10-01-2014, 04:47 PM
Hi all,
Just wanted to try to contribute a little with my experience on this Journey that just ended....
Context: PGY-3 Internal Medicine
My exam was on Sep 11 and 12
My "prep" was very disorganized due to my schedule but basically it consisted on the following:
UW: Did 61% of the questions with an avg of 68% (random, unused, timed). Went through the explanations of those ones (did not have time to complete the whole bank).
UW CCS cases: Did around 25 cases. At one point got really frustrated with the software but a friend recommended to go over Archer videos. He does go over some cases and I found it very useful (just went over the cases that he did).
MTB: It was very useful specially for Peds and OBGYN. I had completely forgotten even basic stuff in those subjects so pretty much every question or CCS case that involved those topics I found myself neglecting during my preparation. 3 days before my exam, I went through the OB and GYN chapters. 2 days before my exam I read Peds. That was very helpful.
Also, the day before the exam I went briefly over the IM chapters just to get an idea of the most common things that were tested on this exam. That was helpful too.
The exam:
Day 1: Felt terrible. Such a looooonnnnng exam!!!. Many questions coming from God knows where and, the fact that I was so tired by the 4th block, I found myself making simple mistakes, having time management problems. Had some easy questions too but felt very insecure in a big number of them. In general, got out of the test center with mixed feelings and very tired.
Day 2: MCQs were definitely shorter and I felt they were a lot easier. Maybe they just had some mercy on me...
CCS cases were fine. I think if you get familiar with the software you should not have much problem with it. Most of them ended really fast except for one (I still have no idea what she had).
My score: 233
One last thing. I was very anxious during this waiting period and was thinking of all the mistakes I made. I thought that maybe I had failed the exam and this whole thing. It's very hard to predict your score so just try your best during your preparation and during the exam and, after you leave the test center, try not to be so hard on yourself. There is not much you can do after the exam is over. Seriously, I think the worst part is the waiting. If I could change only one thing of my experience, that's the only thing I would change.
Any questions, feel free to ask
Just wanted to try to contribute a little with my experience on this Journey that just ended....
Context: PGY-3 Internal Medicine
My exam was on Sep 11 and 12
My "prep" was very disorganized due to my schedule but basically it consisted on the following:
UW: Did 61% of the questions with an avg of 68% (random, unused, timed). Went through the explanations of those ones (did not have time to complete the whole bank).
UW CCS cases: Did around 25 cases. At one point got really frustrated with the software but a friend recommended to go over Archer videos. He does go over some cases and I found it very useful (just went over the cases that he did).
MTB: It was very useful specially for Peds and OBGYN. I had completely forgotten even basic stuff in those subjects so pretty much every question or CCS case that involved those topics I found myself neglecting during my preparation. 3 days before my exam, I went through the OB and GYN chapters. 2 days before my exam I read Peds. That was very helpful.
Also, the day before the exam I went briefly over the IM chapters just to get an idea of the most common things that were tested on this exam. That was helpful too.
The exam:
Day 1: Felt terrible. Such a looooonnnnng exam!!!. Many questions coming from God knows where and, the fact that I was so tired by the 4th block, I found myself making simple mistakes, having time management problems. Had some easy questions too but felt very insecure in a big number of them. In general, got out of the test center with mixed feelings and very tired.
Day 2: MCQs were definitely shorter and I felt they were a lot easier. Maybe they just had some mercy on me...
CCS cases were fine. I think if you get familiar with the software you should not have much problem with it. Most of them ended really fast except for one (I still have no idea what she had).
My score: 233
One last thing. I was very anxious during this waiting period and was thinking of all the mistakes I made. I thought that maybe I had failed the exam and this whole thing. It's very hard to predict your score so just try your best during your preparation and during the exam and, after you leave the test center, try not to be so hard on yourself. There is not much you can do after the exam is over. Seriously, I think the worst part is the waiting. If I could change only one thing of my experience, that's the only thing I would change.
Any questions, feel free to ask
