USMLE Forum Archives - USMLE Step 3 - Step-3 Exam Experiences.
Step-3 Exam Experiences.
adonis123 - 05-11-09 00:10
Please post your USMLE Step-3 Exam experiences here.
adonis123 - 05-11-09 00:10
Please post your USMLE Step-3 Exam experiences here.
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#1
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences.
adonis123 - 05-11-09 00:17 I appeared in my step-3 exam on 24th and 26th march and took it with the new software .I studied for 2 and 1/2 months.
Studied Premiere Review,Crush,FA,Kaplan Q Bank,U World Q Bank.
Did UWorld Two times.UW Average score 58%.Did Kaplan Q Bank.Kaplan Q Bank Score 58%.
Did 200 Questions from UWorld third time and scored 75%.
Did U World CCS one time.
MCQ's:
First day of the exam was full of very long and vague questions.I even thought of not going for the second day of the exam.I ticked seven questions randomly on my first block,because i was short of time.
On second day the first two blocks were good,but the next two blocks were as vague and as difficult as the first day.Missed 4 questions on the 4th block of second day.Ticked randomly 1-2 questions on second day on the first three blocks.
CCS:
7 CCS cases ended before 15 minutes and two CCS cases did not end at all.
Did not advance clock properly in one of these cases,and ordered superfluous tests on the same case,so it did not end.
Could not get what was going on in another case,so it did not end.
Forgot to order an important test in annother case,but it did end.
Recollected some questions ,and am getting 135 correct out of the recollected 175.I donot know what does it suggest.Can't post anything ,because of irregular behaviour.
Got my results .Passed and scored only 75/187.But,I only wanted to pass this monster exam.
CCS performance is Borderline to Higher performance.
I think CCS helped me pass.
Good Luck!
#3
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences. harry206 - 05-11-09 02:32 Congratz for passing & Thanks for this info
GL
#4
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences. meduploader - 05-11-09 06:17 Congratz for passing & Thank! really appreciate it.
#6
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences. meduploader - 05-12-09 05:50 messeduppsycho - 05/08/09 19:24
Hi every-one...passed my Step 3...though I didnt score well enough....197/80...anyways I am glad that I wont have to take it again...
I had my first day exam on March 11, but then due to technical problem at the center, 2nd day was post-poned and I took the 2nd day on 31st March..
As for my preparation, studied for about 45-50 days...5-6 hrs a day..with breaks in between..a little booze here and there on the week-ends..
Studied Step 2 CK books twice...UW CCS book twice...and practiced UW MCQs once..
I didnt take NBME or any CCS online courses...
And then...learned a lot from this forum..CCS and MCQs...my sincere regards for all those helping friends....
As for my exam experience....most of the MCQs were difficult...coz the options would be quite similar....there would be 5-6 Qs in each block which would be very easy though...the rest would be really confusing...
CK books help but then the questions mainly ask about the long term management plans and recommendations which are hard to find in books...quickly go thru USPSTF guidelines once..
For CCS...UW CCS helped a lot...but difficult scenarios did come and then I was bit anxious and messed up some cases....most of my cases ended at around 20 minutes..
My CCS cases were..
1. ARF-post-op fracture leg:
presented as Crush Syndrome....creatine, CPK was very high, initially tried hydrating,lasix.....was not sure if I shud be going for Dialysis straightaway...the case didnt end early...so probably dialysis shud have been done....
2. Alzheimer’s disease:
was so happy to see this case, this was the only case that I got from UW CCS...pretty straight..
3. Acute Congestive Heart Failure:
female 35 years...tried lasix...didnt improve much...did echo...consulted cardio..they didnt suggest...tried digoxin....got bit confused..this case also didnt end early...
4. Fever and vomiting in a child:
this was a quite difficult case ....8 months child with temp of 105 F...nothing specific except for raised cbc....none of the cultures came positive...cxr..urine..stool..csf...all normal...tried ceftriaxone...probably shud have tried different antibiotic....maybe ampicillin? penicillin? was not sure what to write in the diagnosis...guess what...wrote febrile child under investigation..lol..
5. Severe vaginal bleeding in an adolescent girl:
16 yrs young...severe vag. bleeding with hct of 21....transfused thrice....usg normal...gyane consult normal....prescribed OCPs and admitted...diagnosed as DUB..donno for sure..
