USMLEWorld support group..

[DebDynamite]

The aphoristic language is driving me nuts.

Granted I do take most of my tests at the end of the day, falling asleep, drooling, glazing over "administer adrenaline" and spacing that they mean "give epi"--

But when I miss primary ED because they state "nocturnal penile tumescence" instead of, "do you still get an erection at night?" Agggg!!! AAGGGGhhhh!!!

I'm changing my user name to "Nocturnal Penile Tunescence". That is all.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Sean2tall]

Haha. Stupid nocturnal penile tumescence. I will join your support group, as I am struggling to score over 52%

 

[DebDynamite]

I am struggling to score over 52%

This means you are actually an intellectual genius and will sail through the real thing hands down. When I switched from tutorial to timed, my scored dropped to the point of beyond the nadir of pathetic. This is why I am going back to reading "FA Cases" which makes me feel like a genius.

Good luck everyone.

 

[Gr42]

This means you are actually an intellectual genius and will sail through the real thing hands down. When I switched from tutorial to timed, my scored dropped to the point of beyond the nadir of pathetic. This is why I am going back to reading "FA Cases" which makes me feel like a genius.

Good luck everyone.

HOw many questions have you done so far?? As you do more Q's it will go up.....don't expect it to go up to the 80's too fast though. I've done about half of UW and have an overall average of 53%. Every now and then I get a high 60 but I am not too far off from the average as opposed to when I started(I was always way below the average). Anyway, I'm not doing that great either but I'm sure learning quite a bit Cheer up!

 

[Sean2tall]

I am doing World Q's right now. I can tell you this, at least I will know it cold when I see Nocardia. The weirdest part is when I see a question that has A-J answers and I have no idea and then it says that 95% of people got this question right, I feel like I got this far in medical school purely on luck and unprecedented incompetence. Then I'll do one that seems insanely easy and it says that 12% of people got it right.

 

[DebDynamite]

Gr42, I've completed 52% thus far. My highest score has been an 88% and my lowest a 32% (I was truly falling asleep. drooling on myself and having a dream in between questions). This is, I suspect what you might expect from doing it by subject and not reading a review book first. I'm using it as a "learning/review tool", so my scores have been all over the place, as far as the IM portions go.... Consistently scored in the 60% in OBGYN, Peds 50%-ish, 80% 's in Psych, and 50% 's on Surgery, and medicine has been pathetic. That said, I am DETERMINED to take Step 2 on the 11th and be done! So, while I do enjoy moaning about this question bank, I suspect it is helping. Also reading FA before I do the questions MAY help. We shall see.....

 

[DebDynamite]

The weirdest part is when I see a question that has A-J answers and I have no idea and then it says that 95% of people got this question right, I feel like I got this far in medical school purely on luck and unprecedented incompetence.

Totally.

 

[Gr42]

Gr42, I've completed 52% thus far. My highest score has been an 88% and my lowest a 32% (I was truly falling asleep. drooling on myself and having a dream in between questions). This is, I suspect what you might expect from doing it by subject and not reading a review book first. I'm using it as a "learning/review tool", so my scores have been all over the place, as far as the IM portions go.... Consistently scored in the 60% in OBGYN, Peds 50%-ish, 80% 's in Psych, and 50% 's on Surgery, and medicine has been pathetic. That said, I am DETERMINED to take Step 2 on the 11th and be done! So, while I do enjoy moaning about this question bank, I suspect it is helping. Also reading FA before I do the questions MAY help. We shall see.....

Hey Deb! You are doing much much better than me I have not gotten a score above 70%. Even though my scores are not high at least they are not as low as they used to be and basically are always around the high 50's low 60's. I feel like I have made some progress. I am also determined to get this test out of the way;though, I have a little more time to study than you. I'm taking it the 23rd.

 

[mizzrazmatazz]

Count me in the UW support group. I am averaging 52% and I just got a whopping 45% on a set of 20 DERM questions. One question asked what the best protection against skin cancer was- answer was avoid sun exposure during the day. Then, I get another question asking the same thing, worded in a different way- the answer on that one was protective clothing because "avoiding sun exposure" altogether would be "impractical." Kiss my @ss is all I have to say!

