How do you keep UWorld from killing your confidence!?

[Blondnuttyboy]

Hey everyone,

I take my test in a week (awesome). Anyway, per popular advice, I'm planning on drilling 100-200q UWorld everyday. My only issue is: how on EARTH do you not let this thing kill your confidence!?

I can go 230-240 on an NBME no problem. But in world, I'm lucky to get a 70% on random. I usually land a good 55-65%. I'm trying my best to just use it as a 'learning' tool or whatever the website says.

Anyone have anything incredibly great to say about this mood-killing q-bank?

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[ChimpanzeeMinky]

hi everyone
Maybe I am writing this in a kind of a panic driven state. I have been doing UW all random timed blocks of 48 I have done 25 blocks alway had a score in between 80 TO 85 %. But the last block I did got me 70 %. I know i shouldnt panic but you know this really got me down.i started another block but was so bummed that I just suspended the test.

Seriously?

 

[DocInProgress]

Seriously?

x2.. uh for real?

 

[dienekes88]

hi everyone
Maybe I am writing this in a kind of a panic driven state. I have been doing UW all random timed blocks of 48 I have done 25 blocks alway had a score in between 80 TO 85 %. But the last block I did got me 70 %. I know i shouldnt panic but you know this really got me down.i started another block but was so bummed that I just suspended the test.

I know exactly how you feel. I've been averaging 93% for the past 1000 questions doing 200 per day with most of them in the 95-97% range. After I got an 87% on a block of 48, I was close to breaking up with my girl, dropping out of medical school, and blowing my life savings on heroin.

Stay strong. I wouldn't base my entire life on one block of 48, because there's always variability in the question draw. However, if you drop below 80% (first pass - random/timed), I'd reconsider a career in medicine. There's always healthcare consulting. God help you if this is your second pass...

 

[bawer234]

I know exactly how you feel. I've been averaging 93% for the past 1000 questions doing 200 per day with most of them in the 95-97% range. After I got an 87% on a block of 48, I was close to breaking up with my girl, dropping out of medical school, and blowing my life savings on heroin.

Stay strong. I wouldn't base my entire life on one block of 48, because there's always variability in the question draw. However, if you drop below 80% (first pass - random/timed), I'd reconsider a career in medicine. There's always healthcare consulting. God help you if this is your second pass...

I agree. You should def be OK as long as you're consistently getting above 80%. I can't say I've had the gross misfortune of getting a 75% but i have stumbled on a couple 81-83%'s before. It ruined my WHOLE day

 

[MilkmanAl]

There are some I realized I got wrong (most important side effect of someone starting irenotecan and an EGFR-mab)

I've never even heard of irenotecan, and while I can obviously guess what EGFR-mab is, I haven't learned anything about it. I guess I'll just have to hope my test isn't quite that esoteric.

 

[dienekes88]

I've never even heard of irenotecan, and while I can obviously guess what EGFR-mab is, I haven't learned anything about it. I guess I'll just have to hope my test isn't quite that esoteric.

Irinotecan is a cancer chemoterapeutic agent. It's a Topoisomerase I inhibitor along with Topotecan as opposed to stuff like Etoposide (Topo II inhibitor).

I'm not entirely sure what EGFR-mab this guy's talking about, but the thing sthat immediately come to mind are Erlotinib and Gefitinib, which are EGFR TK inhibitors used in non-small cell lung cancer, and the monoclonal antibody against the Her2/Neu EGFR receptor for breast cancer: Trastuzumab.

This kind of knowledge, though, is pretty high-order. I spent a lot of time (very questionable benefit) trying to get through cancer chemotherapeutics and their mechanisms (5-FU, 6-MP, Anthracyclines, MTX, etc.).

 

[chicksdigdocs]

"I run to the can"

 

[username456789]

While I know it seems poor form to come on here and complain about scores that others are desperately shooting for, I understand what Doc176 means. Regardless of where you are, a drop by ~15% in blocks (even if just one) can be a confidence buster (especially close to the exam).

What gets me is at the beginning of every block, I feel like all the questions are way too tough. I think I'm just settling in, really, because when I go back to all the ones I flagged, they start to make more sense. But lately I've been taking blocks where the whole time I'm going through thinking "Jesus, I'm glad this isn't the real thing, I'm getting hammered", then I go back to the billions of questions I have flagged, work them out in my head a little further, narrow it down to two, and make my best guess. This has actually been consistently working well for me, so I'm hoping that even if I start to panic during the real thing, I'll know that things will work out if I just stay calm and be methodical as usual. Assuming I have time to go back . . .

For instance (I'll leave out actual numbers to avoid making people feel especially good or especially bad about themselves), I was just taking a block I was sure I was crashing and burning on, and felt like I knew nothing. Finished it and hit "done", and to my surprise it was my highest block yet throughout the entire UW bank.

 

[Doc176]

While I know it seems poor form to come on here and complain about scores that others are desperately shooting for, I understand what Doc176 means. Regardless of where you are, a drop by ~15% in blocks (even if just one) can be a confidence buster (especially close to the exam).

