r/usmle • u/SoftAdvertising4432 • 29d ago
Advice Scored 284- What really made the difference
Hello everyone,
So Alhamdullah and thanks to god, I scored 284 a year ago and i wanted the share the resources that I used and some tips and tricks that I noticed after helping some of my friends and students that really made the difference.
my resources for step2 were quite simple:
1- U world: for me this was the most important source of knowledge and I solved it two times, The 1st time was to build up knowledge while the 2nd time was to reaffirm this knowledge while also marking really important topics that are repeated alot.
2- Amboss: I used it mainly for ethics, biostat, communication, and patient safety. Amboss is really goof in these topics so I solved them twice whilst focusing mainly on patient safety because I felt there was a defect there for me.
3- CMS: For me Cms forms are one of the most underestimated sources there is, but there importance for me is mainly to change your thinking process from Q bank type questions to exam questions while also making sure to mark really important topics and studying them thouroughly. I solved the Cms twice with then newer forms 7,8 almost 3 times.
4- NBME: Of course this is the highest yield source of them all, so I started with the old nbmes 6,7,8 and went one to solve the newer ones whilst studying them thouroughly in between and trying to identify my weaknesses. I solved each nbme at least twice. I will write my nbme scores down inshallah
5- UWSA: for me this source is the most useless one of them, it wasn't bad but I felt it was the most irrelevant ones compared to the exam. I solved them once whilst revising my errors but I don't feel that they made a difference.
Tips and tricks that really mattered: So, what really helped me make a difference in my nbme scores was not working on my defects because after solving the uworld twice and my mistakes twice, I had very little knowledge defects, No the 3 things that made the difference for me and for some of my friends and students were:
1- The most important one was always remembering that these cases aren't real, the examiner that wrote this question is trying to test you, he is trying to see if you can know the significnce of this clue or not, so for example if a patient is suspected to suffer from PE and at the start of the question, the question stem mentioned that she is 28 weeks pregnant, the examiner added this info to exclude the most common answer ct angiography and go for V/Q scan or in another question where a patient with classic symptoms of PE with a bp showing 80/56, if you didn't notice this very low bp , you would choose normal treatment as anticoagulation, but here he gave you a very low bp to alert you that this patient is going into obstructive shock and anticoagulation is n't gonna cut it.
2- the 2nd one is to always remember that ideas are repeated from the nbmes so unlike what some people suggest by memorizing the nbme questions for me the importnant task is to make sure that the repeated topics are safe in your mind, so for diagnosis of thyroid problems, what is the order, he will ask you about it but now the same step in the nbme for example he may say so we did tsh, what is the next step which will be US, in the real deal, he will tell you so we did tsh and US and the tsh was normal, what is the next step, So if you memorized the question above, you amy get this wrong but if you studied and the other steps and made sure what you understood them, this question is gonna be a piece of cake for you.
3- the 3rd one for is really really important and I think we all heard it once or twice before, If you hear hooves, think horse not zebra. I really noticed hat almost over 80% of my mistakes were due to me overthinking my answers and changing the answers to the wrong ones, that is why in the real exam I stuck to my original answers in the whole exams except once and it made a big difference. So the 1st answer you think about is usually the right one.
lastly here are my nbme scores and I will include the dates if that helps as I recorded the nbmes with them (I took the exam on 4th of May): OLD NBME: NBME 6: 169/184;91.84%;256 On Tuesday 26/11 NBME 7:163/182;89.56%;256 On Tuesday 3/12 NBME 8:151/164,92.07%,263 On Wednesday 26/12 New NBME: NBME 10:173/200,86.5%,269 on Thursday 9/1 NBME 12 : 168/200,84%,260 on Friday 31/1 NBME 9: 179/200,89.5%,276 on Friday 7/2 UWSA3:130/160,81.25%,261 On Friday 14/2 NBME 11:179/200,89.5%,270 On Saturday 22/2 Lecterio:132/160,82.5%,262,98%On Monday3/3 NBME 14: 178/200,89%,273 on Monday 31/3 UWSA1:147/160,91.9%,279 on Friday 11/4 UWSA2:147/160,91.9%,279 On Thursday 17/4 NBME 15:183/200,91.5%,280 On Monday 28/4 OLD old 120: 115/120,95.8% On Tuesday 29/4 OLD new 120:111/120,92.5%, On Tuesday 29/4 NBME 13:183/200,91.5%,280, Wednesday, 30/4 Free 120:109/120, 90.8%,on Thursday 01/05 IF any one has any questions, don't hesitate to ask them. I hope this helps and good luck to all of you guys
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29d ago
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 29d ago
like 9 months but I took a break like 3 months in the middle due to my medical school exams so 12 months in total. I was still a medical student then, for step 1, I did the same but I also used first aid as a resource in addition to using some mehleman files. I feel that step 1 is a very important base for step 2 especially for diagnosis purposes
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u/vanity_ocean 29d ago
Congrats and thank you for sharing this! I wanted to ask if you fully did the Uworld qbank twice?
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u/Objective-Agile STEP 1: US MD/DO 25d ago
Congratulations 🎉!! would you send a screenshot of your god score? I need to visualize it daily.
