Hi,
I really appreciate all the feedback and tips you guys have shared so far. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do. I have taken 3 NBME exams so far, 2 UWSA and my results are the following:
Mid May- NBME #7 240 (3 digit score)
Early June- NBME #12 330 (3 digit)
Today June- NBME #15 350 (3 digit score)
UWSA #1- think it was around 194 (Early may)
UWSA #2- around 201 (about 2 weeks ago)
I started uworld earlier this year at 40% average it fluctuated around 50%, for the past comple of weeks I have been scoring 50-65% on my question sets of random timed (46 q's each). I have 650 questions left and I am not sure if I should use them up.
I am also 40% done with COMQUEST at a 62% average
I have almost completed DIT and the study guide that they gave us. Prior to this, I just read First Aid (70% of it) for the sake of just orienting myself only once. I also referenced it in class whenever we had a chance. However, there were times where I was more focused on just learning the big concepts and didn't want to waste time annotating the details in first aid. I also did Pathoma 50% of it during my time in Pathology.
I think since I finished school (started DIT in the third week of May), I just spent time having DIT explain things and for the most part they seemed to click. After I was done for videos for the day, I casually reviewed things in First Aid, but sometimes I felt it was better to just do questions. I also feel that maybe there were certain days when I was more focused on trying to finish the program quickly and did 20 videos in a day. For example, I spent 2 days (saturday and sunday a couple weeks ago, just doing vids for cardio b/c it was my worst subject.) no uworld questions.
Regardless, I was feeling really good about taking the assessment today and felt I learned a lot with DIT. I made a point to review at least the rapid review facts and the rapid review sheets at the end of First Aid before taking it. I feel that a lot of the times I am stuck between 2 right answer choices and I just can't remember what it is (i.e. i can remember the page in first aid but can't remember whether it was from the 3rd or 4th/6th arches) small details.
Also, I think my genetics/biochem skills (i.e. gene sequencing/lab stuff) has always been bad even in undergrad, so I don't know if I can improve much on it. I am also quite bad with Immunology.
I'm sorry for making this post excessively long, I'm just wanting to gather inputs on what I should do? My main priority is to pass of course, I am a DO student and I have to take the COMLEX (got around ~500 iirc) on the COMSAE form C. But considering the ridiculous question types I have seen people get asked I am feeling the urge to take the USMLE just in the off chance that the COMLEX may not go well for me.
I have my comlex very early in July right before I go out for rotations. I don't believe I can postpone that. I was originally planning on reading High Yield Neuroanatomy in a day, doing Pathoma for 2 days straight. Then doing specific qbank questions in tutor mode for things that troubled me (respiratory blood gas, heme/onc, immunology, cardiology) before taking the USMLE on Tuesday.
Its obvious that I do not have the knowledge base nor the time resources to acquire the ability to do exceeding great on this exam, but I must say that I got mostly B's and A's in 2nd year in Pathology and Pharm. I also did decent in Neuro last year, but its the specific genetic stuff, immunology mechanisms that always tripped me up.
I spoke to my mentor earlier who I shadowed before getting into Med school, and he suggested that maybe I should delay my USMLE after my COMLEX and take it after finishing all of uworld and reading FA once more? I will be heading right into a pediatric rotation (it will be mostly in patient but I am not sure what my schedule will be like). I was contemplating taking it 2 weeks into the rotation (perhaps each day I can do a light review of First Aid)....that way it won't be too too far from when I took my COMLEX. I am honestly not shooting for a super star score, I just want to do my best and my goal is going to be primary care. I don't mean to sound like a slacker, I am actually quite the opposite, but I think I have a weakness when it comes to preparing/performing for standardized exams.
Do you guys have any advice on what I should do or proceed? I am usually the type of person who likes to think things through so maybe I could be thinking way too much into some of the Resp/Cardiac physiology stuff. Regardless, I have always heard that the actual exam is more of a huge Pathology test overall.
The fact that there are at least 40-50% of the questions where I cannot definitively choose between 2 right answers is what irritates me the most (it means I don't know enough from the past 2 years)
BTW, I missed 26 pathology questions, 23 general disease and health q's , and 19 physiology questions (these were the majority of questions missed today).
I'm sorry for writing the huge novel, I just would appreciate any direction on what I should do.
As always, I'm very thankful for any advice you can give me.
