Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

Your USMLE Scores Increased, Guaranteed!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Cali 916 said:
QUESTION!

ALL STEROID RECEPTORS ARE FAT SOLUBLE. DO THEY ALL HAVE NUCLEAR RECEPTORS?

In FA '12 it says these steroid hormones all have cytosolic receptors except for T3/T4 which have nuclear receptors.
FA '14 does not specify if they are nuclear or cytosolic.
In my recent NBME's, I had questions on T3/T4 having a nuclear receptor (got it right) and also had a question on cortisol being cytosolic but being translocated to the nucleus and activation of transcription in gene.

SO..... Are all steroid receptors nuclear... because according to NBME's they're honoring the FA'12 information that says T3/T4 are the only ones that are nuclear.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Yep all are nuclear. Treat T4 and T3 like other steroids with regards to receptor binding.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
guitarguy23 said:
Yep all are nuclear. Treat T4 and T3 like other steroids with regards to receptor binding.
Click to expand...

So in regards to answering a question on the real exam how do I answer it? I think it was NBME 15 or 16 that they asked me about it t3/t4 being a nuclear receptor and all the other steroids were answer choices.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just got through Uworld and plan was to go through incorrects and marked questions. However, I set up a block of marked questions and it shows up as unmarked. Will these automatically become unmarked after I do them or will I continuously be doing marked questions from the total marked that I have?

edit: nvm I think it resets.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Bancrofti said:
Just got through Uworld and plan was to go through incorrects and marked questions. However, I set up a block of marked questions and it shows up as unmarked. Will these automatically become unmarked after I do them or will I continuously be doing marked questions from the total marked that I have?
Click to expand...

They will become unmarked after you complete the block so you have to re-mark them individually as you would in any other block if you want them to remain in your marked questions.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cali 916 said:
They will become unmarked after you complete the block so you have to re-mark them individually as you would in any other block if you want them to remain in your marked questions.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's what I would have wanted, but I was unsure if the change would be automatic. But when I looked at the create test screen the total had been subtracted so we're good.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Quick question. On July 9th I'm guessig we will get an email with instructions on how to view our scores or will they email us the actual score report?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cali 916 said:
So in regards to answering a question on the real exam how do I answer it? I think it was NBME 15 or 16 that they asked me about it t3/t4 being a nuclear receptor and all the other steroids were answer choices.
Click to expand...

Honestly from what I remember of that question you had to know both the function of thyroid hormones AND how they exert their function (how they bind, ie nuclear). It wasn't a matter of guessing the right steroid hormone from your choices.

For example, on a certain target organ I know the function of T4. I can deduce that cortisol won't CLASSICALLY exert that some function, even though both bind DNA in the nucleus. Thus, T4 carries that function even though all four other choices may exert their respective functions through the same mechanism (ie nuclear receptor binding)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Cortisol, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen (as far as I know) all have cytosolic receptors that get translocated to the nucleus upon activation. That's how we learned it .. I was lookin it up to confirm and what I found seemed to corroborate this but that's as far as I know.

Cali 916 said:
So in regards to answering a question on the real exam how do I answer it? I think it was NBME 15 or 16 that they asked me about it t3/t4 being a nuclear receptor and all the other steroids were answer choices.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
togaedere said:
Cortisol, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen (as far as I know) all have cytosolic receptors that get translocated to the nucleus upon activation. That's how we learned it .. I was lookin it up to confirm and what I found seemed to corroborate this but that's as far as I know.
Click to expand...

yup. steroid hormones have receptors in the cytosol which, after binding they translate to the nucleus to alter gene expression.

thyroid hormones (t3/t4) have receptors W/IN the nucleus and can alter gene expression

in FA there is a graphic with little text that says " binding to receptor located in nucleus or in cytoplasm" and doesn't clarify whether its steroid or thyroid.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took it today. I wish I would have spent less time on all the leukemias and lymphomas and nephritic/nephrotic syndromes and more time on incontinence (yes, really) and pelvic anatomy.

