NBME practice exam question

[applecore]

The questions on the NBME practice exams seem a little on the short side, no? I've been hearing all this talk about how the actual Step 2 questions tend to be very long. Are the questions on the NBME practice exam indicative of what to expect on the actual exam?

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[DNASplicer]

thought the same thing. Hell, I thought the IM shelf was a lot tougher time wise!

I have not taken step 2 yet, but I have asked around about that same thing. Apparently the length of the stem are on the shorter side for NBME, and there might be more lab values attached on the real thing. I have heard that the average of MKSAP questions and USMLEworld questions are a good bet for length on step 2.

anyone else? For those of you that took step 2, did you find yourself running out of time?

splicer

 

[lama]

The questions on the NBME practice exams seem a little on the short side, no? I've been hearing all this talk about how the actual Step 2 questions tend to be very long. Are the questions on the NBME practice exam indicative of what to expect on the actual exam?

I said this on another thread, but I thought the differences between the NBME assesment and UW were significant.

UW has much longer question stems, but is fairly easy to follow. You know exactly what the are asking even though you might not know the answer. They do have a fair share of zebras and nit-picky details in the answers.

The NBME test I took had shorter question stems, but were confusing as hell. I would just stare at the computer screen and shake my head... lots of distracting values and symptoms. Maybe it was just the difference in writing style that led to so much confusion.

I highly recommend doing atleast doing one of the three NBME tests before the real thing. The writing styles are drastically different and if one is too comfortable with UW, you will have a pleasant surprise with the real thing. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[Theasam]

Does anyone know if there are explanations to the NBME questions at the end of each exams. Thanks!

 

[sophiejane]

There are no explanations.

 

[Medical123]

Are the questions in the NBME practice exams the same questions that they provide to us on the CD that the USMLE sends out? I had heard the rumor that they were and I don't want to spend the money to take the self-assessment if I already have the questions. Thanks.

 

[Shane2150]

This question has probably been answered in another post, but I couldn't find it easily. Sorry!

I know that there are no explanations available for the NBME self-assessments exams which you can purchase off the website, but is there any way to find out what specific questions you got wrong (i.e. some sort of answer key)? Or is it supposed to mimic the "real" exam in that all you receive is a score? (well, plus the breakdown of how well you performed in each general subject area)

Again, I apologize for repeating what is probably an oft-asked question

 

[manning18]

The NBME mini tests mimic the actual USMLE exams, in the sense that all one receives is a score and some sort of graphic representation (bars) of how one performed in the various disciplines. No explanations, no gauge of how many items were answered correctrly, incorrectly, omitted and, for those who failed, no information regarding how many additional items were needed to pass. Makes you feel kind of ripped-off, huh?

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

I said this on another thread, but I thought the differences between the NBME assesment and UW were significant.

UW has much longer question stems, but is fairly easy to follow. You know exactly what the are asking even though you might not know the answer. They do have a fair share of zebras and nit-picky details in the answers.

The NBME test I took had shorter question stems, but were confusing as hell. I would just stare at the computer screen and shake my head... lots of distracting values and symptoms. Maybe it was just the difference in writing style that led to so much confusion.

I highly recommend doing atleast doing one of the three NBME tests before the real thing. The writing styles are drastically different and if one is too comfortable with UW, you will have a pleasant surprise with the real thing. Anyone else feel the same?

The questions on the NBME are so deceptive....since they are all written by the pros!

 

[jpinsky]

How much $$ does the NBME assessment cost? And, when should you take it? I'm taking the test Aug. 21st but my schedule is packed to the brim....is it worth cutting out some UW questions in order to complete a full-length NBME assessment? Finally, how is the correlation b/w NBME and real thing? I'm freakin out if you cant already tell.

 

[manning18]

Each NBME mini test costs $45. There are 3 separate exams. IMHO, it is worth holding back on UW in order to take one (or more!) of the NBME mini tests! They proivde you with a score and a chart to convert it to the scoring system used on Step 2-CK. Some people say the correlation between NBME mini tests and actual Step 2-CK scores is not that good, while there have been others on this forum whose NBME mini test score predicted their Step 2-CK score, with 100% accuracy! One person said his or her school kept records which showed that the correlation between students' predicted scores and their real scores was VERY strong!
For a test date of 8-21-06, it would be wise to take one of the NBME mini tests by the 7th of August. This allows you to gauge your performance along the way and, if indicated by your score on the NBME mini test, gives you the chance to postpone your test!

 

[Shane2150]

Some people say the correlation between NBME mini tests and actual Step 2-CK scores is not that good, while there have been others on this forum whose NBME mini test score predicted their Step 2-CK score, with 100% accuracy! One person said his or her school kept records which showed that the correlation between students' predicted scores and their real scores was VERY strong!
!

Out of curiousity (as one who will be taking the "real" exam on Thursday), for those who didn't think the NBME assessment was an accurate predictor, did they think the assessment over or under-estimated their actual USMLE performance?

(Most of the posts I've read have just talked about how well the NBME predicts the USMLE result; I'm interested in the other side)

Thanks. Sorry if this ground has been travelled ad nauseum

 

[jpinsky]

Thanks Manning! I will most likely take at least one of these self assessments, but I hope I do fine bc I dont have any free days to postpone the real thing!! ahhhh....pressure.

Just to be sure....these arent the same quetions that USMLE releases on CD for free, right? I did these prior to step I and they were wayyyy to easy.

 

[Medical123]

.

Just to be sure....these arent the same quetions that USMLE releases on CD for free, right? I did these prior to step I and they were wayyyy to easy.

They are different questions. I had the same concern. I finally broke down and just took one of the practice exams! However, I do think that the Step 2 NBME questions seemed a little easier than my actual Step 1 exam was!

 

[manning18]

From what I have seen, most of the people on student doctor ended up doing BETTER on the actual Step 2-CK exam than they were predicted to do, based on the NBME mini tests. That said, there are 3 tests and some of them may have been taken a few weeks before the real test. I, personally, scored a bit LOWER (roughly 5 pts) on Step 1 than the average of the 2 NBME mini tests I took.

Out of curiousity (as one who will be taking the "real" exam on Thursday), for those who didn't think the NBME assessment was an accurate predictor, did they think the assessment over or under-estimated their actual USMLE performance?

(Most of the posts I've read have just talked about how well the NBME predicts the USMLE result; I'm interested in the other side)

Thanks. Sorry if this ground has been travelled ad nauseum

 

[dfagod]

I scored a 248 on the NBME practice test #1, and I just found out I got a 261 on the real step 2 ck. I'm pretty stoked. I guess i'm another person that did better on the real test.