I really appreciate all the feedback and tips you guys have shared so far. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do. I have taken 3 NBME exams so far, 2 UWSA and my results are the following:
Mid May- NBME #7 240 (3 digit score)
Early June- NBME #12 330 (3 digit)
Today June- NBME #15 350 (3 digit score)
UWSA #1- think it was around 194 (Early may)
UWSA #2- around 201 (about 2 weeks ago)
I started uworld earlier this year at 40% average it fluctuated around 50%, for the past comple of weeks I have been scoring 50-65% on my question sets of random timed (46 q's each). I have 650 questions left and I am not sure if I should use them up.
I am also 40% done with COMQUEST at a 62% average
I have almost completed DIT and the study guide that they gave us. Prior to this, I just read First Aid (70% of it) for the sake of just orienting myself only once. I also referenced it in class whenever we had a chance. However, there were times where I was more focused on just learning the big concepts and didn't want to waste time annotating the details in first aid. I also did Pathoma 50% of it during my time in Pathology.
I think since I finished school (started DIT in the third week of May), I just spent time having DIT explain things and for the most part they seemed to click. After I was done for videos for the day, I casually reviewed things in First Aid, but sometimes I felt it was better to just do questions. I also feel that maybe there were certain days when I was more focused on trying to finish the program quickly and did 20 videos in a day. For example, I spent 2 days (saturday and sunday a couple weeks ago, just doing vids for cardio b/c it was my worst subject.) no uworld questions.
Regardless, I was feeling really good about taking the assessment today and felt I learned a lot with DIT. I made a point to review at least the rapid review facts and the rapid review sheets at the end of First Aid before taking it. I feel that a lot of the times I am stuck between 2 right answer choices and I just can't remember what it is (i.e. i can remember the page in first aid but can't remember whether it was from the 3rd or 4th/6th arches) small details.
Also, I think my genetics/biochem skills (i.e. gene sequencing/lab stuff) has always been bad even in undergrad, so I don't know if I can improve much on it. I am also quite bad with Immunology.
I'm sorry for making this post excessively long, I'm just wanting to gather inputs on what I should do? My main priority is to pass of course, I am a DO student and I have to take the COMLEX (got around ~500 iirc) on the COMSAE form C. But considering the ridiculous question types I have seen people get asked I am feeling the urge to take the USMLE just in the off chance that the COMLEX may not go well for me.
I have my comlex very early in July right before I go out for rotations. I don't believe I can postpone that. I was originally planning on reading High Yield Neuroanatomy in a day, doing Pathoma for 2 days straight. Then doing specific qbank questions in tutor mode for things that troubled me (respiratory blood gas, heme/onc, immunology, cardiology) before taking the USMLE on Tuesday.
Its obvious that I do not have the knowledge base nor the time resources to acquire the ability to do exceeding great on this exam, but I must say that I got mostly B's and A's in 2nd year in Pathology and Pharm. I also did decent in Neuro last year, but its the specific genetic stuff, immunology mechanisms that always tripped me up.
I spoke to my mentor earlier who I shadowed before getting into Med school, and he suggested that maybe I should delay my USMLE after my COMLEX and take it after finishing all of uworld and reading FA once more? I will be heading right into a pediatric rotation (it will be mostly in patient but I am not sure what my schedule will be like). I was contemplating taking it 2 weeks into the rotation (perhaps each day I can do a light review of First Aid)....that way it won't be too too far from when I took my COMLEX. I am honestly not shooting for a super star score, I just want to do my best and my goal is going to be primary care. I don't mean to sound like a slacker, I am actually quite the opposite, but I think I have a weakness when it comes to preparing/performing for standardized exams.
Do you guys have any advice on what I should do or proceed? I am usually the type of person who likes to think things through so maybe I could be thinking way too much into some of the Resp/Cardiac physiology stuff. Regardless, I have always heard that the actual exam is more of a huge Pathology test overall.
The fact that there are at least 40-50% of the questions where I cannot definitively choose between 2 right answers is what irritates me the most (it means I don't know enough from the past 2 years)
BTW, I missed 26 pathology questions, 23 general disease and health q's , and 19 physiology questions (these were the majority of questions missed today).
I'm sorry for writing the huge novel, I just would appreciate any direction on what I should do.
As always, I'm very thankful for any advice you can give me.