What gets me is at the beginning of every block, I feel like all the questions are way too tough. I think I'm just settling in, really, because when I go back to all the ones I flagged, they start to make more sense. But lately I've been taking blocks where the whole time I'm going through thinking "Jesus, I'm glad this isn't the real thing, I'm getting hammered", then I go back to the billions of questions I have flagged, work them out in my head a little further, narrow it down to two, and make my best guess. This has actually been consistently working well for me, so I'm hoping that even if I start to panic during the real thing, I'll know that things will work out if I just stay calm and be methodical as usual. Assuming I have time to go back . . .

For instance (I'll leave out actual numbers to avoid making people feel especially good or especially bad about themselves), I was just taking a block I was sure I was crashing and burning on, and felt like I knew nothing. Finished it and hit "done", and to my surprise it was my highest block yet throughout the entire UW bank.

Ok I know i sounded really pathetic but heres the thing after completing 80% of UW with all random tests i dont think its that random. I mean there are tests where i got mainly biochem questions and others i got mainly CVS questions. In one test i got three questions with Heart sounds? so my point is that there is so much variability of like 10 to 15% in some of the test scores.

 

[dienekes88]

Ok I know i sounded really pathetic but heres the thing after completing 80% of UW with all random tests i dont think its that random. I mean there are tests where i got mainly biochem questions and others i got mainly CVS questions. In one test i got three questions with Heart sounds? so my point is that there is so much variability of like 10 to 15% in some of the test scores.

So you think it's more likely that a random distribution would have a perfectly even representation from all sections?

My final UWorld block in my 2nd pass was 10% lower than my average. Nothing quite like ending on a bad note. It doesn't bother me, though, because I learned from my mistakes.

 

[DocDanny]

hi everyone
Maybe I am writing this in a kind of a panic driven state. I have been doing UW all random timed blocks of 48 I have done 25 blocks alway had a score in between 80 TO 85 %. But the last block I did got me 70 %. I know i shouldnt panic but you know this really got me down.i started another block but was so bummed that I just suspended the test.

Um.

You do realize that you are scoring much higher than almost everyone else, right?

I am averaging a 47% the past few days. Scoring between 40-56%. How do you think I feel?

I would love to get a SINGLE block over 70%.

 

[HTxFrog]

I didn't read all the way down this thread, but all I'm gonna say is, I just took my test yesterday and the one thing I kept thinking was wow this is soo much easier than UWorld

 

[kryptik]

I didn't read all the way down this thread, but all I'm gonna say is, I just took my test yesterday and the one thing I kept thinking was wow this is soo much easier than UWorld

congrats on finishing

 

[username456789]

I didn't read all the way down this thread, but all I'm gonna say is, I just took my test yesterday and the one thing I kept thinking was wow this is soo much easier than UWorld

Congrats!

 

[username456789]

Um.

You do realize that you are scoring much higher than almost everyone else, right?

I am averaging a 47% the past few days. Scoring between 40-56%. How do you think I feel?

I would love to get a SINGLE block over 70%.

Like I said, man, it's all relative.

 

[Doc176]

Um.

You do realize that you are scoring much higher than almost everyone else, right?

I am averaging a 47% the past few days. Scoring between 40-56%. How do you think I feel?

I would love to get a SINGLE block over 70%.

Sorry guys I really didnt mean to make anyone feel worse.

 

[dienekes88]

Sorry guys I really didnt mean to make anyone feel worse.

Don't worry about it. Just realize that you're doing pretty alright. Keep on grinding away and stay positive.

 

[DocDanny]

We're all stressed.

I learn alot from UWorld. And if I do questions on a section I just studied, I do much better.

But you are doing fine. Unless you want cardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, you'll be fine.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

We're all stressed.

I learn alot from UWorld. And if I do questions on a section I just studied, I do much better.

But you are doing fine. Unless you want cardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, you'll be fine.

With that UWorld percentage, CT at cleveland clinic is certainly doable, if he were to have everything else they wanted...

 

[Doc176]

Don't worry about it. Just realize that you're doing pretty alright. Keep on grinding away and stay positive.

Thanks dienekes88

 

[DocDanny]

What scores are competitive for Internal Medicine, and at local smaller Hospitals like Akron General or Canton Mercy?

 

[PokerDoc]

What scores are competitive for Internal Medicine, and at local smaller Hospitals like Akron General or Canton Mercy?

take your test then worry about this.


Right now the only focus should be, do as best as you can to leave every possible door open and then chose to close certain doors later.. you just try to have as few shut on you as possible at this stage

 

[rem6775]

Irinotecan is a cancer chemoterapeutic agent. It's a Topoisomerase I inhibitor along with Topotecan as opposed to stuff like Etoposide (Topo II inhibitor).

I'm not entirely sure what EGFR-mab this guy's talking about, but the thing sthat immediately come to mind are Erlotinib and Gefitinib, which are EGFR TK inhibitors used in non-small cell lung cancer, and the monoclonal antibody against the Her2/Neu EGFR receptor for breast cancer: Trastuzumab.

This kind of knowledge, though, is pretty high-order. I spent a lot of time (very questionable benefit) trying to get through cancer chemotherapeutics and their mechanisms (5-FU, 6-MP, Anthracyclines, MTX, etc.).

The funny thing is the test did not name the EGFR mab, it simply said a monoclonal antibody against EGFR, which struck me as weird. Either way I got the question wrong since I'm assuming they wanted diarrhea from irenotecan.