Official 2013 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

[Phloston]

I figure now is a good time to jump-start this thread.

Even though some of us who had taken the exam in late-2012 are still awaiting our scores (amid the holiday delays) and could technically still post within last year's thread, it is after all mid-January now, so it's probably apposite that we move forward and hope for a great year.

Cheers to 2013

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[CDI]

Every time I get a question wrong and then find out the answer is there verbatim in FA, I want to chuck something across the room. /end rant

 

[thegreatergood]

Sorry to jump in, phloston. If I just have extra one month for Qbanks other than UW, then what questions in Kaplan QBank and USMLE Rx it's better to do? I know that one month is very tight to to do both of them, that's why I am asking what subjects to do from these QBanks.

If you're thinking of doing more questions, I think it'd make most sense to do questions on your weakest subjects first.

 

[SpringDO]

2500, including the UWSA 1 and 2

how about w/out uwsa1 and 2?

 

[Goober11]

2198

 

[Phloston]

You never miss a chance to rub it in my face do you.

Haha you're right that I was thinking of you when I wrote 84%/259.

For the 81%/267, I was referring to luckiestone. But I just checked back, and he only had a 75% on UWorld. (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=13148668#post13148668) This is an example of the exception rather than the rule, but it happens.

For every ~20 Step1 examinations, one person will get really lucky and another will get really unlucky. For the rest, some oscillate slightly under while others oscillate slightly over their NBMEs. I personally oscillated slightly under.

Thehundredthone, many of the students to whom I lecture Step1 material at my school are praying for 240. Some even just want to pass. That's let alone the fact that many would kill to be able to achieve a 259 like you had. But on the other hand, you did have two 270+ NBMEs. That just goes to show how even the most brilliant people like yourself can have an unfriendly exam experience.

One of my friends on SDN got a 255 and he's convinced it's a mediocre score just because he's spent so much time on this forum. It was only after I took ~month's vacation from active SDN-posting and had begun working with MS2s at my school had I begun to realize how rare 250+ scores actually are.

 

[RadicalRadon]

Haha you're right that I was thinking of you when I wrote 84%/259.

For the 81%/267, I was referring to luckiestone. But I just checked back, and he only had a 75% on UWorld. (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=13148668#post13148668) This is an example of the exception rather than the rule, but it happens.

For every ~20 Step1 examinations, one person will get really lucky and another will get really unlucky. For the rest, some oscillate slightly under while others oscillate slightly over their NBMEs. I personally oscillated slightly under.

Thehundredthone, many of the students to whom I lecture Step1 material at my school are praying for 240. Some even just want to pass. That's let alone the fact that many would kill to be able to achieve a 259 like you had. But on the other hand, you did have two 270+ NBMEs. That just goes to show how even the most brilliant people like yourself can have an unfriendly exam experience.

One of my friends on SDN got a 255 and he's convinced it's a mediocre score just because he's spent so much time on this forum. It was only after I took ~month's vacation from active SDN-posting and had begun working with MS2s at my school had I begun to realize how rare 250+ scores actually are.

Pholston, since you seem to have done more work than anyone for Step 1, how would you estimate #rawcorrect vs 3-digit score on an average form? That'd be interesting to me.

 

[Phloston]

If you look at post #s 110 and 127 on this thread (page 3), I had done rough some calculations.

 

[thehundredthone]

Haha you're right that I was thinking of you when I wrote 84%/259.

One of my friends on SDN got a 255 and he's convinced it's a mediocre score just because he's spent so much time on this forum. It was only after I took ~month's vacation from active SDN-posting and had begun working with MS2s at my school had I begun to realize how rare 250+ scores actually are.

I don't know, from all the fear mongering that goes on on the internet, I'm convinced that it is a mediocre score for an FMG like myself. I'll only know when I apply for residency I guess.

We're coming up to the time of year where most American MS2s take their Step 1, right?

 

[Daodejing]

I don't know, from all the fear mongering that goes on on the internet, I'm convinced that it is a mediocre score for an FMG like myself. I'll only know when I apply for residency I guess.

We're coming up to the time of year where most American MS2s take their Step 1, right?

Depends on what specialty you're looking to go into. 259 is generally excellent, but FMG status might temper results some, especially for currently competitive fields.