My classmate had really hard cardiac auscultation questions—mine were super simple. The guy above who said that you need to know all 4 names of each disease is absolutely correct. It's never as easy as just naming the disease, ohhhh no. You gotta learn pathologist-code to pick out the correct answer. There is a lot of thinking on this test. A lot. And the prompts are long and time is short.

I also had those typical physiology arrow questions but with ****ed up answer headings that I've never heard of or that were each third order-derived facts in and of themselves. Lol. Naturally, I feel like I probably have to retake it again cuz I did so bad but you hear that every day in here, so here's hoping.

On another note, when do we get our scores back?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ManBroDude said:
Took it today. I wish I would have spent less time on all the leukemias and lymphomas and nephritic/nephrotic syndromes and more time on incontinence (yes, really) and pelvic anatomy.

My classmate had really hard cardiac auscultation questions—mine were super simple. The guy above who said that you need to know all 4 names of each disease is absolutely correct. It's never as easy as just naming the disease, ohhhh no. You gotta learn pathologist-code to pick out the correct answer. There is a lot of thinking on this test. A lot. And the prompts are long and time is short.

I also had those typical physiology arrow questions but with ****** up answer headings that I've never heard of or that were each third order-derived facts in and of themselves. Lol. Naturally, I feel like I probably have to retake it again cuz I did so bad but you hear that every day in here, so here's hoping.

On another note, when do we get our scores back?
Click to expand...

Hey did you take it on June 30th? I thought that exam was so hard. I felt like I was guessing on half the questions and never felt comfortable on my answer choice. I took the COMLEX within the same week and I saw almost the SAME questions on pelvic anatomy and urinary incontinence. It was like I was taking another COMLEX exam. I didn't expect it to be so similar. I was actually using some of my OMM knowledge to answer them, that's what scared me. I was expecting so much more biochemistry like the hard biochem but it barely showed up. And yeah I agree, you need to know pathologist code to answer some questions like REALLY KNOW IT. I did pathoma and it helped me with some questions but not all. And the physio arrow questions they would always add one thing in the answer and I would be thrown off. I did the free USMLE questions and thought I was ready but I guess not lol. Idk if anyone felt like S*** after that exam or it was just me but I don't even want to look at my grade when it comes out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MalibuPreMD said:
Is there a difference in questions between the free 150 and the PDF linked above? If so, is it worth doing both the day before my exam? I write step 1 Thursday.
Click to expand...

Yeah man, it's the same questions. I'm also set for this Thursday. I'm taking an NBME today and I'll be doing the free 150 from this year and the free 150 from last year hand-in-hand with going over some high yield stuff. Good luck!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ManBroDude said:
Took it today. I wish I would have spent less time on all the leukemias and lymphomas and nephritic/nephrotic syndromes and more time on incontinence (yes, really) and pelvic anatomy.

My classmate had really hard cardiac auscultation questions—mine were super simple. The guy above who said that you need to know all 4 names of each disease is absolutely correct. It's never as easy as just naming the disease, ohhhh no. You gotta learn pathologist-code to pick out the correct answer. There is a lot of thinking on this test. A lot. And the prompts are long and time is short.

I also had those typical physiology arrow questions but with ****** up answer headings that I've never heard of or that were each third order-derived facts in and of themselves. Lol. Naturally, I feel like I probably have to retake it again cuz I did so bad but you hear that every day in here, so here's hoping.

On another note, when do we get our scores back?
Click to expand...

Congrats on being done! Where would I be able to find the alternative names for each disease? And percentage wise, how many path questions required an alternative name to the disease in question.

I googled 'pathologist code' and all the codes were for payments and speech language codes.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ManBroDude said:
Took it today. I wish I would have spent less time on all the leukemias and lymphomas and nephritic/nephrotic syndromes and more time on incontinence (yes, really) and pelvic anatomy.

My classmate had really hard cardiac auscultation questions—mine were super simple. The guy above who said that you need to know all 4 names of each disease is absolutely correct. It's never as easy as just naming the disease, ohhhh no. You gotta learn pathologist-code to pick out the correct answer. There is a lot of thinking on this test. A lot. And the prompts are long and time is short.

