eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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Just got back.Finally took it after rescheduling it ......times
I'm still woozy.
I don't mean to sound negative or frighten future test takers but I think I'm one of those unlucky people who got a weird exam.
Nothing dominated.I was tested EVERYWHERE and in ALL POSSIBLE MANNERS.it was like they were bent on seeing how much I knew.
ATYPICAL presentations of a lot of things.
Long questions with long labs and unfair choices.i mean,you could narrow the answer down to 2 most times.
and NO TIME.U spend the entire 72secs reading and understanding the qn.
I am so sad.I thought step 1 was bad.this is the bomb.
easier concepts than step 1 but TRICKY! WICKED! LONG QNS!
i was praying that my exam would go like some that i read on this forum i.e fewer lines and UW-like.No way.Everything was shrouded in mystery and i struggled to finish most blocks and didn't even finish some.and certainly harder than UW.I mean it!
Maybe i'm dumb or slow............i don't even know...........
Good night.will post my detailed experience later.i'm going to see a movie.
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| veroni14
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 133
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Hey Eida, thank you for sharing with us
I hope it turns out good for you.
Best of lucks
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| gordon
Forum Newbie
Topics: 5
Posts: 27
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Many people have the same feeling, but finally with high score! You will be one of them. Good luck!
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| dermatology
Forum Elite
Topics: 30
Posts: 293
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hey eida !!!! dont worry every one feels same after exams .... u will do well ... now just enjoy ur movie dont think of exams and questions .... u have done ur part of giving exam ...
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| GOGETA
I'm Dr. GOGETA
Topics: 299
Posts: 2,637
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uw is more easy?
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As a general rule, the better it felt when you said it, the more trouble it's going to get you into.
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 206
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Hey Eida.. All the very best for your score!! Am sure you did great. Try not to think about it.. you'll endup with an awesome score!
But I've gotta tell you... your experience has freaked me out a bit. I'm supposed to write CK in a few weeks from now.. 
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| neuroblastoma
Forum Guru
Topics: 99
Posts: 1,011
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goodluck for the results.
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| eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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Hey guys!
Thanks 4 all the support.
Didn't mean to scare u.I am still in shock bc i didn't expect this.It's not a matter of how much u know or read bc everything u know,they'll tell u in the qn stem from diagnosis to treatment,then the qn is what next to do if the px doesn't respond to all the interventions known to man.
of course,there are some easy qns but they are in the minority.
In my opinion, UW is hard too but in a different way,UW tests a lot of rare diseases that the exam didn't test.and i was getting 60s and ocassiona; 70s in UW suprisingly.
The exam tested common things in a twisted way e.g a px with gout but presented with wrist pain instead of the great toe ; or abruptio placenta without pain.
and 2 other differences.
Exam qns are much longer and the options are vague i.e 2 or 3 answers can easily be correct e.g px with PROM, complications cld be cord prolapse or abruptio and they were both options and chorioamnionitis wasn't an option. Most times, what u know as the answer is not even on the list.
also, a lot of qns that u either know or don't know e.g strongest risk factor in a lot of diseases were tested.
Sadly, a lot of mean qns i got, i can't even find the answers in the txtbks bc they are mostly applied qns that i feel only residents can confidently answer or someone with a lot of USCE.
and strangely too,i got lots of uutrasonograms of pregnant women with pathologies e.g fetus with omphalocele
I think the most impt tip i can give u is to be fast bc time was my biggest problem.If the qns were shorter, u cld reason some out.
But lots of qns definitely were from Mars.
Just do ur best and PRAY.Some ppl are luckier and get easier exams.or maybe I'm not smart enough.
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| Justice
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 100
Posts: 1,893
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Hey Eida,
I am sorry about your experience... We took our exams at pretty much the same time, but got slightly different experiences... Well, if you could bring your options down to two most favorable, then for sure you did right choice by marking the best one... Old people say that intuition works better than the knowledge, so lets believe you are tired because your intuition got really exhausted... I am sure you will get high score...
GL
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| Justice
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 100
Posts: 1,893
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As for weird Qs, I do remember one, and I still don't know the answer:
what is the mech-m of incontinence in normal pressure hydrocephalus? Any ideas?
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Don't live in a town where there are no doctors
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| neopulsar
Forum Senior
Topics: 13
Posts: 82
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i remember reading the mechanism of incontinence in normal pressure hydrocephalus somewhere in uw explanation of step 1 qbank..cannot remember exactly but it was something like this; tracts from cerebral cortex, that inhibit sacral micturition center is stretched(?) by dilated ventricles leading to uninhibited micturition.....was it there as one of the options?
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| veroni14
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 133
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yes, I remember reading an explanation like that for normal pressure hydrocephalus, but in kaplan Qbank
I had this in my notes: Clinical symptoms result from distortion of the central portion of the corona radiata by the distended ventricles. This includes the sacral motor fibers that innervate the legs and the bladder, thus explaining the abnormal gait and incontinence.
Edited by veroni14 on 09/18/07 - 10:23 AM
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| eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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If i failed this type of qn,i wouldn't even be bothered so much.What pisses me off is when you ask me qns that only someone who has a lot of experience can answer.
i mean,i am not a radiologist nor an obstetrician and you want me to make a diagnosis of PCOS in a pregnant woman based on her U/S.
