Someone Please Please Please Help!

[neurosurg777]

I am really really freaking out. I don't know what to do. I have been studying for step two for about three months now and after all that I have done NBME says I am going to fail.

Here is a quick overview of what I have done.

NMS step 2 qbook: 1000 questions

Kaplan Qbook: 850 questions

Kaplan Qbank: 1716/2209 questions(49% avg. vs. 54% other kaplan users)
My scores ranged generally in the 40's and 50's. I got a few in the 30's
and a couple in the 60's but mainly 40's and 50's.

Usmle World: 1100/2264 questions(58% avg., 43rd percentile)

My avg. up until this last week was between 60% and 61% but for
some reason I have been tanking and it dropped my avg. My very first
block on UW I got a 70% and then the second block a 52% and then
the third block a 68% and then had a streak in the 50's and then a
streak in the 60's. I had a couple in the 70's with a high of 75 but this
last week I have gotten in the 50's with two 47's.

Usmle world self assessment: 440 which they translated to a 202

NBME form 2: 380 which according to their chart is a 186 (FAIL!)

So I don't know what to do. I don't get what is going on with me. I am in the match and have my CS scheduled for November so I am in a really tough spot between contemplating postponing it and just taking it. Please anyone have any advice?

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[kdburton]

I am really really freaking out. I don't know what to do. I have been studying for step two for about three months now and after all that I have done NBME says I am going to fail.

Here is a quick overview of what I have done.

NMS step 2 qbook: 1000 questions

Kaplan Qbook: 850 questions

Kaplan Qbank: 1716/2209 questions(49% avg. vs. 54% other kaplan users)
My scores ranged generally in the 40's and 50's. I got a few in the 30's
and a couple in the 60's but mainly 40's and 50's.

Usmle World: 1100/2264 questions(58% avg., 43rd percentile)

My avg. up until this last week was between 60% and 61% but for
some reason I have been tanking and it dropped my avg. My very first
block on UW I got a 70% and then the second block a 52% and then
the third block a 68% and then had a streak in the 50's and then a
streak in the 60's. I had a couple in the 70's with a high of 75 but this
last week I have gotten in the 50's with two 47's.

Usmle world self assessment: 440 which they translated to a 202

NBME form 2: 380 which according to their chart is a 186 (FAIL!)

So I don't know what to do. I don't get what is going on with me. I am in the match and have my CS scheduled for November so I am in a really tough spot between contemplating postponing it and just taking it. Please anyone have any advice?

​

What are you looking for in terms of advice? Have you read any review books in addition to doing questions over the last three months? Are you just doing the questions or are you also reading the explanations? Did you pass your shelf exams during third year? How did you do on Step 1? You need to give some more information because I don't understand how you can prepare for multiple months and still improve.

 

[neurosurg777]

What are you looking for in terms of advice? Have you read any review books in addition to doing questions over the last three months? Are you just doing the questions or are you also reading the explanations? Did you pass your shelf exams during third year? How did you do on Step 1? You need to give some more information because I don't understand how you can prepare for multiple months and still improve.

I guess I wanted to see if anyone else has been through the same thing and what my next step should be? Yes ofcourse, I used Kaplan's notes as I went along. Ofcourse I'm reading the explanations. I read everything, even if I got a question right and knew why I still read the answer. I read the answer and why the other choices were wrong. I read everything regardless of how I did on it. Yes I passed all my shelf exams. Step one didn't go so well but I did pass on the first try. Let me put it this way, I'm not an MD/Phd student that doesn't know what the first line treatment for C. diff is. I don't understand how I can according to people do well on UW and do so poorly on the NBME. A little advice was what I was looking for.

 

[chapaquito]

I guess I wanted to see if anyone else has been through the same thing and what my next step should be? Yes ofcourse, I used Kaplan's notes as I went along. Ofcourse I'm reading the explanations. I read everything, even if I got a question right and knew why I still read the answer. I read the answer and why the other choices were wrong. I read everything regardless of how I did on it. Yes I passed all my shelf exams. Step one didn't go so well but I did pass on the first try. Let me put it this way, I'm not an MD/Phd student that doesn't know what the first line treatment for C. diff is. I don't understand how I can according to people do well on UW and do so poorly on the NBME. A little advice was what I was looking for.

