Malu
Forum Junior
Topics: 8
Posts: 44
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okay guys, its finally over. i still cant believe im done with this.
this forum has really helped me a lot to prepare for the exam and keep my spirits up. i hope i can help some of u as well with my take on the exam.
first of all the preparation. i am a medical student in germany right now, so i used all of my semester break which was exactly 10 weeks to study for the exam fulltime (8 hours a day studytime)
the books i used:
Path: BRS, Robbins Review, Goljan HY, Goljan lectures
Microbio: made ridiculously simple
Anatomy, Neuroanatomy, Embryology, Histology, Behavioral Science, Immunology: all High Yield
Biochem: Lippincott
Pharm: Lippincott and Katzung
Physio: BRS
Pathophys: for the Boards & Wards
and of course First Aid!
Questions: one month Qbank, Qbank IV, Qbank Physio, NMS, Appleton and Lange review, Blueprints, NBME, USMLE CD, Blackwell free online exam, PreTest all subjects, clinical vignettes and clinical diagnosis. Exammaster 2 custom 50 blocks
my scores:
Qbank: shared it with a friend so dont exactly know overall score. started in the upper 60s, ended mid 80s
Qbank IV: overall 83%
Qbank Physio: overall 76%
USMLE Cd: 2 weeks before exam 86%
NBME 1: 710
NBME 2: 710 (both 2 days before exam)
Blueprint full exam: 82%
Blackwell free online exam: 83%
NMS: mid 80s
I studied according to organ systems. For example, if i had respiratory, i would first do the embryology, anatomy, histology, then the physiology, then pathology and finally pharm. lots of stuff kept repeating this way and it was also an integrative approach that really helped with the big picture and understanding concepts.
one word about pretest. FORGET ABOUT IT! these questions are really difficult and nothing at all like the exam questions. the only good one in that series is clinical diagnosis. i wish i had known that before and not wasted so much time on it.
Qbank is great and definitely worth the money. use it as a study tool, along with the subjects u are doing and mix some random blocks in there once in a while.
Appleton and Lange is too easy, but good for recall and repetition. NMS is ok. Blueprints and Blackwell free exam online are really worth it, too. qs are sometimes a little picky.
First aid is a must! i would annotate it while you go along, so u have a really great review book for the final couple of weeks. my first aid is a little self made treasure now with all the info in it!!
BRS is great for path, but i dont know about physio. i couldnt find a good bock for that. i didnt use kaplan, so i cant say, but that might be a good alternative. microbio ridiculously simple is just great! its funny, very memorizable, and u can answer absolutley every q on the exam with it. Every single one!
Pathophys for the boards and wards is a really nice book that makes everything sort of come together. dont use it as a primary source, but to review stuff u have already studied. it is so concise and absolutely crammable. has some nice appendix about immu, neuroanatomy, tox and zebras.
Goljan is the man! he is absolutely great and its too bad that i found his lectures only late in my studies. i could only listen to a few of them, but it is so worth the time. the high yield is okay too, just dont spend too much time on it.
the high yield series are good, just stay away from the biochem HY. i think its only good for someone who already has a good idea about everything, otherwise u are doomed.
i like the lippincott style. both for biochem and pharm. everything is in there. u just need to start early with these books, cause they are kinda detailed. what u cant find in lippincott for pharm u will find in katzung.
everytime i came across a piece of information that wouldnt stick, i wrote it down on a piece of paper and hung it somewhere on the wall around my desk. after a while i had my whole desk surrounded by little notes. i would look at them once in a while and just before the exam i had memorized them all.
if u have the time and money, go ahead and do the NBME forms. they were exactly like the exam! it was the best practice. much better than qbank. qbank is okay, but the questions are pickier and the style is not the same. dont get the IV qbank. its fun, but too easy and a totally different way of asking the q than on the exam. not really worth the time. qbank physio is tough, but a good study tool, especially for me, since im kinda troubled by graphs (the make me freeze up in a second)
okay. now ill tell u a little about the exam and what i think helped me or didnt help. of course this is different for everyone, so u will have to decide how you want it to be for urself.
the day before, i studied in the morning. reviewing some stuff and doing some qs. then i was feeling so nervous, i took a walk, but that didnt really help to much, so i cleaned the entire apartment, really tiring myself out with that. in the afternoon i drove to frankfurt (i stayed in a hotel there) i watched tv all night and tried to not think about the exam. this worked really well for me. i was so distracted that i had no trouble falling asleep and slept for solid 7 hours.
its very important to be well rested before the exam. cause this is a very tough day. you need all your strength and concentration. this is the hardest part. you have to figure out your breaks and how u will pace yourself before you go into the exam. i needed a little break after each block. i left the room, had a sip of water, etc. also what really helped me to relax inbetween blocks was listening to music. i dont know if that works for u. i took one long lunch break where i left the test center to get some fresh air.
i finished every block 10-15 minutes early, so i had a lot of break time.
the exam was a fair mix of everthing. i read a lot of exam experiences where people said that one or the other subject was so overrepresented. of course i dont know this, but u probably remember the qs in these subjects better if it is one of your weak areas. for me the main focuse was on pathophys with everything else thrown in randomly. the blocks were all equally difficult. i had about 5-8 pictures per block, a lot of diagrams. 2-3 of those hated quote qs from BS ( i always make a total mess of them)
most of the pics are pretty easy, some are quite difficult. look at CTs and MRI of the head. they really seem to like that.