Yes, most Americans are taking their exams this spring through summer.

 

[stronghold]

Hey guys. I would have an extra month for questions like this:
FA (#1), then Extra month, UW (doing it once and redoing false questions), then FA (#2).
What do you think is the best to do in that extra month? I was planning to do some USMLE Rx 15 days and Kaplan Qbank the other 15 days. Do you think it is a good plan or it's better to use it to read FA more and more since it will be read only twice with this timeline? If using that month for those extra Qbanks is better, then please tell me what subjects are the most important? There are more than 6000 questions from Rx and Kaplan and I am sure one month is not enough what subjects are most important.

I want to be in the safe side since I need > 260 very badly!!

 

[thehundredthone]

Depends on what specialty you're looking to go into. 259 is generally excellent, but FMG status might temper results some, especially for currently competitive fields.

I've always planned on doing IM, don't see why it gets a bad rep everywhere. The problem is that getting into a decent university program (or even some of the better community programs for that matter) seems to be an uphill task for someone like me who only recently decided to give the USMLE and has not spent the past 5 years doing research, etc.

Yes, most Americans are taking their exams this spring through summer.

Ah so we should be seeing some crazy scores and stories soon.

What do you think is the best to do in that extra month?

Concentrate on consolidating knowledge, perhaps spend a small amount of time working on the weaker points. Whether you read FA again, or do a question bank as a means to this end is up to you, I'd be inclined towards sticking with the familiar though. With that as your backbone, feel free to pepper the rest of your study time by trying to add to your knowledge base.

 

[blaqmamba]

In need of some help with pharmacology - people have recommended both Lange and LIppincott. Any pros/cons of each one, or anyone chime in on which they feel is better?

 

[Jonari]

I'm a bit worried about my performance. This is my breakdown on the older/offline NBMEs. Granted I haven't fully done biostats yet, so need to look at that again. I'm also getting a few response questions wrong.

The format shows basically the number of correct questions I've gotten so far in each NBME, per each of the 4 blocks. Also shows the order which I took them in. All the sections besides one or two of them - I forgot which, are out of 50.

NBME 1: 33/34/37/35
NBME 3: 34/40/34/39
NBME 4: 36/32/39/37
NBME 2: 36/37/35/38 -->Edit: Just finished the last two sections this morning

Still have until April 25th to make improvements. Almost done with Kaplan. Only left to do my areas which I'm strong in, which include Micro/Immuno and Pharm. Still have to go through FA. I'm thinking of going back through Kaplan Behavioral and doing the biostats portion again and some of the differentials for personality and what not.

Currently, on a first pass of UWorld I'm sitting at a 67%.

 

[Phloston]

In need of some help with pharmacology - people have recommended both Lange and LIppincott. Any pros/cons of each one, or anyone chime in on which they feel is better?

Lange pharm cards are great to blast through.

Just know the drugs in FA cold + anything you see in the QBanks.

FA covered all but two drugs that showed up on my exam. Of those two not in FA, one I had seen only because I did USMLE Rx (it was an anti-muscarinic not mentioned in Kaplan or UWorld). The other I had never heard of before (but was able to eliminate the others bc I knew they didn't make sense).

That's it.

 

[Jonari]

Lange pharm cards are great to blast through.

Just know the drugs in FA cold + anything you see in the QBanks.

FA covered all but two drugs that showed up on my exam. Of those two not in FA, one I had seen only because I did USMLE Rx (it was an anti-muscarinic not mentioned in Kaplan or UWorld). The other I had never heard of before (but was able to eliminate the others bc I knew they didn't make sense).

That's it.

I'd also recommend at looking through Kaplan. Friend had a question about which drug also binds to nicotinic receptors but can be used for cessation of smoking. Starts with the letter "V", but it's in kaplan behavioral but not in FA.

 

[ijn]

Kaplan's pharmacology videos taught by Dr. Raymond are absolutely indespendible.

 

[startswithb]

I'd also recommend at looking through Kaplan. Friend had a question about which drug also binds to nicotinic receptors but can be used for cessation of smoking. Starts with the letter "V", but it's in kaplan behavioral but not in FA.