 

[Sean2tall]

Hey Deb! You are doing much much better than me I have not gotten a score above 70%. Even though my scores are not high at least they are not as low as they used to be and basically are always around the high 50's low 60's. I feel like I have made some progress. I am also determined to get this test out of the way;though, I have a little more time to study than you. I'm taking it the 23rd.

Hey I'm taking it on the 23rd also. Let's hope it's a lucky day.

 

[Richie Truxillo]

I'm sharing a similar experience with you guys on USMLEWorld. I'm taking my Step II on the 11th so good luck to ya!

I did get a 73% on my last test which has me stoked but I am sure I'll score a 38% on the next 46 questions because...yeah...that's how USMLEWorld is

*wears his dunce hat proudly*

On the bright side, Kaplan questions seem like a joke now.

 

[prophecy2]

Hey Deb! You are doing much much better than me I have not gotten a score above 70%. Even though my scores are not high at least they are not as low as they used to be and basically are always around the high 50's low 60's. I feel like I have made some progress. I am also determined to get this test out of the way;though, I have a little more time to study than you. I'm taking it the 23rd.

Gr42,

Are you doing World along with QBank or have you stopped doing bank? I'm only about 25% into Qbank, but I might have to buy and switch to World.


Proph...

 

[NYC-girl]

In fact, I got onto SDN today just to find a support group for this! I just switched over from Kaplan Qbank to WORLD today. I want to hang myself (not really though). In the beginning, my scores were like 30%, and I was thinking holy maria, can I take this test in 4 weeks? and I have ONLY been doing ob/gyn so far!! I have to keep the question pool on all, instead of unused only. I am so bamboozled that I cant even recognize the question the next time I see it around, I have to re-analyse the management steps!

Can anyone tell me what they think of the difficulty correlation between this and the real test????

 

[DebDynamite]

In fact, I got onto SDN today just to find a support group for this! I just switched over from Kaplan Qbank to WORLD today. I want to hang myself (not really though). In the beginning, my scores were like 30%, and I was thinking holy maria, can I take this test in 4 weeks? and I have ONLY been doing ob/gyn so far!! I have to keep the question pool on all, instead of unused only. I am so bamboozled that I cant even recognize the question the next time I see it around, I have to re-analyse the management steps!

Can anyone tell me what they think of the difficulty correlation between this and the real test????

Well, there is a thread somewhere about the "correlation" and a few souls who scored in the 50%'s stated they made around 220's- which to me at this point I would be totally smitten with. It does get better, but I think just because I have taken a break from World (for one day) and been doing FA.
Good luck- you have a lot of time yet.

 

[DebDynamite]

Hey Deb! You are doing much much better than me I have not gotten a score above 70%. .

The only reason it was an 88% is that it was pure Psych, which I'm going into and honored. My last straight up medicine test was a 43%. So, now I am reading FA all the way through before I even start another test. Since I am still not going to chicken out and am taking it on the 11th, I have to take a SDN sabbatical. I'm sure there will be others to rally and lead the support group.

May the force be with us all.

 

[surfaboybz]

give me some issues on my mac time to time, but whatever. ya i'm just doing time 46q blocks each time (just to try and finish all the damn questions...test is sat)...i dunno...i'm getting like 50's to 60% right...of course the fun 32% and whatnot. I take it saturday...don't really know what else much to study or review before then. any suggestions on this last week "prep"? (mind you while in the middle of my Sub-I...they were nice enough to give me the test day off...) best of luck to all of ya! hang in there!

 

[raidermedic]

I'll go ahead and throw my hat in there to. My fav questions are the ones that tell you the buzzword test or sign is negative then go on to tell you the test is not always positive. So yeah Psoriasis can cause arthritis without a rash. Thanks a lot USMLEworld

 

[Sean2tall]

Well, there is a thread somewhere about the "correlation" and a few souls who scored in the 50%'s stated they made around 220's- which to me at this point I would be totally smitten with. It does get better, but I think just because I have taken a break from World (for one day) and been doing FA.
Good luck- you have a lot of time yet.

