babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
hi everybody,
i had my day at Prometric Center today. did i blew it? most likely
I am still in state of confusion but i can tell you this - none of previousely posted experiences seem quite the same or similar.. maby in one thing - it's not unfamiliar or unheard of...
and still... I am still in state of shock (somewhat...i can't even formulate it).
in any event, if you are interested in my experience it will be more productive if you ask questions.
or wait untill i come out of this comatose state
good luck to all and thank you
|
| unique1
InGodITrust
Topics: 19
Posts: 1,445
|
Congratulations.
I will wait for you to get out of the comatosed state 
___________________
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
good luck
and thank you
|
| tee40
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 117
|
Congrats!!!!
I am scheduled for March 22nd, and I look forwards to reading your post!!!!!!!!!!! Only after you regroup
|
| Ancylostoma
Forum Guru
Topics: 42
Posts: 637
|
tant tant tant tant another one bites the dust.....and another one does ,...
Couldnt help but thinking of the song(Queen). Everyone who used to discuss qs with me is taking the exam and i'm still left and going to take it in a week. I sure you will be fine. If its any consolation, I read a bunch of people who got 99s who thought they failed. Dont worry, the burden is off you back.. Good luck on your results
|
| me007
Forum Guru
Topics: 72
Posts: 799
|
Congratulations!
You did it, and more likely that you did it great! 
Good luck on your score and with other steps!
|
| keepgoing
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 76
Posts: 2,031
|
congrats on finishing exam .....relax!yes waiting and pray u come out of comatose soon...
all the best ancyclostoma for exam next week!!
___________________
"Deh Shiva Var Mohe Ahey ,Shubh Karman Te Kabhun Na Tarun ,Na Darun Arson Jab Jaye Laroon, Nischey Kar Apni Jeet Karoon"
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
thank you everybody
thank yu for all your support through this looooooon-looooooong journey (though i don't have a feeling that it's over).
well, where to start?
first of all, i didn't expect it to be SO NERVE WRECKING. i mean, i new it was important, but i thought i could pull it off. i had so many exams and tests in my life, that one more would not kill me, right? WRONG!!! i was a mess! i thought i was fine, i kep telling myself: you can do it, nothing is going to happened, you just come in and press few buttons, they say "thank you" and you go home.
and when i came in that building (in NYC) i was calm.. i mean i had few butterflyes in my stomach, but i was reasonably OK. and then i was asked ID (in lthe lobby downstairs, it's not center yet). hmmm... ID? what is ID and where do i have to pull it out? and that was it. there was 2 guards and one said to another something like: "look, she is tense" (rookie....like i was a terrorist or something) and another one goes: "no, it's not tension, she is nervous. sometimes they pass out" sounded like he new wat he was talking about that was the moment when i couldn't hold it anymore. i started crying...
based on that there goes my advise no.1: if you are not sure about your "cool"ness, don't risk it and take a chill-pill anything you can put your hand on, so you could sleep at night and keep your cool during the exam.
in the center: people are nice, friendly, exlain everything, no one was rude or anything like that.
you can't have calculators, watches, phones or anything that posess battaries (electronic stuff). you can't even have bottle of water. so be prepared for that.
here i would say, if you can't eat when you are nervouse (like i can't) few pieces of dark chocolate will save you. i had food with me and i could go and eat, but i was not physically able to, all i could put in me was chocolate and it saved my brain (sugar wise, because otherwise i still was nervous, and by brain was tight like a knot).
i had to sign in (literally, i had to put my signature in the journal) everytime i went in the room where i was taking a test and when i was leaving that room. if you need to take a brake you can stay in the room with no water, no watch or clock and take next fblock whenever you feel you are ready, but if you need to go to the bathroom or just step put of the room to take some water (that is in your locker) you have to sign out.
i had enough time for brakes, but it were very short ones, my longest was like 15 minutes ones, 10 minutes the rest were like 2, 5, in this timeframe. at the end of the day i had like 7 minutes left of it.. and it's with extra minutes i had from the blocks.
there goes my advise no.2: take as much time as you think you need to take bathroom brake, take somewater or do something very quick, because at the end there is not much time left. time disappears and i can't tell you where or when, but it does. if you can make brake shorter, do it, especialy in the beginning.
