NBME assessments

[dreds]

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For those who have taken the boards, do you recommend doing the $45 NBME assessments before you start studying or after you have reviewed everything?

 

[Anath]

For those who have taken the boards, do you recommend doing the $45 NBME assessments before you start studying or after you have reviewed everything?

One before studying or early on in the study process. Then you can take the others after you have studied. Yeah the prices add up, but I swear they were the best thing ever! Even with the fact that you never get the answer. Getting your score is a cold hard reality (which is either good or bad) and can ease your fears or kick your butt into gear.

Q bank was good for the information and in the midst of studying, but it did not predict how I would do as well as the assessments did. I cant remember my nubmers anymore, but that had been the general feeling I remember.

 

[ColdChillin]

I think those tests are good for two things: 1. Getting an idea of what board questions are like 2. Motivating yourself

When I was studying for the boards, I took one of those tests 3 weeks before taking step 1 and I was not where I wanted to be. Seeing this, I busted my tail and my score went up 25 points from what the form 1 predicted. I didn't take the 2nd one because I was afraid if I did poorly on it it would destroy my confidence going into the test. So to answer your question I would review everything first, then take the test and see where you're at, then go back and go over everything again in excruciating detail, then take the 2nd test or do whatever you want.

 

[DoctorWannaBe]

Can someone post the link to where I can get these practice tests? I can't find it on the NBME website.

 

[Bones2008]

go to www.nbme.org and click on self-assessment services

 

[DW3843]

so it sounds like taking a practice test before really diving into the hardcore studying is a decent idea for multiple reasons?

which is better to take at the beginning of my studying for Step 1: one of the NBME exams that you pay for or the USMLE practice test that I have heard of that is apparently free??


This might help clear things up....
I will be starting a 4-5 week intense Step 1 review a few days after finishing my 2nd year final exams (including a cumulative NBME Path exam). Should I go ahead and attempt a practice test at that time, or is it better to wait until a week or two into full Step 1 review before trying the NBME or USMLE practice tests that are available?
I feel like I need an early test to really motivate me, but I don't want it to be wasted because I haven't even thought about a lot of that material since the end of first year.

Thanks for your help.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

I would go through one round of studying before taking an nbme test.
then you get your weakness/strength profile/results/graph thing, and you can fine tune your studying based on that.

 

[DW3843]

I would go through one round of studying before taking an nbme test.
then you get your weakness/strength profile/results/graph thing, and you can fine tune your studying based on that.

sounds like good advice.

I think I am going to start off the first week by going through all of First Aid 2006. I have done a decent amount of it this semester as an aid to some of my normal class studying. Getting through FA one quick time and taking an NBME practice should definitely give me an idea of where I stand before diving into the real intense review.

thanks

 

[Idiopathic]

NBME assessments are hard. They can either motivate you or beat you down. I would reccommend taking one test 7-10 days before your test, and if you did well on that test, take the other one the day before. It should reassure you. HOWEVER, if you do not perform well on NBME 1, perhaps consider rescheduling your test or getting about 80 hours of studying in after it. I believe in the predictive power of the NBME, although I do believe that it UNDER-predicts just slightly.

 

[lealf-ye]

btw, now we have 4 NBME assessment tests. Play with first two tests to see where you stand. Take the last 2 tests seriously for step 1 prediction.

 

[missbonnie]

I just took NBME #1.

Any general agreement on how much you can expect to go up?

I took it as a diagnostic and what I thought I was good at & vice versa did not match up! So I really suggest everyone takes one early on ... I didn't take it too seriously...and did each section in like 30-35 min (well I'm also a fast test taker) ... more to see what this test is like, etc. I think I read form 1 was "easier" but the scaling made up for it. I found the questions to be very straightforward and easier than the qbank qs I've been doing.

Bonnie

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

i'm about to tackle nbme 1 as soon as i finish reading this FA anatomy and biochem. my school gave us an nbme comprehensive, but i don't know if it's the same as any of the 4 tests we can buy. i surely hope i can bump my score up significantly on the real deal. my last score wasn't so pretty.

i'm gonna waste an nbme exam to test how effective studying FA is. I'm gonna see if the questions are answerable solely on the info presented in FA. Has anyone done this before? So far, my impression is that FA doesn't cut it, or my memory is just bad.

 

[Trader56]

Please post the results of your FA experiment!

I'll be most interested, and surely others will, too!

 

[Idiopathic]

I just took NBME #1.

Any general agreement on how much you can expect to go up?

