Suggestions for exam day pre-write

[SweetTonics]

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I was thinking of jotting down info on the blank page/erase board during the 15 min tutorial - anything that would help the thought process along in case of cerebral flatus during the exam (and give me something to do the night before).

The following is a (very preliminary) list of topics that came to mind. Any additions/deletions/modifications would be much appreciated!

- Parameters of Shock: CO, PCWP, SVR, CVP, MVO2 in various types of shock
- Primary/Secondary amenorrhea work up
- Abnormal Pap work up
- HIV - CD4 prophylaxis, vaccines
- Peds vaccines (I can never get these down..)
- Incontinence: etiologies & tx
- Milestones @ 6mo, 1yr, 2yr
- SIADH/NDI/PP - serum osm, urine osm, urine na, tx
- ATP III recs for tx LDL
- Breast mass work up
- Newborn jaundice - pathologic/physiologic/breastmilk/breastfeed timelines
- Light's criteria with glucose and pH
- CSF in the odd cases - TB, HSV encephalitis
- Kleinfelters/AIS/CAH/5alphaRed/Mul agen: geno+phenotype
- MEN I/II/III
- Quad screen

 

[kissmyasthma99]

Wow, that's a lot. I was thinking the same thing, but I'm not sure you would have enough time/space for all of that. I had the same idea as you, but I was heading more into the "Formula Sheet" line of thinking. I would definitely leave anything out you could think through. For instance if you understand shock, SIADH, DI, etc. you can think through these things. To me, this should be reserved for things that are just memorization (the peds vaccines would be a good example). I've been kind of working on my sheet the last day or two. So far I've jotted down...

SAAG > 1.1 = transudate (ascites)
Winter's Formula
Light's Criteria
Relative risk, Odds ratio, attributable risk
Normal BPP score = 8-10, etc.
I thought about adding the different weeks of gestation that you do certain tests (MSAFP, OGTT, GBS swab, etc.)


I think this is a good idea, and I would be curious to see what everyone else is writing down on their marker board before the test.

 

[SoFarBehind]

1) Something to consider: if you quickly click your way through that section, that time gets added to your lunch/break time. I took the exam about a month ago and a "cheat" sheet like this wouldn't have been as helpful as I would have thought before going into the test.

2) BUT, if you choose to go with your plan, I'd limit it to

- Peds vaccines (I can never get these down..)
- Milestones @ 6mo, 1yr, 2yr
- SIADH/NDI/PP - serum osm, urine osm, urine na, tx
- Newborn jaundice - pathologic/physiologic/breastmilk/breastfeed timelines
- Kleinfelters/AIS/CAH/5alphaRed/Mul agen: geno+phenotype

 

[SweetTonics]

I like the formula sheet idea, def adding SAAG to my list!
I thought it was somewhat helpful for Step 1 - mostly with rote memorization stuff that I unloaded in the morning and had at my disposal all day 🙂

For those who've taken the exam, how detailed were the peds vaccines q's? Would you recommend memorizing details such as dosage intervals (at 2 mo, 8mo, 15mo, etc) or have a general idea of what's covered by age 4?

For vaccines, I found these charts helpful:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/child/0-6yrs-schedule-pr.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/downloads/adult/adult-schedule-11x17.pdf

 

[m1lktea]

Finished my Step 1 not too long ago. I've read that people do the same thing for step 1 (pre-write notes during tutorial). HOWEVER, at the prometric testing center, I saw that no writing is allowed during the tutorial period... Because of that, I opted not to...

Am I missing something here?

 

[ashmarj]

You are able to take a few minutes before starting the test (tutorial section or otherwise) and write a few things down on your board. If you take 'too long', however, you could be marked as having suspicious behavior.

I took 1-2 minutes and wrote down my box with equations for biostats. I didn't think anything else would be worth my time to write down.

Then, I just checked my headphones during the tutorial and skipped the rest to have the additional break time.

 

[SweetTonics]

It's been over a year since I've been inside a Prometric center, but I don't recall any problems with writing during the tutorial...I hope this isn't something new. Maybe center-specific? (although that shouldn't be the case..). Mehh...making a cheat sheet will probably help in the long run.

Thought of another addition - SD curve with the % broken down (2.4/13.5/34/34/..)

Anyway....oh so ready to get this beast over with.

