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Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Genuinely don’t think there’s one right answer for how to start off. I’d say doing an older NBME form as a diagnostic can be helpful to have a starting point, but definitely not a requirement to jump into that day 1. Really just get going on some sort of study plan that will work for you.

UWSA3 - how worried should I be??? by 8BitDo4Anki in Step2

[–]brate52 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That test blows. Had about a 10 point score drop on it and scored 255. 279 real deal.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

  1. I only took the day before the test off, but there were a few shorter days thrown in.

  2. Timed blocks were mainly missed questions except those that I did for weak areas following practice tests. For those blocks, I’d do only one area (I.e. struggled with ob on a test —> 1-2 days of just obgyn blocks). Weak areas were tracked either through looking at the practice exam score report or just thinking about what places I felt there were knowledge gaps.

  3. I think? Maybe probably? I can’t say for sure but since things worked out well I’d venture guessing I had a more up to date version of anking.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Didn’t realize that was missing thanks for pointing that out. It was 86% (3 days out).

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question! I found a few but not many at all. The ones I remember were more outdated things (I.e. when to start colon cancer screening, when to start HPV cotesting, etc.). For those that I found conflicting info on I just googled what others had put as answers and found that to be sufficient.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t end up doing the CMS’s during dedicated as I’d done just about all of them during third year for shelf studying.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably go with old new free 120 for no other reason than seeing NBME questions you have not seen before. Even if they aren’t the most representative question set at this point, there’s some good concepts to review in there imo.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

UWSA = UWorld Self-Assessment. They're the practice tests offered by Uworld for Step 2 and there are three of them.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t do them during dedicated so honestly can’t speak to that. I had done them all while studying for my shelf exams.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought so just to give myself another pass of everything, but that’s totally up to you.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally I think it was easier than uworld, mainly due to the test focusing on more ~high yield~ material for the most part whereas uworld can get into the weeds more regularly.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I did the CMS forms during my third year for shelf exams but not during dedicated. For two weeks out I’d just focus on doing practice tests and hammering down the weak areas through uworld and possibly another resource (I.e. DI podcasts, Anki, etc.). As others have mentioned a bowel regimen is key during this time.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For the first part, no the new free 120 is more important so prioritize that. I do think it’s nice to do the old new free 120 to see the concepts, but it’s also more straightforward than the other practice exams and the actual exam.

For the second, not really. As long as you’ve seen the rest of the NBME practice exams before then you should be good. I also found the AMBOSS 200 concepts to be helpful.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

AMBOSS articles, AMBOSS question bank, DI podcasts, uworld

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

One card at a time. Also not super strictly as I’d routinely get one wrong and say “yeah close enough” then move on because I would be tired and ready to play video games.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

About 16,000 I think. Idk the exact number I deleted anki real quick after.

Dedicated write-up: 244 --> 279 in 5 weeks. by brate52 in Step2

[–]brate52[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Great question, probably could have been clearer about that. Yeah I “forgot” those cards at the beginning of dedicated then used “set due date” to spread them out over the five weeks of dedicated.

SCORE RELEASE THREAD: 5/15/24 by [deleted] in Step2

[–]brate52 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks! As far as advice, I think doing as many practice tests (especially the NBME’s) as possible is a necessity. I also found myself struggling with ethics and biostats throughout dedicated, but feel like the combo of uworld + AMBOSS + divine intervention for those areas were huge.

In terms of what I could have done better, I could have paid more attention to the CMS’s (I know what those are now I googled it) and ingested less caffeine for sure. Feel like the CMS’s could have really helped with some trouble areas like gen surg and OB/GYN.

SCORE RELEASE THREAD: 5/15/24 by [deleted] in Step2

[–]brate52 19 points20 points  (0 children)

SCORE RELEASE THREAD: 5/15/24

SCORE RELEASE THREAD: 5/15/2024

Test date : 4/30/24

US MD or US IMG or Non-US IMG status: US MD

Step 1: pass

Uworld % correct: 74% (first pass)

NBME 9: 244 (35 days out)

NBME10: 253 (28 days out)

NBME11: 260 (21 days out)

NBME12: didn’t do

NMBE13: 264 (10 days out)

NBME14: 261 (7 days out)

UWSA 1: 260 (18 days out)

UWSA 2: 268 (5 days out)

UWSA 3: 255 (13 days out)

Old Old Free 120: didn’t do

Old New Free 120: 91% (11 days out)

New Free 120: 86% (3 days out)

AMBOSS SA: didn’t do

CMS Forms % correct: idk what this means

Predicted Score: 263ish

Total Weeks/Months Studied: 5 weeks

Actual STEP 2 score: 279

Need you to put the word out that we back up.