Varenicline (Chantix). It isn't in FA, strange I thought, but wrote it in because it seems like a pretty important drug! It's a partial agonist at nicotinic receptors so competes with nicotine but doesn't stimulate dopamine release like nicotine so it isn't addicting. Can cause nightmares and suicidality.

 

[RadicalRadon]

In need of some help with pharmacology - people have recommended both Lange and LIppincott. Any pros/cons of each one, or anyone chime in on which they feel is better?

Katzung and Trevor Board Review. Pretty sure these profs write the questions. I think I got every pharm question correct on my form using this book. http://www.amazon.com/Katzung-Trevors-Pharmacology-Examination-Edition/dp/0071789235

 

[Jonari]

ijn and Phloston, do you think you guys would've gotten the scores you did without reading FA at all? I know you guys both did a lot of questions, but just curious to see how much of a role does FA play into getting a good score on the exam.

 

[JShephard]

ijn and Phloston, do you think you guys would've gotten the scores you did without reading FA at all? I know you guys both did a lot of questions, but just curious to see how much of a role does FA play into getting a good score on the exam.

I would say no. Simply on the basis that FA is a good place to take notes and organize the info.

 

[Greenbayslacker]

Katzung and Trevor Board Review. Pretty sure these profs write the questions. I think I got every pharm question correct on my form using this book. http://www.amazon.com/Katzung-Trevors-Pharmacology-Examination-Edition/dp/0071789235

i have no idea how you got through this book. it is SOO tedious to read (at least for me). I gave up after a couple of chapters. Going with FA, PharmCards, and Kaplan Pharm videos for now, we'll see how it goes.

 

[Myxedema]

Little Katzung is an excellent book. Drug lists at the end of each chapter are especially valuable. I'd recommend it to review any pharmacology topic you feel you're weak.

 

[ijn]

ijn and Phloston, do you think you guys would've gotten the scores you did without reading FA at all? I know you guys both did a lot of questions, but just curious to see how much of a role does FA play into getting a good score on the exam.

Essentially I turned my copy of First Aid into digital flash cards and memorized those flash cards (not word for word, but major concepts). I'd "annotate" in the new information from pathoma, kaplan videos, or question banks into my flash card database.

I think FA was essential to give me a framework to build upon. It gives you a good view of the medical forest and previously tested Step 1 subjects. Without it you'd be studying everything... which simply is not possible.

 

[Jorje286]

In need of some help with pharmacology - people have recommended both Lange and LIppincott. Any pros/cons of each one, or anyone chime in on which they feel is better?

Lippincott is terrible. Don't go there. Not only it's big, but it's totally disorganized. And the epilepsy chapter is like completely DIFFERENT with contradicting information to FAid.

 

[Zzmed]

Lippincott is terrible. Don't go there. Not only it's big, but it's totally disorganized. And the epilepsy chapter is like completely DIFFERENT with contradicting information to FAid.

The truth is that LIR Pharmacology is waay too big. But definitely not disorganized! Some chapters are gold (like kinetics-dynamics, cardiovascular, autonomic)! Neuro and micro drugs not so good indeed. I don't know about Katzung.
I 've also purchased Kaplan Pharm cards and my impression is so so...

Bottom line: stick to FA and Qbanks. If you need more info on mechanisms of actions, or on pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics go to LIR.

 

[JShephard]

Essentially I turned my copy of First Aid into digital flash cards and memorized those flash cards (not word for word, but major concepts). I'd "annotate" in the new information from pathoma, kaplan videos, or question banks into my flash card database.

I think FA was essential to give me a framework to build upon. It gives you a good view of the medical forest and previously tested Step 1 subjects. Without it you'd be studying everything... which simply is not possible.

I've made some flash cards like that. I'm having trouble keeping them fresh. How often would you say you would do a repetition of your cards, like the micro section or GI? I was trying to keep them in a program like Anki but it's impossible (for me I guess) to stay on top of them.

 

[Jonari]

I've made some flash cards like that. I'm having trouble keeping them fresh. How often would you say you would do a repetition of your cards, like the micro section or GI? I was trying to keep them in a program like Anki but it's impossible (for me I guess) to stay on top of them.

Exactly same here. Hoping somebody could give me advice on this. I was turning information from UWorld into flash cards. However, it got to the point where I had so many, I got lazy to review them, and as time passed on, it just accumulated and collected dust.

