OMFS CBSE vs Step 1

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

MalibuAlibu

New Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hey y'all,
For those that are in OMFS took the CBSE and the Step1, how do you all think it compares? Is the Step easier or is the curve any better compared to the CBSE?

Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm just an applicant, but I think the CBSE is just Step 1 with 2(?) fewer blocks. The curve depends on the difficulty of the individual exam.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is a hard question to answer but in general the questions on Step 1 is harder. More blocks, longer questions, more material. Step 1 will incorporate material from the most recent pubmed publications while the CBSE has questions that can be several years old. If you compare the newest NBMEs to the older NBMEs, they are much harder as well. These are retired questions, but they are retired for a reason - the exam has evolved over the years. Compare NBME 1 and NBME 24 and the style is different as well as NBME 13 and NBME 24.

This is anecdotal, but I know a person who took multiple CBSEs proctored through NBME for his med school (Lucky that his med school paid for these) and took his final CBSE with his highest score on it a week before Step 1 and scored 20 points lower. That doesn't mean it's a completely linear relationship and that he probably had a test geared poorly towards his strengths, but its correlation is not exactly perfect because its a predictor and not the same as Step 1.

Here you go. There was a retrospective study released in the journal a few months ago. It's an interesting read and their conclusion was that the CBSE is a weak predictor of step 1 performance. The study does say people do 15 points better on step 1, but part of this is confounded heavily by the amount of medical school a program does, like if they do MS1 and MS2, the amount of dedicated study time for step 1, the amount of preparation a student already had before taking the CBSE (medical school curriculum in dental school), studying for relatively similar material a second time and various other factors.

Also, they will calibrate the step 1 annually to that cohort around June/July to a new set of questions and readjust the curve which they do not do for the CBSE. A much larger number of med students take the step 1 so that calibration is more normalizing. But Step 1 is going pass fail, so the big conclusion to take from that paper is the CBSE doesn't really predict if you'll pass or fail step 1 - people who fail the CBSE pass Step 1. (Again this does not lead to any conclusions about the difficulty)

 
Last edited:
Members don't see this ad :)
This is a hard question to answer but in general the questions on Step 1 is harder. More blocks, longer questions, more material. Step 1 will incorporate material from the most recent pubmed publications while the CBSE has questions that can be several years old. If you compare the newest NBMEs to the older NBMEs, they are much harder as well. These are retired questions, but they are retired for a reason - the exam has evolved over the years. Compare NBME 1 and NBME 24 and the style is different as well as NBME 13 and NBME 24.

This is anecdotal, but I know a person who took multiple CBSEs proctored through NBME for his med school (Lucky that his med school paid for these) and took his final CBSE with his highest score on it a week before Step 1 and scored 20 points lower. That doesn't mean it's a completely linear relationship and that he probably had a test geared poorly towards his strengths, but its correlation is not exactly perfect because its a predictor and not the same as Step 1.

Here you go. There was a retrospective study released in the journal a few months ago. It's an interesting read and their conclusion was that the CBSE is a weak predictor of step 1 performance. The study does say people do 15 points better on step 1, but part of this is confounded heavily by the amount of medical school a program does, like if they do MS1 and MS2, the amount of dedicated study time for step 1, the amount of preparation a student already had before taking the CBSE (medical school curriculum in dental school), studying for relatively similar material a second time and various other factors.

Also, they will calibrate the step 1 annually to that cohort around June/July to a new set of questions and readjust the curve which they do not do for the CBSE. A much larger number of med students take the step 1 so that calibration is more normalizing. But Step 1 is going pass fail, so the big conclusion to take from that paper is the CBSE doesn't really predict if you'll pass or fail step 1 - people who fail the CBSE pass Step 1. (Again this does not lead to any conclusions about the difficulty)

This is not the case anymore, CBSE has been updated, I took it recently and it was very much like the Step 1. In the past, CBSE used to be more like the old NBMEs (1-11). Now, its more like the latest NBMEs (20, 21, 22, etc.)
 
I took the CBSE last September and I'd say it's on par with Step 1 difficulty based on how a lot of my test questions were formatted like UWorld in terms of length and clinical vignette, especially the pathophysio questions.
 
Thanks for all the information. Would it be reasonable to expect that if one were to get “x”% correct on both exams, that they would be the same scores? Meaning is the curve better on one exam over the other?
 
From what I have seen so far, CBSE seems to be a great predictor of how one would perform on the Step 1. A colleague of mine who recently took the Step 1 at a program that has their PGY1 residents take the exam before starting residency scored exactly the same as what they got for the CBSE. I know this is n=1 but I have heard from other residents that Step 1 and CBSE are essentially the same minus fewer questions for the CBSE.
 
From what I have seen so far, CBSE seems to be a great predictor of how one would perform on the Step 1. A colleague of mine who recently took the Step 1 at a program that has their PGY1 residents take the exam before starting residency scored exactly the same as what they got for the CBSE. I know this is n=1 but I have heard from other residents that Step 1 and CBSE are essentially the same minus fewer questions for the CBSE.
Lol @PatsMan1
 
I scored way higher on step 1 compared to CBSE. Like 30+ points higher. They're pretty similar in the content covered. The difference for me was about a year of didactic medical school systems based learning under my belt before taking step 1 compared to my memorization of UW/FA for CBSE in dental school.
 
I scored way higher on step 1 compared to CBSE. Like 30+ points higher. They're pretty similar in the content covered. The difference for me was about a year of didactic medical school systems based learning under my belt before taking step 1 compared to my memorization of UW/FA for CBSE in dental school.
You went to dental and medical school?
 
Yes, dental school then OMFS residency (6-year) which was combined with medical school. Took all Step exams (1, 2CS, 2CK, and 3) as well as the shelf exams.
Bless your soul. I couldn't do it!
 
Took all Step exams (1, 2CS, 2CK, and 3) as well as the shelf exams.
B53B883E-E90D-4A14-8F8F-E1BFFE16E91A.gif


Big Hoss
 
Top