I'm glad I'm finally done with Step 1. I took my exam yesterday. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant experience. The questions seemed very easy, and I finished early in all blocks, except one, which was kind of tough, but doable. I had 30 minutes left of break time when I left the center.
The exam was all pathology. Very little biochemistry and pharmacology. May be subjects that came next to pathology in frequency were anatomy (esp. neuroanatomy), immunology, and pathophysiology. Ethics questions ending in "what should you say?" were many, but they were well-worded and clear. Even choices in such questions were only 5, not 10 or more like we used to see. I had 2 heart sound questions, and no videos.
I had a duplicate question; well, not an exact duplicate, but two questions asking about the same thing, each in a different block. Unfortunately, I got them wrong. I also remember another wrong answer, but that's all what I'm sure I got wrong. There were a few weird questions, but I did my best, and I think I got them right.
I had like 2 questions from NBME 7, and may be another one that was very similar, so I'm glad I did that form.
The exam difficulty was similar to that of Kaplan Qbank and a little easier than NBME7. UW was way too twisted, so don't think the exam is going to be that difficult. Use UW as a learning resource, and Kaplan Qbank for simulation of the exam. And by the way, UWSAs were way far from reality. I don't recommend them.
So, as you see, the exam is not tough. Don't freak out about all those difficult concepts; you're not likely going to be tested on them. They seemed to test the very basics, with a few questions here & there requiring some thinking. Memorize the first aid, it helped me a lot.
Try to do a full mock exam. I did that a few days before my exam, using 7 blocks of Kaplan Qbank. I simulated the exam as much as possible, starting the exam at 9 am, and ending it at 5 pm. It helped me assess my readiness for this long exam, and I found out that I get pretty drowsy after a heavy lunch, so in the exam day, my lunch was a light one (cheese sandwich, banana, chocolate, juice), but in the morning I had a meat sandwich; it totally muted my hypothalamic lateral nucleus until 1 pm.
Finally, I wish best of luck to all fellow users.
EDIT: Because many members are asking about my prep details, remember guys that I haven't gotten my score yet, so don't take every advice I offer for granted, because it's not valid until I get my score! I'm just sharing my exam experience.
The exam was all pathology. Very little biochemistry and pharmacology. May be subjects that came next to pathology in frequency were anatomy (esp. neuroanatomy), immunology, and pathophysiology. Ethics questions ending in "what should you say?" were many, but they were well-worded and clear. Even choices in such questions were only 5, not 10 or more like we used to see. I had 2 heart sound questions, and no videos.
I had a duplicate question; well, not an exact duplicate, but two questions asking about the same thing, each in a different block. Unfortunately, I got them wrong. I also remember another wrong answer, but that's all what I'm sure I got wrong. There were a few weird questions, but I did my best, and I think I got them right.
I had like 2 questions from NBME 7, and may be another one that was very similar, so I'm glad I did that form.
The exam difficulty was similar to that of Kaplan Qbank and a little easier than NBME7. UW was way too twisted, so don't think the exam is going to be that difficult. Use UW as a learning resource, and Kaplan Qbank for simulation of the exam. And by the way, UWSAs were way far from reality. I don't recommend them.
So, as you see, the exam is not tough. Don't freak out about all those difficult concepts; you're not likely going to be tested on them. They seemed to test the very basics, with a few questions here & there requiring some thinking. Memorize the first aid, it helped me a lot.
Try to do a full mock exam. I did that a few days before my exam, using 7 blocks of Kaplan Qbank. I simulated the exam as much as possible, starting the exam at 9 am, and ending it at 5 pm. It helped me assess my readiness for this long exam, and I found out that I get pretty drowsy after a heavy lunch, so in the exam day, my lunch was a light one (cheese sandwich, banana, chocolate, juice), but in the morning I had a meat sandwich; it totally muted my hypothalamic lateral nucleus until 1 pm.
Finally, I wish best of luck to all fellow users.
EDIT: Because many members are asking about my prep details, remember guys that I haven't gotten my score yet, so don't take every advice I offer for granted, because it's not valid until I get my score! I'm just sharing my exam experience.
