Process of doing questions...

[faithfulMD]

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Hello,
I just started studying for step 1 and I'm having a hard time getting though questions quickly. It's taking me a long time to read through explanations and take notes on each question. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get through the questions more quickly? I can barely get through 25 questions in one day. Thanks!

 

[sapience8x]

are you trying to take notes on them all or just the ones you get wrong?

 

[ucbdancn00]

when ever i do 50, it takes me like close to 3 hours to get through each

granted it's a pain....but i think it's imperative because it helps you review stuff and allows you to fine tune your thinking on these questions...

i totally feel your frustration, but keep chugging.....just remember that for a "240" or whatever score you feel is great,

ucb

 

[Idiopathic]

Do the questions. Time yourself as though you needed to go faster than the USMLE (i.e. better than 1 minute per).

Review the questions you get right to reinforce your accuracy. If a guess, understand why the wrong answers are wrong.

For wrong answers, pick out the best distractor which is probably what you answered. Understand why it distracted you and then get to the concept. It should take you less than 3 hours to go through 50 questions.

This is a long and drawn-out process. Make sure that you use the ones that you do as learning tools. A lot of people fall into the trap of studying what they already know again or just running through questions without a sense of purpose.

Good luck.

 

[Mumpu]

Do a block of 50 questions first, straight through, then look at the answers. You will not have the option of looking up answers or spending a lot of time on each question during the test -- don't teach your brain to do that now. You also need to learn to not get flustered when you come upon one (or a whole series!) of questions you have no idea about -- something that is very likely to happen on the test. Make your best guess and keep on going, it is the only workable strategy for the actual exam. Again, avoid learning bad habits you will have to unlearn later. A block of 50 questions with answers should take you an hour. Learn this skill -- NBME exams in 3rd year have VERY long stems with very little time per question.

Also, do not do questions by topic. You will get a random mix in the exam -- learn to switch gears from the start.

You goal should be to go through every QBank question at least once. Start with "new questions only," then once you've seen them all go to "new and incorrect."

The above strategery worked well for me -- I finished the real deal in just under 4 hours and scored very well.