 

[ijn]

I went through them maybe twice ever. It felt like most of the learning was in the act of making them and organizing the information in massive excel spreadsheets. I spent way more time editing, rediting, formatting, etc. to the point where most of the words were familiar. I also have a low tolerance for minutiae and tend to filter flashcards I think I was ******ed for making in the first place.

 

[CDI]

Exactly same here. Hoping somebody could give me advice on this. I was turning information from UWorld into flash cards. However, it got to the point where I had so many, I got lazy to review them, and as time passed on, it just accumulated and collected dust.

Had the same issue. Wound up getting through a set of like 1000 flashcards I had written out, but realized I already knew most the stuff I had written down.

I then switched over to just typing up explanations/UW notes in a Word doc - and that itself is 90 pages long. Didn't even have time to actually sit and go through them though.

 

[Jonari]

Had the same issue. Wound up getting through a set of like 1000 flashcards I had written out, but realized I already knew most the stuff I had written down.

I then switched over to just typing up explanations/UW notes in a Word doc - and that itself is 90 pages long. Didn't even have time to actually sit and go through them though.

Yeah, it kinda sucks that UWorld has that ******ed feature where you can't screen shot their questions. They need to get off their high horse. CDI when'd you take your exam, do you have a mac by any chance?

 

[Jonari]

Any good suggestions/tips on how to get all the UWorld info in a way so that it can be reviewed daily? Is the only way just typing up the info or writing out info on flash cards?

 

[RadicalRadon]

i have no idea how you got through this book. it is SOO tedious to read (at least for me). I gave up after a couple of chapters. Going with FA, PharmCards, and Kaplan Pharm videos for now, we'll see how it goes.

Little Katzung is an excellent book. Drug lists at the end of each chapter are especially valuable. I'd recommend it to review any pharmacology topic you feel you're weak.

Exactly. This is like the Pathological Basis of Disease (big robbins) for Pharm. If you read this book and know it fully, you'l know more than most pharmacists and definitely most medical students (in terms of breadth -- i.e. not dosing/etc).

I like textbooks. I'd rather read a book and learn the material well. I'm not the type of person who thinks doing 10000 questions is worthwhile. I didn't even finish UWorld completely or read the explanations to questions that were no brainers/obvious. If you're scoring over a certain percentage consistently, why bother? You can't know everything. Just focus on what your weaknesses are, tidy those areas up and then take the exam.

 

[CDI]

Yeah, it kinda sucks that UWorld has that ******ed feature where you can't screen shot their questions. They need to get off their high horse. CDI when'd you take your exam, do you have a mac by any chance?

I'm taking the exam on Thursday. (As I've mentioned before, I'm no SDN rockstar with Step I. I'll be happy to get by with a measly 220+)

I do have a Mac, I heard theres a way around the screenshot thing but my score wasn't really improving from staring at stuff, so I had to try something new. I felt that actually re-phrasing/internalizing the objectives and typing them up, helped in my process of learning from my incorrects.

When it came to some of the diagrams which I felt were easier to remember/memorize but I kept making errors on, I just took a picture with my phone and looked at them now and then. Example: The coronal cut section of the brain where the putamen, globus pallidus, IC, etc are all next to each other but just different shades or the male sex hormone pathway chart. Eventually I just memorized them.)

I just printed out my UW Word doc notes, they're 70 pages long, so I'll just read them tomorrow morning, run through some of the List of Forgettables and call it a day.

 

[JShephard]

Exactly. This is like the Pathological Basis of Disease (big robbins) for Pharm. If you read this book and know it fully, you'l know more than most pharmacists and definitely most medical students (in terms of breadth -- i.e. not dosing/etc).

I like textbooks. I'd rather read a book and learn the material well. I'm not the type of person who thinks doing 10000 questions is worthwhile. I didn't even finish UWorld completely or read the explanations to questions that were no brainers/obvious. If you're scoring over a certain percentage consistently, why bother? You can't know everything. Just focus on what your weaknesses are, tidy those areas up and then take the exam.

Good point. A million different strategies. I think some try to do tons of Qs and others go for deeper understanding. Whatever works.