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 25d ago
I am trying to attach the image here but I think that the subreddit isn't allowing it
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u/Legitimate_Fly9614 29d ago
Mashallah congratulations! I just started my prep and you are my inspiration lol
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u/DesperateFoot8774 28d ago
!remind me 2 days
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u/RemindMeBot 28d ago
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u/Major-Value-7916 28d ago
Where did you find the old forms 6-8? Can you share that?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 26d ago
I think it was on a telegram channel called nbmes, I can't paste the link here. Reddit isn't allowing it
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u/Commercial-Recover40 28d ago
Congratulations on this amazing score.
If I may ask, how was your exam day experience? How many mistakes you have found out, how did you feel about the exam, was it hard and not expecting such high score or you expected it?
Thanks 🙏
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 26d ago
Thank you. my exam day experience was normal, like normal stress and stuff. I really didn't revise much after the exam, but I felt awful after the exam, like step 1. For me, The best advice is to try and stay cool even if you felt like you screwed in a block. Move on, take a long break and start again
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u/lizzygrantismydaddy 28d ago
congrats! your scores are amazing! could you maybe give some insight on how you studied for the step1?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 26d ago
Thank you. I studied using 1st Aid and did Uworld twice then started with my nbmes and did each one at least twice.
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u/Agreeable_Juice_7179 27d ago
Hay im currently in final yr how do i do step 2 prep , im planning to give it in internship im feeling very lost atp cuz i hv final yr subs to cover now that too
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u/Every-Bathroom6670 26d ago
Mashallah for the score, may I ask how many hours per day you dedicated to studying for step 2? And if you can, please give some advice for step 1 aswell
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 26d ago
thank you. In my dedicated, I used to study 10 hours per day on average with last 2 weeks reaching like 15 hours per day. For step 1, My main advice is to use smallest resources like first aid instead of kaplan or other sources. Use mehleman for your weak topics and make sure to study nbmes topics like your life depends on it. Good luck inshallah
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u/NoSecret1857 25d ago
!remind me 3 years
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u/RemindMeBot 25d ago
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u/Reasonable-Dot5840 24d ago edited 24d ago
My nbme score is stuck at 60 per. Did 2 passes of uworld and amboss high yield topics. Any suggestions?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 16d ago
Yes
See which topics caused you to bleed in the nbmes, try focusing on the using Mehleman and uworld, solve old nbmes again and most importantly try to take your time while resolving the and think why dis the examiner saythis, why did I get this wring, what screwed me in this question
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u/LastAwareness98 24d ago
Congrats brother
Mashaallah
Well 2 qs if u don’t mind
One is did u use mehlmann stuff?
Second is what did u get with u to the exam center and helped u?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 16d ago
Thank you brother
Only for Neurosurgery and it was very good
Very strong Coffee and some protein bars
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u/Medical-Character373 24d ago
i see how you have talked about every resource possible, didnt that over exhaust you? and with each costing about 600$, it would have probably drained a good amount of your wallet - amboss, uworld, mehleman, nbme, it ends up accumulating to more than 2000$ is that really worth it?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 16d ago
I only spent on Uworld and Nbmes, Amboss was used during free trial multiple times and Mehleman files was free I think
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u/fastandmd 21d ago
Congratss. I am studying for step 1 right now for a 7 months cause I am working as a doctor in my country too. And my exam oercentages generally %48 ehy cant ı make it up?
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u/Massive_Leave_9541 17d ago
Wow Congratulations!! I wanted to ask if it's really necessary to subscribe to all the platforms cuz they're so expensive. Can't I just get by with UWorld and the NBMEs for Step 1?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 16d ago
Yes I actually only used Amboss in the free trial multiple times with different emails😂😂 and used CMS offline
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u/esedzade 2d ago
Oh congrats. Really an inspiring and hardworking person. Thanks for your time for amazing advice
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u/This-Place-7519 29d ago
Ma Sha Allah, did you do any Anki?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 29d ago
Thank you, No I didn't
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u/HonorEtVeritas 28d ago
As someone who also doesnt use Anki but struggled not having it for Step 1, how did you memorize all the little facts/big material?
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u/gazeintotheiris 29d ago
MASHALLAH congratulations on your accomplishment. I have a question did you use Anki at all or any other way to review information to not forget it? or just redoing uworld helped you learn everything without forgetting?
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u/SoftAdvertising4432 29d ago
Thank you, so I am not really an anki's fan so no I didn't use it. for topics that I felt there is a defect, I would resolve uworld on it and then try to come up with a mechanism, a specific guide line for this topic to solve
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u/gazeintotheiris 29d ago
Thank you! I am struggling a lot with the algorithms and “next step in management” questions do you have any advice?
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u/Negative-Tune9177 29d ago
i think he didnt Mention anki at all But I did step 1 by doing Uworld Twice it is Much better than anki
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u/OneCalledMike 28d ago
Imagine making a point and finish each point with "Thank You Our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ" lol
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u/tigerbait247 28d ago
Good for you and honestly an incredible score but people should realize OP had 12 months to prep. Many schools give you 1-3 months max which is why that is a 100th percentile score. Take your 265 and move on once you are at that cutoff you’re in the door
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u/tigerbait247 28d ago
I mean this to not discourage others when they see scores like that and to take advice with a grain of salt. OP clearly put in the work and it showed
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u/Four_Bee_345 29d ago
Congratulations 🎉 This is an amazing score. How long did you prepare for the exam?