NBME exams

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beponychick

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Hi guys,

I hear that the NBME exams do not provide answers for you after you are done taking them. What is the best way to go about studying from those exams? Is there a way to save the questions to look up after? How do you use those exams as a learning tool instead of just getting a final score?

Thanks so much! Happy Holidays to all of you! :)

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the nbme's arent the best resource as a learning tool. the answers can be found if you do a google search on it, but they are not necessarily all correct, just what people have guessed.
go with usmlerx or world as a good cost effective learning tool.
$45 for 200 nbme q's you dont even get answers to, versus $99 for 2,000 plus q's with answers!
hmmmmm...
 
they do NOT provide answers or explanations.

even though they dont provide answers, the NBME's are almost identical to the real exam in terms of content and difficulty. UW is very similar to the real test, but doesn't have as close a resemblance as the NBMEs.

other reasons to do all 4 NBMEs:
1. they provide u with a breakdown of how u performed in each subject, so u can focus ur efforts on ur weak subjects.
2. they provide you with a 3-digit score which is usually very predictive of what range your real score is going to be in.
3. i had 3 questions on my Step 1 exam which I had previously seen on the NBMEs - so they must be selecting questions for Step 1 and the NBMEs from the same pool.
 
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No answers. No explanations.

However, NBME practice exams are the best assessment of your status.

One of my classmates did the biostats on it and concluded that the NBME has a 95% sensitivity and 95% specificity of placing you within a 10 point range of your actual STEP 1 score. That means your score +/- 5 if you hadn’t done biostats yet. Most of my classmates will tell you that NBME was really on point with putting them where they scored.

That being said, don't keep taking it unless you are at a point where you are about to take the exam. Since they are an assessment of your performance, you don't want to use them all up and start remembering the questions....then the assessment will not be as accurate.

Hope this helps...
 
No answers. No explanations.

However, NBME practice exams are the best assessment of your status.

One of my classmates did the biostats on it and concluded that the NBME has a 95% sensitivity and 95% specificity of placing you within a 10 point range of your actual STEP 1 score. That means your score +/- 5 if you hadn’t done biostats yet. Most of my classmates will tell you that NBME was really on point with putting them where they scored.

That being said, don't keep taking it unless you are at a point where you are about to take the exam. Since they are an assessment of your performance, you don't want to use them all up and start remembering the questions....then the assessment will not be as accurate.

Hope this helps...

How did your friend do it without any knowledge about the number of people taking the test, nor what their actual test results are?
 
anyone have the answers to the exams?...planning on doing them in a few weeks....
or at least where i can get the answers?

cheers
 
anyone have the answers to the exams?...planning on doing them in a few weeks....
or at least where i can get the answers?

cheers

Copy Right Rules, it is illegal to post/ send answers on public forums
try to find it from your buddy
 
How did your friend do it without any knowledge about the number of people taking the test, nor what their actual test results are?

Don't know how he did it. But he seems like a pretty trustworthy guy. He was our class president so he must have got the numbers from somewhere...
 
Do you get to keep a copy of the test "ie. a list of the questions?"

Unfortunately, no.

All you get is a three-digit score. How that score translates to a Step 1 score. And a diagram listing the various subjects with a bar indicating your strengths and weaknesses.
 
i am a little confused after perusing the nbme website regarding the practice tests...how many forms are there? are they each $45, and each 200 questions? must you fill out the 'payment voucher form' i found, and have someone from your school sign it in order to purchase a form?
 
i am a little confused after perusing the nbme website regarding the practice tests...how many forms are there? are they each $45, and each 200 questions? must you fill out the 'payment voucher form' i found, and have someone from your school sign it in order to purchase a form?

There are 4 forms. Each one is $45 and 200 questions (split into four 50 question tests, with NO breaks in between so make sure you are free for 4hrs once you start the test). You can purchase a form using a credit/debit card.
 
There are 4 forms. Each one is $45 and 200 questions (split into four 50 question tests, with NO breaks in between so make sure you are free for 4hrs once you start the test). You can purchase a form using a credit/debit card.

Actually, you can choose to take the exam in "untimed mode"... which essentially gives you 4 hours PER 50 question block (PLENTY of time to do a block at your own pace, look up all your answers/write notes, go for a taco bell run, take a post-taco bell poopie and start the next block). So you technically have 16 hours to complete the exam.

If I remember correctly, you can even log off anytime you want from the exam and come back the next day. The time is only running while you're logged on, and it saves the amount of time you were on previously.
 
What do u guys use to study for shelf exams? I've used Kaplan lecture notes and the videos and pretest questions.
 
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