Step 2 Test taking strategies - How to approach questions

[deleted986199]

After my first uworld pass, I realized that I have poor test taking skills. It’s not a knowledge gap but rather I either misread important details, miss the overall differential diagnosis or get stuck in between answer choices.
I always read the last sentence in the question first and then go back and try to identify key details (abnormalities, CC, age). Then I will compare them to each answer option and try to pick the question choice that best suits the key details and questions. I will omit any that have contraindications.
But I always somehow get stuck in between two or overthink things or doubt myself so I end up getting things wrong or improperly reasoning. This also tends to happen when I have uworld questions that are very long.


My reasoning simply may suck or I don’t trust my judgement or I get overwhelmed. Was hoping to have a better understanding of what other people do in regards to approaching questions.

I know if I can truly improve my test taking skills, my score can go up ten folds.

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[Blueprint Med School]

Hey there! It sounds like you are approaching questions well. It's a great idea to read the last sentence in the question first and then start over from the beginning as this gives you a sense of what kind of question/subject you're going to have to tackle. Then as you read the question, paying attention to key details and highlighting so that you can refer back is also a great strategy. Furthermore, you're doing great by omitting the answer choices that don't make sense or are unlikely.
You mention that you often struggle between two answer choices or miss an important detail in the question that leads you to choose the wrong answer. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do after you've gotten a question wrong? How do you approach the wrong answer? Do you thoroughly read the UW explanation? Do you refer to other resources? I often see students struggle here because they often get discouraged and end up not spending enough time reading up and solidifying the topics that they are weak in.
Would love to give you some more advice once I get a better sense of how you spend your time reviewing questions. Looking forward to hearing back!

- Annette G, MD, MPH - USMLE Tutor and Residency Advisor at Med School Tutors