MD When to back away from research (for Step 1)?

[Foot Fetish]

I'm 9 weeks out from Step 1. School ends in 5 weeks, and then I get 4 weeks of dedicated. I just spent the last 14 hours writing a case report. 2 other papers are in review and could get returned any day now, which would mean more work to get them back in the hands of reviewers. And the results of my big, longitudinal project will be delivered by my statistician any day now, which will automatically mean 2-3 days of writing. All of this ultimately needs to get done sooner rather than later as I refuse to take a research year... but I'm getting a bit antsy as my Step 1 study schedule is getting tighter and tighter. I've already had to cut some relatively dispensable review time out of it. What's left is the bare bones plan that I want to get done before Step, i.e. all the NBMEs and a 2nd pass of UW...and I really, really don't want to compromise that. Where should I draw the line? I don't want to end up like @failedatlife (presumably)...

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[Waterlover]

I stopped any research 2 months before, so like now for you. But it depends where you currently stand score-wise and what score you want realistically. I personally couldn't handle anything else the last 8-10 weeks other than Step and I'm glad Step was my only priority.

 

[Newyawk]

Dude just take a friggin nbme and see what your score is. Why are you delaying them

 

[ortnakas]

Take an NBME to see where you’re at and then we can give less-theoretical advice and you can make an actual decision.

 

[themoonman2]

Take an nbme to get a baseline score and create a legitimate study schedule for your dedicated period; i.e. calculate how many questions you need to do each day + content review + days for nbmes. The nbme exams are 5 hours long and then they give you wrong questions to review, so expect it to take the majority of your day when you do those. Once you've done that, you should have an idea of how much free time you'll have.

I did research up until dedicated then cut it off nearly completely, save a few random things. The projects were still waiting for me when I emerged from the hell hole that is dedicated.