unauthorized break

[NYUmed08]

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Hey,
I was taking step 1 last week and when the window came up saying I needed to click OK within 30 seconds because I had not hit the mouse in a while, I was thinking about a problem/writing on the dry erase board and didn't click. The computer locked up and it said "unauthorized break", I had to reenter my code to continue the test. Is this a big deal?

 

[funkless]

Hey,
I was taking step 1 last week and when the window came up saying I needed to click OK within 30 seconds because I had not hit the mouse in a while, I was thinking about a problem/writing on the dry erase board and didn't click. The computer locked up and it said "unauthorized break", I had to reenter my code to continue the test. Is this a big deal?

It will almost surely be reported as an irregularity along with your score. I have no idea how this will be weighted by the residency programs--I'm not sure if they'll dismiss it, or if they'll just ask you to explain it, etc.

 

[theprizefighter]

One of the med student bloggers on SDN mentioned this too about unauthorized breaks during the test. I guess the moral of the story is, make you click "OK" when prompted!

 

[cherrypie]

Hey,
I was taking step 1 last week and when the window came up saying I needed to click OK within 30 seconds because I had not hit the mouse in a while, I was thinking about a problem/writing on the dry erase board and didn't click. The computer locked up and it said "unauthorized break", I had to reenter my code to continue the test. Is this a big deal?

the same crap happended to me during the test. I was busy working out a problem and when I looked up it was counting down 3..2..1.. and then this ugly screen in big bold white colors was staring at me in the face and said that I was on a unauthorized break. It scared the living hell out of me. Oh well, I hope this does not show up as irregular behavior. That would suck a$$!

 

[(nicedream)]

I think it will show up as an "irregularity" because that is what the NBME materials say. I wouldn't worry about it too much, because my guess is it happens with a fair amount of frequency, and programs are used to seeing it. I'm sure they'll ask you about it, and just tell them what happened.

 

[Options]

I had to dig awhile to find this post.. but this pissed me off enough to do it.

I just want to say to the posters who replied to this person, that you really shouldn't offer your opinion on something you know absolutely nothing about. I had this screen come up on me during my exam and I had remembered reading this thread, which made me freak out during the exam. I got my score last saturday as well as a reply from the NBME saying that it absolutely would not be reported as an irregularity. (I had emailed them about it.)

 

[cherrypie]

I had to dig awhile to find this post.. but this pissed me off enough to do it.

I just want to say to the posters who replied to this person, that you really shouldn't offer your opinion on something you know absolutely nothing about. I had this screen come up on me during my exam and I had remembered reading this thread, which made me freak out during the exam. I got my score last saturday as well as a reply from the NBME saying that it absolutely would not be reported as an irregularity. (I had emailed them about it.)

The same thing happened to me during my exam. I got nothing on my score report about an irregularity.

 

[Pegsie]

The same thing happened to me during my exam. I got nothing on my score report about an irregularity.

Thank God for this thread, it happened to me when I spent the first two minutes writing everything my brain could spit out onto those dry erase boards.