5 Best Tips to Clear Your NBME Step1 Exam

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is the most important one for medical students to obtain their practising license. It has 3 levels and Step 1 is the first paper to attempt in order to move forward.

Tip 1: Understand why you are studying

Stop memorising with the intention of just retaining it until the end of the exam. The problem with this attitude is that the USMLE exam focuses a lot on applying your knowledge to questions and using your skills and fundamentals. Unless you understand what you read and start applying it, you will lose out on these chunks of questions. Be genuinely interested and you will have no problem in getting most answers right.

Tip 2: Start early

Time is everything. The more time you have to prepare, the less anxious you are and the better prepared you will be. If you are a medical student, you will know when exactly you should be taking the NMBE Step 1 exam. Don’t wait until the last minute. Have enough time to plan your study schedule. This will tell you how long you need to finish preparing. Take help from prep courses if needed and be regular in the process.

Tip 3: Active learning

The third tip is active learning. Each topic in the content outline has importance in the final exam. Some topics are repeat ones, while other topics need thorough preparation to be able to answer skill-based questions. Thus, it is only fair to concentrate on what’s going to help you increase your score. There are details available online or you can get in touch with an expert tutor to identify these core areas.

Tip 4: Make use of first aids/notes

In fact, this is one of the most important techniques. Start having your own set of compressed notes/first aids for each topic you finish. This becomes your savior during the revision phase. Referring to your own notes has also proven more effective in retaining information better. Revising from these aids, therefore, keeps you on the top and builds up a lot of confidence.

Tip 5: Don’t make this too serious

Who said you have to give up the fun in life during the preparation phase? If you have a set of friends who are preparing for USMLE Step 1 too, meet them up for a group discussion. Share ideas and tips, go out for dinner and come back motivated and excited to work further. It is fine to take small breaks when you get exhausted.  These breaks help you focus more and improve your efficiency.

There is no doubt that this exam is important to you. Don’t get too anxious and nervous about it, though. If you have taken enough time to prepare and you feel you have given it your best and learned something new, you will definitely do well. Being confident helps think clearly and score better in the finals. Good luck.