I also had those typical physiology arrow questions but with ****** up answer headings that I've never heard of or that were each third order-derived facts in and of themselves. Lol. Naturally, I feel like I probably have to retake it again cuz I did so bad but you hear that every day in here, so here's hoping.

On another note, when do we get our scores back?
Click to expand...

jbrec123 said:
Hey did you take it on June 30th? I thought that exam was so hard. I felt like I was guessing on half the questions and never felt comfortable on my answer choice. I took the COMLEX within the same week and I saw almost the SAME questions on pelvic anatomy and urinary incontinence. It was like I was taking another COMLEX exam. I didn't expect it to be so similar. I was actually using some of my OMM knowledge to answer them, that's what scared me. I was expecting so much more biochemistry like the hard biochem but it barely showed up. And yeah I agree, you need to know pathologist code to answer some questions like REALLY KNOW IT. I did pathoma and it helped me with some questions but not all. And the physio arrow questions they would always add one thing in the answer and I would be thrown off. I did the free USMLE questions and thought I was ready but I guess not lol. Idk if anyone felt like S*** after that exam or it was just me but I don't even want to look at my grade when it comes out.
Click to expand...
this makes me just want to take it and not even try anymore. why study? lol
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Those urinary incontinence questions,were they physiology questions ? or pharmacology questions ? what did they ask ?

Also for us who are still studying,what do you think are the most high yield topics ? i noticed that biochem,immunology and immunology questions were doable by just reading FA.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J DUB said:
this makes me just want to take it and not even try anymore. why study? lol
Click to expand...
These above experiences and JDUB's statement speak to a few important aspects of how the test is evolving that people starting studying up to taking the test soon should understand :
1. EVERYONE'S TEST IS DIFFERENT. Just because there are multiple posts on SDN about crazy biochemistry one week does not mean your test the next week will be the same. Do not waste time going crazy with every biochem resource you can find. If you read that and it makes you question your competency on biochem, brush up from FA/UWorld. My test was full of micro, whereas the weeks leading up people were constantly coming back from tests full of anatomy. Mine had moderate amounts of manageable anatomy. Which brings me to my next point:
2. You cannot predict the crazy things they throw at you. This has been beat into the ground ad nauseam on this site but people still ask how to prepare for the WTF questions. You can, however, help yourself by learning the information well and from different angles. I can't tell you the number of times on my test I was stuck scratching my head on something that seemed ridiculous only to break it down to the basics to determine the (straightforward) answer. Were there things I didn't know? Absolutely. Could I have prepared for them? No. Sometimes you get stupid things your remember from basic science years, sometimes you are just unlucky.
3. Learn how to take the test. Learn the basics, then learn how to answer questions. Keep pounding in the basics from different angles. Repeat. This ties into #2. More questions=more experience with weird presentations=better prepared for WTF questions=higher score.
4. Above all else, JDUB hit the nail on the head IMO. At some point, you just need to stop and take the test. 2 days before the test I felt like I knew nothing. When I sat down and entered the tutorial I realized I forgot to review some of the equations the day before for renal. And you know what? I had a question that was exactly what I had forgotten to review, and got it right from questions and experience. Not by spending more time studying. People spend a year of studying memorizing minutae to get 2 or 3 more questions right but they miss 10 from burnout/missing out on question experience by using too many resources and thinking they need to learn more. Questions, questions, questions.