Yeah, here's to that! I would be psyched about 220. According to that score predictor thing, I am at 189. But at least I've still got more than half to do. Good luck on your voluntary exile from SDN.

 

[missbonnie]

Count me in! I am taking Step 2 CK this Friday..and have studied like 1/10th the amount I did for step 1. My scores on UW are all over the place..one day 67%, the next day less than 50%! I have NO IDEA where I stand. I'm too lazy/scared/cheap to take an NBME this late in the game to get a better idea. Teh thread on UW scores to actual score seems unpredictable.

All I'm using is UW and secrets.

good luck everyone!

bonnie

 

[felipe5]

joining the support group.....nothing like seeing your averages decrease the more you study to boost the ol' ego. UGGGGGH

 

[om207]

Hi everyone,
I'm debating whether to do random blocks of questions or do questions for the subject I just studied during the day. Any advice on which way is better?

thanks!

 

[Gr42]

Hi everyone,
I'm debating whether to do random blocks of questions or do questions for the subject I just studied during the day. Any advice on which way is better?

thanks!

I would think you might get better scores per block if you do it by subject. I personally do everything random(same way I did it for STEP 1) just because I want to do it as close to the real thing as possible. Your best option would be to ask someone that has already taken the exam.

 

[masterofnone]

quote from first line of explanation:

"Menopause is the period in a woman's life which transitions from the reproductive years to non-reproductive years occurs."

I was so confused about this mysterious "menopause" but now that usmleworld dropped this golden nugget I'm sure I'll get >260!

 

[masterofnone]

Yeah, I know I'm replying to my own post...that's what long days of questions will do. This one is from a question stem:

"On further questioning, she agrees to have a stiff joint in the morning."

Maybe I'm confused (again), isn't it "stiff drink" or "blast a joint" that we're all supposed to be advocating as part of our patient's morning routine? Or, in their infinite wisdom, are the fine people at usmle world advocating that we combine the two into one sweet indulgence (not that I'd know ).

will someone please clarify this?

 

[mrdowntoearth]

joining the support group.....nothing like seeing your averages decrease the more you study to boost the ol' ego. UGGGGGH

same here....I was consistently scoring in the low 60s but now down to 50s. WTF!?! Very frustrating.

 

[DebDynamite]

Yeah, I know I'm replying to my own post...that's what long days of questions will do. This one is from a question stem:

"On further questioning, she agrees to have a stiff joint in the morning."

Maybe I'm confused (again), isn't it "stiff drink" or "blast a joint" that we're all supposed to be advocating as part of our patient's morning routine? Or, in their infinite wisdom, are the fine people at usmle world advocating that we combine the two into one sweet indulgence (not that I'd know ).

will someone please clarify this?

Totally.

Well, I will say that although I only ended up doing 1/2 of World, I would still buy it again. Last year, when I was working Kaplan QBank, their server was down A LOT. I've had no problems working WORLD on my Mac or with their server acting up, and the cost is so much lower than Kaplan. In the end, I'm happy with what I've done, feel as good about it as I can, and am taking the beast tomorrow.

If I really felt the need to gun this down I would add two more weeks of studying, finish World & work it again, and re- read Sectrets (which is packed with Pearls). As it is, I feel that my mojo is strong and third year is but a few steps behind me, so it's on tomorrow. Good luck everyone!

 

[Txed]

So I've done like 65% of UW with an overall average of 55% and studying hasrd for the last three weeks.......So i took NBME form 3 today and got a 191(400). That sucks . I'm supposed to take the beast the 23 of this month but after seeing that score I'm having second thoughts

 

[missbonnie]

hey guys

just took step 2 yesterday. I only got thru like half of UW and my averages were DECREASING the last few days. I made an effort to re read secrets the few days before as well. Actual 2 CK is MUCH MUCH easier, SO straightforward. And lots of gimmes cuz I did the UW qs..and def know secrets, that book has all the answer! I'll repost when I get my score..I wasn't reaching very high.

bonnie

 

