NMS Qbook vs. UW?

[Doctor4Life1769]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about taking the USMLE Step 1 (I took the COMLEX already). Money is a tad of an issue and I have the NMS QBook for Step 1 ... is this good enough or should I order a 3 month subscription to UW? My goal is to get a 230+ ... please let me know! Thank you!

I plan to cover FA 2009, B/W Pharm, and have a question source. I figure I can use RR Path or Wiki for more detail if needed. However, I don't see a need to read through it all again (RR Path). I also need to focus on antibiotics and micro since it's been awhile since I've covered them, and I have my notes/flow charts for them. How does this plan sound? I will probably take it during my psych rotation in March ... and do NBME's after every complete pass through FA. Hoping to get through a good amount of passes but it'll be tough with OBGYN and Gen surg coming up ... hence the need for 3-4 months ..

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[psammomabody]

Personally, I think it would be better to spend the money on UWorld and not the NBME self-assessment exams. I took two NBMEs - one before studying, one towards the end of my studying.

My advice is to take one NBME exam, and if you pass it comfortably, there's not really a need to take another. You will benefit a lot more in terms of dollars spent on doing UW questions.

Why not just get the 1 month UW subscription? Read all of your other sources and then during the last month focus on UW.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Personally, I think it would be better to spend the money on UWorld and not the NBME self-assessment exams. I took two NBMEs - one before studying, one towards the end of my studying.

My advice is to take one NBME exam, and if you pass it comfortably, there's not really a need to take another. You will benefit a lot more in terms of dollars spent on doing UW questions.

Why not just get the 1 month UW subscription? Read all of your other sources and then during the last month focus on UW.

Ok, do you think I should also pay for the UW Assessments or just roll with 1 or 2 NBME Exams? I think I will just use FA and the QBook for the 1st couple months and then UW for 1 month - but my main concern with that is with 2000+ Qs, if I can finish that in 1 month. Maybe I'll subscribe to it for 2 months ..

 

[JAWSCIENCE]

Since you will be taking the exam on a computer I suggest you make sure your question source is also on the computer. QBooks might be useful but they do not let you practice interacting with the test interface on a regular basis the way UWorld does.

The NBME's are a mixed bag. Since you cannot review your questions nor are you given te correct answers their usefulness is really limited to pointed out which subject areas you need to work harder on. In terms of their predictive value of your real score - many people will say that it was very predictive but many will say it was not. In the end it's just going to make you panic and give yourself a headache trying to figure out if it will or will not reflect your real score.

 

[shivasHeroLike]

naaa, do uworld first. then if u finish go to the other ones.

by putting uworld last u risk not having gone through it completely, & its a must to complete atleast once.

 

[Tmim TNT]

Pls tell whether nms is better than first aid for step 1

 

[jfgavina]

The bible: FA
The quran/vedas/dhamma/whatever other religious book you may want: UW

end of conversation

 

[ctizzle13498]

fgavina;11731046]The bible: FA
The quran/vedas/dhamma/whatever other religious book you may want: UW[/B]

end of conversation

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