MD NBME “Shelf” (Pre-Clinical) and NBME CBSE Exam Prep

[MDTrailblazer]

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Hey guys, I’m currently an M2 attending a Caribbean Medical School. At the end of our basic sciences program, the school administers 3 NBME Subject/”Shelf” Exams (Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology). These 3 exams determine our eligibility to take the NBME CBSCE “COMP” exam which subsequently determines our eligibility to sit the USMLE Step 1.

As I understand it, not all schools administer these exams and as a result I’ve been hard pressed to find prep materials that are geared/targeted towards these exams. Furthermore, it seems that The way the questions (specifically the “Shelf”/Subject exams) are quite different in comparison to the standard Step 1/uWorld Question. If anybody could point me towards resources that are specifically geared towards the NBME Subject and COMP exams, I would be extremely grateful. Lastly, I do want to clarify that whilst our school refers to these exams as “SHELF” exams, I am referring to the NBME exams which are administered during pre-clinical years and not the NBME exams which most medical schools administer during clinical years.



Thanks in Advance!

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[Tarsal-Tunnel]

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Hey guys, I’m currently an M2 attending a Caribbean Medical School. At the end of our basic sciences program, the school administers 3 NBME Subject/”Shelf” Exams (Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology). These 3 exams determine our eligibility to take the NBME CBSCE “COMP” exam which subsequently determines our eligibility to sit the USMLE Step 1.

As I understand it, not all schools administer these exams and as a result I’ve been hard pressed to find prep materials that are geared/targeted towards these exams. Furthermore, it seems that The way the questions (specifically the “Shelf”/Subject exams) are quite different in comparison to the standard Step 1/uWorld Question. If anybody could point me towards resources that are specifically geared towards the NBME Subject and COMP exams, I would be extremely grateful. Lastly, I do want to clarify that whilst our school refers to these exams as “SHELF” exams, I am referring to the NBME exams which are administered during pre-clinical years and not the NBME exams which most medical schools administer during clinical years.



Thanks in Advance!

For the CBSE exams, the NBME website has CBSSAs available for purchase. They were made more for Step 1 prep so idk if you want to use those resources up now. My med school also had us take CBSE, I just used Anki + Amboss questions and I did fine on it. I personally found that building up the endurance for the length of those exams was more beneficial for it.