Lastly, this test is doable. It sucks, but IS doable. You are all smart enough to do well. Spend your time wisely learning how to take the test and the material from proven resources. For the M1s reading this, learn it right the first time. Don't waste time with FA first year. Find something that helps your long term memory maybe, but put time into 1st and 2nd year. Start a little before or during Winter break M2 and slowly build up. It makes things so much easier. And above all else, don't torture yourself by spending expansive amounts of time studying obscure facts on a topic you read on SDN. When your practice scores are where you want them to be, you're doing something right. Trust your instinct and your prep. Good luck to everyone-stay confident and you'll kill it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
periaqueductal said:
These above experiences and JDUB's statement speak to a few important aspects of how the test is evolving that people starting studying up to taking the test soon should understand :
1. EVERYONE'S TEST IS DIFFERENT. Just because there are multiple posts on SDN about crazy biochemistry one week does not mean your test the next week will be the same. Do not waste time going crazy with every biochem resource you can find. If you read that and it makes you question your competency on biochem, brush up from FA/UWorld. My test was full of micro, whereas the weeks leading up people were constantly coming back from tests full of anatomy. Mine had moderate amounts of manageable anatomy. Which brings me to my next point:
2. You cannot predict the crazy things they throw at you. This has been beat into the ground ad nauseam on this site but people still ask how to prepare for the WTF questions. You can, however, help yourself by learning the information well and from different angles. I can't tell you the number of times on my test I was stuck scratching my head on something that seemed ridiculous only to break it down to the basics to determine the (straightforward) answer. Were there things I didn't know? Absolutely. Could I have prepared for them? No. Sometimes you get stupid things your remember from basic science years, sometimes you are just unlucky.
3. Learn how to take the test. Learn the basics, then learn how to answer questions. Keep pounding in the basics from different angles. Repeat. This ties into #2. More questions=more experience with weird presentations=better prepared for WTF questions=higher score.
4. Above all else, JDUB hit the nail on the head IMO. At some point, you just need to stop and take the test. 2 days before the test I felt like I knew nothing. When I sat down and entered the tutorial I realized I forgot to review some of the equations the day before for renal. And you know what? I had a question that was exactly what I had forgotten to review, and got it right from questions and experience. Not by spending more time studying. People spend a year of studying memorizing minutae to get 2 or 3 more questions right but they miss 10 from burnout/missing out on question experience by using too many resources and thinking they need to learn more. Questions, questions, questions.
Lastly, this test is doable. It sucks, but IS doable. You are all smart enough to do well. Spend your time wisely learning how to take the test and the material from proven resources. For the M1s reading this, learn it right the first time. Don't waste time with FA first year. Find something that helps your long term memory maybe, but put time into 1st and 2nd year. Start a little before or during Winter break M2 and slowly build up. It makes things so much easier. And above all else, don't torture yourself by spending expansive amounts of time studying obscure facts on a topic you read on SDN. When your practice scores are where you want them to be, you're doing something right. Trust your instinct and your prep. Good luck to everyone-stay confident and you'll kill it.
Click to expand...

