r/usmle

Hi, I’m an IMG currently completing ECFMG Pathway 6 and urgently need 6 Mini-CEX evaluations before April 30.

I’m based in Florida, available ASAP, and willing to travel if needed.

If anyone has leads, contacts, or advice on how to get this done quickly, I’d really appreciate it 🙏

I have NBMEs 14,15,16 left and UWSA 1,2. Doing cms side by side. Making small blocks of amboss of weak concepts in nbme reviews and listening to podcasts. Can I give the exam on April 30th or May 11th? I’m scared about the new software because we have prepared for 40 questions per block for so long. Who knows they change style of questions and concepts tested?

To what extent can changes in the exam pattern affect the style of questions? Would this impact the syllabus or the pool of questions asked? And what if the exam body adopts an entirely different strategy?

Hi everyone,

I’m an IMG from India, graduated in 2019. I’m currently 30 (turning 31 this year), single, and not planning to get married anytime soon. I cleared PLAB and recently moved to the UK this year.

With the new prioritisation changes in the UK, I’m starting to rethink my long-term plans. I’m considering whether it’s worth starting the USMLE journey at this stage, but I’m unsure.

A few concerns I have:

Am I too late to start USMLE at 30/31?

Given my background and timeline, is it realistically worth the effort and investment?

How do residency programs view candidates with a few years of gap/post-grad experience outside the US?

Would switching pathways now be a smart move, or should I continue building my career in the UK?

I’d really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who started USMLE later or transitioned from the UK system.

Thanks in advance!

Hello, I'm a second-year medical student currently studying for Step 1. I may have the opportunity of going to the States in July, for no more than 2 -3 weeks, and knowing how important USCE and connections are, I'm looking to make the most out of this opportunity

What can/should I do as a second-year MS to maximise my experience there to benefit my journey?

Any advice is appreciated

studied mehlman pdfs in step one subject classified , now i am studying step 2

is there any difference between pdfs of step 1 and 2 bwcause if there is no difference so i use the same pdfs again is better for me

I had these pop ups that I appeared 3/4 times in the exam flickered for a second nothing delayed and my device was working fine. I still reported to the prometric and they said it’s normal trust us and also emailed the nbme because someone said report just in case.

Now the pop ups didn’t affect my performance or anything but I’m scared my results will be delayed I’m worried I got a mail from the nbme that they will review my case and it takes them minimum 15 days now i wish o didn’t report it

Question is does reporting if nothing is wrong will cause a score delay ????

Anybody who tested today have any thoughts on the exam?

I’m an incoming Internal Medicine PGY-1 and I’ve completed all 3 USMLE Steps. I know how overwhelming this journey can be, so I’m offering guidance to help you navigate it smarter and more efficiently.

Hi all, I'm sure this question has been asked many times on this subreddit before, and I have done my own research, but I'm starting board prep and going through Sketchy Pharm and I am finding that it is very tedious and annoying to get through. I follow up with the related Anking cards, and I feel like that is the biggest pitfall in this. The cards add too much extra information, and I feel like there's just too much overlap in content that I get frustrated with treatments. Granted, maybe the issue is that I started with antimicrobials, so that's why I'm running into this problem.

I want to note, I am a huge fan of SketchyMicro, so there's definitely a disconnect here for me. I want something consolidated, that will get me to score high on the Pharm section of this exam.

I'm even willing to just full send SketchyPharm but not do the associated Anking and just do the Pepperdeck which I have heard great things about.

Will this be sufficient and help me get Pharm questions right? My fear is that if I do this method, I will be missing out on details I might need, but on the other hand, SketchyPharm + Anking is just not working out for me and I need to restrategize.

Thank you!

I know the general consensus regarding Mehlman's Q Bank, and how UW is king. I'm aware of the controversy and risk with it but I've just had really good improvements in my scores on UW after using his PDF's and YT videos. I've heard a couple people also say that they passed solely just using his Qbank as their primary instead of UW as it sort of trains you for the exam in terms of what the exam is looking for etc.

So I'm looking to ask people who have specifically done that and if it worked out for them or if it didn't and how their experience was

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i finished the nbmes exams with score nbmes 26,27,28,29 = 65%

Nbme25=76%

Nbme30 = 58%

Nbme 31=53%

Nbme 32=56%

Nbme33= 60%

what should i do, how can i know im ready or not ?

I’m a med 4 who matched to a surgical specialty and will be starting residency July 1st.

I am currently studying for mccqe1 and will be taking the exam in early May.

I’ve been told by many surgical residents that it’s recommended to take step 2 alongside step 1 as there is good overlap content-wise.

I wrote step 1 in med 2 and failed by 2%. While studying for mccqe using amboss, I realized that some of the content is quite similar to step 1 and that many of the anking cards linked to my amboss practice questions are step 1 related.

I am seeking recommendation as to whether I should rewrite step 1 in May after my mccqe1, and then step 2 later on in June or July or if I should write step 2 before step 1.

Hey everyone, I’m taking Step 2 CK in about 2 weeks and trying to be smart with these last days instead of cramming random resources.

I wanted to ask: which Mehlman PDFs, if any, are actually worth doing this close to the exam? Are there certain high-yield ones people found especially useful for Step 2 CK in the final stretch?

Or is it better to skip Mehlman altogether and just focus on NBMEs, CMS forms, UWorld review, and weak areas?

Would really appreciate honest advice from people who scored well or used Mehlman near the end. What helped most in the last 2 weeks?

1. How helpful is the live Houston centre compared to the online version?
2. Does the Dr Thomas method actually help with time management on the real exam?
3. Is the 8-week period enough for a beginner scoring low on uw or should I aim for 12? given that i have only 3-4 months time to take the exam
4. Did being in person make a difference for the 1-on-1 feedback during the evening sessions?
5. And is the course recommended at the end of prep, like after finishing UW one pass?or just focus on uw,cms, NBMEs (appreciate feedback from someone who took his course)

Took my exam last week Uw CK is valid till oct 11, can reset and UWSA123 is available If anyone interested, feel free to DM

My last UWSA 3 is 45%, but NBME 29 was 61%. It was mentioned my probability of passing is 81%, but after UWSA I'm not sure. I want to take the exam in May, but as I said I don't understand my probability after UWSA.

Graduate Doctors who are residing in Delhi who are going to give step1 soon. Let us meet up and strategize.