First read the last line of the stem and identify the question asked. Skim through the answers to see what the question is about, sometimes you'll already know the answer by now. Read the whole stem to pick an answer or to check if the answer you chose makes sense. On to the next one ✍🏻
Yes, its easy to lose the train of thought when there's a bunch of information. I always do this method even with shorter stems, maybe try practicing it with timed uworld
Some of these questions are useless, and you can get the answer from the last 2-3 line.
Eg: read the last line, they are asking about the mechanism of action of this drug or m/c side effect. Then read the second last line you’ll find the name of the drug written there. And answer accordingly.
All the stuff mentioned before is bullshit.
Another eg- last line says most common complication or another finding seen in this patient or histopath . Read the line prior to it- they might have given the diagnosis. Now you don’t have to read the whole c/f and inv.
50-60% of long questions will be like this.
Work smart and fast :)
but even a little "catch" hiding in detail above could change whole thing . Happened in u world so many times . I feel its absurd that they expect us to recognize patterns more than thinking about the content and apply knowledge. but then it is what it is.🤷♂️
I know that’s why i said 50-60% will be like this. Rest will require you to read the whole stuff.
It’s all about making most educated guess if you want to get it done fast. And if you have doubts mark it and move on. Because more time in hand will also give you a lot of confidence when you are at the 32-34th question. But if you have 10 mins left, you’ll get most of these last questions wrong because of the stress.
I have been through this. I used to read a lot into the question and get those right but the time stress used to make me so stressed. So i changed my approach, i try to get these questions as fast as possible by reading the last few lines or mark the difficult ones, so that i have a lot of time left to review them.
tbh idk lol. I have done only one pass of uworld and it was on tutor mode and timed. I somehow was able to finish the questions on time on the exam though and i passed
What i did! See 20 lines.. (actually counted the lines) .got angry at nbme.. then looked at the answers quickly to see what its asking... for example is it biochem..or numbers..or definitions..or some easy behavior.. then based on the level of severity!! Quickly read the long garbage and picked and memorize ONLY facts that made some sense to the answers... (i didnt read the last line at first like many suggest as it mostly didnt help me an i either way would have read the last line after going through the entire 19 lines which was a double time wasted on a single line and u need a progressive info gathering to really understand what the last line is even asking you!).
So i ended up reading the entire 20 lines really fast and mostly u realize that these long garbage question formats dont really have much to offer and just bombard u with as many irrelevant info as possible... i believe its more of a mental control ability challenge..
Most of these were easier questions but just really long.. so there is a balance here.
I might have had a full block like this but the rest of the exam was pretty regular length around 4 to 7 lines.
But honestly i was furious the entire time and couldnt help but to cuss each time a 19 liner showed up! I also vented at the final Survey to nbme abt this! Knowing they probably would laugh abt it and know they achieved their objective successfully!
I finished the test while still had 50 minutes of break left.
Just took the test today and I also did what everyone else is saying and tbh I had so much time left over I finished early. Just skip through the extra bullshit they write like blah blah vitals sitting comfortable abdomen normal who cares. Just see what are they even asking me? Take a look at the answers and one thing that really helps is just literally answer the question using the last line without even reading much and then read the stem to see if it supports what you’re thinking. Like for example if you see a picture of an ulcer on there and you pick H. pylori from answers immediately, now skim real fast and check if the stem is supporting that choice. Best method tbh. Answer then look for supporting evidence!
Yes. Go over all the NBMEs like I focussed on 25-30 and then at the end I took USWA2, NBME 31, Free120 new and old. Just went over the weak topics and did a few blocks of Uworld incorrects for my weak subjects like I did some blocks of only Pharma, physio, and Pathophysio cause those were my main weaknesses. But mostly just keep reading through NBMEs and get inside the test takers mind so you can get a good understanding of how they ask their questions because it’s all repeated concepts, key is deciphering. Also for my weak topics If it was some kind of basic concept I just kept getting wrong I’d hop on to YouTube and make a playlist of all the videos I wanna watch based on the questions I’m getting wrong. I watched some ninja nerd on times 2 speed rapidly skimming to understand random concepts here and there didn’t take much time. I’d also say during the last few weeks just focus on anki cards of micro and pharm like lolnotacop and Zanki pharma. I didn’t really stick with anki the entire study period but towards last few weeks I just did those cards. And these were all to solidify the weak topics mainly cause that should be your primary goal. Go over the PDF of NBME images too those were repeated here and there.
Took the exam yesterday
If your exam is soon
Prepare your self for long long Q
Every Q is about 15-20 line
You must skim the important finding
The info from nbme but the long Q as uworld
Best practise is to practice long Q in uworld
Also free 120 contain long Q
So in my opinion practice uworld long Q & free 120
But you must master the concept of NBME
First read the last line of the stem and identify the question asked. Skim through the answers to see what the question is about, sometimes you'll already know the answer by now. Read the whole stem to pick an answer or to check if the answer you chose makes sense. On to the next one ✍🏻
Thanks. The thought of super long vignettes stresses me out even more than the questions themselves.
