johnnyu041
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 48
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woohoo i just finished taking my Step 1 today!! anyways i figured i should write down my thoughts before i start forgetting...overall id say the exam was pretty fair. it wasnt incredibly hard, but it wasnt incredibly easy either. most of my exam was patho as expected but there was a lot of micro as well. from behavioral mostly ethics, with a few questions on biostats. from pharm i remember getting a lot of questions where they would want mech of actions, especially for antibiotics. lots of neuroanatomy questions, mostly cut sections of brain stem. there wasnt too much from biochem, or genetics either. oh yea and i didnt really get that many ct/mri's, as for the gross/micro pics, i mostly got the answer from the question stem and didnt really need the picture. everyone was right, this exam tests concepts, not really obscure facts so make sure you got the basics for everything down cold. thanks to everyone who have been writing down their own expieriences they really helped me as i prepared for this exam......oh and thanks especially to girl^interupted i read your post this morning before i went to take mine and it really gave me a confidence boost so thanks for that! id be happy to answer any specific questions you guys have about my prep or whatever so feel free to ask...lata!!
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| mytime
Go Marching in!
Topics: 40
Posts: 3,177
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 YO
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| new_n_lost
Forum Hero
Topics: 663
Posts: 6,107
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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."
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| hedieh
Forum Guru
Topics: 47
Posts: 435
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congrajulations! hope u get a high score!
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Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.
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| Omair
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Hey Johnny, first of all congrats on getting the pressure off. I hope to be in the same boat in two days. However, I'm feeling very nervous about my preparedness for the test. I took the NBME form 3 a few days back and got a poor score of 410. I passed, technically, but thats not what I'm aiming for.
I've also been doing questions from UW, but some of them seem very far fetched and they somtimes bring in strange situations (primary pulmonary hypertension). Not doing so hot on those either. The only problem is that I have the test scheduled for tuesday and if I postpone it, I honestly wont have the time to study for it until after the deadline. I'm still in my 3rd year of med school and have actually taken a break from rotations to study for the test, I thought 1 month was enough, but I seem to be mistaken.
Now I have two days left to review everything I have to (I've looked over everything once or twice, but some stuff just wont stick).
So here's the question. Based on your test, can you tell me like 5 specific things I should concentrate on (please dont say "Microbiology" but rather a certain area of microbiology). Based on your review from above, I already reviewed my antibiotics and antiviral information. What do you mean by brain stem cross sections? What would they be asking about the brain STEM? My neuroanatomy is terrible, but I have been improving it for the last few days. I'm freaking out! Please help 
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| new_n_lost
Forum Hero
Topics: 663
Posts: 6,107
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Buddy This Test is Highly Unpredictable there is no one on Earth who cAn predict teh No of Topics u r going to have on ur particular exm on that particular day. I mean Cmon Bro think very hard U r still in Ur med School 1 mnth isnt going to be enuf u have to take the time to get thru Stuff. U Shud know things on Reflex Actions. U see something n immediately u know where the quyestion is headed but if u r not sure abt it then i wud Sincerely n seriously advise u to Rethink ur strategy. A Score of 410 is not good enuf if u r think ing that u will waste money buddy a Failed report is far worse then Money wasted n if u r worried abt time factor or pressure from the College then Seriously Plan Ahead Cover things well in hand just before a Exm a take Months Break then go for the Exm.
No one in their right minds will advise u to go ahead in the situation u r feeling. Take a breather n assess urself otherwise postpone it n give it later
My 2 cents
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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."
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| johnnyu041
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 48
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hey omair i agree wit new_and_lost, this is not the exam that you want to study selected items for. take the step 1 when you are ready for it, not just because you are running out of time...we only get one shot at passing this thing with a good grade. and most of us take a few months to prepare, not just one...thats definatly not enough time to go through both the material and the qbanks adequatly.....seriously bro if your feeling this bad now you should just try and take it again later when you have the time to study more for it....trust me you'll thank us! anyways just to clarify most of my micro was from bacteriology(Listeria, Staph, Strep, Pneumococcus, H. pylori) from the rest the questions i remember were about Blastomycosis, T. cruzi(causing achalsia as a complication), P. jeroveci, Hep B, Parvovirus. by "brain stem cross sections" i meant they would give a pic of either midbrain, pons or medulla, point to something and then ask what a lesion there would produce. hope that helps man good luck.
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| new_n_lost
Forum Hero
Topics: 663
Posts: 6,107
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P. jeroveci = P. Carnii New Name
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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."
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| Omair
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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Thanks a lot for your posts guys, actually, i should have clarified a little bit. I actually studied for step 1 for about 3 months between oct and jan as I was scheduled to take it in january. I did the kaplan qbank, not all but some of it. Unfortunately, I ran into some problems with the exam registration (school seal apparently didnt cover my picture AND the paper) so I did not get the time frame I wanted.
After that, I had to start my rotations in January, which I did, and then I took march off for studying again for this april test. This time I did UW. Now the problem is, the kaplan qbank was pretty easy for me, the UW qbank continues to stump me and I think its takin a large toll on my confidence. As for the NBME, I was running into internet problems while takin it so I may not have been my most attentive.. Im gonna take it again tomorrow and see if I score higher on another form. I looked up prometric and they will not allow me to cancel the exam date. I can call them on Monday, but I believe that the cancellation charge then is about 300 bux. Its not that Im not wholly unprepared. I actually knew all of the topics you mentioned in Micro. My main mistake is that I keep messing up pathophysiology questions, mostly becuz i jump to quick at the answer (if I do this in tutor mode, I can always explain why the answer they corrected me with is right, i just dont realize it until after the fact, AHHHH!) I also neglected Neuroanatomy, but i just finished up on the spinal cord and brain anatomy. As long as they dont focus on the exact tracking of each cranial nerve, I shouldnt have a problem. Ive figured out most of the lesions and blood supply. But brain stem? I still dont get it, Are they going to be asking about respiratory control centers and such? On a cross section? I'll have to read it in kaplans notes.
I really dont think I have a choice in this matter, all I can do is hope i do well. I know I'll pass, its just that I'm not sure by how much. I'm spending tomorrow taking another NBME and then filling in every gap I can think of. I'll attempt to contact prometric on monday and try to cancel, but if it doesnt happen, im just gonna man up.....
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