[CaptainZero]

hey guys

just took step 2 yesterday. I only got thru like half of UW and my averages were DECREASING the last few days. I made an effort to re read secrets the few days before as well. Actual 2 CK is MUCH MUCH easier, SO straightforward. And lots of gimmes cuz I did the UW qs..and def know secrets, that book has all the answer! I'll repost when I get my score..I wasn't reaching very high.

bonnie

I agree...I toke it yesterday as well and found the questions to be much more straightforward (i.e. easier) than anything on UW

 

[DebDynamite]

hey guys

just took step 2 yesterday. I only got thru like half of UW and my averages were DECREASING the last few days. I made an effort to re read secrets the few days before as well. Actual 2 CK is MUCH MUCH easier, SO straightforward. And lots of gimmes cuz I did the UW qs..and def know secrets, that book has all the answer! I'll repost when I get my score..I wasn't reaching very high.

bonnie

I also agree. I took it today. I am not aiming too high either, if I were I would work World X's 2, read secrets and FA. In the end I did 1/2 of World, Secrets, FA & FA Cases. I feel good, very good indeed. It is over. Yes!

 

[Sean2tall]

Congrats to those of you who just finished.
I am excited to say I broke 60% on 2 tests in a row. Woo!

 

[Sean2tall]

So apparently there is a "free" NBME test? How do I find it? I went to the NBME site and there are all sorts of links and acronyms, but nothing that says "FREE STEP 2 PRACTICE TEST" or anything so delightfully obvious.

 

[masterofnone]

Hey Sean-

The only free stuff I'm aware of are the "released questions" that the USMLE puts out as practice. I took them and felt they are pretty easy- Kaplan has the explanations on their Qbank so you should check that out if you have a subscription.

Here is the link: http://www.usmle.org/Orientation/2007/menu.htm

Despite the relatively easy qs (compared to kaplan, world, and nbme practice test) the infamous medcalclator site had my predicted score roughly equal to the other tests/qbanks.

Good luck!

 

[indymed]

Important question: I finished USMLEworld. So now I am going through it again, only I remember alot of the questions so I am scoring very high. I am not sure this is the best thing for me to do because of the fact I remember the answers. Should I switch question banks(I have one week left)? I may be giving myself a false sense of security. I have Kaplan and I could do those questions, but I wasnt too impressed with some of the explanations being wrong and I dont want to screw myself up this clse to the test. Help please!!!!

 

[salsterz]

Hey guys...i am surprised that you folks are finding the actual exam easier then UW questions. I myself took this exam witha 47% on UW and thought the actual exam was way tougher...I ended up getting 157/65 on the actual exam. I am studying again and using UW questions again...but this time making notes out of the explainations. I feel the actual exam is more vague then questions in UW. Surely UW questions are tough but they do hone in on certain buzzwords/clues which guide one to the correct path. Maybe some of you who have taken your exam can shed some light on their experience a little more. I am currently done with 30% of UW and am averaging 56%. My exam is on the 31st of August. Any suggestion will help greatly.

 

[Sean2tall]

Crap, I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't taken the real thing, so I probably can't have that much good info, but possibly you could add a book like Boards & Wards? I am going to try to scan through that this week, after I finish UW, before the test on Thurs. Good luck! That is a bummer.

Hey guys...i am surprised that you folks are finding the actual exam easier then UW questions. I myself took this exam witha 47% on UW and thought the actual exam was way tougher...I ended up getting 157/65 on the actual exam. I am studying again and using UW questions again...but this time making notes out of the explainations. I feel the actual exam is more vague then questions in UW. Surely UW questions are tough but they do hone in on certain buzzwords/clues which guide one to the correct path. Maybe some of you who have taken your exam can shed some light on their experience a little more. I am currently done with 30% of UW and am averaging 56%. My exam is on the 31st of August. Any suggestion will help greatly.

 

[DebDynamite]

Hey guys...i am surprised that you folks are finding the actual exam easier then UW questions. I myself took this exam witha 47% on UW and thought the actual exam was way tougher...I ended up getting 157/65 on the actual exam. I am studying again and using UW questions again...but this time making notes out of the explainations. I feel the actual exam is more vague then questions in UW. Surely UW questions are tough but they do hone in on certain buzzwords/clues which guide one to the correct path. Maybe some of you who have taken your exam can shed some light on their experience a little more. I am currently done with 30% of UW and am averaging 56%. My exam is on the 31st of August. Any suggestion will help greatly.