exam itself. well, somebody said that questions are unique...true. you didn't see those questions in UW or KQB or anywhere else (uless you are a hacker) and if a had to compare i would say UW is closer
they tested little bit of everythingon my exam, i can't even tell you what was heavily tested and wat was not...EVERYTHING.
i didn't have "easy" or "difficult" blocks...all blocks were equally DIFFICULT for me
and one of the factors i think i the length of the stem. IT WAS LONG. 70% of questions were 5 lines and more. if i had short one, it felt like early Christmas.
lots of graphs and pics (CT, Xr). as for graphs, none of them i saw before, not in FA, not in Kaplan or UW.
another obstacle for me was UNDERSTANDING the questions. I remember UW or other Q-banks, questions worded very clear, all you have to do is pull information from your head and the only chance you miss the question it's if you don't read it of don't have information in your head. on the exam sometimes i had a feeling i was taking some phylology test... i could not understand what i was asked for. some sentences were 3-4 lines long and by the end of it i was so confused that i had to read it again and again...
i felt like i was mentally challenged
5-7 questions per block were straight forward, nothing fancy.
even those i consider difficult, there were not that i never heard of or unresonably, what i call "multileveled"
i just confirmed it for myself - to take this exam it's not enogh just have information in the brain, it's a combination of small and not very small factors that make it a successful experience.
AMGs live in it and they know what they are facing (not to mention language). that is why there is such a high level of test scores among them and that is why they are more welcomed than us (besides the poin that we are "invaders" and "take their jobs").
i don't want to be perceived as somewone who dislikes AMGs or IMGs or anybody for that matter. i just want you to understand that reading textbooks is not all. much more has to be done in order to succeed.
there are many IMGs who have 99s and say it was piece of cake, or don't say it and have 99s...i take my hat off before you and now i can say that I KNOW how much hard work was put into it.
this test is not impossible for all of us, but every one of us will say something that never been said or experienced before. and it will be true, because this exam is not only test of your level of knowlege of besic sciense, it's more than that. and this "more" part is different from person to person.
and we all have to pull it off at some point. one question at a time
i wish you all keep your cool and great chunk of luck will fall into your laps given you are done with "hard work" part
|
| abdo
Forum Senior
Topics: 11
Posts: 136
|
well great "terrfying" experince ,it seems that the exam is tooo dfficult than i exppected but what about uw is it close or not i mean some ppl said that it si more harder than the actual test what do u think ??
did u take nbme ? and u think the test ios diffent in ideas or in difficulty of scenarios
finally i know u sufferned pschylogically from htis test but i m sure that u will beat it ! and i wish u could makeur experince a movie or somthing ..lol and make steven segal the main actor !!!
___________________
stupidity: the art of making locks instead of making keys
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
well, i didn;t mean to make it terrifying for me, it just what i had to experience and don't forget my level of anxiety, so my perception is little bit affected by it
UW is a great tool (screen looks the same)
seriousely, my exam was not easier that UW, i would say that information that was tested was exatly the same, but the way they put questions - i never had it before and it was very weired feeling - know the words, know whatthe stem is about and having concept in your head, but at the end i iad to re-read everythig all over again becase question itself didn't make sense to me.
NBME - part 1=very easy, you make mistake if you don't know something
part 2=reasonably harder, but still, if you know you'll get 75-80% correct easy and if you are strong in your concepts - more than that
didn't do other parts
actual exam made me feel....mentally challenged, like i missed a part of my brain that could help me understand. was it due to my nervousness? it's possible, but still, the way they ask questions, the way they put words together made questions harder for me
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
as for movie part..why do you think people would like to see my experience in the movie?
|
| sukhs
Forum Senior
Topics: 18
Posts: 194
|
congratulations babydoc for having done this test
its really a challenge and u hav taken it well
thanks a lot for the experiance u put in here
the way u put it ,i have never read those good points to take care of anywhere..
wish u a good score..
now i think its ur turn to hav some rest and fun..
___________________
Everyone works equally hard.....God alone decides the reward...
|
| keepgoing
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 76
Posts: 2,031
|
yes agree with sukhs...thanks for wonderful points and to take exam lil more serious...and now its time for u to rest and have some fun... wish u get gooood scores it ahs been seen more u panic more good result u get....pick any 99s experience....so keep ur spirit up...u will be fine...
but one question do u think those graphs and ct/mri u got in ur exam cud be answered easily or any good ref for them in particular...graph/ct/mri thingy is lil upseting
goodluck!
