![]() “Focus items on common or potentially catastrophic problems avoid ‘zebras’ and esoterica.” “Each item should focus on an important concept or testing point.”Īnother point of emphasis of the NBME is that they should test essential concepts, NOT zebras. Apply Important Concepts Don’t Chase the “Zebras” It’s much better to master half of First Aid and know how to use it than to “cover” it twice without understanding. The NBME is very clear: focus on mastery of material, not memorization. The USMLEs won’t ask you to regurgitate facts. But it won’t help when Step 1 asks to differentiate between viral myocarditis and ischemic cardiomyopathy. Memorizing facts may even help you crush your med school exams. You may impress your friends by listing the 6 heart failure symptoms from First Aid. Or cram minutiae into their head using Zanki or Brosencephalon?Ĭramming facts is the equivalent of memorizing recipes for a cake-baking contest. How many people do you know who memorize lists of facts? Or speed through First Aid trying to cover it multiple times. “The NBME decided that it was not important to assess whether students know definitions instead, the goal became assessment of whether or not test-takers could apply ethical principles on their decisions related to patient care.”.“Avoid asking about the leading cause of death in some subpopulation instead, focus on the application of this knowledge.”.“Questions should NOT focus on the direct assessment of isolated facts.”.Here is a sampling of other direct quotes from the NBME on the importance of testing application: Their goal is to assess “higher level within Bloom’s taxonomy, such as ‘application of knowledge.'” The NBME’s Challenge: Master the Material (And design the questions to weed out people who memorize – more on this later). They don’t care if you can memorize a ton of facts. They are in the business of testing the application of knowledge. The NBME makes one thing clear, over and over. – “Chapter 5: Basic Rules for Writing One-Best-Answer Items.” Constructing Written Test Questions For the Basic and Clinical Sciences. “Each item should assess application of knowledge, not recall of an isolated fact.” Questions Test the Application of Knowledge, NOT Recall of Facts Use these open secrets to maximize your USMLE scores. The NBME publishes their question-writing secrets. Here are the nine most essential takeaways from the NBME question writer’s guide. ![]() The less surprising result? If you don’t know what you’re doing, your score will suffer. The surprising result? Impressive USMLE scores are more straightforward to achieve than you think. In short, the NBME explains what and how you should be studying.ĭoes reading through an academic document on an arcane topic like MCQ-writing make you sleepy? Then you’re in luck! I’ve combed through the 100+ page document to find the nine most important points for you, dear reader. They also tell you exactly what they are looking for students to do – and to not do. In it, they detail how they write each question. Unknown to many, the NBME also publishes the instructions they give to question writers. The National Board of Medical Examiners (AKA the NBME) writes the USMLEs, Shelf Exams, and some specialty boards. The NBME Publishes the Rules for USMLE Question-Writing
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