CAN DR. N give a study to prove his point of view of black MONDAY

please tell me that is a joke about having 3 shelf exams in one day
it was hard enough just sitting through one of those darn things.

if you have to take three in one day, at least petition the nbme to change the type of paper they print those things on. i feel like im looking into a mirror when im tried to read a question or look at a pic. the paper drove me nuts more than anything. .

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Dr. Scott
Internal Medicine
PGY-1 in July 2008

No study is needed when you are the dean. 3 shelf exams are hard, but it is not excessive. In undergrad we could not defer final exams if we only had 3, and yes each were on average 2-2.5 hr long. Step III is 2 days long, so get used to grueling testing.

There is plenty of time to prepare for cummulative shelf exams if you review all semester long.

If you are one of the people having a hard time balancing your time between masters, and med. you need to get your priorites straightened out. Medical school should be #1. If you can not handle the load then drop masters.

We should be glad the shelf is only worth 20%. If you can not pass the subject shelf you should not pass the course, no exceptions! If we want good board scores, and to be taken seriously in the US we need to go the extra mile. This is just an IMG fact of life.

I agree with you that if you can't pass the shelf you shouldn't be able to pass the course. But, these exams, just like any other exam, need to be prepared for. I've heard alot of people make the comment that if you studied the subject, you should be able to do well on the exam.. which is partially true. I'm sure if you studied hard all semester you could pass it fine, but probably won't do great(to your full potential) if you didn't have time to totally review everything you studied.

What I am saying is that these exams take a special kind of studying that is different than how you study for your exams throughout the semester. It's the same material of course, but you must study smarter and hit HY, board relevant material.. which requires time. I think if they were to give you like a week and a half or two weeks to prepare for 3 shelf exams, it would be doable. But, throwing them at the end of a semester all on the same day will probably cause people to not study at all and go on the whatever knowledge might be in there head, without reviewing anything.

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Director of Anatomy --
Skipper's Medical Univeristy of the Dutch West Indies--SMU-DWI

Speak for your self. You should put your best effort into all exams, and study from the text as that is the book these test come from. I am not sure why text books have become so passe.

Writing these test the same, or next day as your SMU test is not a big deal. If you prepare for the shelf you will be ready for any SMU test.