WoW. No idea!

[RedSoxSuck]

Hey guys,

So i took NBME 12 5 weeks ago and performed horribly. Identified my weakness as: Path, pharm and timing. Timing because prior to NBME 12, i was doing Uworld question (1st pass) in an untimed tutor mode and because of it i had trouble recalling information in a timely manner and i ran out of time by few questions on first 3 blocks.

I got my hands on pathoma and i watched all of the pathoma lectures at normal speed (36 hours total) in about 50 hours. I drew all the diagrams he drew and wrote down anything that might help me understand the concept. It was important because everything was making sense when i was watching the videos but it might have not made sense later on. So i tried to write down basically anything that was not in the book.

I broke down my FA into a binder and added notes which were taken from a review course (not kaplan or falcon). So binder had notes from BRS, Med essentials, High yield series etc. Course proved to be good because after the course i was getting high 60s consistently in Uworld (untimed tutor mode) . While sitting in the course, i felt it was very similar to perhaps Goljan's lectures (meaning material well integrated, detailed and more importantly FA was being explained NOT regurgitated). Course helped me "UNDERSTAND" FA. So at this point, i had a good amount of extra relevant information which was not found in first aid

So for next 5 weeks i read a section (i.e cardiovascular) from pathoma, then read the same system from first aid binder (notes from the course and read everything i.e embryo, anatomy, path, phys and pharm) and then did questions (40questions) from USMLErx system based focusing on path and pharm since these were the biggest weakness. Scored in high 60s and it predicted a score of 216 but whatever. Finished 1st pass of the above schedule in 2.5 weeks and then 2nd pass the same way which ended last night. Felt really good and understood the material etc and tried to link material and tried to remember it in that manner.

Took NBME 5 today and got destroyed.

1st block: Had to guess on last 2 question because of bad time management. But other than that seemed alot easier than the other NBMEs.

2nd block: finished on time and seemed easier than other NBMEs.

3rd and 4th block finished few minutes to spare and used that time to go back. Almost all of 3rd block was Biochem and may be thats why the questions were ONE LINERS. Normally, i am strong in Biochem because of my background so i did not review biochem during 1st or 2nd pass. So the last time i reviewed biochem was over 3 months ago and it showed. And there is asterisk next to it in today's NBME because i guess i forgot most of it and thats why may be i missed alot of questions in 3rd block. In past, biochem has been my strongest subject and today it was the weakest. During the 3rd block, i was jubilant to see biochem questions because i am good at it. I thought i was figuring it out purely on the basis of past success on biochem questions even though those were more straight forward than TODAYS ONE LINER biochem questions. Also because in previous CBSAA offered by school, i had gotten away without reviewing biochem and it still being my strongest subject. May be because biochem questions in past were FAIRLY STRAIGHT FORWARD and these weren't. But there was NEVER an entire block of biochem until today and i paid the price by probably missing most of my questions in block 3. Perhaps thats why my overall score is lower than that it should have been.

In retrospect, i should have taken few hours today to finish biochem before taking an NBME but i never thought i would get an entire block on biochem. I thought i would get few questions here and there and they probably would be basic, so i should be able to answer them based on my previous knowledge etc. I was planning on reviewing biochem today after the NBME. And if i would have done that then probably could have done alot better.

I have attached the "Profiles" to entertainment. I am just shocked and i am still in disbelief because i was sure that i atleast broke 200 mark.

So i am not really sure what to do next or what happened.

Thoughts?

My school is providing a FREE CBSSA this thursday. Since its free, i should take it. Perhaps reading pathoma atleast once more especially for the weaker (lol) sections before thursday can be helpful? Thoughts on that?

FYI, i finished Uworld 1st pass with a 57% prior to the schedule above and read that NBME 5 was suppose to be easier and it felt that way.

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[johndoe3344]

When is your exam? AMG or IMG? Have you read through FA in its entirety? What other prep work have you done?

I think more details would help. Also, what do you mean by "a system"? Do you mean you spent 5 weeks working on, say, cardiovascular in pathoma/FA?

 

[RedSoxSuck]

When is your exam? AMG or IMG?

End of May and IMG

 

[johndoe3344]

It seems like you lack a lot of fundamental concepts on a lot of the systems. If you had the time (I'm not sure you do), I would sit down and go through all of the kaplan videos, especially since you're an IMG. FA is better for "recapping" -- you learned the material once and FA will highlight what's important, etc, but it's not as good if you're just memorizing the collection of 10000 facts and trying to regurgitate it for the exam.

I'm sure other posters, perhaps other IMGs can give better advice than me. Good luck!

 

[RedSoxSuck]

When is your exam? AMG or IMG? Have you read through FA in its entirety? What other prep work have you done?

I think more details would help. Also, what do you mean by "a system"? Do you mean you spent 5 weeks working on, say, cardiovascular in pathoma/FA?

I broke down my FA into a binder and added notes from BRS, high yield series and Med essentials onto a separate piece of paper and added them into my binder. They just help clearly and or add information that is missing from first aid.

Yes, i read FA twice.