___________________
"Deh Shiva Var Mohe Ahey ,Shubh Karman Te Kabhun Na Tarun ,Na Darun Arson Jab Jaye Laroon, Nischey Kar Apni Jeet Karoon"
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
as soon as you orient yourself in that plot/graph it becomes clear what they are asking, but first you have to understand what you have infront of you: what's is X what is Y, relationships of parameters measured. take your time on that and it should be fine
CTs and Xr are pretty simple, nothing fancy
and thanks for your kind of words of support, it's helping
|
| abdo
Forum Senior
Topics: 11
Posts: 136
|
wel thanks for ur reply babydoc i wish u r now comfortable and enjoying ur time and for the movie i think it is a great experince
___________________
stupidity: the art of making locks instead of making keys
|
| new_n_lost
Forum Hero
Topics: 663
Posts: 6,107
|
Baby doc u have pointed out the most essential thing abt the exm: the level of performance under anxiety n stressed states. i have seen a very few experiences written on the forum which r honest n humane. I can truly understand ur feelings cos all of us though we may not admit it but we all either have or will go thru the same experience n the Best thing abt ur experience is that u had the presence of mind to know wht was going n u reacted according in a very short period of time like when to take breaks n all
Regarding the level of questions eloquently put. they know that we have studied most of the things n they r not going to stray away from the basics but they r coming up with a style that it makes it harder to comprehend n stay above them all(UW, Kaplan n RX ). Putting in summation from ur experience " U know most of the stuff just apply it to the situation presented ".
I believe u have done ur best n u will be rewarded for it. Surely!!!!
___________________
FORUM RULES-- Those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand. I get enough exercise just by pushing my luck --P4U World.." The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."
|
| me007
Forum Guru
Topics: 72
Posts: 799
|
Thank you for detailed story of your experience.
i think that no one, even those who got 99 didn't feel fo sure that they pass. They did oasis trick and they were happy to see red screen. You are not the only one who feel this way, some tension you will probably have until you'll get your results, but it is normal.
Wish you great score.
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
thank you, guys, it feels really so great to read your words of support these days thank you.
i just read new thread "My Experience" from another test-taker and it sounds just sooooooooo like me (escept the center problem part). that means that they really evolved in a way of making our life a bit harder
in any event,
thank you and good luck to you
|
| Luckyall
Forum Guru
Topics: 11
Posts: 593
|
You'll be fine, babydoc !
I know how you feel, be positive !
Best of luck for the next step !!!
|
| Valine
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 19
|
Congratulations and thanks for posting your exam experience. I am taking my exam next week.... your experience it's helpful but also scared me quite a bit.
When would be the latest possible date to take step 3 if participating on 2007 match? (looking for H1 visa)
Does it depend on each program?? I mean, if you match in a program and you do not have your step 3 score, it means your paper work will be delayed and just that?
|
| epica
|
Babydoc.
Congatul!!!! You did it. I am sure. You will get 99. Relax now. Thank you for your exp.
|
| Feyza
Forum Guru
Topics: 49
Posts: 1,435
|
heyy babydoc ! when I read such an post-exam story whose-ever it is...I just feel the way they must be feeling like at the time...u know...whatever the score is!! its over !! yay !! dont u feel so take advantage of this break as well as u can and Im really lookin fwd to hearing your score cuz I was like havin goose-bumps of horror all through my body when readin through it !
good luck in step 2...
___________________
O my Lord! Open my chest for me ( grant me self-confidence ) and ease my task for me.Ta-Ha 25-26.
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
thank you, thank you
well the dilemma is - i don't think that i passed the test, and at this point i am ready to grab any passing score and run
and i dont know if i should move to the next step already, or should i keep refreshing step 1 until i get my score
i am going insane and i know that what ever is coming i am going to bit myself up for wasting time and not reading...if i didn't pass i ahve to read step 1, if i did - step 2.
what should i do?
|
| me007
Forum Guru
Topics: 72
Posts: 799
|
i would say take a real break for a week or two, go some place, get distracted from this, than start reading step 2.
Your worrying will not help to your score.
Think positive, you are smart and you did great.
http://www.positivepause.com/
|
| babydoc4usmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 18
Posts: 634
|
you are a sweety well i do have something to concentrate on for now, and i'll follow your advise - dump USMLE for the next couple of weeks...it is what it is
thank you and good luck to you too
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
