Got my score a couple of days back, feel really happy
I haven't been a regular user on this forum, but have always read the exam experiences of other users, and found them really helpful and motivating. And so I thought that I should share my own experience as well.
First of all, I would like to tell you that the exam isn't as difficult as most of us think. The pressure of the exam is really huge, but the exam itself isn't quite as monstrous .
I am an IMG from Pakistan, graduate of 2009.
My duration of study--almost 7 months
STUDY MATERIALS I USED:
PHYSIOLOGY- Kaplan
BIOCHEMISTRY- Lippincott (great book)
ANATOMY- Read Kaplan once, then just did First Aid and UWorld explanations. Also did HY Neuroanatomy (highly recommended!!).
PATHOLOGY- Read Kaplan once. After that, I listened to Goljan's audio lectures and read his transcribed lecture notes twice. Also did Goljan's slides. That was more than enough for me.
PHARMACOLOGY- Kaplan
MICROBIOLOGY- First Aid and the summaries of important organisms given at the end of Levinson.
IMMUNOLOGY- First Aid,plus some topics from Levinson.
BEHAVIOR- Kaplan and Conrad Fischer's Medical Ethics book.
Kaplan video lectures- just used them for behavioral sciences and genetics.
I did all of UWorld twice and about 70% of Kaplan Qbank.
NBME 7, 10 days before the exam - 244
The actual exam is very much doable, seemed much easier than UWorld and even Qbank at times. I felt confused after the exam for a while, this definitely wasn't the exam that had been giving me nightmares for the past few weeks, lol. 50-60% of the questions were pretty straight-forward, and the remaining were mostly of moderate difficulty. Around 5-10% were tough, especially a few questions related to various molecular/laboratory techniques. Also got 3 multi-media questions.
The exam pattern itself is quite similar to the NBMEs and the Step 1 practice questions. There is sufficient time for all the blocks. I was able to complete most of them in about 50 minutes, and used the remaining time to revise the questions i had marked.
The main issue that i want to emphasize upon is the length of the exam. The exam is more a test of your nerves and stamina than anything else. The most important piece of advice i can give is to practice as many questions as you can while simulating the exam environment. Even more important is to get a good night's sleep before the exam. For those who study at nite like me,start adjusting your sleep cycle a couple of weeks before the exams. I used Zolpidem during the last week when i couldn't sleep,and also on the nite before the exam. Don't eat much during the exam. Also take along some energy drinks or coffee,whichever suits you, as one really tires out after the 4th or 5th block.
I haven't been a regular user on this forum, but have always read the exam experiences of other users, and found them really helpful and motivating. And so I thought that I should share my own experience as well.
First of all, I would like to tell you that the exam isn't as difficult as most of us think. The pressure of the exam is really huge, but the exam itself isn't quite as monstrous .
I am an IMG from Pakistan, graduate of 2009.
My duration of study--almost 7 months
STUDY MATERIALS I USED:
PHYSIOLOGY- Kaplan
BIOCHEMISTRY- Lippincott (great book)
ANATOMY- Read Kaplan once, then just did First Aid and UWorld explanations. Also did HY Neuroanatomy (highly recommended!!).
PATHOLOGY- Read Kaplan once. After that, I listened to Goljan's audio lectures and read his transcribed lecture notes twice. Also did Goljan's slides. That was more than enough for me.
PHARMACOLOGY- Kaplan
MICROBIOLOGY- First Aid and the summaries of important organisms given at the end of Levinson.
IMMUNOLOGY- First Aid,plus some topics from Levinson.
BEHAVIOR- Kaplan and Conrad Fischer's Medical Ethics book.
Kaplan video lectures- just used them for behavioral sciences and genetics.
I did all of UWorld twice and about 70% of Kaplan Qbank.
NBME 7, 10 days before the exam - 244
The actual exam is very much doable, seemed much easier than UWorld and even Qbank at times. I felt confused after the exam for a while, this definitely wasn't the exam that had been giving me nightmares for the past few weeks, lol. 50-60% of the questions were pretty straight-forward, and the remaining were mostly of moderate difficulty. Around 5-10% were tough, especially a few questions related to various molecular/laboratory techniques. Also got 3 multi-media questions.
The exam pattern itself is quite similar to the NBMEs and the Step 1 practice questions. There is sufficient time for all the blocks. I was able to complete most of them in about 50 minutes, and used the remaining time to revise the questions i had marked.
The main issue that i want to emphasize upon is the length of the exam. The exam is more a test of your nerves and stamina than anything else. The most important piece of advice i can give is to practice as many questions as you can while simulating the exam environment. Even more important is to get a good night's sleep before the exam. For those who study at nite like me,start adjusting your sleep cycle a couple of weeks before the exams. I used Zolpidem during the last week when i couldn't sleep,and also on the nite before the exam. Don't eat much during the exam. Also take along some energy drinks or coffee,whichever suits you, as one really tires out after the 4th or 5th block.
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