Post Exam Feeling

[747Captn2MD]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Just curious if it's normal to feel like total crap after taking Step 1? I took the beast the 2nd week of this month and am hopefully getting my score next week. I felt like there were just so many questions that I had to make educated guesses on, despite narrowing down the answer choices. It seemed like I marked 12 to 15 questions per block. Plus, who knows, I may have missed some of the ones I did not mark due to stupid mistakes. I have done a good job for the past two weeks not thinking about the exam and while the questions have more or less become a fragment of my imagination, the feeling of having failed this thing creeps in every now and then.

I got a form loaded with tons of OB/GYN path that was mad hard compared to the questions I encountered in USMLE World or any NBME form I've taken. There were definitely gimme questions, but I tend to remember the ones I had trouble on. Anyone know how this exam is standardized? It would make sense that those who got hard forms need less questions correct to make the passing mark, well this is my hope at least.

 

[JeffLebowski]

Just curious if it's normal to feel like total crap after taking Step 1? I took the beast the 2nd week of this month and am hopefully getting my score next week. I felt like there were just so many questions that I had to make educated guesses on, despite narrowing down the answer choices. It seemed like I marked 12 to 15 questions per block. Plus, who knows, I may have missed some of the ones I did not mark due to stupid mistakes. I have done a good job for the past two weeks not thinking about the exam and while the questions have more or less become a fragment of my imagination, the feeling of having failed this thing creeps in every now and then.

I got a form loaded with tons of OB/GYN path that was mad hard compared to the questions I encountered in USMLE World or any NBME form I've taken. There were definitely gimme questions, but I tend to remember the ones I had trouble on. Anyone know how this exam is standardized? It would make sense that those who got hard forms need less questions correct to make the passing mark, well this is my hope at least.

Totally normal feeling. I certainly felt awful after the exam (as do most people) and ended up doing well. Very common.

 

[DrTennis]

Hey Capt, don't stress out about it, I feel like crap also after I took it and still feel like crap cause I haven't gotten my score yet either. I've felt like crap on every single NBME exam I've taken. I remember the feeling walking out of many of the shelf exams I took and feeling like I did so poorly on them, but finding out a week later that I did average or above. No one knows how the step 1 exams are graded. The USMLE bulletin said you need 60 to 70% correct to typically pass, but then I read on Kaplan's website that you need 55 to 65% correct to pass, on another Review Q-book by LANGE said you will probably pass if you get a little over 50% correct depending on the form difficulty. There really isn't any use to try and figure this out because it will just stress you out more and no one will really know except the ppl at the NBME. If it comforts you, I did read somewhere on this forum that each exam question may weighted differently, but that again was someone else's theory and not directly from the dudes that grade it. Best to enjoy the time off by keeping your mind occupied with activities so you don't think of it. DO NOT OPEN UP FIRST AID OR ANY BOOK TO LOOK UP ANSWERS THAT YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE MISSED. That is one way to stress you out even more.

 

[UditNarayan]

definitely very normal, i felt like i got run over by an 18 wheeler...how did it turn out (if you got your score back this week)?

 

[747Captn2MD]

definitely very normal, i felt like i got run over by an 18 wheeler...how did it turn out (if you got your score back this week)?

Yes, I got my scores and passed a few points above the mean. I was so happy.