 

[adamMD]

The night before, try and write out the things you think you'll need on the exam. If it comes really easy to write it from memory, then you probably don't need it. With the thick, dry markers they give you, you aren't going to be able to fit much. I plan to write the following:
- stats equations
- the diagram for hyponatremia in step up to medicine (I'm confident there will be at least one question on this topic and I don't wanna waste time thinking about it)
- and possibly some of the other stuff already listed

I really don't think writing things down helps but I know how stressed I was on step 1 and it completely blows missing questions you know the answer to.

As for childhood vaccinations, I can't remember if uworld really hits on that. I took NBME 4 and didn't ask one question on it. Just know the very basics of it? Is this actually something that reliably appears on tests?

 

[kissmyasthma99]

I had one question on vaccines on one of my NBMEs, so at least it's a possibility. It wasn't to bad though.

 

[aale818]

If you plan on doing it, definitely add the shock info. I had at least 3 questions presenting a patient in shock and with the answer choices being changes in CO/CI, PCWP, SVR, CVP...

I also had at least 5 questions on incontinence. No, I'm not kidding... (unfortunate, I know)

 

[Cooolguy]

I don't get the markerboard thing...if you can write it down, you clearly know it

 

[ThePursuit]

I don't get the markerboard thing...if you can write it down, you clearly know it

I completely agree. It's like a med student's pacifier/security blanket. That said, it's definitely handy to quickly jot out the biostats squares and PPV,AR,sens, spec equations. At least for me it just saved time when I got to the inevitable questions on these. (plug and play).

Otherwise I think it's just proving you already know something and wasting your time since it probably won't be on the test anyways.

Writing down milestones or vaccine algorithms (on your marker board) just sounds ridiculous. May be a great way to prove you know it the couple days before the test though. Caveat: I had no vaccine questions and like 1 easy developmental question.

Lastly, I think you can just write on the board before you start your tutorial. As long as it's brief, it's not considered unusual testing behavious. Then, don't click through the tutorial, just click "end block".

 

[jace's mom]

Biostats squares. The only thing I wrote down ahead of time, and it helped. I had several biostats problems where the question was a traditional one, but the way the data was presented on the screen was not traditional. Having the information on my board helped calm me down (didn't have to freak out during a test block or worry that I was switching numbers around) and helped clarify where to put numbers when the format the question was using was so confusing!! And I'm good at math, so when I say the questions were confusing...they were!

 

[Doublecortin]

I completely agree. It's like a med student's pacifier/security blanket. That said, it's definitely handy to quickly jot out the biostats squares and PPV,AR,sens, spec equations. At least for me it just saved time when I got to the inevitable questions on these. (plug and play).

Otherwise I think it's just proving you already know something and wasting your time since it probably won't be on the test anyways.

Writing down milestones or vaccine algorithms (on your marker board) just sounds ridiculous. May be a great way to prove you know it the couple days before the test though. Caveat: I had no vaccine questions and like 1 easy developmental question.

Lastly, I think you can just write on the board before you start your tutorial. As long as it's brief, it's not considered unusual testing behavious. Then, don't click through the tutorial, just click "end block".

Not true. I specifically asked my proctor before going into the room if I can write on my board BEFORE or DURING tutorial, and she said that I am not allowed to write anything down. The only time I was allowed to write was when I was in a block answering questions. Now, given that chances of getting in trouble if you do that are extremely small, I just wanted to share what my experience was.

 

[sswang00]

So this is not allowed?

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Seems weird - I definitely wrote stuff down during the tutorial on step 1 and nobody had a problem with it.

Has this suddenly changed in time for step 2?

 

[topscorer]

bump

 

[justaregularmed]

i would totally draw boobs complete with labels, high yield stuff.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

OK so I figured I'd follow up on this...

When I took step 2, I wrote a few things down during the tutorial period and nobody stopped me.

My guess is that the poster above was at a test center where they misunderstood the rules and told him something wrong (which doesn't seem to be uncommon...at my test center, they first tried to tell me I couldn't access my stuff during breaks and that I was 'late' because I showed up 5 minutes before my appointment time...apparently they thought I *had* to be there half an hour before).

 

[beyondbethany]

FA for Step I had a section with key equations to commit to memory, which I did and it served me well on test day. Does FA Step II have this as well?