So just took the exam yesterday. Figured with all the help this board has given me, least I could do is give back.
First pass UWorld (including throughout the year while I was studying for shelves) = 64%.
Didn't do a full second pass, instead re-did the problem questions (ones I either missed or had marked b/c I wasn't 100% confident in my answer), ranging around 70-80% on most question sets.
When I was finishing my first pass of UWorld (probably aruond 500-700 IM questions) I did them on timed tutor with all subjects.
Second pass (for the review) was timed 44 question blocks with re-review at the end. I also took notes on any information within the question or the other answer choices that I thought I should know. Ended up being about 17-18 pages of typed one to two line notes.
Sources used:
UWorld (obviously)
MTB 2 (taking notes on anything I didn't already know, turned out to be about 25-30 pages of handwritten one to two liners)
MTB 3 NON-IM (every section besides IM, including derm, tox, etc. etc.; no notes taken here)
Top 200 Diagnostic Test Questions You Need to Know For Step 2 (Conrad Fischer Flashcards)
Step I - 224
School-sponsored mock Step 2 (4 blocks, without exact scoring, prior to dedicated 4 week studying period) - 220s
UWSA (3 weeks into studying, ~ 1 week before test): 245
Didn't take any NBMEs as I didn't want to be demoralized by a crappy score.
Test Day:
Usual waiting period, usual GED takers behind me clacking away on her keyboard like she was typing a book. Anyways, on to the actual test.
41-45 question blocks x 8.
Content wise I'm going to be a bit biased. Consider the fact there are 320+ questions, and that the ones I feel like there was more of was because they are not my strong points.
Things that were on it MORE than I expected:
Ophtho (where analyzing a fundoscopic image is key to diagnosis),
Pediatrics (both Neonate/Infantile AND middle-aged [10-15 w/o being solely GYN issues]),
OB/GYN,
Pulmonary,
Management/Pattern "Does this disease get cured completely or will it temporarily cure and then relapse?"
Things that were on it LESS than I expected:
Trauma (and Surgery),
Cardiovascular Dz,
Pure unadulterated Diagnosis (not "what is the next step in management", but "What is the most likely diagnosis")
Can't make a definitive comment about other ones.
Most frustrating portions of the test: I read the vignette and I know the diagnosis and the next step before I even read the answer choices. Get to the answer choices, and they have the 2nd through 5th step (and I don't remember exactly in what order those next 4 steps go in).
Also, standard things like you know the diagnosis, but they use some other term for it that you've never heard of before, so you have to use process of elimination on all the diagnoses you know to understand what it is (never knew what hematocolpos was until I took the exam and selected it as an answer choice).
Another thing - They had these ridiculous questions about how some nurse or physician makes some minor mistake (not procedural, but like failing to follow up on a lab) and the question asks what could be done in the future to make sure things don't happen again. Definitely thought there were 2 or 3 valid answers for each of those questions (only like 4-5 on the entire exam).
There were also times that you had an exceedingly clear clinical diagnosis, but they asked you what the next step in diagnosis would be. Sometimes they had the "no further diagnosis needed" option, but often times it was picking between one of the two things that would have anything to do with the original disease process at all.
A good amount of biostats, but as long as you know sensitivity/specificity/PPV/NPV and the definitions to all of those words, you'll do fine. Some of the "what's wrong with this study" stuff was a little tricky.
I had 2-3 drug adds (only 1 page each thankfully) and 2-3 abstracts with 2-3 questions per abstract. Not too bad. One of the drug adds dealt with an herbal supplement, which had it's own wack study conducted, and wasn't confirmed by the FDA. Not sure if I was just supposed to throw out the entire study when the patient asks if it is good for him.
Glad to be done and get on with my research year. Googled some of the questions I can remember that I wasn't sure on, and so far doing well in that category. The worst feeling in the world is when you're answering a 2-parter that has to be answered one step at a time, and you see you've missed the first part during the exam b/c the 2nd question went a different direction than what you were thinking.
Breaks - While studying I was routinely drinking/snacking on something, which is obviously super duper illegal during the actual test. I took a break after every single section for ~ 5 minutes, just to get a glass of water, some sips of coffee (I took 4 of those cappucino bottles you'd get from starbucks, and drank half of one after every section), a granola bar if I needed it. I ate a decent sized breakfast and didn't have an actual lunch (just sugary cappuccino and granola bars).
Glad to be done, waiting for my score now, and good luck to everyone.
PS - About 4-6 weeks for the score report to come back, right?