I took it as a diagnostic and what I thought I was good at & vice versa did not match up! So I really suggest everyone takes one early on ... I didn't take it too seriously...and did each section in like 30-35 min (well I'm also a fast test taker) ... more to see what this test is like, etc. I think I read form 1 was "easier" but the scaling made up for it. I found the questions to be very straightforward and easier than the qbank qs I've been doing.

Bonnie

I improved by about 10% in a week.

 

[Pox in a box]

The NBME exams are good tools to see where you stand but I don't think they are helpful within one week of your exam. It is best to take a look at the concepts you know you missed on the exams and try to hone in to the minutiae that the test writers are asking.

 

[xaelia]

Last year, I took my first NBME about a month before Step 1. I was a little upset with the score, but I realized I had an entire month left to study, so I incorporated the feedback from the performance assessment into the schedule I'd made myself of topics to review. About 8 days before Step 1, I took #2, was slightly encouraged, and used that performance profile to figure out what to cram the most in the last week before the exam. I would say it worked.

#1: 224 -> #2: 232 -> Step 1: 253

If you have four to play with now, I'd probably still do the same thing, except take the first two a month ahead of Step 1, and the second two a week or so ahead of Step 1. It would be useful to take all four mostly for a more accurate assessment of deficient areas.

 

[highclass]

What do you all think about taking a Qbank diagnostic before studying? I was told to take three blocks of 50 questions to see the areas i am weakest in, before I start studying. Has this been useful to anyone else?

 

[quideam]

I'm doing the 150 released questions 19 days before the exam, the first NBME 18 days before the exam (so at this point I will have studied for 3 weeks), and then the second and (possibly) third forms about a week before the exam. I didn't want to do them right at the beginning because, frankly, I need to review EVERYTHING! 😀.

*sigh*... currently on "Day 9" of 40...

 

[DW3843]

Last year, I took my first NBME about a month before Step 1. I was a little upset with the score, but I realized I had an entire month left to study, so I incorporated the feedback from the performance assessment into the schedule I'd made myself of topics to review. About 8 days before Step 1, I took #2, was slightly encouraged, and used that performance profile to figure out what to cram the most in the last week before the exam. I would say it worked.

#1: 224 -> #2: 232 -> Step 1: 253

If you have four to play with now, I'd probably still do the same thing, except take the first two a month ahead of Step 1, and the second two a week or so ahead of Step 1. It would be useful to take all four mostly for a more accurate assessment of deficient areas.

you are the ****.

I think that's great advice too, and it fits perfectly with my 4-5 week cram for Step 1 after I finish up with final exams in a few weeks. Hopefully, I'll be able to do as well as you did.

 

[Poopy]

Last year, I took my first NBME about a month before Step 1. I was a little upset with the score, but I realized I had an entire month left to study, so I incorporated the feedback from the performance assessment into the schedule I'd made myself of topics to review. About 8 days before Step 1, I took #2, was slightly encouraged, and used that performance profile to figure out what to cram the most in the last week before the exam. I would say it worked.

#1: 224 -> #2: 232 -> Step 1: 253

If you have four to play with now, I'd probably still do the same thing, except take the first two a month ahead of Step 1, and the second two a week or so ahead of Step 1. It would be useful to take all four mostly for a more accurate assessment of deficient areas.

It seems like you raised your score over 20 pts w/in the last eight days---that's great, and gives me hope 😳. Can you give me an idea what your schedule was like during those eight days? My exam's in two weeks !!!
Thanks tons!!!

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

ok. I'm done with my little half-assed-semi scientific experiment, mainly for my enlightenment really.
I just completed nbme1 open book using mainly First aid. I hardly remember any basic sciences, so this was a good test of the effectiveness of FA.

I only scored about average-- average being 500 i.e ~219, and this was open book.
About 26% +/- of the questions either had no answer in FA, or were very difficult to deduce from the information in FA. About 5% of the time, I had to refer to BRS Path to find answers.

So here's the performance chart, just to get a general idea. You can +/- 10% error. Click to open:


Assuming that the cbssa-step1 correlation is tight, it appears that memorizing FA verbatim would be enough to pass step1, but only with average & below-average scores. It also looks like FA needs to be supplemented by separate Behavioral, Pathology, Physio, and histology review books.

So that's my halfassed assessment of FA. it pretty much corroborates what everyone has known already.

 

[Trader56]

YouDontKnow,

Thanks for posting your experiment results!

FA kinda' spooks me in some ways.

It's like something we have in school before exams that's put together by the class one year ahead of us. These are sort of High-yield bullet points without much detail.

The trap in both this idea and FA is that if you know the material fairly well, you don't need them. But, if you don't know the material very well, FA and the pre-test handout didn't have enough in them to really get you through.

