This group has helped me a lot in my preparation so I thought I should share my experience so that it can be useful for someone and also this is for people like me who are old IMGs and have already finished their post-graduation who feel it is impossible . A little background- I graduated in 2015 , did post-graduation in ophthalmology from 2015-2018 and came to America in January 2019.
Test date - 27 Nov 2019
Test Score - 246
Score date - 18 Dec 2019
Total duration - 9 months( March 2019-Nov 2019)
Hours per day - 7-8 hrs in the start and 12 hrs in the last 3 months
Resources -1) Kaplan videos - for the first 3 months I went through the kaplan videos for all the subjects except patho. I did not read the notes separately at any given time. I found the videos helpful for understanding the concepts as I had forgotten after my postgraduation. But in my opinion , if the concepts are fresh ,I feel skipping the videos would be fine.
2)UWorld - I had also started solving Uworld from the beginning though the speed was very slow.I would advise everyone to start Uworld early in the preparation.As everyone says, it is indeed GOLD.It gets monotonous at some point of time but do not rush or get impatient with the explanations.Go through all the explanations atleast when you are doing for the first time.My first round of uworld took 4 months , second round 2 months and in the third round, I went through the marked and the incorrects. First pass - 67% subjectwise , second pass 79% timed random mode .
3) First Aid- It is the most important book for step 1. Each and everyline of FA is a question in itself. So read it very carefully and multiple times ( I did it 4 times).
4)Pathoma videos are really good and 1-3 chapters are very important. Did pathoma videos once.
5) Rx Qbank - It is a good qbank to add apart from UWorld. I would suggest that one should try using a second qbank because you are exposed to different type of questions.It helps in developing question solving skills.
Keep resources minimum as REVISION is the key to this exam.It is all about how fast it clicks you and how accurately you are able to recollect things. I would say REVISE ,REVISE and REVISE.
I started NBMEs in July and i would suggest everyone to start early so that you can gauge your progress.
Offline -
NBME 13 (7/1/2019) - 44 mistakes
NBME 19 (8/1/2019)- 37 mistakes
NBME 16 (8/20/2019)- 37 mistakes
NBME 15 (8/31/2019) - 31 mistakes
NBME 17 (9/20/2019)- 25 mistakes
Online-
NBME 18 (7/17/2019) - 219 ( didnt know it was predictive and needs to be done in the end)
NBME 20 (8/10/2019) - 228
NBME 22 (9/30/2019) -238
NBME 23 (10/15/2019)- 234
NBME 24 (10/26/2019) -228
NBME 21 (11/9/2019) -242
UWSA 1 (9/13/2019) -247
UWSA 2 (11/16/2019)-258
Free120 (11/16/2019) - 81 %
Keep NBME 18, 21 ,UWSA 2 for the final month.
Exam - skipped the tutorial after checking the headphones. Took break after every block (roughly of 7-10 mins each). Had taken coconut water , lime juice , chocolates and a sandwich. I will suggest to wear pocketless pants or tracks as it will save time needed for security check and to carry something that will keep you warm incase it gets too cold because of the AC
Last thoughts -
1) You are never going to feel prepared but do not push the exam for too long.
2)Sleep well before the exam.
3)Visit the centre few days before the exam ,it will help decreasing the anxiety levels.
4)Do not panic during exam if you are unable to recollect or see weird stuff.It is okay to not know things make the best guess you can and move ahead.
4)Do not get dissappointed,depressed or demotivated if the NBME scores are not great. Keep going , keep revising and most important do not lose HOPE !!!!! Have faith in yourself , BREATHE and tell yourself you can do it !
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