This is the perfect post to read the night before the exam. I'm writing it tomorrow, and almost felt guilty for not spending more time looking at equations/x-rays. The chances of finding, noting down, and learning/relearning something you forgot right before the exam are on par with getting struck by lightning on the way to Prometric.

I'm really looking forward to putting this thing behind me.
Good luck to everyone who's writing it this summer/getting their result back soon.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
rodmichael82 said:
I took my exam yesterday. My Uworld average score was in the higher 70s-lower 80s. My NBME scores # 7 was 235, NBME 16 was 235, NBME 11 was 251, NBME 13 250 and NBME 15 took it offline and got 87 % correct 2 day before my exam.

The exam was HARD, I'm talking about much harder than any NBME exam, harder than Uworld. Usually during a NBME exam I mark 5-6 questions (mark as in I'm kind of unsure), on the real deal I was marking 25-30 questions per block it was a nightmare. Usually during a Uworld block I have 10-15 minutes left, NBME I have at least 10 minutes to spare but on the real deal I was running out of time on EVERY SINGLE BLOCK.

I honestly don't even know if I passed, I feel like total crap right now.
Click to expand...
don't worry we all feel like that, actually you describe what happened to me during my exam ( did not do the NBME, but was ok on UW) . The exam is very hard, I am sure you did great) relax and take a break...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
lissa 260 said:
hey thnks a lot for that write up..it makes me feel the exam is doable..how about the WTF kinda questions?how many per block?also how much did kaplan qbank help? thnks...and congrats on putting the exam behind you
Click to expand...
for my exam I had like one in each block
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jbrec123 said:
Hey did you take it on June 30th? I thought that exam was so hard. I felt like I was guessing on half the questions and never felt comfortable on my answer choice. I took the COMLEX within the same week and I saw almost the SAME questions on pelvic anatomy and urinary incontinence. It was like I was taking another COMLEX exam. I didn't expect it to be so similar. I was actually using some of my OMM knowledge to answer them, that's what scared me. I was expecting so much more biochemistry like the hard biochem but it barely showed up. And yeah I agree, you need to know pathologist code to answer some questions like REALLY KNOW IT. I did pathoma and it helped me with some questions but not all. And the physio arrow questions they would always add one thing in the answer and I would be thrown off. I did the free USMLE questions and thought I was ready but I guess not lol. Idk if anyone felt like S*** after that exam or it was just me but I don't even want to look at my grade when it comes out.
Click to expand...
it's a normal feeling.... few weeks and you will see
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took the exam on 7/1/14. UWA1 = 228 UWA2 = 245 NBME 12 = 232 NBME 13 = 232 NBME 15 = 245 NBME 16 = 247, Free 150 = 90%

Going into the exam I felt fairly confident about my preparation (maybe not as confident as a lot of the SDN gunners out here), and was ready to take it when the time came. It was honestly about the level of difficulty and number of random questions (that I knew there was nothing I could do to prepare for) that I expected. Lot of people said that their exams were very heavy in one particular subject (micro, anatomy, biochem), but I felt as though my exam was very evenly spread among all disciplines. The one thing that really tripped me up was heart sounds. I thought I had mastered the art of answering cardiac murmurs and all cardiac questions after I did all of the Kaplan and UW questions, and realized that I got to a point where I could answer the question before even listening to the audio based on the description or at least narrow it down based on the location of the murmur. However, this was not the case on the real exam. Maybe a very simple description about a female who had dyspnea and then an option to click the Media file. Never had practice clicking each of the 4 different valves and having to evaluate heart sounds based on the location and watching the patient in the media file during breathing patterns. I had roughly 6 of these questions, so we will see how that goes!

Asides that, I feel like the exam was very similar to UWorld's style of questions, and not really in line with the straight-forward nature of NBME-style questions. Although the NBME curve is more difficult than UWorld's, I feel as though the level of understanding of the concepts needed to answer the questions on the real exam was definitely in line with UWorld. Everything was a third-order question and the questions were lengthy as well. As previous posters had said, make sure you know multiple ways they can describe a disease process in order to pick the right answer - that is the key! In hindsight, I would probably try and go over UWorld completely 2x (not just the wrong answers) rather than trying to memorize the tiny details out of FA the week of the exam, although it did help, but I feel like there's only a certain amount of things that you can learn before your test taking skills will seal the deal for you on the big day. I thought that going through Goljan HY or even the Rapid Review at the end of FA would give me a good chunk of questions, but really most of the question were all about critical thinking and having a great grasp over all of the physiological concepts. Lot of graphs and arrows.

Micro was pretty basic. Had a couple random pharmacology questions regarding side effects I had never seen before. Ethics is always up in the air coming down to choosing between 2 answers. The anatomy I had was very basic, just talking about basic nerve injuries of the brachial plexus. The anatomy that was difficult was reading various images on blood vessels, not just the basic COW or posterior circulation of the brain angiograms either. My test was not very biochem heavy either, nor can I think about one subject that I kept repeatedly seeing asides for getting multiple questions on GERD and PTH.

Just like everyone else, walked out of there having no idea what to expect, marking way more questions than I was comfortable with, but hoping that that curve and potentially any experimental questions work in my favor. If I were to do it again, I would probably use the same materials that I used (FA, UWorld, Pathoma, Goljan Audio), but spend more time trying to find new questions to do just to get yourself familiar with every potential way they can ask about certain concepts. They asked all of the concepts you are familiar with, but just put them into terminology you were unfamiliar with. The best thing to do is know everything cold from those resources and get all the easy questions right, and make the best educated guesses with the rest of them. Questions, Questions, Questions. The real deal felt like I was taking a UWorld practice exam.

