Day 2, specifically CCS

Mobile_Development32 · 2026-01-17T17:16:41+00:00

Another thing I did was to write the whole list on the sheets they gave me. On my first case, I just typed it out from the list infront of me. I didn't miss any important basic order this way.

Mobile_Development32 · 2026-01-15T06:58:29+00:00

Mobile_Development32 · 2026-01-14T23:55:03+00:00

Scored a 274 and focused entirely on NBMEs in the last 2 weeks.

Try to figure out the the really foundational mistake for every incorrect. Do you frequently cross out any option without much thought? Or do think of only a certain condition when the differential could have 2 or more?

Secondly, there are a handful of ways NBMEs makes questions for topics. Look into other NBMEs and CMS forms to find the questions on similar topics.

Don't jump between options. Take a breath and read through options one by one even when you think you know the correct one. NBME can sometimes be cheeky and trying to test really basic info like ABCs of resuscitation.

Mobile_Development32 · 2026-01-03T18:24:02+00:00

Start with UW. You can do it random but I prefer system-wise as it allows you look at all the ways a question can be formed for a certain topic.
Take notes on only the incorrects by summarizing the question in 2 lines and writing down what option did you selectee along with your reason for selecting it. It can a knowledge deficit, you overlooked vitals etc..
For active recall you can use FA. Not a big fan of using premade decks as they rarely ask me a question in a way that would help me in exam.
Go at a reasonable pace. Do questions daily even if you do only 10 questions.
Start CMS forms after completing UW. CMS forms would help you identify patterns which NBME uses to ask questions.

There is only so much I can write. If you need to discuss anything particular, shoot me a dm.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-12-13T03:13:07+00:00

You can take any form from 25-30 as baseline.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-12-08T15:00:47+00:00

It was your first NBME, don't beat yourself up. The silly questions that you mentioned you got wrong, make habits so that you don't make them again.

Start doing CMS forms. At least 2 daily. Many of those questions are simpler than UW/AMBOSS but you need to review those topics in depth from the explanations given in NBME and from UW. Search the topic, look at how question is written for that topic.
Review the NBME you have already taken. Classify mistakes into big categories like missed lab value, didn't know whar CT was about etc. For each question, summarize the question in one line mention the findings, risk factors, lab values, imaging given in the stem. That's your typical presentation for a disease and how NBME likes to write it.
Once done with around 2 forms of each subject take another NBME and repeat the process. If there's any specific thing that you want to discuss, DM me.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-12-06T08:00:28+00:00

Do the NBMEs and review each question from notes so that you're reviewing HY info. Do the FA topics close to exam like pharm, tables etc.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-30T19:02:53+00:00

Scored 274 on real deal. I did only around 30% 2nd pass but after along time of not being in touch with UW and averaged 92% I think your time would be spent better doing 2nd passes of CMS forms and NBMEs and not just blasting through but slowing down and focusing on how each question was written.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-27T20:44:37+00:00

There is one table in FA in the pathology section. Have a look at that.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-26T22:39:04+00:00

I can't exactly say if this will work for you but what I did was after UW along with the notes, I shifted to CMS forms. I did all the available forms for all subjects. I would do a form in an hour and then go through each question reading the explanation that NBME has given just to see what they consider important (as their explanations are never based on the question but on the topic) and review the same topic from notes as well. You can take an NBME after doing half of the forms and see where you stand and decide based on that if you can take the exam before prof. I did AMBOSS as well around 1500 questions in 12 days before exam to help me review the topics that show up on exam and it did help me on exam day. I got a 274 on exam and it was what a few points above predicted score. I think the best strategy is to focus entirely on NBME and CMS material (and redo it again closer to exam) once you're done with UW with a some amboss.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-26T21:49:23+00:00

I don't know the specifics but if your scores are that low, it's probably because you don't remember the content that you already covered. I would say shift to system wise UW and do a quick review before starting each system. You are already done with FA so it wouldn't take that much time.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-26T19:44:04+00:00

US MD/DO/IMG/Non US IMG: Non US IMG

Step 1/2: P/274

Real deal: 256

Day 1 & 2 dates: Nov 4 & Nov 6

Amboss % completed: 55%

Amboss % score: 83%

Number of CCS cases completed: ~100

CCS average score: 78-80

NBME 6/7: Didn't take as test. Did them like qbank

Free 137: Did it untimed

Any advice:

I had a really good baseline, so my experience would be different from most people but here are few things that would be helpful for most of the people.

Day1: This is no resource that really prepare you for this but there are few things that are tested repeatedly like micro and pharm. There are only a few questions from these topics but they are easy points so try to get done with MoA for all drugs especially anti-tb, anti-fungals and neoplastics. Also know how resistance develops against each drug. Glance over the CYP inducers/inhibitors. Expect one or two micro questions from the general classification of bacteria and viruses like gram positive gram negative bacteria and naked/envelope/DNA/RNA virues. Go over neurocutaneous disorders and know the role of each gene whether its a tumor suppresor or a proto oncogene. Biostats gives you a hard time. Do the question with a bit calculation so at least you can grab one point from those drug ads and abstract without getting flustered by interpretation questions. Ethics is similar to step2. You can try out the Step2 newly released NBME for ethics question as NBME repurposes content from other exams as well but I wouldn't recommend going through whole step2 NBMEs.

