My long and detailed exam experience!

[Anonymous]

i've read many helpful exam experiences on this forum that i found helpful, so i will try to provide a detailed one to "pay it forward". If you find this in anyway helpful, please remember to do the same for others once you're done. And above all, thanks to God for giving me the strength to get through this difficult time. But also for giving me the opportunity to meet the very loving and caring people of this forum, for which I never would have made it without their support.

whew....what a long day. unfortunately, i'm a slow test taker and need the time to think out answers, especially with 2 and 3 step questions. i leterally used up all my time on every block without being able to go back to check any questions. for this reason, i would highly recommend working on time management before sitting for this exam.

as you probably already know, step 1 is 8 hours total. you will have 7 blocks of 50 questions each with 60 mins to complete each block. the extra hour is break time. but be warned that the 15 min tutorial in the beginning of the exam is part of the break time. so if you choose to do it, you really only have 45 mins for breaks in between blocks. my advice is to skip the tutorial by clicking "next" all the way through to the end (maybe just 2 mins wasted vs 15). you should already know the stuff in the tutorial well BEFORE exam day. it has things like how to navigate through blocks, how to take breaks, where to find normal labs. online qbank mimics this very well and you will know the exam format well if you did this first. if not, find a way to learn it beforehand because it would be a waste of time and energy to leave it till the big day.

another time saver is learning the normal labs cold. they have a button on screen that will take you to "normal lab values" and its again much like online qbank. my advice is to study those lab values a little every day so that you will not need to waste time looking it up during the exam.

every break requires signing in and out, and punching in your code to restart the exam. lets say 1 to 2 mins for that logistical stuff. So if you skipped the tutorial, you have about 50 mins of actual break time. Plan it out before hand so no surprises. I took a 5 min break, 10 min, 10 min, 7 min, 7 min, 3 min....but this last one was supposed to be longer. Notice less than 50 mins....this was poorly planned on my part. I didn't factor the final question which is part of your break time if you go over. For example, if exam time ends, the last question on the screen will still be on screen and will count as part of break time until you answer it. at the end of my exam, i spent an extra min or two a couple of times trying to think through the question. Since my brain was fried, it took me longer to figure out and cost me some break time. But I'm fairly sure I got those last ones correct, so maybe it was worth it. Fast test takers who have built endurance and praticed their timing with online qbank or something similar should not have this problem. I wish I spent more time on this in my prep and advise everyone to work on this to avoid my mistake.

Some people choose to go through 2 blocks at a time and take a long lunch. If that works for you, then great. I chose frequent breaks where I would snack each time to avoid digestive sleepiness. I would also drink potions of caffinated sodas during breaks to keep myself alert (not too much or else you get anxious).

Also, a good idea is to travel light to exam. They will provide a locker and that is where you will put everything like cell phone, pager, purse, books, etc. Whatever you dont need, leave home or in car. They will provide ear muffs or plugs for you. Good idea to take sweater or something in case its cold. But dress comfortable, especially if its warm.

Now to exam prep. I went through thousands of questions, mostly online qbank. i did kaplan webprep (most of it), used kaplan lecture notes, goljan lecture notes and audios, goljan high yield notes, first aid, and the valuemd online study group. i used other sources, but these were the main ones. i would have done a live course, but didnt have the money or time. the webprep was very good if used with kaplan lecture notes (the notes that it comes with are condensed). i scored between 70 and 86% on qbank averaging about 82%. I did them in blocks of 50, timed, in order to prepare for timing of exam.

I have never been part of a study group in med school, but I must say that the online study group here has really contributed to my prep. Coming up with questions for the chat really gives you an understanding of the concepts. The support is extremely useful and encouraging and I've made many friends for which I owe many thanks. I would typically listen to the kaplan webprep to prepare for whatever topic for the upcoming chats. this kept me on schedule (7 weeks) because i didnt want to let the study group down (great motivator to keep you on track). I would like to give my deepest thanks to each and every member of the study group. I would love to name names, but I'm afraid I might offend some people if I forget some, especially since the group has new users all the time. But I'm sure you all know who you are. I love you all and owe you all plenty for helping me through this. I hope I can repay you.

