Test day Strategy

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slowlybutshelly

slowlybutshelly

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I am taking step2ck at the end of november. I have yet to do any full length 8 hour simulated days to build my stamina. I plan to do some for 3 days in a row shortly before my exam date. Anyone have any suggestions on how to build stamina and keep it throughout the day?

And what to bring for lunch? How to maximize break time?

I have only been doing 4 hr practice tests at a time and am pretty consistent as long as I finish every single question on the exam.

I have no room for error though.

and not looking forward to step3 9 hr exam at all.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I am taking step2ck at the end of november. I have yet to do any full length 8 hour simulated days to build my stamina. I plan to do some for 3 days in a row shortly before my exam date. Anyone have any suggestions on how to build stamina and keep it throughout the day?

And what to bring for lunch? How to maximize break time?

I have only been doing 4 hr practice tests at a time and am pretty consistent as long as I finish every single question on the exam.

I have no room for error though.

and not looking forward to step3 9 hr exam at all.
Click to expand...

1. bring lunch that is high in sugar, like snack bars, don't eat a full meal and put yourself in food coma.

2. if you are caffeine person, spread it out evenly and save the biggest dose for later in the day. don't over caffeinate in the morning and crash in the afternoon.

3. take a short nap during break time if it helps you.

4. people generally finish sections on CK with time to spare - DON'T go back and check your answers to use the full time (waste of stamina imo), end section and add the extra time to your break time.

5. skip tutorial

6. good nights sleep the day before, if you have trouble sleeping the night before tests due to anxiety or w/e, use sleep aids (OTC meds etc) but make sure you try them before hand to make sure they won't make you drowsy the next day or something.

7. i listen to music during break, seems to help refresh my brain.

8. eat a little bit of food each minibreak to keep energy up without food coma'ing.

9. don't cram the day before the test.
 
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"No Room for error" I assume means you are making up for a poor step 1 score.

Meerkat had some really good advice. I would suggest NOT napping, and NOT listening to music, but that is personal choice.

Personally, I do two blocks back to back (how i trained) then take a 5 minute break. I do stupid dances, arm swinging, leg pumping (get that restless feeling out of me, preparing to get back into the driver's seat). Embarassing? Maybe. But I dont give a **** about people's opinion of me on test day. I had enough time to take an hour lunch, so I left the center, went and got lunch for 30-45 minutes. That for me was a huge recharge for me.

Good Luck!
 
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I agree, no naps/music during break time. Definitely do some stretching, a quick jog, a few push-ups during break to get you pumped. And small snacks every break, even if you don't feel hungry.
 
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slowlybutshelly said:
I am taking step2ck at the end of november. I have yet to do any full length 8 hour simulated days to build my stamina. I plan to do some for 3 days in a row shortly before my exam date. Anyone have any suggestions on how to build stamina and keep it throughout the day?

And what to bring for lunch? How to maximize break time?

I have only been doing 4 hr practice tests at a time and am pretty consistent as long as I finish every single question on the exam.

I have no room for error though.

and not looking forward to step3 9 hr exam at all.
Click to expand...

I had this concern as well-- in the end it was okay. Exhausting, but okay. I always took at least a few minutes after every block to take a breather and kind of regroup. I also took 2 fifteen minute breaks to grab a power bar for lunch and use the restroom. Those really helped. For the most part I just wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as humanly possible, and I did fine.

I know a kid who literallly did all 8 blocks without a break-- just one after another.
 
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Doctor4Life1769 said:
What's the beef on music?
Click to expand...

It's not the best thing to do when you're on a short (5-10 min.) break from a 9 hour long marathon of a test. It's way too distracting, might make it harder to get back in testing mode after.

The point of taking a break is to stop all sorts of stimuli to your brain for a few minutes. Just my opinion of course. Whatever works best for you is the way to go.
 
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Xtrasystolic said:
It's not the best thing to do when you're on a short (5-10 min.) break from a 9 hour long marathon of a test. It's way too distracting, might make it harder to get back in testing mode after.

The point of taking a break is to stop all sorts of stimuli to your brain for a few minutes. Just my opinion of course. Whatever works best for you is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Thanks, no I've never used music but was debating on it - probably would give me a headache anyway.
 
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Xtrasystolic said:
It's not the best thing to do when you're on a short (5-10 min.) break from a 9 hour long marathon of a test. It's way too distracting, might make it harder to get back in testing mode after.

The point of taking a break is to stop all sorts of stimuli to your brain for a few minutes. Just my opinion of course. Whatever works best for you is the way to go.
Click to expand...

obviously completely personal, but if i try to not think anything during break, i will probably automatcially think about the test. music helps to take my brain elsewhere, helps me relax more too. what break does for me is not to keep me in test mode, but make it feel like a new day after the break so when i go to the next section it still feels like section 1 rather than 5.

find out what works for you during your practice simulations
 
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Thanks. Questions. I know I can have a locker. Can I bring coffee in a thermos? Can I bring an ipod with music on it and they wont confiscate?
 
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Thanks for your advice. I have noticed a trend in my practice exams. Most practice sets I have been doing lately have been 3 blocks at a time; prometric practice exam. 4 hr sim uworld exam. I have a trend the three times; I get just below average the first block; then get way above average the second block; then get below what I got on the first block on the third block.

