doc1981
Forum Senior
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Posts: 214
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Hello everybody,
I'm ecstatic! And thats an understatement. Got my score earlier today.. 233/96! Honestly, when I came out of the exam centre I thought I flunked it.
I would like to thank a bunch of people who helped me get here. Thanks for letting me pester you! Arlete - you truly are an inspiration! Thankyou so much for all the encouragement.
I would also like to thank Bullrunner, Rudolph, Sprint123, Khorshid, Eida, docfor99, sschool and Abinet. Thanks once again guys and all the very best for residency!
Would be glad to answer any questions.
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| oldkidontheblock
Forum Guru
Topics: 53
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Congrats!!!
I am four months away and just starting. Kindly can you tell about your study material and preparation experience. Thanks.
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Malcolm Forbes: Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat
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| smalley
Forum Elite
Topics: 52
Posts: 287
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congratulations
do share with us ur test prep and exp
enjoy 
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But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint-Isaiah 40:31
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| arlete
Intern in 2009!!!!!
Topics: 30
Posts: 2,227
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You're welcome.
Public congrats!
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| caduceus
Forum Guru
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congrats
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| Lim
Forum Elite
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congrats, excellent!!
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
| | 11/01/07 - 06:20 PM
2 of 2 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #7 |
Thankyou so much Arlete, oldkidontheblock, smalley, caduceus_indya and Lim. This forum is wonderful and has helped me a lot.
As for my preparation, I started studying in July. I wrote my exam on 11th October. So I had a little over three months. I started off with the Kaplan lectures. Did them for Medicine and OBGYN... and I thought they were alright. Nothing great but they helped put me back in exam mode. Did not like the surgery lectures so I abandoned them half way through. Did half of Paeds lectures and some topics from Psychiatry. I managed to get my hands on Goljan's step two series but unfortunately they're not that great. He focuses more on Acid/Base disorders and Endocrinology. So if those are your weak areas then go for it. The reason I started Goljan was because he was excellent for Step One.
For the tricky topics like arrythmias and their management I uploaded Conrad Fischer onto my ipod and viewed his lectures whenever I had free time so that definitely helped.
I read Kaplan notes for all five subjects and also did First Aid for CK in my spare time. But I've gotta admit, it's not even half as good as the edition for Step One. The subject that I read most was Medicine, followed by Paeds and OBGYN. My weakest was Psych, especially statistics!
While reading the notes I was also doing usmleworld. And looking back, I think usmleworld is an awesome question bank. The questions are very similiar to what you'd find on the real exam, in terms of content, length of question stem, the way questions are framed etc. So my advice to all those studying for CK - DO usmleworld!!! My average was 65 percent and I did mixed, timed blocks.
I also took up Kaplan Qbank but didn't bother to renew it after getting through 70 percent of it. I would not recommend it. Didn't help me at all. But this is my personal opinion... if you'd like to practice questions then go ahead and try it out. My cumulative on kaplan qbank was 69 percent. I freaked out at first because I thought it should be in the 70's but then a few people told me Kaplan has added newer, harder questions (which do not reflect the type of questions on the real exam).
I also did questions from Qbook. I feel the key to getting a high score on this exam is practicing questions. And do NOT panic. Easier said than done, but trust me... as long as you've read Kaplan notes, made notes from usmleworld and are doing questions in mixed, timed mode you'll do great!
Honestly speaking I found studying for Step one easier (compared to CK) but it was more time consuming. I also did NBME Forms one and two. They are excellent predictors of your real score.
For the three months that I studied, I managed to waste time here and there... You want to do a thousand things before exams!!! So it wasn't like I was studying 14 hours a day, seven days a week!
Questions on the real exam are not out of this world. They're similiar to usmleworld in content and style. You will not get something totally out of the blue so don't worry.
I would suggest jotting down a few points from usmleworld for last minute revision. It certainly helped me. I hope this helps. Would be happy to answer anymore questions!
Good luck to everyone studying for CK!!!! You can do it. Believe in yourself and have faith. It's all up there somewhere.... you'll be able to get the info out on exam day.. so no stress!!!
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| drvbasic
Forum Newbie
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Congrats...what was the break up of test by topic...how much int. med, peds obgyn etc.
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| ing
Forum Guru
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Congratulations!! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. All the best to you!
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
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Thanks drvabasic and ing!
The breakup on the real exam? Well, It's mostly Medicine, followed equally by Paeds and OBGYN. Surgery is mostly related to trauma/accidents. I didn't get a lot of Psych questions. That was good for me since it was my weakest subject.
And contrary to some of the posts that I've read here, I didn't get any enormously long questions. The length of the question stem was just like usmleworld. There were some two/three liners as well!
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| supra
Forum Elite
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Posts: 360
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CONGRATS DOC1981,lovely score,time 2 celebrate
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| bhanusupriya
Forum Elite
Topics: 6
Posts: 438
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congrats doc1981.a very nice,inspiring,stress relaxing post.thank you very much for the
info.
good luck in all your future endeavours
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| bhanusupriya
Forum Elite
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a small doubt if u don't mind....how much did u score in nbme exams?
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| njcjzy
Forum Guru
Topics: 17
Posts: 711
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Congratulations for getting step 2 done with a very nice score. GL with your future endeavors.
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
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Thankyou so much supra, bhanusupriya and njcjzy!! I wish you all the very best for the MLEs.
As for the scores on NBME, I got 600 on Form One and 570 on Form Two. Based on what I've heard and the score that I got, I think form two is the best predictor of your real score.
One piece of advice... do NOT write these exams without doing atleast one of the forms (For step one and CK). There's so much competition these days that you've gotta know how well you've prepared for the real exam before writing it.
All the best guys! Show the boards who's boss! You can do it!!
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
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Based on my experience, the last three-four weeks are crucial before CK. Study hard and do questions everyday. Mixed, timed mode is ideal. A little stress is ok but don't have a nervous breakdown. You've got all the info... it'll come out on exam day!!
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| multifactorial
Forum Guru
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hey congrats doc1981.knew you would ace it.all the best for the future.
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
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Thanks multifactorial! I just read that you passed CS! Congratulations to you too! Give me a buzz if you need help with CK... Good luck! Hang in there.. you'll ace it!
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| MRMAVERICK
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congrats doc
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| veroni14
Forum Senior
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congrats
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
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Thanks a lot Mrmaverick and Veroni14! All the very best to you guys!
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| bullrunner
Forum Senior
Topics: 23
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knew you could do it. now it's time to celebrate. congrats on the score. best of luck with the rest.
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| USMLEGladiator
Forum Guru
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congrats
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scores are just up to how high we aim and of course the amount of effort and time we put into it
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| USMLEGladiator
Forum Guru
Topics: 120
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how many UW Qs u did daily?were u studying notes side by side.Is it OK to do UW during first kap reading?any sugestions.thanks
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scores are just up to how high we aim and of course the amount of effort and time we put into it
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| doc1981
Forum Senior
Topics: 12
Posts: 214
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Thanks Bullrunner - you were the first person to predict my score at a time when I was totally freaking out!!!
USMLEGladiator - I started doing usmleworld questions as soon as I finished Internal Medicine from Kaplan. I started with one block of 47 questions in mixed, timed mode but was soon doing two blocks everyday and then three-four towards the end. Don't panic if you get low scores on the first few tests - thats normal.
Yeah, I jotted down points from usmleworld and read them a few days before the exam. It really helped me. Botttomline for Step One and CK is... practice as many questions as you can! Thats how you'll get a feel for the type of questions asked on the real exam. Good luck!
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