Should I wait to take the USMLE 1

[wsingh]

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Hey guys,

It seems that most of the people have done well on their USMLE 1 (at least the one's posted here). I need your guys' suggestion: I am registered to take step 1 on June 7th. But still don't feel as prepared. My overall average on Qbank around 52%. Should I move the step 1 date back? Any suggestions??

Thanks,😕 😕 😕

 

[ajl102]

Sure, move it back. Just make sure to give yourself enough vacation to get you by. How long have you been studying? Push it back too much, you might start forgetting stuff from a month ago.

So you tell me: do you need the vacation or you'll be terminally depressed? Are you seriously worried you might fail? Will it be worthwhile study time or overkill? What do you lose by pushing the test back?

I met one guy who said he's just going to keep taking practice tests and pushing the date back till he consistently aces them, even if he takes it the day before 3rd year starts. That's either confidence, optimism, or masochism.
Depends what you need...

 

[trex92499]

I was set to take it on june 7th and pushed my date back to june28th, when I realized that 3 extra weeks could make a significant difference in my score.

It depends on how you want to do on it....I'm interested in plastic surgery, so this score is essentially everything to me in terms of getting interviews...

If you don't feel confident, by all means push it back. Nothing is worse than walking into an exam feeling insecure.

And if you're looking for motivation, make a bet with someone about your score that will force you or that person to pay up big time... (this typically works best with a significant other or parents)

 

[shakalakababy]

I think you should move it also. I'm not taking my test until the 27th - but then I want to go into ophtho and so I need to get a good score. I really think it depends on how well you want to do in this exam. A month long vacation is really not worth it if you're going to do poorly on this test. Goodluck!

 

[Peeshee]

How many questions have you completed on QBank? Your score might improve if you have just started doing QBank, so keep taking exams on there, but if you dont feel confident, you should definitely postpone it.

 

[Gauss]

Q-Bank scores are not directly correlated with USMLE scores.
Q Bank questions are study aides, most of them are not really meant to test what you have just crammed into your brain from 1st aid. What you should gain most from them is a feeling for the timing of the test and its format. Can you get through 50 questions in 60 minutes - can you guess, move on, mark unknowns, come back to them, etc. Also the questions provide you with extra knowledge or pictures to remember and help point out your strengths/weaknesses in subjects.

For you in particular you have to look at whether you got through what you wanted to? Not if your Qbank score is high enough, but did you get through all the review books you wanted to and do enough questions?
If you set up a schedule and got through it what are you gonna do with extra time?
You spent 2 years studying your ass off and you really think an extra week is gonna give you an extra 20 points - doubtful. MAYBE you'll get like 5 more.

No matter what you do you WILL be nervous and insecure before the test and on that day. I was a spastic mess and felt like the world was ending and I was never obsessed with getting a big score.

I hope all you people that need a certain score do well and then you can get that # tattooed to your forehead so every attending knows you by your # and not your name. Not one attending or resident has asked me what my score was, and they could care less.
The Chief Resident during my ER rotation failed Step1.

 

[wsingh]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think that I will postpone step 1 a few weeks so that at least I can finish Q bank . I am aiming for ER so I do need to "beat the mean." While I agree that board scores aren't everything, they certainly play a big role [unfortunately] in determining the type of residency that one might get. I have to be honest with myself and feel confident about my preparation, but I am not quite there yet.

So, with that said a big THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to reply to my post.

One quick question though: For Pharm review, I used Lippincott's throughout the year as my primary text book. It's awesome. But do you think that going through the entire Lippincott's is worth it? That is to say, do you think a combination of High Yield Pharm + First-Aid would be adequate??

Thanks.
W.