Goljan is the man!!! His high yields are an excellent review, but I would highly recommend his lectures and notes (combined....separated they are worthless). During the exam, I had flashbacks of Goljan saying, "they will ask it to you like this"....and he was right a bunch of times. Some might say he's cocky and arrogant, or whatever. But he really knows his stuff and helps you UNDERSTAND the processes. I know he'll never read this, but my thanks to Pappy

My advice is to select the material first (depending on what you can afford). I'd say a live course is probably the best option, if not maybe webprep. First Aid and qbank are a must. Goljan will give you the extra edge needed. A main study source like kaplan lecture notes is also important. Don't over extend the material. I feel it is more important to go over the less material over and over so that you know it very well, than to know lots of material, but not that well. The questions are complex, so knowing something just a little will get you nowhere.

Once you have the material, set up a strict schedule that you will keep. This of course depends on your time. Do not wait to finsih a subject before moving to the next because you will never finish the material that way. Stick to your schedule. After going over and completing something, leave room in the schedule to go over old material for reinforcement. So if you studied Micro last week and now on path, concentrate most of the time on path, but go over the micro from last week too. the following week you will go over micro, path, and whatever new subject. Also include doing questions EVERYDAY.

When do you start questions? Right away. You can start off doing blocks of 10, then 20, etc till you get to at least 50. Maybe even build to 100 to build endurance. Do not do tutorial mode. Answer the questions in your head before looking at the answer, then check to see if it's there. If it is, pick it and move on. There are many distractors that will confuse you if you try to "choose the answer" from the choices given. Do not look up the answers until you are done with the block. Then go over all answers, right or wrong. When you get something wrong, you will learn from it and get it right on the real exam. So dont feel bad during practice exam because it is part of learning.

Closer to the exam, increase the number of blocks to get yourself into the groove of the test. The last week should not be new material, instead should be questions mainly and reviewing the material you've already learned. Also, get used to the time. Go to bed at the time you will the day of the exam. Get up at the time you plan for the exam. Study during exam times so that your body will be used to this time. Do not take naps because then you will be sleepy during that time of the exam. This is a marathon and you need to prepare your body and mind.

The day before the exam...there is so much you still don't know....what do you do? RELAX.....do not study the day before the exam. I went a watched a movie, excercised, ate well, prayed and cleared my mind. I took a sleeping pill (experimented well before exam to make sure no adverse effects) and made sure to get a very good night of sleep Actually, according to webprep, very important to get good night sleep everynight of studying because most memory is set in during second half of the sleep cycle which is between 4 and 8 hours of the sleep cycle. So it doesn't make sense to study late at night and not sleep much because much of what you studyied will only be retained short term if you don't get a good night sleep.

Now the exam itself. I was surprised to see a decent number of 1 and 2 liner questions. But of course the rumors of the long clinical questions are also true. Only one question did not fit on my screen so I had to scroll to bottom (included diagram). Some questions had like a through i as choices, but most were 4 or 5 choices. The ones that had lots of choices dealt with things like phsiology where it might ask something like describing (symptoms) a pt with primary hyperparathyroidism and asking what lab values expected. So it would have every combo posible with PTH, Ca, and phospate (increase vs decreased for each of three). So you need to know the details because if you know the level of two, but not the third, you are still guessing. Think of the answer, then look for it. If you try to search for the answer before you think about it....you'll just confuse yourself.

There were quite a few pics and diagrams (maybe 30). But not in any particular subject. Some with pharm (ANS diagrams), some in Immuno (Ig structire), some in Path (table of labs for diagnosis), some in behavioral (sensitivity, specificity), etc.

Few calculations such as half life of drug, lung volumes, cardiac output, etc. Nothing major, but you need to know the formulas for important things. Kaplan provides the essential formulas needed.

Micro is essential, not because they will ask direct questions, but because it is part of the stem. For example, they might describe the symptoms of a pt and mention that it has a single or double standed DNA or RNA, etc. If you know the micro part, you can more easily arrive at the diagnosis. Others would describe the pts presentation and you would need to pick the micro description of the organism. So you would first need to know what dz, then know the description (DNA, RNA, etc). Since every combo is given in those choices, son't expect the choices to tip you off for the answer.

And don't let the "buzz words" alone fool you because they will try to punish those who read the first buzz word and then go for the answer. Read the entire question to make sure it is consistent with the buzz word first because I can guarentee that one of the options will match that distractor buzz word. Don't get frustrated when you're reading a question that describes a patient with something like Shigella, then the last line says "this patient has shigella, what is the tx?" They are trying to frustrate you so that you just read the last line on future questions. Don't fall for the trap. Read all the questions completely. This paragraph is basically from Dr. Dunn's (kaplan) review of test taking skills, but I found it helpful and true.

