Time management in step 1

[stronghold]

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I wanna ask for advice on time management in the real deal. Sometimes I finish UW just on time, sometimes with 5 minutes left to review marked questions. I heard that step 1 questions are longer than UW, so I want advice on how to manage time and keep tracking time?

 

[Morsetlis]

Well there is a clock in the lower corner, so that's how you track time. You can mark questions to answer / edit later.

You NEED to get through the entire block. Don't get stuck on a question for 10 minutes: it's a sign to flip a coin and move on. That was my biggest problem during the real test (also a sign that I needed to study those topics better, mainly biostat and female physio).

Your problem of finishing is not one of time management. If you understood your medicine better, there would be no lack of time to manage... I suggest focusing on drilling down very very long vignettes (10-15 lines) as practice. Sometimes a question is 2 sentences... sometimes it is 15 lines. You bank the time on easy questions to work on "hard" questions.

 

[stronghold]

Thanks man. Yes, I am aware of the clock place. I tried the strategy of reading just the last 1-2 sentences of the question, but did not notice a difference since I have to return back to the stem and try to digest the case. Also, when I look at answers, I try to eliminate them one by one.

Any advice?

 

[Brain Bucket]

Thanks man. Yes, I am aware of the clock place. I tried the strategy of reading just the last 1-2 sentences of the question, but did not notice a difference since I have to return back to the stem and try to digest the case. Also, when I look at answers, I try to eliminate them one by one.

Any advice?

Do more questions. Do them random. Do them timed.

My 2c:

set a series of alarms on your pc or phone which gives you exactly half the time to solve each Q as you would normally have. Do it seriously and give it everything you've got. Keep an eye on the timer so you know when you ABSOLUTELY have to pick an answer. When the buzzer goes off, that's it, time's up move onto the next Q. Just as you don't know exactly how fast you can run until you've been chased by a pissed off bull, you don't know how fast you can do questions, until you've needed to do them that fast. After a few blocks, you'll find yourself keeping up, then switch back to a more reasonable pace which leaves you enough time to review the questions.

We all eliminate answer choices, and we all have to digest the q. You're no different.