5/11- Pre-study - NBME 1 - 490 (216)
5/25 - 4 weeks out - NBME 2 - 630 (245)
5/31 - 3 weeks out - NBME 3 - 650 (248)
6/8 - 12 days out - NBME 5 - 650 (248)
6/14 - 6 days out - NBME 4 - 650 (248)
UW - 68% correct.
Test date - 6/20:
246/99. I am very happy with my score. I also apparently suck at genetics.
Lesson: NBMEs are pretty accurate.
Method:
Best overall advice for soon to be M2's: concentrate on learning M2 material
very well. I know everyone says this, but this really is the key to doing well on the test. I am by no means a genius, but I busted my ass for 2 years and pulled off a score that I am very happy with. One of the keys to doing well 2nd year is to know path well. For me, this meant reading big robbins, cover to cover. Quite the task, but it worked for me. It definitely helped me throughout the year and with Step 1.
Timing/Scheduling:
Chances are you will take too much time to prepare for this thing. I was ready in about 4 weeks, but took 6 weeks to study. The last week was most likely completely worthless. Write out a detailed schedule and stick to it. Pencil in one day off per week and use it to its full potential. This was key for me to prevent burnout.
I did M1 subjects (biochem, behavioral science, etc) first, followed by a systems based approach. Basically, I followed FA as an outline.
Sources:
USMLE World: the single best resource out there. Seriously, I would devote between 1/3 - 1/2 of your days to this. Master this qbank and you will be golden.
First Aid: I have a love-hate relationship with FA. It is a great skeleton, but you will need to hang some meat on it.
Path: I used Goljan RR... and honestly I really didn't like it very much. (In fact, let me be one of the lone anti-Goljan voices. His tapes annoyed the **** out of me and often would initiate my gag reflex while working out or driving listening to them.) Overall, RR Path is pretty good (and probably better than BRS path), but not quite the end-all-be-all path source I had been told about.
Physiology: BRS phys - a key resource. This book + UW is more than enough.
Pharm: very, very easy points on the test. You've got to learn your drugs well during 2nd year. A book that I used & loved was Pharm Recall. Compact, concise, and very high yield. If I could go back, I would have used this book more during second year. I loved the Q&A format.
http://www.amazon.com/Pharmacology-...d_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216252544&sr=1-1
As others have said, do pharm along with each system you study.
Biochem: One of my weaknesses. I used RoadMap biochem and it was good, but probably too much. FA + UW is enough. UW is actually way more detailed than it needs to be, but it puts the fear of god in you.
Micro: CMMRS - very dense and hard to get through in a few days (at least for me). I read this book, one chapter per day, during the spring before the exam. Very worth it b/c micro was another one of my weaknesses. FA is pretty good, but needs to be re-formatted, IMO. UW is also good. No hard questions on the actual exam that I remember.
Neuro: I had a lot of neuroanatomy questions, especially CTs and MRIs. Easy points if you spend some time looking at this, so do it.
Behavioral Science: FA and High Yield BS were more than enough. Know your equations.
Immuno: FA was more than enough. I used Levinson's immuno section as well, but it was overkill. Focus on FA + UW.
Embryo: FA + UW
Anatomy: I had a mix of anatomy questions. Some were straightforward, some I would not have gotten right if I had studied for a year. My advice: get HY Gross Anatomy and read the sections on upper and lower extremity nerve lesions. Very high yield. Beyond that, I wouldn't stress out about the crazy anatomy questions they might throw at you.