they hit a lot on HIV, alcohol, diabetes, cardiovascular stuff, antibiotic mechanisms and resistance.
some questions are really out there, couldnt even figure out what the wanted from me, some questions are really easy, most questions are in between. you have to use your head, cause most of the stuff is not simple recall, but two step questions. most graphs are doable once u take the time to figure them out. use the boards they give u to write stuff down that isnt clear. sometimes that helps.
oh and i forgot to mention Webpath. this is a major major website. u should definitely check it out. scan some of the pics every day. google stuff u cant picture, like erythema nodosum, or impetigo or whatever.
i think they really are phazing out the buzzwords. often they will only describe the clinical finding and not tell u directly that it is erythema chronicum migrans for example. so know what this stuff looks like and dont just memorize it!
i had all the viruses and their structures down, but didnt get a single question on it. instead i had like 6 questions on antibiotic resistance. thats the way it goes. the exams are very variable, so try to prepare on a broad base, but focus your attention on the pathophysiology....make sure you understand the concepts!! this is a very concept based exam...of course dont ignore the details, u need a base to work with.
another great website i wish i had found earlier is usmle.myplayspace.com
its this site that quizzes u on the first aid. its very helpful, check it out.
the exam is doable. its important to pace yourself and stay focused. then you can do it. they are not trying to trick you into failing. they just want us to use our heads. we can all do it.
i hope this helped, but if you have questions you can always contact me. ill let you know my score as soon as it arrives. im really not sure how i did. i can only remember like 5 questions from the exam. have a very mixed feeling about it. well see. in a few weeks i know more.
thanks for all of your help on this forum.
i wish you all good luck with your studies. you can all do it. you are smart, you have come this far, you will take this step, too. believe in yourselves! :icon_thumb:
best of luck....
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| stepone
Forum Newbie
Topics: 9
Posts: 16
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thank you for sharing ur experience.
i wanted to know about physio q bank as ,iam really worried about graphs
can u reply as early as possible as my exam is on 28th
thanx
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| bluedusk
Forum Elite
Topics: 35
Posts: 217
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i would rest easy with those scores!
i totally agree with your exam advice and description. except i liked medicine pretest : )
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| Malu
Forum Junior
Topics: 8
Posts: 44
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stepone, i think qbank physio is worth the time. the qs are kinda difficult though, so dont get frustrated. i actually still have some time left on my subscription. i wouldnt mind giving u my account and password. you can pm me your email adress and ill get in touch with you. i dont know if ill be able to get to a computer till sunday, so dont worry if i dont reply immediately...
good luck with your studying...
bluedusk, i read your exam report and remember actually thinking, too bad i didnt get that pretest medicine 
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| jasonyang
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Hi, Dear Malu,
I was really touched by your sharing this invaluable experience. I have studied one year and still feel that i am not ready, I left medical school for 20 years. One subject bothered me is also about physiology graph, Would you mind letting me see you physiology Q-bank if you feel convenient?
thanks in advance, my email address is: yzqmiami@yahoo.com
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| medstudent30
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 18
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When you say Goljan HY, does that mean the 36 pages?
I think the idea of writing things down and putting it around the desk, etc., is tremendous, I will have to try it and see how it goes. Thanks for all the advice.
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| Malu
Forum Junior
Topics: 8
Posts: 44
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im not sure, but i think the 36 page version is just the path. there is a 100 page version of it around, which includes most of the subjects, like physio, anatomy, pharm, etc.
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| anz
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 10
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hi malu...same old problem of graphs with me too.....access to ur Q-bank would be highly appreciated.... ie if possible ...email at ashnzia@yahoo.com
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| a.mad
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 4
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Congratulations Malu,
Where do you get NBME Qs from, is it a book or CD or online?
Thanx
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| fakehugs
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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what was you score might i ask?
congrats
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| a.mad
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 4
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it was 256/99 Fakehugs. He has another input in the menu.
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| Malu
Forum Junior
Topics: 8
Posts: 44
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if you go to www.nbme.org there is a link to self-assessment services where you can buy the forms, 45 $ each ( i know its expensive, but worth it) problem is that you can't share it with a friend, you can only use it once and you have to use it within 3 weeks of purchase
there are however retired nbme qs that float around on the internet somewhere. i haven't done them, so I'm not sure if they are good. the advantage of nbme is that it gives you are very good evaluation of your performance and has a good correlation to the step score. so it really gives you a good assessment and also the qs are the most similar ones to the exam (good practice).
hope this helps
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| drmig
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
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Dear Malu,
Can you share your scores? What would you advice to someone like me who has been out of med school for the past 12 years? I have been practicing a specialty and am out of touch w my basics. I want to attempt to take the Mle for fellowship purposes. Thanks!!! drmig
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| Malu
Forum Junior
Topics: 8
Posts: 44
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score was 256/99
what specialty are you in? it depends on your time schedule....if you have time i would start by reviewing some basic stuff (just to get the process started) go over some basic physio, path, pharm... that won't be too hard for a start and once you feel that you are a little back into it, i would start reviewing stuff like immu, molecular biology, genetics, biochem...first try to just read some chapters, get an overview and then after a few weeks or months (however much time you have) i would try to take off some work (if you can) and really focus on studying... take first aid, do qs, etc.
good luck
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