I mean,at my level,I know it causes infertility so i am even surprised to see a pregnant woman with PCOS and then u show me an U/S with the baby and the "pearl of strings" and ask me what other complications she can have.Ok,this was even one of the easier ones coz i managed to recognize the strings and the qn stem gave it away , but how mean is that.Some were more bizarre than ds and i stared at the qn and never came up with an answer.
and all this in 60mins per block.
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| kinzo
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 3
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hi eida, i took my exam on my 29th of sept and i feel like i can relate to you. i went into the exam feeling comfortable cos my usmle world score per block(unused timed random) was between 58% and 68% which theoretically is good enough and a lot of questions there were doable even if i cudnt answer them.BUT ON THE EXAM it was a totally different story, the questions were totally indirect with practically no information, they were either too long or too short. i guess we can only hope and pray for the best
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| donjuan
Forum Junior
Topics: 9
Posts: 68
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Hi Eida and Kinzo, i took my exam on the 28th 2 days ago and i came out dazzled the exam so so tough, i was narrowing down everything to like 2 or 3 and then i was not sure what they were looking for as all the answers were correct.They were asking like the third line treatment for some stuff, as Eida said they were telling you all the diseases the test that were already done and the treatments already given then they wanted the third best treatment or test.It was really weird.
I was doing alright on my usmle world questions finished with a 65% overall but now i have no idea how i did or even if i passed and to make matters worse my freaking computer crashed during my third block and it took them 10mins to get it back up, boy was that nerve wrecking.I am wondering if i should call the ecfmg and complain?Any advice would be really appreciated.
Another thing that i might mention, it seems we are all getting like real hard exams this month for some odd reason that means the curve wont be to high to pass hopefully.
Good Luck to every1 will keep my fingers crossed for now.
TC
Laters
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| jaide
say wat!~
Topics: 18
Posts: 538
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oh wow..... u guys seem to have the kind of mind boggling exp i did.. except mine was step1...
i wish u al the very best..donjuan and kinzo.. we will all b updated around the same time... hopefully it will b gud news for all of us...
eida...best of luck1
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| eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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thanks for all the well wishing.
it's somehow comforting to know that i'm not alone in this.
i'm hoping to get my score report this wednesday.
Who knows??
Good luck to u guys too.
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| alexaE
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 334
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eida, i had the same feelings after my exam i walked out of there wondering "what exactly was that?!"... but then, whats done is done we each do our best on the test day so believe that you did and have a fun time for a change. i was almost sure that i wouldnt even pass, but after three weeks of waiting, i received my result and to my surprise was much higher than expected
so dont worry. im sure you and all the rest did just fine. remember one thing, if you thought it was hard, others found it hard too. They dont compare you to the question-writers, but to people who are just like you. maybe more so than our knowledge, they want to test our intuition and how well we cope under pressure.
good luck to all of you and to me too..
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veni vidi...vincam
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| eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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Really?
Ok!
Thanks.I hope i rejoice like u.
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| Ozymandias
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 6
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Sat for the exam on Oct 4th... have to agree w you guys... it was a weird, weird exam, with some blocks devoted to every odd metabolic and genetic disease you can possibly think of!! I was a little disappointed that there wasnt more bread-and-butter UW type questions... I hate the items where I was left with 2 or 3 choices, and couldnt choose! Ridiculous.
I am so depressed after walking out of that test.. during the exam I was so down at some points that I made colossal mistakes (like not remembering even a simple thing like claw hand). When I got home I was inconsolable. Now I'm halfway into a bottle of wine and feel a bit better Dont bother asking the CAGE questions, I'm positive at this point!!
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| Ozymandias
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 6
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I'm starting a study plan during this weekend, just in case the worst comes true at least I'll be a bit more ready for the second time around. Will I still get a match if I fail the Step 2 at this point in the process?? Argh.
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| donjuan
Forum Junior
Topics: 9
Posts: 68
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Dude i feel u.ozy
yeah i have already started studying for it sort off if i fail that way atleast you will be in touch with some stuff when the result comes out.Start with your weakest subject.Thats what i am doing.
I myself made 10 easy mistakes that i should have got and would have got if i did not loose my concentration but i suppose it happens to every1.
I hope we all pass and if we do some extra reading is no harm.
So where did you take the test?
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| Ozymandias
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 6
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Hey donjuan,
Thanks for the support it's good to at least know I didn't have a uniquely difficult experience... but like you said I hope the "curve" or whatever it is they use to grade the test comes out in our favor... at this point I am almost finished with rotations and just wanna get into any IM residency, even in the boonies at some community program... so I am hoping against hope for a pass at least...
I took the test in Orange County, CA where I took my Step 1. Back in NYC now finishing a sub-i and trying to study the ol' Kaplan notes again. You are right, a little extra reading has no harm and meanwhile we can hope for the best. My concern at this point is even making the match if I fail. Crap.
Talked to a few other ppl who took the test and got very similar responses re: difficulty. They have definitely made this test harder than in the months before it seems...
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| eida
Forum Senior
Topics: 15
Posts: 112
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Guys,
You are scaring the shit out of me.
You can actually count the number of questions you missed and you are already studying for a retake.I lost count of mine and didn't even finish about 3 blocks.
I am HOPING I don't have to go through this again.Even a 75 will do.
I hope i get a good score tomorrow.
Will keep u posted.
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| veroni14
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 133
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Best of lucks eida
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