Typing CS: Character Limit?

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Dave Evans

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The NBME has a nice web page that let's you practice typing up a patient note but doesn't give you a sense of what the character limit is... that makes ZERO sense to me. . . at least give us a sense of how much we can type, since that seems to be a problem.

Is there a practice note 'interface' that lets you see the actual # of character constraints for any given section?

One other question: Can you abbreviate the hell out of your PE section- ie: CV: RRR nlS1S2 no MRG ?? (Some are not "official" abbreviations).

Thanks all.

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The NBME has a nice web page that let's you practice typing up a patient note but doesn't give you a sense of what the character limit is... that makes ZERO sense to me. . . at least give us a sense of how much we can type, since that seems to be a problem.

Is there a practice note 'interface' that lets you see the actual # of character constraints for any given section?

One other question: Can you abbreviate the hell out of your PE section- ie: CV: RRR nlS1S2 no MRG ?? (Some are not "official" abbreviations).

Thanks all.

i can answer your second ?: Yes. the official abbr. list is anemic, but it's a good thing the graders are physicians who are not idiots.

as to your 1st ?: a test taker commented on there being a bar that slowly extends across the screen to give you an idea of how much space is left. she ran out of room 4 times and had to edit her responses. she ran out of time a couple times when editing.
 
i can answer your second ?: Yes. the official abbr. list is anemic, but it's a good thing the graders are physicians who are not idiots.

as to your 1st ?: a test taker commented on there being a bar that slowly extends across the screen to give you an idea of how much space is left. she ran out of room 4 times and had to edit her responses. she ran out of time a couple times when editing.

Villin- i am unnecessarily obsessing, I know, but do you think it's okay to not have a carriage return between each PE section, ie: CV: XXXXXXX; Pulm: XXX without skipping lines, or is that a mistake.

I just think it's ******ed to have a char limit and then not have one on the official nbme website's practice PN. That's just plain ridiculous.
 
Villin- i am unnecessarily obsessing, I know, but do you think it's okay to not have a carriage return between each PE section, ie: CV: XXXXXXX; Pulm: XXX without skipping lines, or is that a mistake.

I just think it's ******ed to have a char limit and then not have one on the official nbme website's practice PN. That's just plain ridiculous.

i don't think you're unnecessarily obsessing that much. i also agree that the char limit is ******ed. remember though, the USMLE is a business and one cuts corners such as character count software to ensure a better profit margin...plain and simple.

i don't think the carriage return between each PE section will save you that much space considering that section is usually a LOT shorter than the History section. BUT i don't see why it would be a problem.

i would just like to add it's ridiculous how much stress this exam causes the medical student and i wish you all the success on the exam!
 
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Thanks. I know I'll do fine, especially if I relax, but I can't help but be a little obsessive. Why they can't relieve one stressor by having a REAL char limit on the usmle's website PN generator makes absolutely no F'ing sense. . . Thanks for the encouragement. I can't wait for next Sat so I can be done with this test and start worrying about CK! ;)
 
If you are abbreviating, you should not run into limiting problems. If you type fast and type a lot you might hit the end but then you have time to edit to make things fit be abbreviating more or cutting out extraneous info.

Think before you type. Even though I hit the limit a few times, the majority of time, I had enough space. When I did reach the limit, it wasn't a big deal to fix it. So this issue is not really one to worry about.

Good luck!
 
Regarding the patient note, if you did a physical exam maneuver and forgot to document it in your note (e.g., JVD), how much does that impact your score?
 
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