Salam Alykom everyone I got my score a while ago and I decided to do a little write up to give back to this group

Medicoman · February 10, 2020, 6:51am

MY NUMBERS:

Step 1: 236 (3 years ago)
Step2: 248
UWorld overall % 2nd run: 94% (the first run was offline)
AMBOSS overall %: 84%
UWSA2: 253 (5 months prior to the test)
UWSA1: I decided not to take it
NBME 8 (offline 20 mistakes - 6 months prior to the test)
NBME 7 (offline 25 mistakes - 7 months prior to the test)
NBME 6, 4 (offline 11-12 mistakes each - 9 months prior to the test)
CMS (got 5-7 mistakes per block - 8-9 months prior to the test)

EXAM EXPERIENCE:

Didn’t sleep for 48 hours before the test. Popped 0.25 mg Alprazolam at 2 AM, but it didn’t help or harm me. Did the entire test while fasting during the month of Ramadan (no food or water). The last meal/sip of water I had before the test was 9 hours prior. The reason I’m mentioning this is to tell you that the test is doable even if you are in a bad physical condition. I also want to encourage people who are scared of taking the test in Ramadan and eventually end up missing an entire match cycle.
I usually get VERY ANXIOUS before exams, but I thought I can handle it this time, little did I know. I couldn’t control my anxiety and that was my biggest mistake I guess. I kept studying until 1 am and spent the rest of the night worring in bed.
In the morning I decided I’m gonna push the test back a little. I packed my stuff, left the hotel, and when I’m about to get in my Uber I said FUCK IT. I’m gonna take this test no matter what.
Going into the test room, I felt my head is heavy. My mind was clouded and foggy and I didn’t feel I was in my normal state of mind. There were a lot of questions that I got wrong because I knew the answer but couldn’t get access to it during the test.
The first block was not that hard which motivated me a lot. The second one however was very confusing.
Since I was fasting I wasn’t gonna eat or drink or probably need the bathroom I didn’t feel I’m gonna need my break time that much. This is how I organized my breaks: first 2 blocks then break for 3 minutes. Afterwards I took few minutes after each block except for the one I needed to pray Zuhur. I found myself left with 20 minutes before the last block which I used to relax and curse the NBME for doing this to us.
I got some tough blocks and some easy ones. I finished every block just on time despite training myself to finish with at least 5 minutes left. I marked at least 15/block except the second block where I marked around 30 questions. I didn’t have time to review the marked questions so the hell with that. Blindly checked the abstract questions out of frustration (not due to time constraints.) Actually the blocks with abstracts were slightly easier than the rest and I had around 10 minutes for the abstract, but again, I was frustrated and didn’t want to read them. The Last block felt like swimming in sand, but managed to finish on time with the help of God.
I felt the exam is 30% knowledge and 70% thinking/test-taking skills. The questions were either short and vague or weird and long with clues strategically buried like a needle in a haystack. The answer choices were also weird (like the NBMEs). There were some super easy questions as well which make think like where’s the catch? how are they tricking me in this question?
Felt like garbage going out, but I was relieved that the hell is over. I counted at least 50 questions that I got wrong without even checking my notes. I made some really dumb mistakes that I think I would not have done if I were more relaxed.
I felt kinda blunt and stoic afterwords and I was expecting a score in the 230’s or even 220’s.

RESOURCES:

I did UWorld x2.5 times. The last time I had access to UWorld was October 2018. So I didn’t have access to the new questions and I depended on my friends to provide me with the tough ones among them.
I supplemented with Kaplan qbank, UWorld 3, and AMBOSS which I believe were a waste of time. I got like 2 questions from each qbank which I could have gotten right anyway. Don’t feel pressured to do these qbanks at all.
You can do kaplan and amboss if you have time and want to see more questions, but I don’t recommend doing UWorld 3. UWorld 3 is actually easier than 2. The questions are shorter and more straightforward the step 2 ck.
I did kaplan pediatrics, surgery, and Ob/Gyn waaaaay back in time, like 2-3 years ago. I think kaplan Ob/Gyn is extremely helpful; surgery is not bad; pediatrics is a waste of time. I didn’t read any books for internal medicine. I read few scattered topics form MTB and SUTM only in areas where I felt I needed more info.
I used UpToDate a lot. I used it selectively though. only in areas where I wasn’t not sure about something or whenever I face discrepant statements from UWorld or other question banks.
I discovered anki at the end of my prep. I wish I did that earlier as they were so helpful. I recommend Zanki and Wiwa decks. They help A LOT especially when you have some down time and want to do quick review. I used to go for a 30-minute walk everyday and do anki on the go.
I made my own notes which I shared with you a couple of days ago and I got some awesome feedback on. My biggest accomplishment and frustration was creating these notes. I felt lost without a book like FA for step 1. So I decided to create these notes from UWorld to help myself and others following me.
Here’s a link for the notes if you want to take a look. I will be releasing a book soon insha’a Allah and it will be for free https://www.facebook.com/groups/usmle2ck/permalink/2518024684894662/

At the end I wanna tell that you’re awesome. YES YOU! You chose to improve your education and you’re trying very hard. Numbers don’t define you. The only thing I learned during my prep for this test is to be humble. Getting low scores doesn’t mean you’re dumb and getting high scores doesn’t mean you’re a genius. I believe there’s a huge amount of luck in this test and it’s in no way reflective of who you are as a doctor. Aim high, and do your best, but stay relaxed.

All the best guys. Good luck studying. See you on the other side!!

Fee free to ask any questions, but keep questions related to notes under the original post about them.

Peace out!!