adeelmd
Forum Elite
Topics: 40
Posts: 402
|
first of all, my qbank was 72% (58%-88%)and nbme was 570 and 590... when I started such a long time ago, i was getting high 30's in qbook!!
I have been studying for a LONG time (8 months) off and on, never really got to an "on" stage where i would study day and night, but I am happy with my exam. it wasn't as scary as people said it was. no mice questions or seven step questions. If I got something wrong, it was pretty much do to my own stupidity, nothing that I would blame nbme for.
now my exam was very "mixed".. in a sense you couldn't really put the questions into a particular subject... It would start out an anatomy question and end up asking something about incidence. But in that sense it was very superficial. You didn't have to know that many complicated facts (like ch # or hla types), but you had to have a good understanding on how medical science works as a whole. It was a cross between the nbme and usmle cd, I felt the nbme was a little harder and the usmle cd a little too straightforward. None of those stupid qbank questions (the ones where the answer is leigh's syndrome or some weird disease). The USMLE has a pattern of asking important things about important diseases that just don't happen to be in books. (i seriously think that part of our $650 just goes into finding what are in books so they can get rid of those questions) Not that the questions are hard at all, but there are no buzz words or key facts that can make a real difference in your score.
The exam is also redundant.. It asks the same question in a different way a few times, and some subjects it completely ignores. I actually got mad cause there was one subject that I knew very well and not one question came up on it.
One annoying thing is that they wouldn't tell you what block you were on... I had to double check my sign in sheet just to make sure i did seven blocks. I'm serious, this test is soo important, you have to be 100% sure, i would suggest starting your final block with a minute of break time left so it would tell you that you have completed all blocks when your seventh block ends (i didn't do this, and as a result a screen came up telling me "your test has ended, but this does not mean you completed all your blocks".. which is kind of scary) Before leaving, always check your sign in sheet has you down for seven hours in front of the computer.
For people preparing for the exam.. the MOST important thing to do is to take nbme. It is more important than first aid or any other book you consider vital. for $45, you save $600, and it really does give you the best assesment of what the real test was like. I even got some questions VERY similair to ones i had on the nbme. Qbank is also very necessary; it might take you three or four readings to get from a 60% to a 70% but one pass through qbank can have a dramatic impact on your score.. (but don't get pissed off if you got the question on metachromatic leukodystrophy wrong, get pissed if you get a B12 question wrong..)
It doesn't really matter what books you use, anyone can get a 99 with any combination of books, but I feel Kaplan books are the best simply because of the quality of the questions at the end of the chapters. for example, I read brs physiology once, and was really happy when I got all the questions right at the end of the chapters, but when i tried a block in qbook it made me realize the error of my ways.
This exam is very doable, you just have to just put in the effort and give your brain enough time to absorb it all; Two things i really regret not going through is first aid (used it a little but never really got around to it) and tommyk high yield notes (found out about it a few days before the test)... but I would highly reccomend you go through them. During the last two days of my prep i just hung around the net trying to answer people's questions... I think that helped build my confidence.
Finally, the most important advantage all of us have (especially imgs) is that we can take the test WHENEVER we want. I was Supposed to take this test in October (my wife was due with our first son this November), but do to low qbank scores I postponed it. I took the week off when he was born, and got right back to studying. Don't let anything get between you and a good score; if you're going on a trip, or any problem, try to take the test afterwards if you do not feel confident. I would say Aim for date, get three month eligibilty starting with that date (so you have six months extra just in case) and don't give the test unless you are satisfied with your nbme score.
Throughout my prep I kept on praying for an "easy" test. Trust me, prayer works. Nothing feels as great as knowing that God is with you. Good luck to all of you, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
(note to mods, please delete the post in "support" forum i put it there by mistake)
___________________
where i lay my head is home.
|
| wombat
Forum Guru
Topics: 22
Posts: 304
|
Cool. I am sure you will do great!!  Relax and enjoy the life.
|
| mjl1717
Forum Hero
Topics: 959
Posts: 5,467
|
Congratulations -Im sure you did well! :idea:
___________________
Smell the coffee! "Is That an Osler move??"
|
| MLF
Forum Elite
Topics: 36
Posts: 386
|
Congrats adeelmd, I am confident you did great and from your nbme scores, you are def gonna ace this test. All the best!!
___________________
"Support bacteria, its the only culture some people got."
|
| lmbebo
Forum Elite
Topics: 36
Posts: 338
|
congrats. hope you everything turns out great.
congrats on the child as well
|
| musali
Forum Senior
Topics: 17
Posts: 76
|
hey adeelmd, im also from chicago, ive been meaning to talk to you, but ive been just been busy studying, i have a couple of quick questions. my exam is in 9 days, wat did u do ur last few days. what is the tommyk high yield notes ? and where can i get them. and our scores are somewat close from qbank(66% avg. 50-82 range) to qbook(62-90%, to atleast nbme form 1(550). i plan on rereading FA and goljan over n over again. and still have the USMLE CD and nbme form2 to do, but besides that wat else is there. oh one last questions, did u take the exam in the northbrook center. chicago center, or lombard center?
|
| adeelmd
Forum Elite
Topics: 40
Posts: 402
|
I'm in new york, not in chicago; although i took a live review course there. Since you have only nine days left, I would concentrate on your weak areas (like do your two weakest areas in qbank- read those books only).... tommyk high yield is available at valuemd.com... also, try to take nbme 2 at a time when you can still cancel the test (5 business days before hand) I did not do this, and in retrospect, it was a very dangerous thing to do. Doing nbme after your time to cancel ends is like getting a score report before giving the test... and if it isn't the score you want, you have no time to do anything about it.
I spent most of my last days revising my weakest subjects (on the nbme score report)... and plus i kept answering questions on forums... I would look up junk i didn't understand (like pulmonary fibrosis, looked up pagets in robbins... any disease i didn't have a clear concept of.) and I found a google search for a particular thing (esp ct's, angiograms, and em's) was quicker than trying to find it in textbooks.l
Anyways, thanks mike, imbeb, wombat for your vote of confidence.... may we all ace this test!
___________________
where i lay my head is home.
|
| pinkangel
Forum Elite
Topics: 8
Posts: 272
|
Congratulations on taking the test! I'm sure you'll come out with excellent scores. Thanks for your advice. I will need it when I take my exam in January.
All the best,
pinkangel
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | |
Similar forum topics