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Why do people fail USMLE step 1?

6K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  medwannabe99 
#1 ·
Hello

I just want to know the truth. Why do people fail step 1? Do they get nervous during the test? Did they not do questions for practice? Do they try to memorize rather understanding concepts and knowing clinical significance? DO they not do practice tests? Do they just set a date and not really keep track of their progress while studying? NBME practice exams not accurate of the real test?

I have yet to take this exam as I am preparing for it right now. No date has been set on my part. However just growing up and taking numerous standardized exams from the SAT to MCAT to GMAT to GRE, many practice tests have been offered and I would take them to track my progress and knowing where I stand. Pretty much everytime I took practice tests, I used to track my progress and kept getting better every so weeks. Even 1-2 weeks within my exam, my last practice test score was pretty close to my actual score. Those people who fail USMLE, do they not take advantage of this method? I would think if a student performs poorly on a NBME practice exam, then they would know theyre not ready and not take the actual test...or do people just wing it and hope for the best?

Of course this is all easier said then done as preparing for this exam takes discipline and long hours studying, but wouldnt the best formula in a nutshell be studying hard, focusing on your weaknesses, and taking practice tests to track progress?

Please shine some light on this Any kind of advice or tips or input based on this topic would be helpful. Rather making this complex task simpler is appreciated. Thanks all...
 
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#2 ·
I don't know about international students, but US medical students have a full, busy cirriculum and basically need to study for the USMLE at the same time as school exams. Most schools give students the last 4-5 weeks of med school off, but it's not enough time for everyone.

That said, 93% pass, those who don't pass simply did not study enough.
 
#5 ·
The reasons are multifactorial and they encompass wat u hv listed up there.
In addition some have not received enough info for the exams. So didn't hv enough strategy. Remember that almost every med student or dr. Is good academically but the usmle needs strategy and ability to think into the examiners mind and able to recall large volume of material and applying it clinically which not all med students are able to do within short duration.
 
#6 ·
I agree witht the above
usmle is not like medical skool
where u just simply
memorize facts and then recall them
its about applying ur knowledge
and solving clinical problems
it tests ur understanding of medicine
and thus ur ability
to practice it safely
 
#12 ·
From my own experience

I am an IMG who didn't fail but barely passed Step 1 (score 204), which was a tragedy for me because I was not used to be below average.
In my case it was a combination of things. First of all and most importantly, I just woke up one day and decided I would apply for residency in the United States, saw that I had to take something called the USMLE tests, googled "Step 1 prep" and bought the Kaplan 3 month online prep without doing any further research whatsoever. I started watching the lectures and reading the books while I still had a 9 to 5 job. I didn't do any research on the structure of the exam and I didn't even look for advice on the fora. I only started Kaplan's QBank after I was done with the lectures, which happened 1 week before the test (needless to say, I didn't even cover 20% of it). I never took NBME. Also, I'm kind of an old grad and I hadn't heard of the basic sciences in 10 years. The cherry on top: 45 minutes into the exam I started feeling feverish and super tired, the next day I found out that I had influenza and when I finished the test my temperature was 39 Celsius.
So those were my mistakes. Of course I learned from them and got 240+ in CK and Step 3, but the damage was done.
If you're not as stupid as I was, you'll be fine :)
 
#14 ·
I am an IMG who didn't fail but barely passed Step 1 (score 204), which was a tragedy for me because I was not used to be below average.
In my case it was a combination of things. First of all and most importantly, I just woke up one day and decided I would apply for residency in the United States, saw that I had to take something called the USMLE tests, googled "Step 1 prep" and bought the Kaplan 3 month online prep without doing any further research whatsoever. I started watching the lectures and reading the books while I still had a 9 to 5 job. I didn't do any research on the structure of the exam and I didn't even look for advice on the fora. I only started Kaplan's QBank after I was done with the lectures, which happened 1 week before the test (needless to say, I didn't even cover 20% of it). I never took NBME. Also, I'm kind of an old grad and I hadn't heard of the basic sciences in 10 years. The cherry on top: 45 minutes into the exam I started feeling feverish and super tired, the next day I found out that I had influenza and when I finished the test my temperature was 39 Celsius.
So those were my mistakes. Of course I learned from them and got 240+ in CK and Step 3, but the damage was done.
If you're not as stupid as I was, you'll be fine :)
Despite all of that, you still passed! Congratulations. and then you made up for it for Step 2 and Step 3 so that's good!
 
#13 ·
=nsesereso;185270]The reasons are multifactorial and they encompass wat u hv listed up there.
In addition some have not received enough info for the exams. So didn't hv enough strategy. Remember that almost every med student or dr. Is good academically but the usmle needs strategy and ability to think into the examiners mind and able to recall large volume of material and applying it clinically which not all med students are able to do within short duration.[/QUOTE]

Very True. I love the quote:))
 
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