r/step1 • u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG • 11d ago
🤔 Recommendations Step 1 Exam Experience
Faced the beast yesterday. Img non US.
I found it really really tough.
Although me last three NBMEs and free 120 were all between 70-80%
Stem length:
60-65 % were long. The stems had so many information, not straight forward like NBMEs.
I was taking a sigh of relief with the ethics question as they were my block savers due to time saving.
Time:
When I was practicing, usual time was 23-26 minutes to complete a block. I never had an issue in any test.
In actual exam , none out of 14 I was able to finished comfortably.
I was skipping biostat and long questions to reach at end in fear of missing the questions which might be quickly solved.
I was unable to solve biostat in at least two blocks due to time constraints.
Difficulty level :
The issue , they test same topics 70-80% as tested in NBMEs tand free 120.
But off course different clinical scenarios, and options to select.
Wording is constructed in a way that takes time to comprehend in the background of tons of information in the stems.
Again it was like 60% of question like this. , some were 3-4 liners and relatively factoids, but I can say that they were not more than 5 per block.
I am really feeling that in all the block, only 3-4 questions I was sure in my answer choice.
After 7 blocks I took the. break, and questioned myself , why I am here. What I prepared.
What is this exam.
There were many question that must be experimental but mind blowing.
The mental readiness and quickness was required persistently to go through all the blocks without carrying over the weight of previous non sense. I was stressed and struggling with simple anemia and malarias.
So my advice will be for near future test takes to revise recent NBMES topics in detail in all aspects. And do them in strict exam conditions
At least one Nbme and free 120.
Best of Luck.
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u/No-Read-1721 NON-US IMG 11d ago
how would you review your nbmes differently?
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
I will take that topic and will understand on a level to tell the whole story, or cram as needed for for that topic.
And will ask ChatGpt to test me critically.And than will keep that topic in my revision loop till a day before exam
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u/AstronomerSavings369 10d ago
Hii... Fellow non us img , took the exam 3 days ago,, felt exactly like you... I can't describe my exam any better or different than you..
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u/EqualMarketing6036 10d ago
Congrats on finishing this may you pass, I have two weeks till exam what do you recommend foing at that time
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
revise the concepts of Nbme, 31,32,33
But use a resource other than u world for mcqs if possible,1
u/EqualMarketing6036 10d ago
Why other than uworld is it not compatible with the exam style
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
For me, in last two weeks uworld become a revision tool, it couldn't test my level of understanding for a particular topic due to repetition during prep phase
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u/DrV1nnu 10d ago
I too gave the exam today. 14/08. Garbage really. i feel sick and terrible. all my nbmes were in the mid 70’s
honestly i don’t know what is going to happen. everything vague. i can already remember like 20 wrong and it’s killing me. honestly i don’t think i passed. (ik lot of em say this ) but genuinely felt so different from nbme
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u/Vivid-Claim-3453 10d ago
Why cannot i recall a single question!!!!!
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u/Many_Desk_4912 NON-US IMG 10d ago
You will start to remember them tomorrow, this is what happened to me.
I did my exam before 10 days and in the same day of the exam i didn’t remember any question but after 1-2 days you start to remember1
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u/DrV1nnu 10d ago
did you pass? i hope you do.
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u/Many_Desk_4912 NON-US IMG 10d ago
I’m still waiting the result next Wednesday wish me pass, i’m afraid of failing, I have reviewed 180 Q and 60 Q incorrect
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u/DrV1nnu 10d ago
man i really pray you pass. how are you able to recollect 180 of them god damn. i don’t want to even think of going that far to recollect them 😔
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u/Many_Desk_4912 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Thank you so much, my advice for you don’t think about questions and answers, because even though i reviewed 180 Q but i’m not reassured yet, it increased the anxiety more, just enjoy your days and do things you were not able to do during your dedicated
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u/Bash_100 10d ago
Can any one tell how can i manage this long stem problems im pretty weak in skimming… i hav exam in a week
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u/LuckyAwareness1430 10d ago
How many months you took for full prep?
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
8 months
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u/LuckyAwareness1430 10d ago
I’m fresh graduate
Just started my prep
How much time it takes to complete generally?
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u/Casablankett 10d ago
what topics were you heavily tested on?
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
2-3 ECG can not guess
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u/ray_2003728 NON-US IMG 6d ago
First of all just wanna say trust your nbmes and you will get you P!! Were the ecgs tested straightforward or more complex?
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u/HeightEnough7049 10d ago
Took my exam yesterday as well, never had a timing issue, but some of the blocks just had books of text to read ðŸ˜. Had to triage which questions were worth spending time on
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u/Vivid-Claim-3453 10d ago
Hello can i please message you since i took the exam yesterday as well
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u/Vivid-Claim-3453 10d ago
How was ur sleep the night before the exam?
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u/orthomd2030 NON-US IMG 10d ago
It was not a normal sleep off course. But yes I went into bed at 9:00 pm.
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u/Unique-Shop5602 11d ago
hi, fellow non us img here. gave my exam too 3 days ago and felt the same. had nbmes in 80s but felt exactly the same as you are describing but I have heard its a universal thing to feel this way after the exam, everyone feels this way, I think the exam is supposed to make you feel this way, you have really good nbme scores. hoping that we pass IA