6. Elderly with H. influenza Pneumonia:
this was a pretty easy case....admitted...antibiotics....got better...
7. Severe pain abdomen in an elderly male:
this was another case when I got quite confused....Xray abd was non-specific...CT abd was non-specific....was so confused that I ordered for colonoscopy which the patient declined..and then I started to panic....it was probably Ischemic colitis...pain didnt improve much even with morphine...shud have given Antibiotics...probably shud have done MRA?...couldnt diagnose for sure...
8. Acute UTI in a female:
I admitted the patient....possibly could have treated her as an out-patient..
9. Lung Cancer with Hyponatremia:
this was also a bit tricky...presented for fatigue...on routine CXR showed lung mass...central...did bronchoscopy...couldnt find the option for Biopsy in the soft-ware....and then his Na was way too low...112..but had no prominent symptoms for hypoNa....did urine osmo...urine Na...serum osmo..took to ICU, initially tried diet,fluid restricted...checked Na q 1hr...didnt increase...then gave 3% NaCl....then Na started increasing..and later shifted to 0.9% NaCl..pulmonary consult....onco consult...radiation consult....so this was Small cell Lung Ca with SIADH......doono if 3% NaCl was wrong treatment.....
I thought I messed up with my CCS cases...I was quite convinced that I would fail...but when I got the results...I had done quite good in CCS...higher performance...MCQs were bad...
Well the lessons that I learnt....
--Practice CCS well..the more u practice the better....u might not get cases similar to UW CCS...and then u tend to panic in the exams when u get a new scenario...so do as many CCS as possible.....get used to every sorts of cases...practice with the soft-ware every day..
Even if u get a case that u havent practiced before...DONT PANIC...make sure that u do the basic stuff....always stabilise first...basic labs...frequent follow-ups..basic meds...basic counselling..RATED SEX when appropriate..even though u might feel that u messed up with the cases, u wont fail if u do basic things...atleast remember MUSA's golden rules..that helps...
--U cannot be sure about MCQs....some of them were similar to UW MCQs....donno for sure what books to suggest....CK books dont cover much...they mainly ask medicine/obs/gynae/peds...little bit of surgery...some stats and ethics..I got almost 15-20 derma photos and they were difficult...
--U will get a lot of help from this forum....there are a lot of very good friends out here who share valuable information and suggestions...very generous of them...
Well, what more to say....if u prepare properly....passing Step 3 shouldnt be that difficult...
Wishing GOOD LUCK for every-one out there who are to take their Step 3 exams....remember...DONT PANIC in the exams...be calm and think....U WILL DO GOOD !!
#7
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences. adonis123 - 05-12-09 08:36 
posted by meduploader on 05-12-09 05:50
messeduppsycho - 05/08/09 19:24
Hi every-one...passed my Step 3...though I didnt score well enough....197/80...anyways I am glad that I wont have to take it again...
I had my first day exam on March 11, but then due to technical problem at the center, 2nd day was post-poned and I took the 2nd day on 31st March..
As for my preparation, studied for about 45-50 days...5-6 hrs a day..with breaks in between..a little booze here and there on the week-ends..
Studied Step 2 CK books twice...UW CCS book twice...and practiced UW MCQs once..
I didnt take NBME or any CCS online courses...
And then...learned a lot from this forum..CCS and MCQs...my sincere regards for all those helping friends....
As for my exam experience....most of the MCQs were difficult...coz the options would be quite similar....there would be 5-6 Qs in each block which would be very easy though...the rest would be really confusing...
CK books help but then the questions mainly ask about the long term management plans and recommendations which are hard to find in books...quickly go thru USPSTF guidelines once..
For CCS...UW CCS helped a lot...but difficult scenarios did come and then I was bit anxious and messed up some cases....most of my cases ended at around 20 minutes..
My CCS cases were..
1. ARF-post-op fracture leg:
presented as Crush Syndrome....creatine, CPK was very high, initially tried hydrating,lasix.....was not sure if I shud be going for Dialysis straightaway...the case didnt end early...so probably dialysis shud have been done....
2. Alzheimer’s disease:
was so happy to see this case, this was the only case that I got from UW CCS...pretty straight..