 

[Jonari]

I'm taking the exam on Thursday. (As I've mentioned before, I'm no SDN rockstar with Step I. I'll be happy to get by with a measly 220+)

I do have a Mac, I heard theres a way around the screenshot thing but my score wasn't really improving from staring at stuff, so I had to try something new. I felt that actually re-phrasing/internalizing the objectives and typing them up, helped in my process of learning from my incorrects.

When it came to some of the diagrams which I felt were easier to remember/memorize but I kept making errors on, I just took a picture with my phone and looked at them now and then. Example: The coronal cut section of the brain where the putamen, globus pallidus, IC, etc are all next to each other but just different shades or the male sex hormone pathway chart. Eventually I just memorized them.)

I just printed out my UW Word doc notes, they're 70 pages long, so I'll just read them tomorrow morning, run through some of the List of Forgettables and call it a day.

Dude, you're going to kill it bro - have some confidence.

Did it really make a big difference by typing the stuff up into a separate doc and reviewing it daily?

Edit: I really wished I could print out more stuff from UWorld, but I'm one screenshot away from getting banned. Can't believe we can't print screen the wrong stuff.

 

[Jonari]

CDI, how long have you been studying and what'd you use? Were you able to get through all the material?

 

[CDI]

Dude, you're going to kill it bro - have some confidence.

Did it really make a big difference by typing the stuff up into a separate doc and reviewing it daily?

At first I actually dated the two blocks worth of incorrect explanations every day (there's some kind of "notebook" option in Word with different tabs), so I could review them the next day. As I kept going, I realized I was learning from typing/summarizing, so I didn't bother dating the notes and just kept typing as I went along. I didn't really need to spend much time reviewing - even looking at my notes now, I can tell I learned most of what I typed.

If you've ever seen someone read out loud to themselves while they study - this is a similar method. Maybe it's better for someone who is a kinesthetic learner? I really can't say for sure. When I'm typing out something, I have to think about what I want to type - its just another form of reinforcement, I guess. So, it was similar to flashcards but I can type much faster and more.

I come from a system where we literally sit there and memorize textbooks front to back, so a lot of my learning curve had to do improving my test-taking ability and really improving my "subconscious" answering ability - and I think this is something that helps there. I tried the whole Kaplan thing and it didn't work for me. Phloston and nikmad told me to bury my head in FA + UW and thats what helped bring my scores up.

My problem with textbooks is that if when I'm asked a question on a concept, I have to think through it from Point A to Point E, but the question is only asking about Point E. I couldn't figure out the answer fast enough. I think UW (qbanks in general) really help with this. In the answer it gives you all the important points Point A through E and you can learn them independently of one another, and integrate. I couldn't come up with those points (from FA or UW) on my own while reading the textbooks.

 

[Jonari]

wow dude awesome write up...you seem like a intelligent individual...i know youll be happy with a 220+ but im certain you'll do better

 

[CDI]

CDI, how long have you been studying and what'd you use? Were you able to get through all the material?

I was able to get through Pathoma about twice but in the end really just focused on getting through FA a couple times, and UW 1.5x (The .5x is all my incorrects! I typed notes for these.) The last week or so I started flying through FA - and I think that's sticking pretty well...took long enough.

Also, as someone mentioned earlier, writing out those pathways or things you really seem to never really remember - and reviewing them frequently definitely helps.

 

[CDI]

wow dude awesome write up...you seem like a intelligent individual...i know youll be happy with a 220+ but im certain you'll do better

Thanks, hopefully I don't disappoint and fall too far below my lofty target!

 

[CDI]

.

 

[RadicalRadon]

Exactly. This is like the Pathological Basis of Disease (big robbins) for Pharm. If you read this book and know it fully, you'l know more than most pharmacists and definitely most medical students (in terms of breadth -- i.e. not dosing/etc).

I like textbooks. I'd rather read a book and learn the material well. I'm not the type of person who thinks doing 10000 questions is worthwhile. I didn't even finish UWorld completely or read the explanations to questions that were no brainers/obvious. If you're scoring over a certain percentage consistently, why bother? You can't know everything. Just focus on what your weaknesses are, tidy those areas up and then take the exam.

Good point. A million different strategies. I think some try to do tons of Qs and others go for deeper understanding. Whatever works.

