tutor mode early on (when you're still learning the material) and more timed blocks late (when you're more double-checking your fund of knowledge and getting into test taking mode). UWorld in 48 question blocks, timed and random, is so much like the actual test it will blow your mind. When I was taking the real thing, at times it felt like I was just doing another UWorld question block.

What do you think about working through UW twice, versus another question source and then UW towards the end? Do you think doing all the questions 2x diminishes what you get out of it?

No way. There's, what, 2000 questions in UW? You forget the questions long before its time to repeat the qbank.

I did all of UWorld once, then went back and did all of my incorrect questions once more. I felt like that was more than ample questions.

 

[jeesapeesa]

OK, so i've been answering Uworld with tutor mode and i've gone through a couple hundred questions and going through the explanations for each question (whether it was correct or not). i'm mostly concerned about learning some material at this point in my studying, so i was also wondering if any of you also went back and read those explanations again. this is going back to the mantra that repetition is key, but has anybody found this effective? thanks for all the answers to the first question, btw.

 

[MDpride]

so i bought the Qbank. any suggestions on how to go about it? untimed, timed and how many questions do you guys generally do at a time? just looking for different perspectives and will kinda figure out how it will work for me. thanks.

what was the reason behind getting UWORLD this early?

u remember most of what u learned to answer those questions or u been reviewing material through out 2nd year?

 

[jeesapeesa]

what was the reason behind getting UWORLD this early?

u remember most of what u learned to answer those questions or u been reviewing material through out 2nd year?

my weakest areas are embryo and behavioral/biostats and for those two subjects, i cannot for the life of me read a textbook and have the material stick -- i need to answer questions. i kept hearing to use UWORLD as a learning tool, so that's why i bought it this early (Step 1 date is early March). i am familiar with most of the questions and have encountered these concepts before, but my learning style, like most people's, is continual reinforcement and repetition.

 

[bola]

In terms of how best to do UW - I did all of mine mostly timed and untimed and never really tutor mode. Even when I did it untimed I tried to note where I was at the 60 min mark, initially it was taking me forever but later on as I got more familiar with the thinking required I was done by at least the 50 min mark with each block of 48q's.

You could theoretically also do UW all in tutor mode and use the NBMEs and UWSA to test your timing. I didn't do it this way so I can't really say whether or not this would have been a better strategy.

In terms of going back to do wrong questions - I would have liked to be able to select going back to do only the questions I got wrong before I started my actual focused study time because those are the ones I really forgot, but those that I missed in the 4 week period- I didn't find going back helpful cus they were still pretty fresh in my mind and I was mainly picking the right answer off memory.

 

[MDpride]

my weakest areas are embryo and behavioral/biostats and for those two subjects, i cannot for the life of me read a textbook and have the material stick -- i need to answer questions. i kept hearing to use UWORLD as a learning tool, so that's why i bought it this early (Step 1 date is early March). i am familiar with most of the questions and have encountered these concepts before, but my learning style, like most people's, is continual reinforcement and repetition.

r u from US med school?

i haven't heard of people taking Board in early march.

thanks for reply

 

[jeesapeesa]

r u from US med school?

i haven't heard of people taking Board in early march.

thanks for reply

non-US. a few in my class are taking it january.