I watched pathoma lectures and wrote down everything that he drew and anything that helped me understand the "why". 36 hours of pathoma videos took me around 50 hours to watch. After watching the videos, i read a section/system (i.e cardiovascular) from pathoma and then read cardiovascular from FA which had notes from different sources. I read entire cardiovascular embryology, anatomy, physiology, pathology and pharm. Then i did questions focusing on path and pharm only because these were 2 of the biggest weaknesses according to NBME 12. I also did question in a TIMED mode because prior to NBME 12, i was doing 1st pass of Uworld in a tutored mode and because of that i had trouble recalling information in a timely manner during NBME 12.

It took me 2.5 weeks to get through entire pathoma, FA and appropriate usmlerx questions. Then i did a 2nd pass of pathoma with fa and appropriate usmlerx question. This 2nd pass ended last night and i took NBME 5 this morning.

 

[lookmanohands]

That pathology score is troubling. Pathoma may be too basic for what you need or you are not able to apply the knowledge and need more than what Pathoma and First Aid are providing you. If I were you, I would start reading Rapid Review and go through the Goljan audio to see how you should be thinking. IMO, the audio is not so much to gain knowledge, but to see how you're supposed to be thinking

 

[RedSoxSuck]

That pathology score is troubling. Pathoma may be too basic for what you need or you are not able to apply the knowledge and need more than what Pathoma and First Aid are providing you. If I were you, I would start reading Rapid Review and go through the Goljan audio to see how you should be thinking. IMO, the audio is not so much to gain knowledge, but to see how you're supposed to be thinking

Low pathology score troubling is an understatement. Especially after i tried to hammer it in. I did remember alot of things from pathoma during NBME 5 but i think i still need more repetition of pathoma since i watched the videos once and read it 2x.

Would it be better to read the goljan audio transcript because it will be faster? Also what about going through pathoma once again in next few days and taking another exam? Perhaps UWSA instead of nbme (to save the rest for later)?

I just did a block of timed random and unused block of Uworld questions and scored a 65%. This is my 2nd pass

 

[djquickfingers]

Low pathology score troubling is an understatement. Especially after i tried to hammer it in. I did remember alot of things from pathoma during NBME 5 but i think i still need more repetition of pathoma since i watched the videos once and read it 2x.

Would it be better to read the goljan audio transcript because it will be faster? Also what about going through pathoma once again in next few days and taking another exam? Perhaps UWSA instead of nbme (to save the rest for later)?

I just did a block of timed random and unused block of Uworld questions and scored a 65%. This is my 2nd pass

How is it possible to get unused if its your second pass? I agree with the above posters. You seem to lack the basic blocks in which to build understanding(which most of these test). I would go with Kaplan and get the books(you can find them online) and delve into them seriously. If you can postpone, do so...get a good, in-depth read and watch of ALL the videos, and then take a look at FA and Pathoma again. You'll see how the stuff will jump out at you more. It will just make sense. Without the understanding, you won't see much improvement. Good luck..it's doable, but you have to have the basics

 

[RedSoxSuck]

How is it possible to get unused if its your second pass? I agree with the above posters. You seem to lack the basic blocks in which to build understanding(which most of these test). I would go with Kaplan and get the books(you can find them online) and delve into them seriously. If you can postpone, do so...get a good, in-depth read and watch of ALL the videos, and then take a look at FA and Pathoma again. You'll see how the stuff will jump out at you more. It will just make sense. Without the understanding, you won't see much improvement. Good luck..it's doable, but you have to have the basics

Make sense. What i meant by unused was that i have not used them during the 2nd pass.

 

[XRanger]

When's your actual test? The keys to do well for step 1 based on my own experience and everyone I've talked to are 1) knowing FA cold and 2) knowing uworld cold (do uworld at least twice or 3x if possible)

I'm not a fan of pulling FA apart and putting it in a binder and adding materials from other resources like HY, BRS etc... The reason FA is what it is today is because it only contains the most high yield material without extra unnecessary or low yield stuff, so by putting all these extra resources you're diluting it. And everything that is not covered in FA will be covered in uworld, so only annotate stuff from uworld into FA and nothing else.

So depending on how much time you have left but I would devote all your time into FA and uworld for now. These 2 should be enough to get you at least 220. Once you hit this score then you can start using other resources to get higher score.
My2cents

 

[RedSoxSuck]

When's your actual test? The keys to do well for step 1 based on my own experience and everyone I've talked to are 1) knowing FA cold and 2) knowing uworld cold (do uworld at least twice or 3x if possible)

I'm not a fan of pulling FA apart and putting it in a binder and adding materials from other resources like HY, BRS etc... The reason FA is what it is today is because it only contains the most high yield material without extra unnecessary or low yield stuff, so by putting all these extra resources you're diluting it. And everything that is not covered in FA will be covered in uworld, so only annotate stuff from uworld into FA and nothing else.

So depending on how much time you have left but I would devote all your time into FA and uworld for now. These 2 should be enough to get you at least 220. Once you hit this score then you can start using other resources to get higher score.
My2cents

I have 6 weeks until the exam date!

