Studying during breaks?

[JayZee]

Are we or are we not allowed to study during the breaks? for either exam?

USMLE says:
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You will not give, receive, or obtain any form of unauthorized assistance during the examination or during breaks.
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You will not have in your possession any formulas, study materials, notes, papers, or electronic devices of any kind unless you are out of the secure areas of the center.

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[woowoo]

you are welcome to study during breaks if you want to, but it is a total waste of time. if you don't know it by then, odds are you aren't going to know it. the odds of you studying something during a break that you will be asked on a subsequent block are slim to none. on top of that, you are much better off, using your break to clear your mind, get refreshed and prepared for the next block.

but if you choose to spend your time studying during the break, you can do it. it just is not a wise move, and is more likely to hurt you in the long run b/c you are only taxing your brain even more, and increasing your chances of making a careless error due to fatigue. trust me, you will want that time to try to rejuvenate yourself somewhat.

 

[JayZee]

thanks woowoo, i was thinking about reviewing some drug cards...thaz all

 

[mackaikai]

yah thanks woowoo, i was thinking about studying during my lunch break too...maybe i shouldn't and just relax ;o

 

[viper]

Secure area means when you are in the test room. Once you come out (if you choose to during breaks), you can look at your books (p. 10 of gotmedbooks.com guide). Here's why you should and you shouldn't ----- don't try to study during the test - you had months to study, the last 2 min will NOT help.

Here is what you should do.....if you ran across a question and now aren't sure if you answered it correctly or just couldn't remember it - GO LOOK IT UP. Some of these questions repeat - sometimes verbatim (believe me). And then you will get that right. Just make this last minute effort to get a few more questions right. Now if you are the type that will freak out if you were wrong - don't do it. My two cents.

 

[CalBeE]

Yea I agree....not a lot of questions repeated themselves (For me, like 4-6 questions out of the whole test), but looking up something quick may be helpful. At my test center today, you're free to read anything in between breaks, but I didn't end up looking up stuff in first aid...I felt that one hour total of break just wasn't enough for me (I used up almost all the time in each section to recheck answers, so not much extra break time for me)