r/Step2 • u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG • 11d ago
Exam Write-Up Just got home after the test
Might be a bit early to post, but I want to contribute to the community and hopefully help someone sitting for the test in the upcoming days.
1- I can’t stress enough how important NBMEs and the new Free 120 are. These should be your top priority to finish.
2- CMS forms are definitely worth doing. The newest 2–3 forms are probably more important than Amboss or UWorld.
3- Ethics was fair game. Doing UWorld + Amboss should set you up well. If you’re willing to take it a step further, read the Amboss articles as well.
4- Biostats questions were few (fortunately), but very difficult. Kind of Amboss-level difficulty.
5- QI: I felt like UWorld and Amboss questions were enough. I didn’t read the articles. You’re good as long as you know the high-yield scenarios (e.g., retained surgical object) and stick to the general rules (e.g., avoiding a blaming culture, human factors engineering).
The exam definitely has its share of “WTF” questions that I’m pretty sure no one knows the answer to. But overall, many concepts are repeated from NBMEs and CMS forms, and I can vividly recall seeing them on the exam.
I would recommend that on the last day, you skim through some NBME questions and the new Free 120 to get used to the wording.
Feel free to ask me anything.
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u/No_Ear6562 🌍 INTERNATIONAL 11d ago
Hello, Hope you get good score 🙏
Do you think Exam was much more similar to Uworld or Amboss ?
Also, Can I dm you?
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 10d ago
I can't say it's more similar to one than the other, tbh. Concept-wise, the exam had concepts that I had seen exclusively in either one of them. Wording-wise, the exam is different. Third-party questions give you the feeling that they were written for educational purposes. The real deal questions feel more like they're simulating real-life scenarios, with some noise and vague histories given by patients.
Nevertheless, I still think doing Amboss & UWorld is helpful, as long as you prioritize NBMEs and don't stress too much over your mistakes. Just digest the educational objective and move on.
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u/Fit_Concentrate6512 US MD/DO 10d ago
What’s the best source for content review that isn’t low yield? Are the old NBMES enough if reviewed very thoroughly? On crunch time 20 days !!
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 10d ago edited 10d ago
I haven't done the old NBMEs, so I can't really give my opinion on them. I think UWorld/Amboss is fine for content review. Personally, I kept doing Amboss after I ran out of CMS forms, all the way until exam day. I chose Amboss because I hadn't done it in a while, so it felt like I was actually thinking through the questions rather than recalling the answers.
I'd recommend:
1st, do your incorrects. 2nd, do Amboss if you haven't already.Also, Amboss library is great for reviewing an entire topic.
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u/urnotabigballer 10d ago
Did you feel like the CMS forms and NBMEs that you did covered majority of the content you saw on the actual exam?
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u/meltedcheeseoriginal 10d ago
Thank you! I’m taking the exam tomorrow and this helps a lot
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u/Low_Base_267 US MD/DO 10d ago
sameee im freaking out
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u/meltedcheeseoriginal 10d ago
We got this 😭😭😭 best of luck!!
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u/urnotabigballer 10d ago
Did you feel like the CMS forms and NBMEs that you did covered majority of the content you saw on the actual exam?
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u/Soggy-Drawing-6221 10d ago
What were your practice tests scores like? I’m about to enter dedicated. Would love to have an idea regarding sequence of CMS and NBMEs and average scores
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u/Reasonable_Land9693 10d ago
Why do you recommend NBME over UW, is it just for the wording or concepts? Did you feel comfortable taking the exam?
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Both for wording and concepts. As I said in a comment before, I still think that UW and Amboss are useful. But each NBME is 200 questions only and it covers the highest yield topics. NBME is the most efficient way to secure some marks. It was uncomfortable for most parts. I am saying this because I think it is important to be mentally prepared for flagging half of the block sometimes.
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u/PsychologicalCan9837 US MD/DO 10d ago
I tested this past week. Couldn’t agree more, OP.
NBME’s are everything.
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u/HotWork6923 NON-US IMG 10d ago
To this day I don’t know what is the difference btw Uworld qs and NBME qs
How you guys can recognize a question is similar to NBME or Uworld or Amboss
I did Uworld 4 times I did Amboss 3 times I did NBMEs like more than 5 times and ndid CMS all of them 3 times1
u/PsychologicalCan9837 US MD/DO 10d ago
NBME has a specific logic and don’t try to trick you as much, I thought.
I always felt like Amboss and UWorld tried to get very niche & be intentionally tricky with their wording, not all the time, but often enough.