 

[cliquesh]

I have 6 weeks until the exam date!

you have plenty of time. I wouldn't worry about it. Read first aid as many times as you can and do as many questions as you can. That's all you need to do for a good score.

 

[amaprez]

 

[RedSoxSuck]

you have plenty of time. I wouldn't worry about it. Read first aid as many times as you can and do as many questions as you can. That's all you need to do for a good score.

Should I still take the free CBSSA on thrusday? I am planning to since its free and I think lack of biochem ( most of 3rd block on nbme 5) really hurt my score.

Thinking about reading pathoma as many times as I can before Thursday and reviewing biochem. Thoughts?

 

[WonderBoy]

Wish I could still that, miss my playing rogue sometimes!

OP,
Your plan sounds good, although I am in the same boat as you and still prepping for the exam. It's a free test, might as well take it, will get this bad taste out of your mouth hopefully.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

Was there an improvement from NBME 12 to 5?

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Was there an improvement from NBME 12 to 5?

Yea but not by much. I think an entire block of Bch or almost an entire block of Bch killed me. So whatever improvements might have been made weren't seen. Since all the incorrect questions are worth the same.

It's driving me nuts, self doubt, doubt in prep, may be its not for me and what ifs because there is no way for me to confirm my theory of Bch block destroying me since there isn't extended feedback for nbme 5. But it was the first time, I have seen an asterisk for Bch showing that my performance was below the below level. But I can't confirm it by looking at the number of wrong answers.

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

Yea but not by much. I think an entire block of Bch or almost an entire block of Bch killed me. So whatever improvements might have been made weren't seen. Since all the incorrect questions are worth the same.

It's driving me nuts, self doubt, doubt in prep, may be its not for me and what ifs because there is no way for me to confirm my theory of Bch block destroying me since there isn't extended feedback for nbme 5. But it was the first time, I have seen an asterisk for Bch showing that my performance was below the below level. But I can't confirm it by looking at the number of wrong answers.

Since you are doing so well on the World questions maybe its exam anxiety? I think it would be best to do an nbme or uwsa every two weeks so you don't get to anxious. Also maybe it would be a good idea to start off only doing the exam feedback exams and the uwsa b/c you can learn from those.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Since you are doing so well on the World questions maybe its exam anxiety? I think it would be best to do an nbme or uwsa every two weeks so you don't get to anxious. Also maybe it would be a good idea to start off only doing the exam feedback exams and the uwsa b/c you can learn from those.

What do you mean by exam anxiety? i have prescription for sertaline. May be I should get it filled.

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

What do you mean by exam anxiety? i have prescription for sertaline. May be I should get it filled.

I mean getting really nervous when you take the nbme and doubting your answers. Because your World % show you know the material.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

I mean getting really nervous when you take the nbme and doubting your answers. Because your World % show you know the material.

Well I get really worried if I fall behind in time because then I stress and read quicker and worry more about how many question I need to get correct etc. recently I have been practicing working faster and keeping a constant pace and just mark it and move on. But sometimes when I am crunched for time and a question comes up which I need to think a little on, I end up spending more time than I should and not sure if I still get it correct.

I work well from ahead but then it only takes few time gobbling questions to screw me up. However, now I am keeping a constant eye on time so I can work with a constant pace. Before I was doing questions in an untimed tutor mode but now in timed mode so I can be forced to recall quicker and make quicker decisions.

 

[NightSwim]

I'll chime in here. I think you're in pretty good shape. You've got a ton of time left to study and you've already gotten through so much material (i'm jealous). Your actual step 1 score is going to be much higher than whatever the last practice test predicted because you're going to learn so much over the next few weeks. Based off your last NBME, you probably have plenty of knowledge gaps. Keep working on filling them in. Attack whatever you don't know well or you only kinda know. Memorize all those annoying facts and pneumoics you've been avoiding.

I agree with Brigade4Radiant, at this point, don't do practice tests too often. Or like he/she suggested, do the UWSA ones, and use them mainly as learning tools - i.e. more questions w/solutions. I also suggest really working at learning the uworld questions that you got wrong the 1st time around (seems like this is what you're doing).

And most important, try not to worry about your last practice test scores. It's gonna go up with hard work. No question.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

I'll chime in here. I think you're in pretty good shape. You've got a ton of time left to study and you've already gotten through so much material (i'm jealous). Your actual step 1 score is going to be much higher than whatever the last practice test predicted because you're going to learn so much over the next few weeks. Based off your last NBME, you probably have plenty of knowledge gaps. Keep working on filling them in. Attack whatever you don't know well or you only kinda know. Memorize all those annoying facts and pneumoics you've been avoiding.

I agree with Brigade4Radiant, at this point, don't do practice tests too often. Or like he/she suggested, do the UWSA ones, and use them mainly as learning tools - i.e. more questions w/solutions. I also suggest really working at learning the uworld questions that you got wrong the 1st time around (seems like this is what you're doing).

And most important, try not to worry about your last practice test scores. It's gonna go up with hard work. No question.

Thanks