Good luck everyone. Hoping I can come out of there with a 240, but it could range from anywhere from a 200-250 at this point.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Basically, this is what it boils down to. First, you do not know what you will get. Prepare for any and everything. Passages are probably gonna be longer and time shorter. Answer choices are more convoluted and require putting things together in ways you might not had to think about before. Less buzzwords and more applying concepts. And nerves are probably gonna cost you a few easy ones and be your main enemy.

Just remember to stay calm and crush. Take the exam. Do not let it take you. I know it is easier said than done but that is what must be done. Do not let it take all your hard work and time away from you. You can not worry about what the other guy got. You have to fight the form in front of you and do the best you can.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm a week away to write, can someone please help me with this. I scored a 360/198 on nbme 15 (61 wrong) and 400/207 on nbme 16 (59 wrong),
can 3 points less wrong really inflate the score this much? nbme 16 felt relatively easier, questions were so much more straight forward, just hope i'm not being paranoid
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
med_student101 said:
Thank you for replying! Does this mean my appx score could still be 198?
Click to expand...

Just like every form is different so will be your score from form to form. Hence, why you get an average or range. I would say you are in the low 200's. Which puts you at risk for not passing. You could see a 10 pt decrease on the real one so you need to try to get closer to the 215-220 mark to be safe.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi there
I have just done NBME 16, and it felt much harder than the other NBME's I did. I did 11,12,13,15.
So my question is for those who finished the real exam, how is NBME 16 compared to the real exam? is it similar in difficulty? are the length of NBME 16 questions similar to the ones that I will find on the exam?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey guyz

So for those of you who have written the test or late in your preparation for it, how possible is it to boost your nbme score by 20 points in 2.5 weeks?

I'm scheduled for the 20th...just did nbme 11 (first online nbme) and got a 234. Its not a bad score, but I'm disappointed because my personal goal is 250. My score report doesnt help much...no real weakness that stands out with the exception of behavioural science. I actually have a star on the lower range for behavioural, meaning I'm BEYOND pathetic in that subject. I'm good with stats, but I've consistently been weak in ethics so this is not news to me and not sure what to do about it. After reviewing the incorrect Qs, instead of "Aaaah, I get it now", its more like "huh, I still think am right". Any suggestions for a good resource ...Kaplan? BRS? Ive heard about Dr. Fisher's book and Khan's cases...any recommendations?
For those who were able to significantly boost their nbme scores towards the end, what did you do? lean towards FA vs Qs? or just continue both and hope for the best?
Thanks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mahomus said:
Hi there
I have just done NBME 16, and it felt much harder than the other NBME's I did. I did 11,12,13,15.
So my question is for those who finished the real exam, how is NBME 16 compared to the real exam? is it similar in difficulty? are the length of NBME 16 questions similar to the ones that I will find on the exam?
Click to expand...

I thought my real exam questions were much longer and harder than any NBME including 16. Every form is different though so you may experience something different.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mahomus said:
Hi there
I have just done NBME 16, and it felt much harder than the other NBME's I did. I did 11,12,13,15.
So my question is for those who finished the real exam, how is NBME 16 compared to the real exam? is it similar in difficulty? are the length of NBME 16 questions similar to the ones that I will find on the exam?
Click to expand...

Have not taken the real deal but have heard dozens of stories and myths...lol

It really depends on what day you take it. Some of classmates said it was way harder and some say it was in similar difficulty, and then a few said it was even easier than that. Basically, like I said above, you just have to tackle the one you take that day and do your best. It is a shame we all do not find them within the same level but it is what it is.

But, compared to other NBMEs, it is generally held to be one of the tougher ones.

And expect longer questions with labs everywhere which you might or might not need.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jazzyazza said:
Hey guyz

So for those of you who have written the test or late in your preparation for it, how possible is it to boost your nbme score by 20 points in 2.5 weeks?

I'm scheduled for the 20th...just did nbme 11 (first online nbme) and got a 234. Its not a bad score, but I'm disappointed because my personal goal is 250. My score report doesnt help much...no real weakness that stands out with the exception of behavioural science. I actually have a star on the lower range for behavioural, meaning I'm BEYOND pathetic in that subject. I'm good with stats, but I've consistently been weak in ethics so this is not news to me and not sure what to do about it. After reviewing the incorrect Qs, instead of "Aaaah, I get it now", its more like "huh, I still think am right". Any suggestions for a good resource ...Kaplan? BRS? Ive heard about Dr. Fisher's book and Khan's cases...any recommendations?
For those who were able to significantly boost their nbme scores towards the end, what did you do? lean towards FA vs Qs? or just continue both and hope for the best?
Thanks
Click to expand...