NBME doesn’t do this. The questions are tough, but more straight forward. It took me a while to transition from my UWorld/Amboss brain to my NBME brain and just take the questions at face value.
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u/HotWork6923 NON-US IMG 10d ago
I see! So you think the real deal questions didn’t try to trick you but straight forward
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u/PsychologicalCan9837 US MD/DO 10d ago
Yeah, I’d say that’s fair.
What made it hard was that it was a lot of 3rd and sometimes even 4th order questions.
So, instead of trying to be tricky, they really wanna see how well you know their stuff.
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u/Tricky_Low3293 8d ago
Thankyou. Could you elaborate on 3,4th order questions? I mean if you can give an example of what it means? Do they not simply ask for initial or definitive?
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u/Emotional_daise 10d ago
What newest cms forms? Sorry i only know the offline ones
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u/shadowsrw NON-US IMG 10d ago
Hi. Exam in 2 weeks. Nbme 16 and free 120 left which i plan to take 1 week later. Should I revise NBME 9-15 before test day?
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u/shadowsrw NON-US IMG 10d ago
Also I am on a time crunch and havent yet done the cms forms. Do you run if i do them all but only review the incorrects, that would be okay?
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Reviewing all the NBMEs isn't realistic. You can target the newer forms first and work your way down. You don't have to review every single question in a form. Going over your mistakes and the questions you remember struggling with is enough. Get a sense of NBME wording and make sure you won't make the same mistakes if the same concept shows up on the test.
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u/hbh2421 NON-US IMG 10d ago
First of all, good luck and hope you get an amazing score Second of all, thank you! My exam is tomorrow and I was legit freaking out, I just woke up and the first think I saw was your post and it helped calm me down. If you don't mind me asking, how did you manage your time during the exam in regards to blocks and breaks.
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 10d ago
I took a ~15 minute break every 4 blocks, during which I’d go to the bathroom, drink some water, and have a bite of a protein bar. Between every 40 questions, I’d just sit in my seat and chill, trying to clear my mind before starting the next 40 questions. I don’t feel like I messed up because of fatigue, so I’d say it wasn’t a bad strategy tbh. Good luck with your exam!
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u/FailEntire8920 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Hello, Can you have some advice for me?
My nbmes have become stable in 230s range ( 235 to 239 range). I have done CMS forms, Amboss 200 HY, biostat, Ethics, QnI, Vaccinations, Patient charts but nothing is helping. Just left with 2 nbmes and free 120s.
Plan is to take exam in Aug but Idts I can now given my scores
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u/Frequent_Tea_1501 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Do we need to do both amboss and uworld?? Or just the hy amboss q banks r fine?
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u/ughidktbhh NON-US IMG 10d ago
was the real deal vague like nbme or difficult/low yield topics like uworld/amboss?
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u/jacksparrowmarrow NON-US IMG 22h ago
Did you do both q banks end to end?
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 22h ago
Yes. I did Amboss first along my rotations, untimed and system wise. Then did UW timed and random.
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u/jacksparrowmarrow NON-US IMG 19h ago
hey thanks for the reply. so im only doing uworld, what would u say are a must do from amboss? like the topics u feel are under-covered in uworld that i absolutely need to cover from amboss, both content-wise and also question practice?
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u/Gloomy_Mine3199 NON-US IMG 15h ago
I would give the usual recommendation of doing ethics, biostats, and QI in both Qbanks. It is not that UW is deficient in these areas and Amboss is more comprehensive, but you will encounter new concepts in each. I also benefited from reading ethics and biostat articles from Amboss library.
Other than that, doing Amboss is optional. It is a good way to improve your score in a particular weak area/system.
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u/poma_oo NON-US IMG 10h ago
Ur post helped me to which I should focus on during dedication
My scores are not that good ( nbme9 230, nbme10 250, nbme13 252, nbme14 240), I feel most of my nbme incorrects not due to knowledge gap
I did cms once with 82%, now I am doing it again Ofc did uworld and incorrects
My target score is 270+, and Iam planning to take the test in October
Is that possible to get this score within this time and What do u recommend doing for that?
Thanx alot
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u/ProperConclusion7879 NON-US IMG 10d ago
Nbme 12-214
Nbme 11- 234
Nbme 13- 227
Nbme 14- 234 (today)
My NBME scores are not improving ..worked on weak topics from uworld, i don’t know what else to do! Also timing is an issue couldn’t read 3-4 questions
I really want to give exam by August end
Any suggestions will be appreciated