NBME Basic Sci exam correlation with Step 1

[HiddenTruth]

So, I took the comprehensive absic sci exam and thought it was pretty tough. There were few things which were straight up. But I felt like I was reading a huge story and had some diagnosis in mind but then the quesion would ask something totally unrelated. Like I just felt that the clinical scenario was TOO vague and din't click with what they were wanting. Med school exams are NOTHING like these exams. There is a huge clinical scenario and you're supposed to make the connections, something I have little experience with. I don't know, I also felt like there was too much detail they were looking for. I have heard from some friends who have taken step 1 and the nbme exam said that actual boards were easier. Also, I ran out of time. (I think I dwelled a lot on some of the ?'s). I ahd like 15 or so q's left when they said 5 mins. I pretty much bubbled like 10-12 of them. I feel like it was really challenging but then again I am at the beginning of my study and haven't done any ?'s yet. We have to pass this exam to register for step 1 at our school. Anyone else have any experience with the correlation or how they felt about either of the exams in general? I would appreciate some feedback, thanks.

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[trouta]

If you are talking about the $45 exam that you can buy from the NBME website... I thought it correlated pretty well to the real thing. I did end up doing about 10pts better than the predicted score though.

I felt like that online test was the single best predictor of future performance on the real test.

 

[HiddenTruth]

no, sorry, I'm talking about the NBME Basci Sci SHELF exam (it's administered by our school). I am not sure how close it is to the $45 exam.

 

[Radiohead]

I thought the NBME basic science shelf was pretty tough. I somehow ended up scoring an 83 raw on it, which correlated to a 235 (we were given a sheet that correlated our 2 digit score with the 3 digit score you would have made if it were the real thing). I made a 268 on the real thing. So, there is definitely a correlation. Most people do much better on Step 1, i.e. 20-30+ higher. A few friends of mine scored ~200 on the practice and ended up with ~250 on Step 1.

A few words about how it is scored. The NBME shelf is a set of "actual" board questions given 5-10 years ago, thus your score is based on those norms. The mean raw score is 70, SD=8, like all other shelf boards. Since the mean board score used to be 200 when the test was administered, 200 is equated to 70. I think the SD=20, so a 78 corresponded to a 220 and so on. I hope this helps.

 

[trouta]

Oh yeah, now I know which one you are talking about. I took that test before I had started intensive review. My score on that didnt correlate at all with my final score on the real deal after 4 weeks of studying. I did about 40 points better (studying really does help ).

As for difficulty, I think it correlated pretty well as those are all old retired questions. I cant be sure though b/c I hadnt studied at all when I took it.

 

[HiddenTruth]

so, got my CBSE score--a freaking 64% . According to the sheet they gave us, it says I can pass boards (183/4 or something). What huge diassapointment! I mean the test was a$$ hard, but I thogght I could do better than that. I have huge goals for the real thing, but with this score, I am so freaking discouraged. Albeit, I just started studying about 2-3 weeks ago, and have until june, it's still depressing. All my friends keep telling me that the only correlation this exam has with step 1 is a pass/fail correlation, nothing more. But, I still think that the higher your score on this, the higher your step 1 score will be. Hmm... I have done fairly well in classes (~3.7 gpa or so); this test just did not click. There was so much stuff which was so vague and i was unable to make the connections. I think only a handful of us passed, which is kinda scary. Alrite, I am done ranting. So, bascailly i can give up my hopes to get the 240-250 score, ehh?

 

[bigfrank]

Most people's scores in my class went up at least 25 points. Those with lower scores like you usually went up more. It can be a HUGE motivator!!!

 

[omarsaleh66]

hang in there man. I know people from last year that scored in your range and busted 240+. Also there was one that scored in the 160's and got a 235-240. So no need to get discouraged. U got a lot of time to kill this test.

later

 

[Xega]

Is there any way to get an older version of this test if your school doesn't administer it?

 

[bigfrank]

Is there any way to get an older version of this test if your school doesn't administer it?

I don't think so, legally. When it was administered at my school, it was proctored as closely as the Step I, literally. But the paid NBME exams are more closely representative anyways.

 

[Pox in a box]

Is this basic science exam the same as the NBME Self-Test in the Basic Medical Sciences?

 

[bigfrank]

I see it this way:

1. Schools offer some test, but I forget the acronym.
2. NBME website offers 2 x 200-question exams that predict score very well if taken a few days before Step I.
3. NBME website allows you to download 150 very easy questions that everybody kicks ass on. Not the greatest questions.

Hope this helps.

 

[HiddenTruth]

Is this basic science exam the same as the NBME Self-Test in the Basic Medical Sciences?

I don't know which self test you are referrring to, but basically it's what bigfrank said.

1. What i took is the CBSE (comprehensive basic sci examination by NBME); it's 200q's in written format. Just like a shelf exam, if you've taken any.
2.Then there are those 2 (200q ea) paid ($45) exams, which apparently are the really good predictors.
3. The free q's released by the NBME (like BF said).

 

[Discobolus]

The Comprehensive Basic Science Examination is a paper and pencil test consisting of 175 questions. It is just like the NBME Subject Exams (aka "shelf exams"), and the school administers it under strict conditions. It is scored like most shelf exams with a mean (not median) of 70 and a standard deviation of 8. Most people take this toward the end of the Spring semester of their second year before they have begun much dedicated Step 1 study.

Here is a link to information about it

http://nbme.org/programs/subjexamscomp.asp

The Comprehensive Basic Science Self Examination is a computer test that anyone can take on their own. It has a form A and form B, each of which cost $90. It consists of 200 questions for each form. It is scored with a Z-score, 500 is the mean with a standard deviation of 100. This is the one that most say is the best predictor of your Step 1 score. Most people take this toward the end of their dedicated study period.

Here is a link to information about it

http://external1.nbme.org/nsaweb/servlet/mesa_main

 

[Discobolus]

I'll probably have more to comment on later tonight as I have to take the Comprehensive Basic Science Examination in 30 minutes.

 

[Discobolus]

I just got through taking it. It has 200 questions and not 175 as I had heard. It took me 2 h 45 min to finish. A good mixture of straightfoward, hard, and impossible questions. The big emphasis was of course on pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, and physiology. A few metabolic pathways questions but mostly molecular biology for biochemistry. Behavioral Science was mostly of the "what to say next" variety, with the rest being identifying the personality type. For some reason there was a hugely disproportional number of lung slides shown when there were pathology images. Quite a few biostatistics/epidemiology questions. What I'm saying pretty much mirrors what I've read others report on the make-up of the Step 1.

I'll get my score back in about a week. I don't really expect to have done that well, but at my school the magic number is 59, any lower and you have to take a review course.

Since I developed a nice tension headache during this thing I'm going to go now and take Dr. Goljan's favorite drug combination, acetomenophin/ASA