You are in the that gray area where you get diminishing returns for effort. Unless you have a major area of weakness like you have mentioned it is just pounding out another read of FA maybe or hitting something like Pathoma if you feel FA is fine in your mind. I do not know what to tell you for behavior science and esp ethics. To me, I do not know how you can not get those right. But, I have a background in business and psy so I am well versed to these situations.

Usually the answer is not handing the problem off and not being insensitive. Hard to explain over the internet.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Is Turner's associated associated with MVP also? I feel like I might have seen that somewhere. Rather, what is the murmur of coarctation supposed to sound like? Got a question on UWSA2, that I got right, but was hoping to get an explanation for that bit of info they put in the question and they completely disregarded it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Bancrofti said:
Is Turner's associated associated with MVP also? I feel like I might have seen that somewhere. Rather, what is the murmur of coarctation supposed to sound like? Got a question on UWSA2, that I got right, but was hoping to get an explanation for that bit of info they put in the question and they completely disregarded it.
Click to expand...

Yes, MVP is associated with Turners and Marfans
Never heard of a coarctation murmur (I think the emphasis is on imaging and clinical signs). However, it can lead to aortic regurg, so maybe thats what you want to look for?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mahomus said:
Hi there
I have just done NBME 16, and it felt much harder than the other NBME's I did. I did 11,12,13,15.
So my question is for those who finished the real exam, how is NBME 16 compared to the real exam? is it similar in difficulty? are the length of NBME 16 questions similar to the ones that I will find on the exam?
Click to expand...

It did not compare....nbme's in my opinion were much more straight forward and out of first aid. The questions on the real day are just verbose for no reason and multiply this by 35-40 (~5-10 being shorter questions). Like others have said this doesn't mean they are harder just more mentally exhausting. Shorter questions tend to be harder ones b/c less clues.

Overall real deal leaves you feeling more unsure about choosing an answer (NBME answer choices are easier to eliminate) and you will probably say "WTF" to yourself more than you ever have before BUT you will get through it and it will all be ok
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J DUB said:
Have not taken the real deal but have heard dozens of stories and myths...lol

It really depends on what day you take it. Some of classmates said it was way harder and some say it was in similar difficulty, and then a few said it was even easier than that. Basically, like I said above, you just have to tackle the one you take that day and do your best. It is a shame we all do not find them within the same level but it is what it is.

But, compared to other NBMEs, it is generally held to be one of the tougher ones.

And expect longer questions with labs everywhere which you might or might not need.
Click to expand...

90% of the time the extra labs were useless....they also seem to always give you vitals which I always skipped b.c waste of time unless crazy BP
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jazzyazza said:
Yes, MVP is associated with Turners and Marfans
Never heard of a coarctation murmur (I think the emphasis is on imaging and clinical signs). However, it can lead to aortic regurg, so maybe thats what you want to look for?
Click to expand...

I agree. They just spoke of a murmur and the most HY defect I think of when I think Turner Syndrome is coarctation or bicuspid aortic valves, for which as you mentioned typically they speak of the findings, not a murmur. I only recently saw MVP somewhere, but I'm not sure where so that's why it took me a little longer on that question than it should of :/
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Transposony
Official 2024 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread
Replies
0
Views
2K
Transposony
Transposony
D
Step 1 and Level 1
Replies
1
Views
2K
DOcSto
D
C
Step 1 tutor available!
Replies
0
Views
870
chauhanjugalkishor
C
A
USMLE Step 1 resources for sale
Replies
0
Views
2K
accurate_branch20
A
G
  • Question Question
USMLE Out of time and not ready for Step 1. Have I screwed up?
Replies
0
Views
402
genteel-mug-sting
G
Top