CruiseMissile
Forum Junior
Topics: 10
Posts: 67
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I took the exam recently in Burlington, Massachusetts. It's easily accessible from Boston, so it's worth looking into if you are in the Boston metro area and slots are running out.
The venues were nice and quiet. The proctors were friendly but professional. There was a fridge for your food and a coffee-maker that provided hot (but weak) coffee throughout the day. Food was available at a nearby cafe and at Burlington Mall (a little bit of a walk, but if you take a 45 minute lunch you'll be fine).
As for the exam itself, well, since I don't have my results yet it's hard to say, but it was similar to what I expected. More difficult than the 138 downloadable USMLE.org-questions, obivously, but not as difficult (especially not as ambiguous) as the usmle-world ones. Also, I would have to say that the NBME form 1 was slightly easier than the questions I got.
Content: Psych, ob/gyn and peds were represented about equally. There was a lot if IM, not very much surg. Probably ten or so biostats/epidem, but they were really easy. I had five-ten questions that were pure step 1 (so I wouldn't say that it's high-yield to repeat your old step 1 knowledge). Very little anatomy/ortho. Nothing on dementia.
Question layout: Most questions had fairly short clinical vignettes that were relevant to the question. I would advise test takers to look at the phrasing of the question first - sometimes all the clinical information they spout is completely irrelevant. A quick glance at the question beforehand can save you a lot of time.
Time: I can see how it would be a problem. I'm usually really quick (that's not to say that I'm all that smart, I just know when I'm beat :-)). I had plenty of time left on every block on step 1. On step 2, I had about 5-20 minutes left at the end of most blocks, and I didn't always have time to go through all my answers as thoroughly as I would have wanted to. Time management is important! Make sure you have done as many questions as possible before actually taking the exam!
Preparations: I used Crush Step 2, which I can't really say I'm too happy with. It doesn't cover enough, and it's very narrow in its scope - it will talk about cryptococcus meningitis without mentioning treatment options etc (Edit: I should probably mention that this was not an exam question, it was just an example out of the blue). I haven't seen first aid, but from what I've heard it's better, and if I had to do it again (don't jinx it) I would go with FA instead. As with step 1, define your goals beforehand. If you're just studying week in, week out not knowing if you're ready, not doing any questions or anything, chances are you're not being very efficient.
Qbanks: I used USMLEworld (67%), Kaplan Qbank (73%), Blueprints Q&A Surgery (didn't calculate a score, used it as a reading tool more than anything, but it's pretty good), NBME form 1 (710) and the 138 downloadable questions from usmle.org (43, 39 and 41).
As I mentioned earlier, remember your goals. My goal from the outset was 90+. I took the NBME and scored really well, so I decided I was ready. I managed to reschedule my exam and take it a week earlier than my original test date. If I had just obsessed with getting the best possible score, I would still have been in anguish, and it's not even certain I would have gotten a better score (I don't have the luxury of preparing full-time).
Thanks to everyone on the forum, it's going to be an exciting four-six weeks (again...)!
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| ELM
Forum Guru
Topics: 28
Posts: 936
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Thanks man,
That was very nice of you to post your experience in here.
I see from your NBME score that you aced the test.
Wish you a great score!
___________________
ELM
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| orthodromic
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 32
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hi cruise missile
do you think kaplan q bank is worth doing ? did you find it useful for the exam? thanks
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| CruiseMissile
Forum Junior
Topics: 10
Posts: 67
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Definitely! In terms of value for money, USMLEworld is better, but it's still worth doing Qbank. I would start with Qbank and use USMLEworld closer to your exam date.
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| orthodromic
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 32
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hi cruise missile
thanks.
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| CruiseMissile
Forum Junior
Topics: 10
Posts: 67
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Got my score a couple of days ago. 242/98.
Definitely happy. Thanks everyone for helping with questions and providing inspiration. Step 2 is tough (don't let anyone tell you differently) but it can be done!
Good luck to everyone!
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| dev
Forum Guru
Topics: 70
Posts: 1,794
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wow cruisemissile :icon_salut: :icon_bounce:
congrats.looks like everyone in the group have got gr8 scores.
enjoy :icon_bounce: :icon_bounce:  / / :-({|=
hope i get a score like this one too.
bye
dev
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| tamriko
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 296
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Congratulations :lol:
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| Ria
Forum Elite
Topics: 30
Posts: 229
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CONGTRATS Great score :icon_salut:
How long do you think is sufficient to study before you take the exam? ::very_confused::
Good Luck for the CS 
___________________
"The Only Way Out Is Through it"
Robert Frost
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| CruiseMissile
Forum Junior
Topics: 10
Posts: 67
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You can't expect anone to give you a reliable measure of time to get a certain result. It depends on where you stand right now, how quickly you learn etc.
I studied for two months, but I worked full-time at the same time. On the other hand, I took step 1 fairly recently and graduated last year, so I was prett fresh.
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| Ria
Forum Elite
Topics: 30
Posts: 229
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Thanks alot...
___________________
"The Only Way Out Is Through it"
Robert Frost
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| jaylike
Forum Junior
Topics: 11
Posts: 42
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CONGRATULATIONS
GREAT SCORE and GOOD LUCK.
one question- is it better to take the nbme test before the exam? if so when, as i am planning to take step 2 in june.
WITH BEST WISHES ,
jaylike
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| CruiseMissile
Forum Junior
Topics: 10
Posts: 67
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Thanks. Most people use the NBME exams as a last minute test of their knowledge - to get a reliable indication on whether they are ready or not.
Most people take it in the last week, so as to be able to reschedule if their results are not in line with what they are hoping to get on the real thing.
A word of caution, though. Although the results on NBME are generally more accurate predictors than QBank, UW etc, on both steps, my NBME results were almost exactly one standard deviation off from my final step 1/2 results (on step 1 they were worse (540 vs 248), on step 2 they were better (710 vs 242).
Anywho, good luck!
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