NBME Pathology Shelf Exam...

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Frank Nutter

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So, like, how are we supposed to prepare for this thing?

The micro shelf was kind of a wake up call that these NBME exams are nothing like our school's course and, even worse, not even Kaplan/QBank questions.

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BUMP. What Qbanks are most like the path shelf? I heard it's more detailed than step, so Red Robbins Question Book? pLease help!
 
So, like, how are we supposed to prepare for this thing?

The micro shelf was kind of a wake up call that these NBME exams are nothing like our school's course and, even worse, not even Kaplan/QBank questions.

What was micro like?
 
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I have not taken the pathology subject exam, but I have taken NBME exams, such as cardiology, hematology, immunology, etc. I prepare for them as if they are miniature step 1 exams, so I utilize the standard step1 resources, such as Goljan, First Aid, etc. Up to this point, the only qbank I have used is Kaplan because I haven't had time to work on USMLERx and I am saving UWorld for dedicated step 1 studying. So far, the Kaplan Qbank has not matched up very well with questions I have seen. It is much more in depth and requires more thought than the average question from the NBME. However, it is great preparation for the more difficult questions, and it can give you somewhat of a sense of where your weakness are. As for the Robbins question book, it is decent but not great. It focuses on material in the Robbin's text, which may not be very high yield for your exam. Nonetheless, if you have the time, you should do it because it will give you a sense of your weaknesses, but the question style doesn't match up all that well with those on the NBMEs.

I'm guessing that your school gives you a few days off to study. If you are pressed for time, I would hit FA first for the most high yield info, then Goljan for understanding of the high yield info as well as the few diseases that aren't covered by FA. If you have time, I think that the Kaplan Qbank or USMLERx would be most helpful, assuming that you want to save UWorld.

I hope that my writing isn't too disorganized, and you find this post helpful.
 
Took Micro last year. I did very minimal prep work for it (read through FA portion the day before the exam due to the circumstances I had)....it's DETAILED but doable. Buzzwords are rampant, but it is also detailed. Like secondary/tertiary stuff...such as ssDNA virus, etc. not just knowing the name of the virus...etc. Good luck -- I think a focused look at FA can help you get through it. good luck
 
Took Micro last year. I did very minimal prep work for it (read through FA portion the day before the exam due to the circumstances I had)....it's DETAILED but doable. Buzzwords are rampant, but it is also detailed. Like secondary/tertiary stuff...such as ssDNA virus, etc. not just knowing the name of the virus...etc. Good luck -- I think a focused look at FA can help you get through it. good luck

Do you think it is possible to pass if you just know the buzzwords (fruity smell - pseduomonas)? Or how much more would you need to know?
 
You can pass with that! But be familiar with the basics of microbrial structure...just as gram +/-'s and etc. I didn't have time to memorize the genomes and it was ok !
 
So what do you need to know to score, say, in the 90+ percentile?
 
So what do you need to know to score, say, in the 90+ percentile?

I got an 85 on it (average 50, std 10).

I guess the best way to get a high score is to have been studying for Step 1 way before the test comes up. Pathoma seems like it'd be helpful, but it's not sufficient to cover all of the topics on the exam - especially w/ respect to metabolic diseases, nervous system pathology and infectious disease. I'd recommend doing all the pathology/pathophys/infectious diseases questions that you can possibly do.
 
I got an 85 on it (average 50, std 10).

I guess the best way to get a high score is to have been studying for Step 1 way before the test comes up. Pathoma seems like it'd be helpful, but it's not sufficient to cover all of the topics on the exam - especially w/ respect to metabolic diseases, nervous system pathology and infectious disease. I'd recommend doing all the pathology/pathophys/infectious diseases questions that you can possibly do.

Is there really that much micro covered on the pathology shelf? The outline on the NBME website says that 1-5% of the exam involves "Microbial Biology and Infection":

http://www.nbme.org/pdf/SubjectExams/SE_ContentOutlineandSampleItems.pdf

I'm trying to decide whether to spend my last bit of free time before the shelf exam reviewing things like WBC disorders and female reproductive (topics I'm weak on) or whether I should focus on micro stuff.
 
I have no clue how much ID was on it. Took the exam >9 months ago. But if you're shooting for 90th percentile it's those kinds of topics I'd focus on because you probably already have a solid grasp on the core organ systems. Knowing a little bit about everything is probably a better strategy for broad NBMEs like this one rather than focusing on any one topic in depth. It's not like they're going to test on which virus is a +ssRNA, etc... it's going to be clinical - guy ate some uncooked bear meat in Northern Canada, now developing myalgias and eosinophilia. Dx?
 
It's not like they're going to test on which virus is a +ssRNA, etc... it's going to be clinical - guy ate some uncooked bear meat in Northern Canada, now developing myalgias and eosinophilia. Dx?

Trichinella?
 
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