Your USMLE step 1 and step 2 scores are the most important pieces of information in your residency application. However, acing your board exams isn’t just about knowing the science but also about having strong test taking skills. At the end of the day, your score is a combination of how smart you are multiplied by how hard you work divided by your test taking skills. Here are my test taking strategies to maximize your score on test day.
Find your weaknesses
It’s hard to improve your test taking skills if you don’t know where to start. So do a question set of UWorld or two and while you are reviewing your answers figure out why you got the question wrong in the first place. In my mind, there are two broad categories of why you get questions wrong. The first is that you straight up didn’t know the answer because you didn’t know the science or medicine behind the question at hand. The second category of incorrect answers is due to poor test taking skills. So if you get a question wrong because you didn’t remember the auto-antibody that correlates with autoimmune hepatitis then don’t stress out about it. Just go study that subject material. However, did you fluster over this answer choice for five minutes? Did you eat up all of your time trying to remember the answer? That’s a test taking strategy and is something you have to work on.
So first, (1) figure out if you got the answer wrong because of a lack of knowledge versus poor test taking skills. Next, (2) continue to jot down the reasons why you got these questions wrong. Eventually, you might (3) find patterns in why you get questions wrong.
Recognize patterns concerning why you are getting questions wrong
So at this point you should have completed a few question sets and collected some data concerning why you are getting questions wrong. Maybe you are a great test taker and you just need to study the science a little more. If that’s you then stop reading this blog post and go study! If you’re like me, you might need to make a plan moving forward concerning how to improve your test taking skills. Some reasons why I got questions wrong in the past were because:
- I wasted time on ‘easy’ questions and had to rush through questions near the end
- I changed my answer choices
- I would be thinking about question number 1 while I was reading question number 2
- Test taking anxiety
- Stupid mistakes
Next, I will go into how I overcame these test taking weaknesses of mine and hopefully you can mimic what I did and overcome your deficiencies.
Overcome minor anxiety by simulating test day
A soccer coach I once knew used to hate when we took practice shots from a stand still. He felt that during a game you rarely had the opportunity to take a shot when the ball wasn’t already moving. It didn’t simulate the game realistically. Likewise, you need to prepare for the exam by answering practice questions against the clock. It will simulate the anxiety of test day and, hopefully, make you more comfortable when answering questions in the hot seat. This helped me get over my minor test taking anxiety. Those butterflies in my stomach.
Power poses are also a great subconscious confidence booster. Long story short, if you have positive, confident posture it will translate into a slight increase in real life confidence. That goes for test day too. Check out this TED talk that goes into more depth on the topic.
As an aside, this post is mainly for test taking strategies. Minor tweaks that can improve your score. Which means that if you have severe anxiety to the point where it is truly inhibiting your ability to take tests then please seek professional help. There is no shame in speaking to a psychiatrist about your test taking anxiety and they are much better equipped to help you flourish come test day. Same thing goes for people whose attention span could use a little artificial endurance.
Don’t overthink it and stop changing your answer choices
I recently tried this new ice-cream place in Brooklyn called Ample Hills Creamery (if you live in the area you NEED to go there). Looking at the menu I instantly saw the words ‘Salted Crack Caramel’ and knew what I wanted to try. Except then I saw other delicious looking options like ‘The Munchies’ and ‘Mexican Hot Chocolate’ and I started second-guessing myself even though I knew what I wanted to get. Likewise, when it comes to test day don’t overthink your answer choice. If you think you know the answer then click the bubble and move on to the next one. JUST CLICK THE BUBBLE AND MOVE ONE! Your first inclination is often your best guess…especially if you aren’t sure why you think it’s the correct answer choice (sometimes your gut is smarter than you and not just with regards to ice-cream).
UWorld also has a great tool to see where you are making your mistakes. I found that I had a greater number of answers that I changed from correct to incorrect that the other way round. By making a ‘click and move on’ rule I increased the number of questions I got right. It might only get you one or two questions right in each question set but they add up quickly. Especially when step 1 and step 2 are 7 and 8 question sets long respectively.
The only exception to this rule is if I went back to my question and found that I completely missed something. Oh, the patient had a myocardial infarction because he did cocaine! I’m gonna change my answer from beta-blocker to calcium channel blocker. Boom. Science bitch!
Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth
There were a lot of easy questions on step 2. Things that everyone gets right like ‘give IV fluids’ or ‘compare to old chest x-ray’. Then there are the cluster of questions that make me wonder if I forgot everything or if I just straight up never learned it. For example, on step 1 I remember a question on neurofibromatosis type I but I forgot that it is also often called von Recklinghausen Disease. At the time, I wasn’t sure if von Recklinghausen Disease was the same thing as neurofibromatosis type I or not. Instead of ruling IN the correct answer I simply ruled OUT the incorrect ones. With this approach I was left with only one possible answer choice and ended up picking the right one.
Ultimately, this isn’t anything new or groundbreaking that you haven’t heard before but its worth hearing again. When it comes to these standardized tests every question is worth an equal number of points. I hope that these test taking tips will help you get a few more questions right and help bump up your score because every little bit counts. Happy studying!