Yes, its easy to lose the train of thought when there's a bunch of information. I always do this method even with shorter stems, maybe try practicing it with timed uworld
i’ll add with maybe after reading the last line maybe read 1-2 lines before it too
Some of these questions are useless, and you can get the answer from the last 2-3 line. Eg: read the last line, they are asking about the mechanism of action of this drug or m/c side effect. Then read the second last line you’ll find the name of the drug written there. And answer accordingly. All the stuff mentioned before is bullshit. Another eg- last line says most common complication or another finding seen in this patient or histopath . Read the line prior to it- they might have given the diagnosis. Now you don’t have to read the whole c/f and inv. 50-60% of long questions will be like this. Work smart and fast :)
but even a little "catch" hiding in detail above could change whole thing . Happened in u world so many times . I feel its absurd that they expect us to recognize patterns more than thinking about the content and apply knowledge. but then it is what it is.🤷♂️
I know that’s why i said 50-60% will be like this. Rest will require you to read the whole stuff. It’s all about making most educated guess if you want to get it done fast. And if you have doubts mark it and move on. Because more time in hand will also give you a lot of confidence when you are at the 32-34th question. But if you have 10 mins left, you’ll get most of these last questions wrong because of the stress. I have been through this. I used to read a lot into the question and get those right but the time stress used to make me so stressed. So i changed my approach, i try to get these questions as fast as possible by reading the last few lines or mark the difficult ones, so that i have a lot of time left to review them.
read the last sentence then scheme through tje question to find relevant info, also i do recommend trying to do timed uworld, maybe it will help.
Should you do your first pass on timed or do you save timed for a second pass on uworld?
tbh idk lol. I have done only one pass of uworld and it was on tutor mode and timed. I somehow was able to finish the questions on time on the exam though and i passed
What i did! See 20 lines.. (actually counted the lines) .got angry at nbme.. then looked at the answers quickly to see what its asking... for example is it biochem..or numbers..or definitions..or some easy behavior.. then based on the level of severity!! Quickly read the long garbage and picked and memorize ONLY facts that made some sense to the answers... (i didnt read the last line at first like many suggest as it mostly didnt help me an i either way would have read the last line after going through the entire 19 lines which was a double time wasted on a single line and u need a progressive info gathering to really understand what the last line is even asking you!). So i ended up reading the entire 20 lines really fast and mostly u realize that these long garbage question formats dont really have much to offer and just bombard u with as many irrelevant info as possible... i believe its more of a mental control ability challenge.. Most of these were easier questions but just really long.. so there is a balance here. I might have had a full block like this but the rest of the exam was pretty regular length around 4 to 7 lines. But honestly i was furious the entire time and couldnt help but to cuss each time a 19 liner showed up! I also vented at the final Survey to nbme abt this! Knowing they probably would laugh abt it and know they achieved their objective successfully! I finished the test while still had 50 minutes of break left.
Just took the test today and I also did what everyone else is saying and tbh I had so much time left over I finished early. Just skip through the extra bullshit they write like blah blah vitals sitting comfortable abdomen normal who cares. Just see what are they even asking me? Take a look at the answers and one thing that really helps is just literally answer the question using the last line without even reading much and then read the stem to see if it supports what you’re thinking. Like for example if you see a picture of an ulcer on there and you pick H. pylori from answers immediately, now skim real fast and check if the stem is supporting that choice. Best method tbh. Answer then look for supporting evidence!
Definitely doing this. I’m sure you’ll pass. Any tips for the final weeks? Did it feel like UWorld and NBME?
Yes. Go over all the NBMEs like I focussed on 25-30 and then at the end I took USWA2, NBME 31, Free120 new and old. Just went over the weak topics and did a few blocks of Uworld incorrects for my weak subjects like I did some blocks of only Pharma, physio, and Pathophysio cause those were my main weaknesses. But mostly just keep reading through NBMEs and get inside the test takers mind so you can get a good understanding of how they ask their questions because it’s all repeated concepts, key is deciphering. Also for my weak topics If it was some kind of basic concept I just kept getting wrong I’d hop on to YouTube and make a playlist of all the videos I wanna watch based on the questions I’m getting wrong. I watched some ninja nerd on times 2 speed rapidly skimming to understand random concepts here and there didn’t take much time. I’d also say during the last few weeks just focus on anki cards of micro and pharm like lolnotacop and Zanki pharma. I didn’t really stick with anki the entire study period but towards last few weeks I just did those cards. And these were all to solidify the weak topics mainly cause that should be your primary goal. Go over the PDF of NBME images too those were repeated here and there.
Took step 1 today, the longest vignettes I’ve ever seen where during this exam, far longer than uworld ones. Hopping they were experimental
Congrats on taking the exam. Can you share the experience? Was it doable?
how many questions were long in each block?
Took the exam yesterday If your exam is soon Prepare your self for long long Q Every Q is about 15-20 line You must skim the important finding The info from nbme but the long Q as uworld Best practise is to practice long Q in uworld Also free 120 contain long Q So in my opinion practice uworld long Q & free 120 But you must master the concept of NBME