Hey all! I just got my score back this morning and wanted to post here, because I know how many questions and anxieties I had along the way.
Step 1 246 (I would say 245+ lol but lets be real with each other haha)
UWSA1 (4 weeks out) 245
NBME 13 236
NBME 17 258
NBME 18: 240
UWSA 2: 249
UWorld average (timed, random): 78% (60-->85 by the end)
6 weeks of dedicated:
Resources used: DIT (for the first few weeks because I don't like reading FA), FA, Pathoma (a little), Sketchy (pharm, micro, and some path), Picmonic for storage diseases. Using sketchy pharm made my pharmacology knowledge go from terrible to one of my strengths. I can send out what I used sketchy path for, but mostly for things that are annoying to memorize (vasculitis, nephritic nephrotic, immunodeficiencies).
My impressions of the exam: I felt like I did okay, then did ****ty, then did great, and my emotions were all over the place. I could remember 15 or so that I knew I got wrong, and around 15 or so that I knew I guessed on and got right. Which seemed abysmal at the time, but now seems lucky af. Letting this test go was almost more difficult than studying for it. My exam had snow delays, so I was incredibly anxious as to whether I was even going to be able to sit for the exam. There were definitely nitpicky stupid questions, and those sucked, but were easier to guess and move on than the questions where you knew a lot about the topic, but weren't exactly sure if their wording was matching up to what you were thinking. Those are hard to let go.
Timing: LONG question stems. I ended each block with 15+ minutes and was able to review, but I read every question fast. You have to practice trusting your gut. Skim first, then look at the answers. If what you are expecting is there, pick it and move on. Yes, sometimes this method doesn't work, but psychologically, it was important for me to be able to review most/all questions to catch silly mistakes. On review I would read my answer, then read the question to make sure it fit.
Guessing: I guessed a lot, but they were mostly educated guesses. It is okay to guess when you have two left. That is gonna work out for you pretty often.
Was X on your exam? Yes and no. I got a little lucky, my exam was biochem heavy and embryology light, but I think you can expect different stuff. I had a lot of cardio and renal, and almost no neuro, but my friends who took the exam on different days had lots of neuro, etc. I had a bunch of anatomy, which was a weak point for me, but I also felt like most of it was relatively straight forward (with a few insane ones, as per usual). I also had very little micro and a bunch of parasites. I think it is reasonable to assume that one of the topics that everyone hates will be there in full force (embryology, super specific anatomy, biochem, specific immunology (IE which cell has CDX with X surface marker--not like CD4/CD8, but like CD25-these are little things that you read once but probably won't stick unless you're someone who has months to study, parasites, weird toxins from pufferfish, etc). This is 5-10% of the test. It will not make or break you. Also bear in mind that they know what you study and what you don't. For example, I got questions on disorders of the peroxisome, not lysosome; Micro questions on random parasites, not bacteria. This is rude of them. But everyone is in the same boat with this kind of thing.
After: You may feel like you did ****ty. You may feel like you did great. Let it go either way. It is a huge accomplishment. Everyone remembers questions they got wrong. Everyone feels differently. There is comfort in knowing what you are feeling is normal--thats why these forums thrive. Let me assure you: what you are feeling is normal. If you entered into the exam with practice tests that suggest you will not fail, you will not fail.
What would I do differently//what should I do the last __ days before my exam? : I honestly felt like I was well prepared by what I did, and I would probably wouldn't change too much. I wouldn't stress as much as far as memorizing the little stuff, because it doesn't come up all too often. As far as what to do before the test: the first three chapters of pathoma are super high yield. I didn't buy into that when I was studying, but I would recommend it to anyone. It was easily the source of 10+ questions on my exam. Oh, also, I didn't know you can make flashcards from uworld images...do that.
tl;dr: After taking step, I went to visit my good friend who has CF. She is about to be added to the transplant list (i.e she is really sick). She has a 3 year old boy. She weighs maybe 80 pounds, has to walk around the house with oxygen constantly flowing and a little kid who constantly needs attention. I was putting away groceries and opened up her medication fridge/freezer instead: it was overwhelmingly full. There is a room with a world war 2 era oxygen tank, closets stacked with syringes and face masks, and hundreds of bottles of various medication. She was nauseous, weak, and sick. I played with her son while she slept. In this process, I lost touch with why we do this to ourselves. People like my friend need good doctors to take good care of them. They don't need doctors who got a 265 and made themselves miserable in the process. The powers that be (i.e. AAMC, NBME, and the various people who make massive profits off of our desire to be successful) try to convince you that this number you get at the end of 6/8/52 weeks defines you. It does not. And in the programs/places where it does: they've got the wrong idea. Work as hard as will make you happy, as hard as will make you a good physician. Emerge from this process more knowledgable than you entered, ready to take a little more responsibility for caring for people. I feel strongly that I will be as good of a doctor as my friend who makes a 230, and as my friend who makes a 255. And you will be too. There are real people at the end of this, guys, and they need caring, competent, and compassionate physicians. Try not to lose sight of that.
feel free to message me for questions or specifics.
. Part of me just wishes my test day would hurry up and get here and the other part of me just wishes I could hermit myself away for another year to study for it.