I don't know what to tell you. I thought that the actual exam was challenging, and that overall- although I whined and moaned, World was good prep. I agree with most that World was harder.

The reason is that the actual exam tries to be tricky in their wording, you know if you skim the answers around hour 5 you still need to pick out "coronary thrombosis" when you are looking for MI etc.... World was asking things like, "okay...now, if a kid inhales a peanut, in what PART or the RLL does the peanut land?" I get the point but I didn't have that much time to learn new things like this.

I have yet to receive my score but I thought that World was helpful in getting me ready for the real thing. The questions on World are not as well written as Step 2, but that's what you would expect. I found that the actual exam was, 99% of the time, asking me a very specific question which I had to tease out of a very long question stem. Then, there would often be two (if the Q was, what's the next step in management anyway) answers that I had to sit and stare at for a few seconds, before choosing one and moving on.

The reason I quit working World is that after doing a number of their questions, I noticed they were repeating concepts they wanted you to get in multiple questions, and I was pressed for time. If I had wanted a super high score, I would have finished World and worked it twice, done FA, Secrets, and maybe even more questions from another bank. But I didn't. In the end, even though I complained about nocturnal penile tumescence, I 'm glad I did (some of ) World. Good luck on the exam!

 

[Brickhouse]

Thank you for starting this support group. I find myself screaming at my computer every so often "But the Patient is CRUMPING, Why the eff wouldn't you intubate???" and the people at Barnes and Noble are looking at me strange. Seriously, it is SO comforting to know I'm not in the minority with my crap scores. I won't even give my percent because I'm not interested in any competition, more interested in seeing others with similar scores and moving forward to take the test anyway. I go on Friday. Please say a prayer. Please let it be true that this is easier than step I. Thanks again.

 

[felipe5]

Thank you for starting this support group. I find myself screaming at my computer every so often "But the Patient is CRUMPING, Why the eff wouldn't you intubate???" and the people at Barnes and Noble are looking at me strange. Seriously, it is SO comforting to know I'm not in the minority with my crap scores. I won't even give my percent because I'm not interested in any competition, more interested in seeing others with similar scores and moving forward to take the test anyway. I go on Friday. Please say a prayer. Please let it be true that this is easier than step I. Thanks again.

hey best of luck, i tackle the beast on monday so have a drunken weekend for me please. back to the grind.......uyggggh

 

[raidermedic]

OK so I just want to see if anyone else is having this same problem. A few days ago I was doing random blocks of 46 and hit a 74% and a few 60s after that. Felt really good about myself. Then yesterday did 3 blocks and got 52% on all of them I then did one block out of pure rage and got a 47% Anyone else having wild score swings like this? I take the test on Tuesday and was feeling great but the recent crap scores have really got me down. Just wanted to see if anyone else is going through the same thing......

Oh well back to UW. By this time next week I'll be free at least......

 

[Brickhouse]

OK so I just want to see if anyone else is having this same problem. A few days ago I was doing random blocks of 46 and hit a 74% and a few 60s after that. Felt really good about myself. Then yesterday did 3 blocks and got 52% on all of them I then did one block out of pure rage and got a 47% Anyone else having wild score swings like this? I take the test on Tuesday and was feeling great but the recent crap scores have really got me down. Just wanted to see if anyone else is going through the same thing......

Oh well back to UW. By this time next week I'll be free at least......

Don't get down on yourself. Now you know you can hit that 74, and that's at least where you'll be on test day. Half the battle is keeping your self confidence up and knowing you can do this. I think the scores have a tendency play with your mind. Don't let them! See that 240 and hit it! (or 250 or whatever).

