IMG SURVIVOR
05-24-2007, 01:34 PM
Many many friendly words are coming to me to clarify my "scary" post on the USMLE Step 1. I wish to put to rest any possible confusion. What I really do not like about the USMLE Step 1 is the apparent variation different test takers face.
For instance, some told me they loved HY Goljian notes/audio and some only found it BARELY useful. Same as Q Bank. Some thought it helped them SO SO much, and others who felt they got a test full of transgenic mice and cell biology did poorly with Q-Bank (which stresses Pathophysiology).
The point I am making even applies to First Aid. As some of you and others of my students said, DO NOT OVERESTIMATE OR UNDERESTIMATE First Aid. Some said they got like a large percentage of their test covering First Aid, and others said they recalled almost NOTHING in First Aid on their test.
That is why I really feel there is a "luck" element in the Step 1 which I do not particularly like. Long ago, before computers, the tests were all taken on the SAME day, like twice a year for TWO days. There were a lot more short answer specific questions.
But today, because of the computer led variation, you have no idea what version out of an infinite set of possibilites you will receive.
So please remain hopeful. I do not mean to make anyone feel bad or hopeless. YOU MAY GET LUCKY like my friend in Radiology did! You may get a version of the test that addresses your STRONG points. Maybe you worked in an IMMUNO lab and your test is mostly IMMUNO. Or maybe your part time job was with a pathologist, and your test looks a lot like Robbin's Review of Pathology. OR, like one of the previous test takers, your previous career was a CHIROPRACTOR, and your test was filled up with ANATOMY. That DOES happen, but the problem is we all have no control over it. And that is why I think the test is "not perfect". If you failed long time ago, you know that basically everyone in the country taking the test that day also faced similar questions. But TODAY, if you GOT some WEIRDO set of questions (like a series of Radiographs), a block of Molecular Bio or Embryo which you totally did NOT study, and if you failed, that is not exactly fair because you knew SO much say Pharmacology and your test score did not and can not reflect that. Maybe the answer is to make SURE that all the topics are covered in a broader test that encompasses TWO days and more questions....I dunno. Any thoughts on my feeling bad about people struggling?
For instance, some told me they loved HY Goljian notes/audio and some only found it BARELY useful. Same as Q Bank. Some thought it helped them SO SO much, and others who felt they got a test full of transgenic mice and cell biology did poorly with Q-Bank (which stresses Pathophysiology).
The point I am making even applies to First Aid. As some of you and others of my students said, DO NOT OVERESTIMATE OR UNDERESTIMATE First Aid. Some said they got like a large percentage of their test covering First Aid, and others said they recalled almost NOTHING in First Aid on their test.
That is why I really feel there is a "luck" element in the Step 1 which I do not particularly like. Long ago, before computers, the tests were all taken on the SAME day, like twice a year for TWO days. There were a lot more short answer specific questions.
But today, because of the computer led variation, you have no idea what version out of an infinite set of possibilites you will receive.
So please remain hopeful. I do not mean to make anyone feel bad or hopeless. YOU MAY GET LUCKY like my friend in Radiology did! You may get a version of the test that addresses your STRONG points. Maybe you worked in an IMMUNO lab and your test is mostly IMMUNO. Or maybe your part time job was with a pathologist, and your test looks a lot like Robbin's Review of Pathology. OR, like one of the previous test takers, your previous career was a CHIROPRACTOR, and your test was filled up with ANATOMY. That DOES happen, but the problem is we all have no control over it. And that is why I think the test is "not perfect". If you failed long time ago, you know that basically everyone in the country taking the test that day also faced similar questions. But TODAY, if you GOT some WEIRDO set of questions (like a series of Radiographs), a block of Molecular Bio or Embryo which you totally did NOT study, and if you failed, that is not exactly fair because you knew SO much say Pharmacology and your test score did not and can not reflect that. Maybe the answer is to make SURE that all the topics are covered in a broader test that encompasses TWO days and more questions....I dunno. Any thoughts on my feeling bad about people struggling?