Fo sho. This test like any test is about how well the individual knows themselves and their tendencies, as well as how well they know the fundamentals. I read about people doing 6 months of prep, 12 nbme forms, 5 question banks, etc... That's just absurd and unnecessary to me. Addition by subtraction -- find the best resouces (uworld/FA/Goljan/katzung), focus on your weaknesses, supplement those areas by reading about them, and then practice more. This is not the same as jotting down a note in FA and hurriedly moving on because you have 9999 questions to get through and only 359 days left.

Honestly, I hope people realize they can score 270+ without doing ungodly amounts of work immediately before the test. Now 5 of my classmates have successfully done this. That said, to each his or her own...

 

[CDI]

Fo sho. This test like any test is about how well the individual knows themselves and their tendencies, as well as how well they know the fundamentals. I read about people doing 6 months of prep, 12 nbme forms, 5 question banks, etc... That's just absurd and unnecessary to me. Addition by subtraction -- find the best resouces (uworld/FA/Goljan/katzung), focus on your weaknesses, supplement those areas by reading about them, and then practice more. This is not the same as jotting down a note in FA and hurriedly moving on because you have 9999 questions to get through and only 359 days left.

Honestly, I hope people realize they can score 270+ without doing ungodly amounts of work immediately before the test. Now 5 of my classmates have successfully done this. That said, to each his or her own...

You have 5 classmates who've gotten over 270?? I don't even know a single person to have scored that high...even the friends at Harvard and Hopkins residencies didn't.

 

[ijn]

Fo sho. This test like any test is about how well the individual knows themselves and their tendencies, as well as how well they know the fundamentals. I read about people doing 6 months of prep, 12 nbme forms, 5 question banks, etc... That's just absurd and unnecessary to me. Addition by subtraction -- find the best resouces (uworld/FA/Goljan/katzung), focus on your weaknesses, supplement those areas by reading about them, and then practice more. This is not the same as jotting down a note in FA and hurriedly moving on because you have 9999 questions to get through and only 359 days left.

Honestly, I hope people realize they can score 270+ without doing ungodly amounts of work immediately before the test. Now 5 of my classmates have successfully done this. That said, to each his or her own...

Yes, a freakishly small percentage of the population is naturally gifted at standardized exams. I don't think this is a reasonable test taking strategy for the general forum members to get a 270+.

With respect to our last argument about 260+ being easier than 99 on shelf exams. We just got our 4th block shelf grades back. 99 on the IM exam caps at a displayed 97th percentile for this quarter of 2013. It'd be easier to get that than a 260+. These exam really need to be renormed.

 

[Phloston]

Honestly, I hope people realize they can score 270+...

There is no defined study plan that will get anyone a 270+. The difference between mid-260s and a 270 comes down to 1) not making errors, 2) getting lucky on minutiae questions and 3) being tremendously gifted. Studying alone can only get you to the 260s. If you want that 270, you've gotta get that small handful of additional obscure questions correct, and it's a total toss-up; even the most well-prepared people can't guarantee themselves these questions.

My favorite quote from 2012:

Well, good luck trying to memorize everything in Harrison's and Robbin's, because there's no way to predict what "low-yield" things will be on your exam. The only sure-fire way to get a 270 is to be extremely brilliant. Similar to what VinnyChase said, very few people can march their way through the review books and qbanks and get a 270. I don't think there is a volume of study that can pull it off, and I don't think if given an unlimited amount of time everyone would be scoring in that range.

When you sit for the exam, there are going to be things you've never seen before, period. No matter how many questions you did, and no matter how many review books you went through. The reality of the situation is that the amount of material you've been able to absorb in the past two years and how you use it, which are largely non-modifiable traits, are what determines what score range you'll hit. No amount of will alone can get you a 270.

By all means, everyone should fight for the best score they can get. But this obsession on these forums will everyone being in the top 0.1% is absurd. It only increases the stress level of all the already nervous people who frequent these forums.

 

[RadicalRadon]

There is no defined study plan that will get anyone a 270+. The difference between mid-260s and a 270 comes down to 1) not making errors, 2) getting lucky on minutiae questions and 3) being tremendously gifted. Studying alone can only get you to the 260s. If you want that 270, you've gotta get that small handful of additional obscure questions correct, and it's a total toss-up; even the most well-prepared people can't guarantee themselves these questions.