My overall impression was that it was a well written exam testing the ability of the test takers to truely understand the concepts and to integrate them together in a quick manner. If you don't know a concept well, you might miss a question even though you knew the other 3 things in the stem. And because it is timed, you don't have much time to think things thru and must be prepare for quick recall and integration. Its a long day, but will be much easier with proper preparation. It really isn't about the actual day, but the weeks, months, or even yrs leading up to that day.

By far this was the most difficult exam I've taken to date. But as difficult as it was, I found it doable if you prepared correctly. But of course I don't even have my results yet, so I might be totally wrong about it all. Therefore, you must do whatever works best for you since we are all at least a little bit different in some ways. Yet we all have a common goal, and in the words of my mentor, Tommyk, "it's great to be part of this loving family". So please help each other through this difficult time so that we can all make it through this difficult time TOGETHER. I have faith in you all and believe you will all do well. I just hope that you believe in yourselves because that is really what matters. For me, I relied on the support of my friends, family, online study group....and most importantly, my faith in God. But like I said, we are not all exactly alike, so you must find your own inspiration and never quit. Keep pounding away day by day, and before you know it, you'll be done and preparing for the next phase.

If you are religious, please pray for me to receive positive results . If you're not religious, a simple good luck wish is very much appreciated . But regardless, the many well-wishes from everyone so far has been greatly appreciated and was stuck in my mind throughout the exam. Thanks you all and best of luck to everyone one of you on a successful exam. You will continue to be in my thought and prayers

step 1

[Anonymous]

For such a wonderful and detailed experience

Definetely we will pray for you !

God will answer our prayers You will score above 98

We will miss you Please continue to inspire us...

Thank you so much and GOD BLESS YOU .KEEP ON PRAYERS

[Lorena]

I cannot thank you enough step1 for all your help, enthusiasm and generosity. You are a great inspiration for all of us and we will miss you very much.
You are in our prayers. God bless you

Please make us know when you have your results so we can celebrate for you wherever we are. Congratulations in advance!

love: Lorena

[akusmle]

Wow! that's perhaps the most detailed exam experience I've seen!Thanks for sharing and GL for your score-keep us posted...I think everyone here is gonna expect big things from you!

[Rahat3256]

hi step
i have no word to thank you...lately i cannot make to join with you guys in the session but i always read the transcript.i had some problem with my net. i have gone through everything you have written here. really so much inspiring for us. all of us here, who are preparing for the exam, are very much greatful to you for your support.....you did so mcuh good thing for us, you have provided a lot of inof for us all the time. Thank you so much for ur help. what else to say.....i really cant any word to thank you.....just to say you once again thank you.......wish you all the best wihit ur result....just let us know ur result & as lorena said, we all will celebrate ur result , where ever we are.......take care & bye...

[Damian]

If you don't get at least 96 I would send you $100 (just kidding) what I'm trying to tell you is that there is no douth that you will ace the exam Step one . I'll pray for you and God bless you for all your great contibution to this medical community
Take Care

[Anonymous]

Hello Step 1 ,
With such detail and wonderful experience and Prayers from ALL of us , I must say we are waiting for A BIG PARTY!!!!

Don't Worry 8) You Gonna make it! We will PRAY for you .

Stay in touch please and let us know the results

We Love you ....

[Anonymous]

You are such a wonderful person, you truly deserve the best, and I'm certain you will pass this exam with flying colors, no doubt about it.
Yes I would definitely ask God to bless you with a marvellous score and a good future, thanks once again! We'll miss you!

[Anonymous]

Dear step 1,
Thank you for all the knowledge you shared with us.....you are an amazing person, step 1

Iam sure you will come out with flying colours.....you're so knowledgeable and such a helpful person. We will definitely pray for your result.....and may God bless you abundantly all the days of your life!

[zeda]

I can't thank you enough step 1.Your exam experience is really the best , I have seen till now ! You are definitely in my prayers .you are going to get highest possible marks and your all wishes and dreams are going to come true. I am happy that i got chance to discuss few things with you in discussion sessions and will always be thankfull to you for many reasons !
Wishes and Good Luck -
zeda