3. Acute Congestive Heart Failure:
female 35 years...tried lasix...didnt improve much...did echo...consulted cardio..they didnt suggest...tried digoxin....got bit confused..this case also didnt end early...
4. Fever and vomiting in a child:
this was a quite difficult case ....8 months child with temp of 105 F...nothing specific except for raised cbc....none of the cultures came positive...cxr..urine..stool..csf...all normal...tried ceftriaxone...probably shud have tried different antibiotic....maybe ampicillin? penicillin? was not sure what to write in the diagnosis...guess what...wrote febrile child under investigation..lol..
5. Severe vaginal bleeding in an adolescent girl:
16 yrs young...severe vag. bleeding with hct of 21....transfused thrice....usg normal...gyane consult normal....prescribed OCPs and admitted...diagnosed as DUB..donno for sure..
6. Elderly with H. influenza Pneumonia:
this was a pretty easy case....admitted...antibiotics....got better...
7. Severe pain abdomen in an elderly male:
this was another case when I got quite confused....Xray abd was non-specific...CT abd was non-specific....was so confused that I ordered for colonoscopy which the patient declined..and then I started to panic....it was probably Ischemic colitis...pain didnt improve much even with morphine...shud have given Antibiotics...probably shud have done MRA?...couldnt diagnose for sure...
8. Acute UTI in a female:
I admitted the patient....possibly could have treated her as an out-patient..
9. Lung Cancer with Hyponatremia:
this was also a bit tricky...presented for fatigue...on routine CXR showed lung mass...central...did bronchoscopy...couldnt find the option for Biopsy in the soft-ware....and then his Na was way too low...112..but had no prominent symptoms for hypoNa....did urine osmo...urine Na...serum osmo..took to ICU, initially tried diet,fluid restricted...checked Na q 1hr...didnt increase...then gave 3% NaCl....then Na started increasing..and later shifted to 0.9% NaCl..pulmonary consult....onco consult...radiation consult....so this was Small cell Lung Ca with SIADH......doono if 3% NaCl was wrong treatment.....
I thought I messed up with my CCS cases...I was quite convinced that I would fail...but when I got the results...I had done quite good in CCS...higher performance...MCQs were bad...
Well the lessons that I learnt....
--Practice CCS well..the more u practice the better....u might not get cases similar to UW CCS...and then u tend to panic in the exams when u get a new scenario...so do as many CCS as possible.....get used to every sorts of cases...practice with the soft-ware every day..
Even if u get a case that u havent practiced before...DONT PANIC...make sure that u do the basic stuff....always stabilise first...basic labs...frequent follow-ups..basic meds...basic counselling..RATED SEX when appropriate..even though u might feel that u messed up with the cases, u wont fail if u do basic things...atleast remember MUSA's golden rules..that helps...
--U cannot be sure about MCQs....some of them were similar to UW MCQs....donno for sure what books to suggest....CK books dont cover much...they mainly ask medicine/obs/gynae/peds...little bit of surgery...some stats and ethics..I got almost 15-20 derma photos and they were difficult...
--U will get a lot of help from this forum....there are a lot of very good friends out here who share valuable information and suggestions...very generous of them...
Well, what more to say....if u prepare properly....passing Step 3 shouldnt be that difficult...
Wishing GOOD LUCK for every-one out there who are to take their Step 3 exams....remember...DONT PANIC in the exams...be calm and think....U WILL DO GOOD !!
messeduppsycho - 05/08/09 19:24
Hi every-one...passed my Step 3...though I didnt score well enough....197/80...anyways I am glad that I wont have to take it again...
I had my first day exam on March 11, but then due to technical problem at the center, 2nd day was post-poned and I took the 2nd day on 31st March..
As for my preparation, studied for about 45-50 days...5-6 hrs a day..with breaks in between..a little booze here and there on the week-ends..
Studied Step 2 CK books twice...UW CCS book twice...and practiced UW MCQs once..
I didnt take NBME or any CCS online courses...
And then...learned a lot from this forum..CCS and MCQs...my sincere regards for all those helping friends....
As for my exam experience....most of the MCQs were difficult...coz the options would be quite similar....there would be 5-6 Qs in each block which would be very easy though...the rest would be really confusing...
CK books help but then the questions mainly ask about the long term management plans and recommendations which are hard to find in books...quickly go thru USPSTF guidelines once..
