Hi guys,
I wanted to share my NBDE experience.
Took part 1 in May, 2013- passed. Than I started preparing for the part 2. I scheduled it in the end of October 2013. It took me 4,5 months to prepare. But I also work Monday-Thursday as a dental hygienist. So on a weekdays i was studying anywhere from 7 pm to 10-11 pm. And pretty much all day on Friday, Saturday with half-day on Sunday. But my study pattern is slow and I tend to take frequent breaks. Everybody's study style and memorization is different, so I suppose some people would require more time, while others will need less than that to prepare for the test.
For NBDE part 1 and 2 I studied the Dental Decks and released exams. For part 2 I went over the Decks one time, reading back and front of the cards and highlighting the important areas. The ordered reprints from the
http://www.asdanet.org/store/nbde.aspx very helpful. I also went over the Tufts pharmacology review, Mosby's review (test questions) at the end of the chapters, and the Rudman's review questions. I also came across a nice app for the ipad called: "NBDE Party II Dental QBank". The app is free, but you can upgrade it for a $1 to include the explanations for the answers. There are a lot of Mosby's questions on that app too.
The exam itself seemed confusing to me, I was very unsure of how I did when I left the testing center. On the first day there were many questions that I marked. Seemed to me like they had many questions on ethics.
The second day was case-study, 100 questions. Again, I wasn't sure of my answers, some questions seemed tricky. Out of the 3,5 hrs that I had to complete that portion of the exam I think I spent only 2 hrs on it. I did not want to over-think the questions, so I went with my first answer and I did not go over the marked questions in the end like I always do.
My advice would be have good rest the night before the test, and take a headache medicine with you just in case.
Got my results six business days later! I passed!
Thanks to everyone to shares their experiences on this forum and good luck to everyone who is taking NBDE 1 and 2. Be confident in your knowledge. You can do it!