Obviously by the third block in a row; I am getting distracted and not concentrating.

I think I need to have a strategy like yours to do two blocks back to back and take a break.

What would you do if you observed this trend in yourself?
 
Last edited:
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Yes you can bring a thermos/ipod/iphone, anything. You just have to put it in a locker between sections but are free to use them during breaks.

As far as your strategy, I would recommend this:

I had a similar trend to yours and here is what I did:

A) For the tutorial, click on the tab to check your headphones. As long as they work, skip the rest! That will give you at least 10 extra minutes in addition to your hour of break time.

B) DO NOT go over every question after you finish a block. Mark 5-10 at most, and double check those if you want, but finishing blocks on the first pass does 2 things: saves mental stamina (which you bet you will need for later) and gives you more break time (which is nice to have by block 6 if you need to go outside for fresh air without stressing about break time)

Take the first 2 blocks at once, then take a quick, 5-10 minute break.

Go back, take block 3. Take another 10-15 minute break, have a light snack, listen to music (again, I was finishing these blocks with >15 minutes to spare, so break time wasn't an issue).

Take blocks 4-5 together. These were the toughest blocks for me to mentally stay focused, knowing I was barely halfway done through the day. After, take you lunch break (25-30 minutes).

After blocks 6 and 7 I took two more 5-10 minute breaks, had a light snack, listened to music, etc.

Anyways, its a long day, but the key is this:
If you are losing focus after doing 2 blocks in a row, don't force it with block #3. A simple 5 minute break will keep you fresh. Unless you have no break time left, you should only do more than 2 blocks in a row without a break if you really feel focused and in the zone, but that is just my opinion.
 
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Yes you can bring a thermos/ipod/iphone, anything. You just have to put it in a locker between sections but are free to use them during breaks.

As far as your strategy, I would recommend this:

I had a similar trend to yours and here is what I did:

A) For the tutorial, click on the tab to check your headphones. As long as they work, skip the rest! That will give you at least 10 extra minutes in addition to your hour of break time.

B) DO NOT go over every question after you finish a block. Mark 5-10 at most, and double check those if you want, but finishing blocks on the first pass does 2 things: saves mental stamina (which you bet you will need for later) and gives you more break time (which is nice to have by block 6 if you need to go outside for fresh air without stressing about break time)

Take the first 2 blocks at once, then take a quick, 5-10 minute break.

Go back, take block 3. Take another 10-15 minute break, have a light snack, listen to music (again, I was finishing these blocks with >15 minutes to spare, so break time wasn't an issue).

Take blocks 4-5 together. These were the toughest blocks for me to mentally stay focused, knowing I was barely halfway done through the day. After, take you lunch break (25-30 minutes).

After blocks 6 and 7 I took two more 5-10 minute breaks, had a light snack, listened to music, etc.

Anyways, its a long day, but the key is this:
If you are losing focus after doing 2 blocks in a row, don't force it with block #3. A simple 5 minute break will keep you fresh. Unless you have no break time left, you should only do more than 2 blocks in a row without a break if you really feel focused and in the zone, but that is just my opinion.
 
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My testing site is letting me come in and start my exam and hr ahead of the rest of the crowd. I can start at 7 am. yeah!

I am getting a hotel room nearby for the night before.
 
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Seems like you've been working hard to prepare for this so I just wanted to wish you good luck. :luck:
 
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I had no time to spare to go back and look over my questions. I can not believe people have time to go back and review q's. When I did, I know I changed answers and got some wrong. I can think of 10-15 q's I went back and changed and got wrong. ugh. I also did not answer about 15 questions because I did not have time to go back and review the ones I marked.

I need to develop a better strategy for the next test I take.

Last Monday, I went through the easy q's first to answer what I knew. Then the hard ones were last for me. I ended up not answering 6 q's the first block and 1-2 every block after that. All because I could not go through each question one at a time. I wish I could develop the habit of going through the test one at a time.
 
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I took a practice exam at the testing center I wanted to take my test at. The staff suggested I come in early and start the test early. It was a great idea. Just FYI. My center opened at 6 am and I imagine all of them probably do. The person who said he was going to be there at 7 am that morning was not; so I was a bit disappointed. But just know it is possible to start earlier than 8am.
 
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Thank you. I took the exam on the 29th. I think I overstudied a lot of esoteric diseases; I like ID so I studied ID. and anesthesia and everything else. I saw NO anesthesia on my step2ck. I saw stuff from the 1980's from undergrad (where I did alzheimers disease research); I also saw lots of basic peds development issues that I studied 20+ yrs ago. I Don't want to date myself. But I felt like I was seeing words and questions that were basic and which I had forgotten over the years. Like thelarche vs adrenarche. I am actually concerned I over studied hard subjects and did not focus on easier topics.
 
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Skipping the tutorial except for checking the headphones was a great idea. I got an extra 10-15 minutes of break time. That really helped. Thank you.
 
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This strategy any good?

3 blocks
15 min break
2 blocks
25 min break
2 blocks
15 min break
1 block

Get the F. out
 
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