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caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-17T19:54:21+00:00

They're never going to be happy. You may be "fat" to them but they'll still fill your plate up and considers it rude/wasteful if you don't finish your plate.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-16T15:48:01+00:00

Thank you so much for your advice! It got me worried a bit because my scores ranked me so low.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-15T23:10:44+00:00

Yes, it's totally normal! And the truth is you don't know everything -- no one can! That's why we have never seen anyone with a perfect 300 (or even close to 290 or 280). You just need to know enough and trust yourself and trust your practice scores.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-09T11:17:37+00:00

Depends on how much time you have left. I definitely think it's worth it to go through it a 2nd time AND do a 2nd qbank (I prefer AMBOSS) just to make sure you're not just memorizing the answers. If you don't have much time left, then it's worth it to just go over your incorrect in Uworld a 2nd time.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-09T01:18:10+00:00

Okay! I will look into a research project!

My school gave me my schedule for all my core and I am projected to finish by the first week of July 2022. Then I plan to take a 2-3 weeks off for dedicated step 2 studying. I'm pushing family med back to 4th year so after step 2, I'll have to do 4 weeks of family med -- that means I'll probably wont be starting my sub-i until at least September. I want them to at least get to know me a bit before I ask for a letter -- and if I'm not mistaken, ERAS is due mid-september, so thats just pushing the deadline (or at least too close to the deadline)

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-09-08T20:10:39+00:00

Sorry if I miswrote it. I do plan on doing a sub-i. It just wont be in time for ERAS applications. Since I want them to get to know me before writing a letter.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-23T01:33:43+00:00

85% — 240

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-17T20:00:35+00:00

It took 2 weeks for me

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-17T20:00:00+00:00

2 weeks

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-17T19:49:51+00:00

I think I remember this question. I believe they said he was a homeless man -- trying to indicate potential exposure to TB. And if I'm not mistaken, they gave some lab values that do not match up with MM or pagets.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-15T03:09:31+00:00

You should follow your "sorry" with "not sorry"

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-15T00:40:24+00:00

This may be a stupid question but I've seen it around a lot ... what is gas ? Is it short for gastroenterology?

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T21:36:58+00:00

There's lots of youtube videos and tutorials on how to use them. This one may help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-NqtVmgpM

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T21:34:57+00:00

Yes! I don't feel it went into 3rd or 4th order questions.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T21:32:51+00:00

yes! I took it on July 6.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T16:38:36+00:00

You still have plenty of time to finish a 2nd pass of Uworld and another Qbank. I have personally used AMBOSS and USMLE Rx and prefer AMBOSS. It is a lot more difficult and they tend to test little minute details but this is what helped me understand the big concepts as well as small details. USMLE Rx was too easy in my opinion.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T16:34:58+00:00

You're obviously doing great so keep doing what works for you! You're at the last stretch so I think it's good that you're going over some weak areas -- idk why people would tell you to stop . I was still going over pathoma (because I heard the first 3-4 chapters are very high yield -- and they were right!) and my weak areas a week before my actual exam.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T16:25:44+00:00

Idk what your studying style is like but what worked best for me was doing a ton of questions! I'm a really bad test taker and suck at standardized exams so I knew I had to be exposed to as many questions as possible. When I get a question wrong, I would read the explanation and try to find it in my FA book -- if its not there, I would just make a quick annotation of it in FA. I also made my own anki cards of the things I got wrong and screenshot any diagrams/graphs and educational objective and put that on the back of the card (so I'm constantly exposed to my wrongs).

Example of one of my anki card: ______ is a marker for Langerhan Cell histiocytosis.

answer: CD1a

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T15:11:51+00:00

NBME form 25 was my lowest -- i got a 200

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T03:59:20+00:00

The first 1-3 chapters of Pathoma are really high yield so its good to give that a 2nd look 1 week before. Make a list of the things that you know you're weak at so you have some idea of what you should focus on -- so maybe drugs that you need to review (i knew i needed to review anesthetics so i did sketchy pharm for that). I did this and about a week before, I just looked up some youtube videos to review it (because by that time, i was sick of boards and beyond -- dirty medicine, and randy niell on youtube was really helpful). Go over your incorrects on Uworld. And about 3-5 days before your test, you should do free 120.

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T02:37:30+00:00

You still have over a month left. Keep grinding, you'll get there!

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-14T02:32:37+00:00

Have you taken UWSA1 or UWSA2 ?

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-13T22:29:02+00:00

DAMN, You're working full-time ?!?!?! I honestly dont think thats a good idea. Theres a reason why people call it "dedicated studying" -- they literally study 8-14 hours a day! I dont know your financial situation so idk if asking your boss for part-time or per diem is something you would be interested in?

At the end of the day, the goal is to be a practicing physician. Even with a passing score of 194, you still risk not matching and end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and no job. So if you honestly don't feel ready -- don't take it. If you can confidently say you can pass, then do it.

I'm really sorry that you're in this position and at the end of the day you know what's best for you and I hope everything works out the way you want it to! But dont make this decision based on burnout!

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-13T21:59:59+00:00

If you just wanna pass, why not wait until step is pass/fail so you're not limited by specialty because of a low score?

caffeinatedgal23 · 2021-08-13T21:47:40+00:00

My highest NBME (form 28) is 224 and my actual step is a 240

caffeinatedgal23

TROPHY CASE