NMS and Score correlation

[Pureride]

What have ya'll heard is a comfortable level for NMS to be passing? I am taking S2 on the 28th and I have been getting crushed!

Anyone...Bueler?

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[DrQuinn]

Bump. Also would be interested in knowing. I'm scoring around a 65%.

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

I wouldn't worry too much if you are not doing as well as you'd like on either NMS or Q-bank. I was doing similarly (often around 70%) on NMS and variable on Q-bank, yet I got a 250/95. I'd do as many questions as you possibly can; seems that the practice test scores and actual test scores are pretty inconsistent. (I think some people posted their scores on the 'let's break it down' thread.)

If you have time, definitely get a hold of the Q-bank book as well; I thought there were many questions on the real thing that either covered the same concepts, had a similar format, or were outright identical to ones in the book.

Good luck!

 

[Pureride]

Thanks for the advice.
I am in the middle of the Qbook right now. I am doing well on the medicine section but peds is tough. Anyway, I will take your advice and read the Qbook explanations much more carefully.

Also, I am going to to QBank and the Brochert book.

Any other advice? Does Qbank also have similar questions/themes as the actual exam or just the book?

Thanks a million.
-Jordan
[email protected]

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

You're welcome- glad to help. I actually thought the Q-bank book was more similar in format to the test than the CD. The questions on the CD tended to be lengthy with a decent amount of distracting information. Step 2 tended to be a little more to the point; the questions that were long were really filled with a lot of info; not just distractors.

Crush the Boards, as well as First Aid, has sections on subspecialty info (ortho, neuro, optho), which I definitely think are worthwhile. Although the concepts on the test weren't too complicated, I did see things like the pediatric ortho diseases as well as some innervation of the limbs (gross anatomy-style.) Though these didn't account for tons of questions, I'd definitely make sure to hit those sections in either Crush or First Aid. There also were some basic stats (sensitivity/specificity- type questions.)

I read Crush and was very happy with it- it appears almost too high-yield while you are reading it in certain chapters, but it really did nail several things I saw on the test head-on. I didn't read First Aid but have also heard that it is very good.

Good luck- 3 weeks of study time and you will be in great shape. I thought Step 2 was more straightforward than Step 1.

Foxxy C.

 

[Pureride]

Dear Foxxy:
My strategy is to continue to MCQ's until a few days before the exam. At that point I am going to take your advice and read through Crush the Boards and the subspeciality sections of First Aid. Have you heard anything about "advanced life support for the USMLE step 2"?

The only thing is as I read through these posts it seems that people are studying more that I thought (months to a year) and reading review books like Blueprints and NMS Peds, psych etc. I skipped the review book thing. Do you think I should be reading Blue prints, High Yield, etc....

Thanks for the advice!
-Jordan

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

Hi Jordan-

Sorry it took me so long- I've been out of town on interviews.

If there is a rotation that you had a long time ago or don't remember that well, high-yield or blueprints may be a good idea. High-yield OB/GYN is excellent- can be done in 2 days, easy to read, and lots of good study aids.

I didn't do high-yield when studying for the boards but did read them during most rotations. I did the Kaplan online lectures- it can be done in about 8 days and covers things like medicine and peds pretty well.

High-yield medicine is okay; may be another good alternative to the Kaplan online. I thought blueprints and high-yield for surgery were not very complete- the thing tested most often is trauma, and both of those books don't cover it much. Pre-Test for peds is pretty good (unfortunately no high-yield for peds and blueprints is pretty long.)

I've heard good things about Advanced Life Support, I haven't actually ever paged through it, however. Anything with questions (if you have the time) will probably help.

Good luck!