I have not taken any of the usmle steps yet,But I think you shall NOT take the exam,therefore postpone your test date,I think is $50 the fee to pay for postpone,but thats what I will do specially if the PDs look your step 2 score in the interviews,to grant you the spot on their residency program.regards

 

[stapleit]

DId you try comparing both Kaplan and UWorld qbanks, as well as the NBME, to see what types of questions you're getting wrong repeatedly? Maybe you are weak in the same subject areas. If so, it would make sense to go back and re-read those sections until you know them cold. Also, for the questions you're getting wrong (as you're doing them) try to figure out what about each question you're doing wrong (ie rushing? not reading questions correctly? not understanding terms? missing key items?) and try to minimize these.

 

[Golding]

Tough situation, because I usually try to advise people to not take the boards until they are confident that they are ready. You've been studying for a while, and a bad NBME is hard on the conscience. The worst thing you can do is let that eat at your mind on exam day.

The most drastic thing you can do is postpone and do match next year, if you're really not certain about passing. Then you can probably just continue to Step 3 and maybe do research.

One way or another, there's something going on here with the studying. You've done 5000 questions, but have you gone over the stuff that you didn't get right or didn't understand?

Nerves may also be playing a role here as well, in which case it may benefit you to take a breather and just chill a little bit. You might not get into the 270's with that, but right now I think you should be aiming for adequacy.

 

[humabot]

I am really really freaking out. I don't know what to do. I have been studying for step two for about three months now and after all that I have done NBME says I am going to fail.

Here is a quick overview of what I have done.

NMS step 2 qbook: 1000 questions

Kaplan Qbook: 850 questions

Kaplan Qbank: 1716/2209 questions(49% avg. vs. 54% other kaplan users)
My scores ranged generally in the 40's and 50's. I got a few in the 30's
and a couple in the 60's but mainly 40's and 50's.

Usmle World: 1100/2264 questions(58% avg., 43rd percentile)

My avg. up until this last week was between 60% and 61% but for
some reason I have been tanking and it dropped my avg. My very first
block on UW I got a 70% and then the second block a 52% and then
the third block a 68% and then had a streak in the 50's and then a
streak in the 60's. I had a couple in the 70's with a high of 75 but this
last week I have gotten in the 50's with two 47's.

Usmle world self assessment: 440 which they translated to a 202

NBME form 2: 380 which according to their chart is a 186 (FAIL!)

So I don't know what to do. I don't get what is going on with me. I am in the match and have my CS scheduled for November so I am in a really tough spot between contemplating postponing it and just taking it. Please anyone have any advice?

​

THe problem: you have to many things you are doing and it is probably stressing you out. This is a common theme in people that have their head stuck in to many sources.

Focus on one: world. It is really high yield for the exam. I don't know how much time you have, but if I were in your shoes I would do the following:
1. I would go through all of world. Make sure you read and understand the explanations and concepts they are teaching.
2. Go over your incorrect ones again.
3. As you go along try checking off the explanations in world that they state are high yield and go over those a day before you test.
4. And if you read something just study your weak areas. And OB/Gyn--for some reason or another this is all over the exam, at least 3-7 questions on each block.

good luck.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

DIT, I'd do that, and UW.

Question to rest of you: what's consistently high yield? OBGYN, Peds, and what else within the IM sections? Thanks

 

[humabot]

DIT, I'd do that, and UW.

Question to rest of you: what's consistently high yield? OBGYN, Peds, and what else within the IM sections? Thanks

Ob/gyn, IM-cardio,resp, endo and then others, also Derm specifically recognizing various skin cancers and how to treat them and know how to distinguish between rubella, mumps, 5th disease etc...

 

[neurosurg777]

Hey guys, thanks for the advice. I was curious about these NBME forms. It may be just me but I feel like they are asking me things that I have not seen in Kaplan or UW. The answer options feel outdated and are not the kinds of things they asked on the qbanks. I felt like I was taking step 1. Maybe I am crazy but when I read them nothing comes to my mind. I usually would be able to think of the disease process on kaplan and UW and answer the question and if I didn't know it I either was able to guess based on the answer choices and their relation to the disease or get it down to two choices where one was right. Once in a while I would get things wrong because I had no idea but that did not happen often. On these NBME exams I feel like I am getting a lot wrong because nothing is coming to my mind and I can't even use any process of elimination. I feel like there is a big disconnect between the NBME and what I have seen on Kaplan and UW. Am I totally off or what?