to avoid failure - read this!!

[pedzplz]

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so, i am trying to figure out where i went wrong for step 1.. so I started off by doing some videos and using first aid to follow along.. i jumped into questions right away b/c thats what most ppl told me to do.. after doing all the qbanks out there, i felt really confident going into the exam, but apparently i must have chocked during it and did something wrong to bring about this missery.

after some thought, i know where i went wrong.. but still no big red flags on this stuff.. nothing bad enough to cause me to get the lowest score ive ever gotten..

some areas i think i messed up on:

1-did tutor for atleast 80% of my questions, and when i did timed exams at home, i felt i was fine with time.. however, its not the time i shoulda worried about, its getting myself used to rushing through these questions and really making my thought process run faster.
2-didnt randomize my questions.. after i reviewed resp for example, i did all the questions for resp based on the organ.. although it is a good idea to go that route, i still shouda done "select all, select all"
3-didnt do 50 question blocks.. i know now that i should have done 48 question blocks timed.. maybe about a million of them!! but i didnt.. even when i did all random and timed.. the most i did was 30 question blocks.
4-didnt do nbme online.. b/c i was doing so much and felt i was getting alot done, more than anyone else.. i was worried that if i did an nbme online and tanked it, i would freak out and never take the exam.. i definetly should have faced my fears early on and took the damn diagnostics online to assess my score.

that is really all i can think of as far as what i did wrong.. the funny thing is, its really not all that horrible.. considering i was a pyscho during my studies and didnt sleep for months bc i studied 16 hours per day, and did all the qbanks out there.. i think my BIG mistake was that i didnt have a good grasp on the basics before i started studying.. and when the exam was infront of me, and required alot of thinking in steps, like going back and forth.. it wouldnt happen.. i felt extremely rushed during the exam..


ok.. so i gave you all some insight on what to avoid.. and i wouldnt wish my pain on my worst enemy right now. i want all of you to pass and do amazing.. however, while i deal with my problems and you all read this and continue studying.. i ask of one thing..

please! i need some input on what you ppl think i also did wrong.. and dont just tell me "you didnt know your basics!" i encourage your criticism, but please back it up with a way to improve it.. i plan to take only 4 weeks to study and take it again.. the reason is b/c i really do know my ****.. like in and out.. throw me a question, ill impress the father of medicine with my answer.. i just f'ed up on the real deal and i know my foundation of this material was weak..

for anyone that already took the exam, or has some great tips from upperclassmen.. please comment.. let me know where you think i went wrong.. most importantly, answer this: what is the best resource to get a great foundation? DIT? Kaplan again? Robbins?? give me all you got.. i plan to tackle this thing hard.. but please keep in mind.. although i had a great plan and did alot.. i would like to completly change all i did.. ONLY A FOOL WOULD DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGIAN, YET EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS!!! therefore, i wanna steer clear of kaplan for a foundation.. you all think DIT would be a better choice? you ppl tell me.. i am all ears..


thank you all.. and good luck to you.. i hope you all think really hard about where i went wrong to avoid my tragedy!

 

[kryptik]

Why not take an nbme right now to see where you stand since you've never taken any. Most students take at least 1 of them before the exam, and it seems to correlate pretty well.

With regards to which course gives the best foundation, kaplan videos with the lecture notes by far.

 

[pedzplz]

Why not take an nbme right now to see where you stand since you've never taken any. Most students take at least 1 of them before the exam, and it seems to correlate pretty well.

With regards to which course gives the best foundation, kaplan videos with the lecture notes by far.

thanks for your input.. i as soon as i get my thoughts in order and start studying.. my first day back is going to be dedicated to an online nbme to assess where i am strong and where i am weak..

as far as kaplan vids.. i agree they are really good.. however i already did them.. and really wanted to stay clear of things i already did this time around.. do you think i will be okay building a solid foundation via DIT??


thanks again!

 

[Perrotfish]

you ppl think i also did wrong.. and dont just tell me "you didnt know your basics!" i encourage your criticism, but please back it up with a way to improve it.. i plan to take only 4 weeks to study and take it again.. the reason is b/c i really do know my ****.. like in and out.. throw me a question, ill impress the father of medicine with my answer.. i just f'ed up on the real deal and i know my foundation of this material was weak.. !

I don't know what you did wrong last time, but only giving yourself 4 weeks would definitely be the wrong thing to do this time. Lots of people fail this test once, but failing it twice is going to make is VERY hard for you to get in to any kind of good residency. Don't risk it

I would say take an NMBE. If you do well, do 3 weeks of FA, 3 weeks of DIT, 1 weeks of timed questions with one week off to recover afterwards. If you do poorly than face up to the fact that the test wasn't really a fluke and start looking into 12 week live review course like Kaplan and Falcon Review.

BTW, I just want to check, you did actually get a score back, and you're not just speculating you failed, right?

 

[ScubaStarved]

I'm sympathetic to your plight, but have done / am doing most everything you have warned people against and seem to be doing fine. I know you don't want to hear it, but if you failed after having completed multiple question banks then your fundamentals are to blame.

If you're able, I'd try to work my way into a research year and begin anew with pathophys. If you haven't read Med Robbins, it might be worth doing and you could probably get through it in 2-3 weeks @ 12 hrs per day. BRS and RR cannot teach you how to think; Robbins Path can. Then I'd go with RR Path, RR Biochem, BRS Phys, BRS Behavior, Micro Cards, CMMRS, Pharm Cards, and UWorld. As your test approaches, increase your focus on FA while phasing out the other materials.

When I answer questions on a UW, 0-10% of my correct answers come from knowledge I picked up for the first time in FA. I almost always draw on my memory of lecture, handouts, RR Path, BRS Phys, research experiences, and even our school's preceptor-guided, small group clinical reasoning course. FA (and RR Path, etc.) are great resources but they cannot possibly teach you how to think like a scientist / clinician.

 

[Perrotfish]

I'm sympathetic to your plight, but have done / am doing most everything you have warned people against and seem to be doing fine. I know you don't want to hear it, but if you failed after having completed multiple question banks then your fundamentals are to blame.

If you're able, I'd try to work my way into a research year and begin anew with pathophys. If you haven't read Med Robbins, it might be worth doing and you could probably get through it in 2-3 weeks @ 12 hrs per day. BRS and RR cannot teach you how to think; Robbins Path can. Then I'd go with RR Path, RR Biochem, BRS Phys, BRS Behavior, Micro Cards, CMMRS, Pharm Cards, and UWorld. As your test approaches, increase your focus on FA while phasing out the other materials.

When I answer questions on a UW, 0-10% of my correct answers come from knowledge I picked up for the first time in FA. I almost always draw on my memory of lecture, handouts, RR Path, BRS Phys, research experiences, and even our school's preceptor-guided, small group clinical reasoning course. FA (and RR Path, etc.) are great resources but they cannot possibly teach you how to think like a scientist / clinician.

As an alterative: you could ask your school if you could do your IM rotation followed by a month of IM electves and THEN start studying again. A good way to learn to think like a clinican is to get some actuly clinic time.

 

[lildave2586]

I'm curious - what were your percentages like when you were doing question banks? Did you have any reason to believe that you might fail? Did you do Uworld Assessments? What were your percentages?

 

[badasshairday]

echoing what others have said about learning HOW to think through these things. Goljan audio can be a useful tool.

 

[IMGUSMLEStep1]

PATHOPHYS! If you're constantly getting very scores, it's probably because you need a stronger pathophys foundation. Try to go through BRS Phys and RR Path with Goljan audio. If there's anything you don't understand look it up in another book or ask someone to explain it to you.