I've gotten the nagging feeling that people use FA because they think everyone else is. And med students, being what they are, don't want to think they're not doing the same thing everyone else is IF there's any chance it has some merit.

Yes, FA can be used as a sort of "organizational outline," but still, is this really that helpful?

 

[quideam]

Hey, YouDon'tKnowJack, how have you been doing on random QBanks? Thanks!

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Hey, YouDon'tKnowJack, how have you been doing on random QBanks? Thanks!

i haven't started doing questions yet. But i bet i would get pretty crappy qbank percentages closed-book, like 50% probably.

 

[wam_256]

YouDontKnowJack....thanks for sharing that info! I'm sure you are going to ace step 1!!!! 😉
Wishing you the best my friend!

 

[theprizefighter]

This might be off topic but,

Given time constraints, is it better to do Q-bank twice or another question source like A+L or NMS? I've already don't most of Board Simulator Series but I'm not sure if I should do Q-bank again to remember everything well in that question source or do other questions books because they are written by different ppl and I might get a different perpsective on how questions can be asked. Any advice on this is much appreciated.


Thanks,

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

This might be off topic but,

Given time constraints, is it better to do Q-bank twice or another question source like A+L or NMS? I've already don't most of Board Simulator Series but I'm not sure if I should do Q-bank again to remember everything well in that question source or do other questions books because they are written by different ppl and I might get a different perpsective on how questions can be asked. Any advice on this is much appreciated.


Thanks,

are BSS and NMS in book format only?

 

[theprizefighter]

The Second edition of BSS (I don't know of a 3rd) I have is in book format. NMS has a CD that comes with it but I really haven't messed around with it yet so I don't know how good it is.

 

[little guy]

did anyone take the step after having done NBME exams and find that their score actually went down??

 

[kilroth]

Let's hear more on how accurate (or not) they are compared to step 1. I just got a 480 (216 equivalent) before my finals are even over which makes me feel much better about the test. The problem is some of my lowest brackets were categories I know I've studied the most. The error rate must be high.

 

[Idiopathic]

are BSS and NMS in book format only?

BSS has a CD, which I HIGHLY reccomend. Get it from ebay for <$10 if you must, I dont know if you can find it in print anymore.

 

[JBlue]

How did you work through BSS? I have tried a little bit but my version (e-bay) doesn't keep track of the questions that I have done so everytime I open it up I have the same 3000 q+ to work through. It is daunting. I have read that it is a great source but I am having trouble getting started with it. I have 6 weeks to study and wondering if I should even try it at all. I still have most of Qbank to do. Is it worth the extra effort?

 

[viper]

I would recommend doing them and I think there is a 3rd form out now (can someone verify this):........and try to do them in the tutor mode so you get four hours. this guide has more info, http://www.gotmedbooks.com/insidepages_guide.php

good luck,

 

[cherrypie]

I would recommend doing them and I think there is a 3rd form out now (can someone verify this):........and try to do them in the tutor mode so you get four hours. this guide has more info, http://www.gotmedbooks.com/insidepages_guide.php

good luck,

Are you referring to the NBME assessments? If so, there are 4 forms. Each cost 45 bucks, but they are WORTH it, at least in my opinion. It sucks that you cant see what you missed. But, they were similar to the real thing.

 

[cherrypie]

How did you work through BSS? I have tried a little bit but my version (e-bay) doesn't keep track of the questions that I have done so everytime I open it up I have the same 3000 q+ to work through. It is daunting. I have read that it is a great source but I am having trouble getting started with it. I have 6 weeks to study and wondering if I should even try it at all. I still have most of Qbank to do. Is it worth the extra effort?

With 6 weeks to go, which is plenty of time, I would only do the path questions from the BSS series and start going through Qbank. There is another question bank that I liked. It was usmleasy by Mcgraw hill. It does cost money but they were tough and really good questions, especially the neuro questions. I reallythought my exam was not as hard as the usmleasy questions. As far as how it compares to qbank. I thought my exam was more general than qbank. But, from all these question sources qbank is as close as it gets to the real thing. And, do as many of the nbme assessments as you can. With six weeks to go you still have plenty of time. But whatever you do. Keep your studying FOCUSED and use first aid as your guide. Good luck!

 

[JBlue]

With 6 weeks to go, which is plenty of time, I would only do the path questions from the BSS series and start going through Qbank. There is another question bank that I liked. It was usmleasy by Mcgraw hill. It does cost money but they were tough and really good questions, especially the neuro questions. I reallythought my exam was not as hard as the usmleasy questions. As far as how it compares to qbank. I thought my exam was more general than qbank. But, from all these question sources qbank is as close as it gets to the real thing. And, do as many of the nbme assessments as you can. With six weeks to go you still have plenty of time. But whatever you do. Keep your studying FOCUSED and use first aid as your guide. Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[CanIMakeIt]

BSS has a CD, which I HIGHLY reccomend. Get it from ebay for <$10 if you must, I dont know if you can find it in print anymore.

