Took the exam last Friday

[homeobox]

I want to thank all doctors on this forum, who post and discuss mind stimulating questions, post experience, provide guidance, help and comfort to others.
I want to say special thanks to LUCK, Dequ, Tommyk.
Luck, you are so supportive, thank you very much for your advice, encouragement, prayers....Dequ, thank you very much for your last minute advice, reassurance and best wishes. Tommyk, thank you very much for your good sleep advice before the exam.

I took the exam last Friday. I think I did it badly and felt depressed. I didn¡¯t manage time well and almost run out of time at the end of each block and had to click some questions in 20sec. The question format is similar to USMLE CD and NBME tests, though I felt it is harder. About 10% of the questions are easy straight-forward. The rest all need some thinking.
A great deal of the questions are in an experimental form (on human or mice) w or w/o graphs. Physiology, pharmacology, micro&immunology, cell and molecular biology all have this kind of questions. Most of those questions are doable after applying concept, but some took me time to solve and I am not sure of my answers. I can¡¯t even remember what those questions were testing about.

The questions I got are approximately in the following descending order:
physiology, pathology, pharmacology, immunology, cell&molecular biology, micro, anatomy,behavior, biochemistry,biostatistics.
Physiology, GI, acid base, renal, endocrine, cardio, cell physiology are all tested. A few arrow up and down are simple. No calculation. Pathology questions have a lot path slides and gross pictures, CXR,CT along with the history. Most I can make the diagnosis by case history alone. In 2-3 path questions, just the picture and not much history is given and I guessed the answers. Most questions are 2-3 step questions, you need to make diagnosis first and know the mechanism of the disease and even next step handling. Micro, bug identification, treatment, some general bacteriology questions. Immuno questions are tough to me, I made educated guess on some of them. Pharmacology, some simple side effect questions, some simple mode of action questions, then experiments about drugs and graphs. Molecular&cell biology and Genetics. 1 simple pedigree, 1 simple inheritance questions, most molecular questions were ok after reading kaplan. A few hard genetics and cell biology questions I had no clue. Behavior sciences are doctor-patient relationships, questions are shorter and options are fewer than Q bank behavior questions. Biostatistics questions are few and simple. No complicate calculation. I had about 10 general anatomy and neuroanatomy questions, 2 histology questions, 3 embryology questions.

It seems that my exam tested heavily on my unfamiliar area. All those HY areas I spent lots of time weren¡¯t tested much in my exam. I didn¡¯t get any repeat question from usmle CD/NBME tests or forum HY questions.

The books I used are First aid, grade A books and Kaplan notes, HY series, UCV series, NMS genetics.
The questions I used: Blackwell(75%), Q bank(75%), Q book, BSS, Robbins pathology, pretests, Kaplan simulated exam(78%), NBME tests, USMLE sample CD.

I don¡¯t know if I pass or not. I clicked many answers in rush and I am not sure about many answers. Good luck to all of you.

[intern_doc]

Homeobox,

I know how it feels cuzz I took mine last year and did not make it. I will take it again soon probably in 1 month. Anyway, Dont worry, Relax, take a couple of weeks to celebrate. You will be allright.

One question though, What book would you advise on IMMUNO ? I also got killed in that subject on mine exam.

Wish you the best of luck on your score.

SleepWalk

[homeobox]

Hi sleepwalk, Thank you for your comforting words and best wishes.
Immunology, I read Levinson’s Medical Immunology and Kaplan immunology. I think Kaplan immunology is good if you understand all its content.
I used Levinson immunology to help me understanding. Since you have 1 month away, I recommend that you stick to First aid and Kaplan immunology. Try to understand its major concept. There are always some crazy immunology questions which can’t be found in any books. Those qustions drove me nut during my exam. Stay calm when you saw those questions. The bulk of exam is still physiology and pathology, so don't ignore those two areas.
If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Wish you best luck in your exam.

[currentstudent]

Originally Posted by intern_doc

Homeobox,

I know how it feels cuzz I took mine last year and did not make it. I will take it again soon probably in 1 month. Anyway, Dont worry, Relax, take a couple of weeks to celebrate. You will be allright.

One question though, What book would you advise on IMMUNO ? I also got killed in that subject on mine exam.

Wish you the best of luck on your score.

SleepWalk

Well Mr. Intern-doc......it looks like YOU MAY NOT MAKE IT. YOU FAILED USMLE STEP 1. DONT you be telling us who have PASSED that we will not make it. It seems to me that I am already alot further than you! Intern-doc clearly you are projecting your issues on to anotherstudent, sean, and myself. You actually believe YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT! I actually feel kinda bad for you. Let me know if you need any tips for Step 1!------hahahahaha NOT-------your on your own budday-------thats what you get for bein such an ***!