Taking Step 1 During Rotations?

[HolsteredSun]

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Hello everyone,
I have a dilemma. I'm supposed to be taking the boards sometime beginning of next week. I've been doing OK on World (60-70%- which is annoying fluctuating from 50%-80% scores), and I took NBME Self Assessment Form 3 yesterday (which I hear is one of the better predictors of your grade). Unfortunately I didn't do so hot and scored around a 205 or so (I also took it late at night so I don't know if fatigue was an issue). Anyhow, what I really wanted to ask is, if it would be feasible to push the boards back into when I start my rotations? I start end of next week with Medicine, for about 8 weeks total. The latest I can push the test back without having to reregister is end of July. Would it be feasible to push it that late? I was told that doing medicine and then taking the test might actually provide some tangible benefits to improving your score in addition to standard text reading. What would you guys do? Cancel your first rotation? Do medicine and study in the evening concurrently? I'm not looking to bust my balls and honor the rotation so I'm not going to be staying inordinate number of hours there. Thanks everyone!

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Hello everyone,
I have a dilemma. I'm supposed to be taking the boards sometime beginning of next week. I've been doing OK on World (60-70%- which is annoying fluctuating from 50%-80% scores), and I took NBME Self Assessment Form 3 yesterday (which I hear is one of the better predictors of your grade). Unfortunately I didn't do so hot and scored around a 205 or so (I also took it late at night so I don't know if fatigue was an issue). Anyhow, what I really wanted to ask is, if it would be feasible to push the boards back into when I start my rotations? I start end of next week with Medicine, for about 8 weeks total. The latest I can push the test back without having to reregister is end of July. Would it be feasible to push it that late? I was told that doing medicine and then taking the test might actually provide some tangible benefits to improving your score in addition to standard text reading. What would you guys do? Cancel your first rotation? Do medicine and study in the evening concurrently? I'm not looking to bust my balls and honor the rotation so I'm not going to be staying inordinate number of hours there. Thanks everyone!

I've got FP and peds my 1st 2 months - I'll prolly do DIT and take USMLE round that time. I'm taking COMLEX in july.

 

[humabot]

Hello everyone,
I have a dilemma. I'm supposed to be taking the boards sometime beginning of next week. I've been doing OK on World (60-70%- which is annoying fluctuating from 50%-80% scores), and I took NBME Self Assessment Form 3 yesterday (which I hear is one of the better predictors of your grade). Unfortunately I didn't do so hot and scored around a 205 or so (I also took it late at night so I don't know if fatigue was an issue). Anyhow, what I really wanted to ask is, if it would be feasible to push the boards back into when I start my rotations? I start end of next week with Medicine, for about 8 weeks total. The latest I can push the test back without having to reregister is end of July. Would it be feasible to push it that late? I was told that doing medicine and then taking the test might actually provide some tangible benefits to improving your score in addition to standard text reading. What would you guys do? Cancel your first rotation? Do medicine and study in the evening concurrently? I'm not looking to bust my balls and honor the rotation so I'm not going to be staying inordinate number of hours there. Thanks everyone!

Just work your butt off and take it next week. The steps is about mechanisms of disease mostly...Going through IM and coming back to the steps you will have lost whatever you have to getting those percentages in UW. IM is mostly about diagnosis and what you are going to do next--management and treatment. Also, most rotations are hard because you also have to worry a lot about presenting and other issues(personalities you will encounter)..

bottom line: your above 200, your uw percentages indicate you are ready (if you were consistently under 50% in uw then you should worry, but your not...)

extra bottom line: saddle up and take the hot damn exam..that way you can start worrying about when you are going to get your scores back like the rest of us

 

[Instatewaiter]

You're not going to have time to study during rotations. Frankly your score would probably go down during rotations.

Take another practice exam and take it at 8am. Wake up as you would on test day and take it. It could be that you just scored poorly on that one exam.

FWIW my average UW score at the end was ~62% (generally around 70% in the end) i scored in the 240s. Take another NBME (or the free 150) and reassess then.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Take the free 150 for a confidence boost.

 

[MountainEM]

take the test. Stop the pain.
start rotations

 

[VeggieGal]

doing IM and studying hard for the IM shelf exam will improve your score. however, u still will need time to review all of the basic science stuff u will have forgotten by delaying the exam. If u have another 6 wks free after the IM rotation to study, I would go ahead and push it back. if not, then i would work really hard now to get my score up.

 

[HolsteredSun]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to take another full length today (any suggestions on what other NBME forms ( I did #3) are good for accurate representation of your real score? If my score doesn't go up to where I'm happy with it, I'll have to reconsider taking it at a later time. Also to throw a wrench into the mix- A new development has come up- my roommate got screwed with the rotation lottery and as a result he is starting off with 6 weeks of FM and then 2 week of ER elective. He would be more than happy to switch with me on IM (which I don't mind at all). If I had to switch over to FM (typically a 8-5 day), do you guys think I could then push my exam back into rotations? Thanks again, I very much appreciate your advice.

 

[HolsteredSun]

Take the free 150 for a confidence boost.

I know the 150 is generally a great confidence boost but is nowhere near what the real thing is like (i.e. knowing me, I don't want to be misled into thinking I will do better than I actually will).

 

[TMP-SMX]

I know the 150 is generally a great confidence boost but is nowhere near what the real thing is like (i.e. knowing me, I don't want to be misled into thinking I will do better than I actually will).

Depends how difficult your test will be. They vary and depend how strong you are in the various subjects. It certainly isn't as difficult as UW.

 

[silas2642]

Depends how difficult your test will be. They vary and depend how strong you are in the various subjects. It certainly isn't as difficult as UW.

To be honest, I'd just take the damned thing. Being able to push back your boards and have more dedicated study time is one thing, but pushing your boards back and having to study for this test while doing rotations is another-- I can't imagine coming home from being at the hospital all day and then studying for this stupid test on top of reading about my patients diseases, and studying for the shelf exams.

You may very well just do better than you think you will. Everyone feels horrible coming out of this exam and everyone feels terrible going into the exam. I think that you learn a lot in that last week.