My favorite quote from 2012:

Yes, a freakishly small percentage of the population is naturally gifted at standardized exams. I don't think this is a reasonable test taking strategy for the general forum members to get a 270+.

With respect to our last argument about 260+ being easier than 99 on shelf exams. We just got our 4th block shelf grades back. 99 on the IM exam caps at a displayed 97th percentile for this quarter of 2013. It'd be easier to get that than a 260+. These exam really need to be renormed.

My fault. I don't mean to say that everyone will get 270 or whatever. That's just never going to happen.

However, I know medical students on average are super neurotic and try to do everything instead of focusing on what works best for them individually. Thus, they see these lengthy study plans and get freaked out. I just want to say you can do very, very well on this exam without doing everything. Just focus on yourself and use the best/vetted resources.

The truth is virtually no one at an american allopathic school can approach this exam with pholston's approach. Honestly, I am incredibly impressed with your work ethic and I am certain you'll make a fabulous physician/surgeon in the US (I truly admire your dedication).

However, I'm advocating for just focusing on your weaknesses using a few resources... and accept the score you get. Ultimately, your score will mostly be determined by how well you mastered the material and/or how quickly you learn (not modifiable).

Idk, just my perspective. Ultimately, I think all the information is largely in a couple books, but people have varying degrees of success in mastering it. Trying to do things like Kaplan Qbank/Rx/whatever vs. uworld+FA is probably a poor strategy for most, in my view.

 

[Jorje286]

Finally done with it today.

I went in being extremely nervous about biochemistry and embryology given that I didn't have time in the last 3 weeks to even read them again (given that I have to do it in the middle of my 3rd year clinical rotations...), but luckily there was like ONE embryo question which was really simple and biochem didn't involve ANY pathways. Just enzyme deficiencies and very basic things.

Overall, this is the breakdown.

Pathology/Pathophys: extremely heavy, even more than I thought. Musculocutaneous was quite over-represented. Went very well, I think.

Ethics/Biostats: it was nuts. There was like 5/6 questions on every section. Most of them were very straightforward.

Anatomy: Again over-represented, going with the recent trend. Most of it was neuro, upper limbs with a splattering of pelvic and some head CTs. I only had one abdominal CT with no thoracic CT to my surprise.

Genetics/Molecular/Cell Bio. Again this was very prominent. There were lots of genetic diseases, lots of pedigrees, and lots of molecular bio questions. The stuff that you need to reason out, but it went well, I think. Cell signaling made its presence too, but it needed just the very basic level of knowledge to answer the questions.

Biochemistry. Basically enzyme deficiencies, with very few very basic questions about the most important mechanisms.

Pharmacology. A joke. This was my weakness going in, and I probably ended up doing the best on it. I would say USMLE World without First Aid even is good enough.

Micro. Focused on the clinical aspects. Very few to pretty much no questions about basics (which families have envelopes...etc).

--

Overall, I think it went well. A couple of dumb mistakes made me mad afterwards but these are to be expected. I had a 262 on USW2 and 257 on NBME 12 going in. I'm expecting somewhere in the 250s. My goal is >240, so I think I will be pleased regardless.

The exam is really not that difficult. The thinking and analysis part is overrated. 90% is merely information recall and how much you can cram in your head coming into it. You still need your IQ for weeding through the nonsense, but I would argue it's secondary.

 

[Zzmed]

Congrats! Seems like you killed it! I wish you a great score!

Can you elaborate more on the anatomy stuff?

 

[currentofinjury]

Felt closer to NBME 13, and gave me a similar score (233). Is this good enough for a mid tier IM program?

 

[Jorje286]

Congrats! Seems like you killed it! I wish you a great score!

Can you elaborate more on the anatomy stuff?

I am not sure I "killed" it, but I am pleased.

For anatomy, there were lymph nodes, one muscle insertion, 3 CTs of the head, upper limb nerves, one myotome, like 10 neuroanatomy questions at least. I don't think FAid + USMLE are good if you want to kill anatomy. I would supplement them ideally with High Yield Anatomy and Kaplan notes for neuroanatomy.