For CCS...UW CCS helped a lot...but difficult scenarios did come and then I was bit anxious and messed up some cases....most of my cases ended at around 20 minutes..
My CCS cases were..
1. ARF-post-op fracture leg:
presented as Crush Syndrome....creatine, CPK was very high, initially tried hydrating,lasix.....was not sure if I shud be going for Dialysis straightaway...the case didnt end early...so probably dialysis shud have been done....
2. Alzheimer’s disease:
was so happy to see this case, this was the only case that I got from UW CCS...pretty straight..
3. Acute Congestive Heart Failure:
female 35 years...tried lasix...didnt improve much...did echo...consulted cardio..they didnt suggest...tried digoxin....got bit confused..this case also didnt end early...
4. Fever and vomiting in a child:
this was a quite difficult case ....8 months child with temp of 105 F...nothing specific except for raised cbc....none of the cultures came positive...cxr..urine..stool..csf...all normal...tried ceftriaxone...probably shud have tried different antibiotic....maybe ampicillin? penicillin? was not sure what to write in the diagnosis...guess what...wrote febrile child under investigation..lol..
5. Severe vaginal bleeding in an adolescent girl:
16 yrs young...severe vag. bleeding with hct of 21....transfused thrice....usg normal...gyane consult normal....prescribed OCPs and admitted...diagnosed as DUB..donno for sure..
6. Elderly with H. influenza Pneumonia:
this was a pretty easy case....admitted...antibiotics....got better...
7. Severe pain abdomen in an elderly male:
this was another case when I got quite confused....Xray abd was non-specific...CT abd was non-specific....was so confused that I ordered for colonoscopy which the patient declined..and then I started to panic....it was probably Ischemic colitis...pain didnt improve much even with morphine...shud have given Antibiotics...probably shud have done MRA?...couldnt diagnose for sure...
8. Acute UTI in a female:
I admitted the patient....possibly could have treated her as an out-patient..
9. Lung Cancer with Hyponatremia:
this was also a bit tricky...presented for fatigue...on routine CXR showed lung mass...central...did bronchoscopy...couldnt find the option for Biopsy in the soft-ware....and then his Na was way too low...112..but had no prominent symptoms for hypoNa....did urine osmo...urine Na...serum osmo..took to ICU, initially tried diet,fluid restricted...checked Na q 1hr...didnt increase...then gave 3% NaCl....then Na started increasing..and later shifted to 0.9% NaCl..pulmonary consult....onco consult...radiation consult....so this was Small cell Lung Ca with SIADH......doono if 3% NaCl was wrong treatment.....
I thought I messed up with my CCS cases...I was quite convinced that I would fail...but when I got the results...I had done quite good in CCS...higher performance...MCQs were bad...
Well the lessons that I learnt....
--Practice CCS well..the more u practice the better....u might not get cases similar to UW CCS...and then u tend to panic in the exams when u get a new scenario...so do as many CCS as possible.....get used to every sorts of cases...practice with the soft-ware every day..
Even if u get a case that u havent practiced before...DONT PANIC...make sure that u do the basic stuff....always stabilise first...basic labs...frequent follow-ups..basic meds...basic counselling..RATED SEX when appropriate..even though u might feel that u messed up with the cases, u wont fail if u do basic things...atleast remember MUSA's golden rules..that helps...
--U cannot be sure about MCQs....some of them were similar to UW MCQs....donno for sure what books to suggest....CK books dont cover much...they mainly ask medicine/obs/gynae/peds...little bit of surgery...some stats and ethics..I got almost 15-20 derma photos and they were difficult...
--U will get a lot of help from this forum....there are a lot of very good friends out here who share valuable information and suggestions...very generous of them...
Well, what more to say....if u prepare properly....passing Step 3 shouldnt be that difficult...
Wishing GOOD LUCK for every-one out there who are to take their Step 3 exams....remember...DONT PANIC in the exams...be calm and think....U WILL DO GOOD !!
Congrats,to you as well!
Really appreciate your efforts.
Best Regards!
#8
Re: Step-3 Exam Experiences. meduploader - 05-12-09 13:26 Hmmmm
Its not my exam experience, i m just posting some good exam experience from other forums, as it will help ppl to know abt step 3.
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