Study tips for NBME Basic Sci Exam

[DrDewgong]

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I need some advice for how to study for the NBME Basic Science Exam.

What books should I use? Study question resources, etc... thanks for the input.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I think I'm just going to try to memorize the high-yield portion of First Aid and read through the margin notes of RR Path. I only have 2 days to study for it, so anything that I haven't already covered in my rather meager board review efforts is going to mostly be a loss. I'm just looking to pass so my school doesn't force me into taking a review course.

 

[xanthomondo]

Our school didn't even have much time to study for it, most of us just took it cold.

 

[Jolie South]

I took the exam back in December. I only studied for 3 days prior to the test and I did well.

My advice is just to use First Aid. Get through it all. Sections that are particularly high yield are biochem, micro, and pharm. They're also the worst to study. 🙄

 

[MilkmanAl]

All of FA in 2 days...hmmm...Biochem, micro, and pharm it is. 😛

 

[Jolie South]

All of FA in 2 days...hmmm...Biochem, micro, and pharm it is. 😛

The more rare a syndrome is the more likely it is to show up on the exam, especially if an eponym describes it.

That's also something important to know.

 

[coldweatherblue]

I'm taking it two weeks before boards and directly after taking the path, micro, pharm and physio shelfs so I'm just studying for those exams, reading FA, and doing USMLE world Q's.

 

[Texas4508]

We recently took the test and I was wondering whether anyone can say if it is similar to the actual Step 1 test? Are the questions about the same level of difficulty?

 

[xanthomondo]

So I got my score back

I failed

 

[MilkmanAl]

I took it today, and there were quite a few things I didn't even remotely remember. One really nice aspect of the test is that most of the questions are pretty easy to narrow down to 2 choices without knowing hardly anything about the subject of the question. Many of them can easily be narrowed to one answer.

Like Jolie said, biochem and micro are really high yield for it. There are also a ton of lung, GI, and renal questions, if you're a systems kind of person.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I got my score today, and it told me 3 things I already knew:
1) I could pass Step 1 if I took it today but only barely.
2) I haven't had my GI unit yet.
3) UAMS sucks nuts at teaching phys, pharm, and path.

Totally worth my time.

 

[Mr hawkings]

I got my score today, and it told me 3 things I already knew:
1) I could pass Step 1 if I took it today but only barely.
2) I haven't had my GI unit yet.
3) UAMS sucks nuts at teaching phys, pharm, and path.

Totally worth my time.

How would you compare how you did in this one to the individual shelf exams. Did you score in the same range as you have been in the individual subjects?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Um...I don't know the standard deviations and stuff on this, but I did above the national average by a little bit. That puts me a tad below how I've done of the shelf exams so far. I've averaged somewhere in the high 500's on NBME's, and this one was probably in the low 500's, if I had to guess on a conversion. I'm okay with that. I just *really* did not want to be forced to take a prep course.

 

[xanthomondo]

Um...I don't know the standard deviations and stuff on this, but I did above the national average by a little bit. That puts me a tad below how I've done of the shelf exams so far. I've averaged somewhere in the high 500's on NBME's, and this one was probably in the low 500's, if I had to guess on a conversion. I'm okay with that. I just *really* did not want to be forced to take a prep course.

Do you guys have nationally standardized shelf exams for MS2 classes? Or are they exams prepared by your school/professors?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Nationally standardized. We have all of the M2 ones (path, pharm, mico, blah, blah, blah) at the end of the year, but the M1 ones are scattered throughout the year. They're just the subject shelf exams put out by the NBME. Supposedly they're composed of retired Step 1 questions. I think only like 1/3 of schools use them or something.

 

[Jolie South]

The grading scale for EBSE is unlike all other basic sciences shelfs. There are no percentile conversions that I'm aware of. I definitely didn't get any with my score.