If you are talking about the 5 printed books of BSS (2nd edition), then you can find plenty on Amazon and some on ebay.

 

[quideam]

Alright, well, i took NBME Form #2 today - it predicted a 211 for me... i'm not sure how I feel about that - on the other hand, i have yet to review about 1/2 of pharm, cell biology, and immunology (as well as reproduction and heme/onc), but I was hoping I could do a teeny bit better right now... anyway, I have 17 days left to study, so i'm going to study hardcore for the next 7-8 days and then take form #1.... !

 

[cherrypie]

Alright, well, i took NBME Form #2 today - it predicted a 211 for me... i'm not sure how I feel about that - on the other hand, i have yet to review about 1/2 of pharm, cell biology, and immunology (as well as reproduction and heme/onc), but I was hoping I could do a teeny bit better right now... anyway, I have 17 days left to study, so i'm going to study hardcore for the next 7-8 days and then take form #1.... !

Study hard are your scores will improve. 17 days is plenty. Good luck!

 

[quideam]

I hope so!! My ultimate goal is something in the mid-to-high 220s - i think that's possible to achieve w/ 17 days left... right?? (scared..)

 

[cherrypie]

I hope so!! My ultimate goal is something in the mid-to-high 220s - i think that's possible to achieve w/ 17 days left... right?? (scared..)

Yes it is possible, and seriously if you bust your but studying you can possibly see better. I know many friends who have already recieved their scores just a few days ago, and they were in similar position as you. And, they really kept their motivation and confidence high. And, they did well. Most people that have taken it and recieved their scores have said that they scored a few points better on the real thing than what was present on the NBME assessments. Just stay focused and keep your studying high yield. And, do questions, questions, and more questions.
Good luck

 

[MDFACC]

where can i find these nbme tests?

i know you can pay for some of them on the website

but what is this usmle CD?

where are those free 'released questions'

thanks !

 

[cherrypie]

where can i find these nbme tests?

i know you can pay for some of them on the website

but what is this usmle CD?

where are those free 'released questions'

thanks !

The 4 NBME assessments can be found at www.nbme.org (click on nbme assessment services). They cost $45 dollars each. But they are really good. The only disadvantage is that you get no explanations and you do not know which ones you missed.
The released 150 items, I believe you can get from there also which are for free. However, I took the 150 at the same testing center that I scheduled to take the real thing. I did them about 1 week before. Its worth it. It makes me feel better when I get a sense of what my surroundings before the big day. And, you can ask the staff tons of questions about what you can or cant do, etc... The explanations to the released items can be found on the kaplan website. I think you get it with qbank, or I am sure someone has the explanations somewhere
good luck

 

[MDFACC]

ok thanks cherry pie.

so there are 4 paid exams + 150 questions already released somwhere?

for these 4 paid exams, it gives you a score correct? can you print out the exam? is there a time limit on the exam? how many questions per test?

 

[MDFACC]

actually i found the link that has all the helpful info

http://www.nbme.org/programs/sas/essential.asp

it don't answer where the already released 150 questions are. if anyone would be so kind to help me out with those!

 

[CanIMakeIt]

actually i found the link that has all the helpful info

http://www.nbme.org/programs/sas/essential.asp

it don't answer where the already released 150 questions are. if anyone would be so kind to help me out with those!

http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/2006/2006menu.htm

I believe this is the site where you can download the practice material.

 

[MDFACC]

money

thanks

 

[JBlue]

When you are finished with the free 150 NBME practice questions do you get a score and an indicator for how you did in each subject?

 

[DOctorJay]

When you are finished with the free 150 NBME practice questions do you get a score and an indicator for how you did in each subject?

NO, and I wish I had known that earlier. It makes you think it's going to calculate something for you since it's a program but if you don't keep track of your answers separately (yes like on a piece of paper) they will be lost when you move to the next block. So take the test and copy your answer onto another sheet or wait til the end of your test and copy them all down before moving to the next block.

Kaplan has a list of the answers to the questions and gives explanations which is helpful, the NBME just provides the answer key.

Hope this is helpful, it would have been to me.

-J

 

[MDFACC]

sorry to keep posting about this..but it seems that 2005 orientation materials have different questions than the 2006 orientation materials? can anyone else confirm this?

looks like we'll get an extra full exam!