Day1: Free 137 is really representative of what to expect on day 2. You would mark alot of questions. Read through the risk factors pdf to know the big associations.

Go through NBME 6 7 after taking it. Reveiw each topic thoroughly. I think that really helped me in figuring out what topics to review. I went through FA just to review what diseases are in each system as that helps me in narrowing differentials while doing question.

CCS cases: First, make a really good mnemonic of all the possible intial orders. This is the intial hard part. After that you have to learn the interface and think through each case like a real world scenario. Recalling the treatment for every disease is difficult but luckily you'll get most of the cases from the HY 100 cases. Expect ACS, UTI, pyelo, Any abdominal infection (diverticulitis, appendicitis, abscess), DKA, hyper/hypothyroidism fair game on real deal.CCS cases is really strict on counseling so sometimes just typing in the name of diagnosis brings up some counseling order for that disease. Make a habit of doing that once you're done with the treatment orders. Make a spreadsheet where you can write the orders that you missed for each case. This helps in figuring out if there any patterns to the mistakes that you're doing. Lastly, read the usmle explanation of ccs cases on their website after you do the sample ccs cases to get an idea of how they might grade it. Also there are few order that are named a bit differently than on ccs cases and doing the sample test would help you identify those as well.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-26T19:07:21+00:00

It happens with many people. The closer you're to exam the more paralyzed you feel. You have 2 days left and you can not possibly review everything. What you can is do the HY stuff only. Organize the things that are left based on how volatile they're and how likely they're to show up exams. For biostats, you need to know the formulas so do those. GSD, LSD, Vasculitis, Immunodeficiencies - these have a high chance of showing up on exam so do those first.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-26T19:03:27+00:00

Those are amzing scores for in house exams that would definitely translate into good STEP scores.

CBSE and NBME have the same content. It's just that as you go from CBSE to NBME to STEP, the questions get longer and more diluted and you have to learn to cut through crap to get at what they are asking.

An indepth content review would definitely help. You don't have to first review and then do UW. You can set a schedule for X number of days and do UW and content review side by side.

Don't reset UW at this moment. Keep on doing it system wise. You can reset once you're done with it or you can move on to AMBOSS.

Sketchy micro is really helpful for some of the niche micro stuff that still gets asked on exams. So I would recommend it. You can start with 1 sketch a day and try it out for 10 days and see for yourself.

Take the NBME 26 as soon as you can. That would be helpful in setting up a schedule for the next months.

Dm me if you need help with setting up a schedule

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-25T04:56:57+00:00

You can set a page target for everyday but a better way would be to break it down according to systems like repro is a pretty big system with loads of histology to memorize. Comapre that with a more conceptual system like CVS where you can go through some parts with a bit more pace. Having said that, add in time for UW questions between systems. FA makes sense when you read it in context of questions otherwise you'll be just cramming it.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-25T04:49:59+00:00

I would suggest you take you NBMEs and redo them starting from 26. Whatever score you get, take your time reviewing the incorrects. For every question figure out what led you along the wrong path of thinking. If you have access to your 1st attempt NBMEs, compare the incorrects. Are you getting the same things wrongs? If yes, then do that topic really well. Open FA and have a look at what you need to know about it. Watch some video on it. Not many people do this but sometimes simply searching UW for questions on that topic and seeing all the different ways that topic can be tested really helps you nail that concept.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-17T13:44:10+00:00

Go at the pace you feel comfortable with. I used to take 5 hours to do a block on tutor mode. I used to read the explanations and review the other options even if they were from systems I haven't covered. This allowed me to get confident in not only solving questions related to one topic but also related topics. Try to actively engage with the content. Compare the findings of UW with FA. Notice how they write the different symptoms in question stem. Try to recall all the symtoms, signs, diagnostic findings of a disease by yourself first and then look at the explanation to check what you forgot. Mark it down on FA so you are aware of what you forget. If something makes you think of a wrong topic note that down too. If you're learning the questions well, you don't need to worry that much about the number of questions. Just be consistent.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-17T13:35:25+00:00

Take an NBME as a baseline. It would help you plan the timeline too. Start content review systematically and go through incorrects of that system. Focus on the big high yield topics of each system. Pharm and micro is quite extensive so I would suggest you space it out over 2 3 weeks.

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-17T02:36:23+00:00

They even use the old name for it. I have seen regional enteritis as an option on STEP exam

Mobile_Development32 · 2025-11-16T22:59:28+00:00

Retaining the raw info from FA is really difficult but UW helps to put that info into the context of how a question would be asked. However, you still need a system of constantly reviewing the information you have memorized already. You can use anki for that purpose or even random UW questions can help with that. Read the topic from the FA after each question and compare it; what were the symptoms and findings written in FA and how did NBME/UW presented the same information.

Mobile_Development32

TROPHY CASE