 

[Sean2tall]

Alright, well it's all over for me. . . it was pretty challenging. Overall I would say similar to the USMLE world questions. There were times I felt like I was probably getting a bunch wrong, although of course it doesn't tell you the answer like UW. I haven't a clue whether I did well or not. During the middle, there were times I was thinking about how I would explain my failure But anyhow, for anyone's interest:

Did 2209 Questions (all)
Overall 52%
Toward the end I started getting some 65's, 67's, 69's, but still interspersed with a bunch in the 50's and worse. I experienced the same thing raidermedic, so you are definitely not alone in that. In fact, I probably had lower lows and lower highs. I think I was going to say something else, but my brain is fried. So . . . off to finish up some papers for my current rotation and then do something fun!

Seancrest out

 

[Brickhouse]

Alright, well it's all over for me.

Seancrest out

Congrats! All you can do now is put it behind you and move on. I'm sure you did fine! Most of the UW tests I take I come within 5% or so of the average, and I figure what, 96% of people pass it....so if I'm gonna fail it so is everyone else. Anyway....I take it tomorrow, I'll just be prepared for it to seem hard even though everyone keeps telling me (except you) that the questions are shorter than and easier than UW!

 

[raidermedic]

Thanks guys and good luck on your tests! I'm sure we'll all do great.

 

[Sean2tall]

Haha. Thanks Brickhouse . . . Is it weird that I picture Scarlett Johannsen telling me this stuff?


Ok, here is something humorous . . . . I get home from the test and receive this in my E-mail:

"SPECIAL NOTICE FOR STEP 2 CK EXAMINEES:

USMLE recently introduced test items with associated media exhibits
into the Step 2 CK examination. Under certain circumstances while viewing
test items with media exhibits, the examination can appear to "freeze"
(i.e., examinees cannot close the media exhibit, answer the associated
item, or move to another item). If this should happen, the examinee
should simply PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO CONTINUE WITH THE EXAM.

Further details regarding this issue can be found at
http://www.usmle.org/General_Information/Announcements/Multimedia.html "

It was delivered to my Inbox at about 2:00 in the afternoon. . . the day of the test that I started at 8:30 AM.

 

[Brickhouse]

Dear USMLE test makers:
Fundoscopy is spelled with and O. It's not FundUscopy. It's FundOscopy. Now I know you can google "fundUscopy" and three entries come up, however this is not the norm. Please make this correction to your test because it is very unnerving to be taking this really important test and wonder if the people writing it even have college degrees. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Brickhouse, MSIV




actually I think that's like a british spelling or something, but whatever, I was seriously thinking I was getting USMLE world q bank questions when I saw that come up.

 

[Brickhouse]

So I took the test, and besides the questionable misspelling mentioned above, I think it was comparable to UW but I feel like they go through that question bank and avoid using the same wording or buzz words that UW uses. Now granted there is the occasional give away question but I feel like there were presentations of diseases that I hadn't really seen or heard of, and I did about 75% of UW. I am glad I did UW though because the test really did feel like I was just doing practice questions for 8 hours straight. Hope I passed!
Thanks for the support thread!

 

[AbuJadenDO]

why does it feel so damn good to finish that monster of a UW question bank along with the kaplan qbank!?

i feel like a new man!

hopefully it'll pay off on monday...

 

[JulianCrane]

UW is draining me. Anyone else feel like that?? I read and do questions, but apparently I can retain nothing. Guess I just start preparing for the worst.

 

[Txed]

So I took th beast a three days ago and saying it was a long test would be an understatement. I really didn't feel it was that much easier than STEP 1;however, i did walk into the test with much more confidence than for STEP 1 a year ago. either way I felt that many times I was guessing. I didn't even finish the second block(guessed on the last 3 Q's) beacuse I was freaking out but once I calmed down in went much smoother.
Overall I felt that UW was a good preparation. STEP 2 Q's are better written and I would say in my experience more difficult. UW helps you think and get used to making educated guesses. One piece of advise I want to give s that to ALWAYS read every question carefully. Many times I would read the first line and I thought I already knew the answer or knew where they were getting at; however, thy would always twist things around towards the middle or end which would completely change the answer. SO READ READ READ! anyway, I did all of UW and finished with a 57% overall. I walked out of the test not feeling very confident but I pray that I passed. Keep up doing UW regardless of how you are doing!