Reaching the final stretch of your USMLE exam preparation is a big milestone, and understandably your emotions may range widely from nervousness to eagerness. You’ve worked really hard to get to this point and now, it’s time for that commitment to pay off!
Navigating the day of your exam can be a unique experience, and we want to make sure that you’re ready for everything that comes along with it.
Here’s three tips that’ll help you go into exam day feeling confident, prepared, and ready to pass Step 1!
3 Tips That’ll Help You Maximize Your USMLE Exam Performance
1. Use the week before the exam to make key changes and preparations.
What you do the week before the exam is important. For example, it’s crucial to start syncing your sleep schedule at least a week in advance. If you’re a night owl like me, you know the challenge that comes with suddenly trying to shift to going to bed early and then struggling to fall asleep. It’s far easier to do it slowly over many days to make sure you’re able to get a full night of sleep and wake up feeling ready to go on the day of your exam.
If you have the time, consider making a quick trip to your testing center before exam day. This will help you find the fastest route, give you an estimate of how long you should budget for transit, and minimize any chance of getting lost on the morning of the exam.
For certain USMLE exams, you can also look into doing a sample set of questions, sometimes called the “Free 120,” at the testing site for a small fee. While in no way necessary, if you elect to do this, you can get a sense of the regulations and policies of the testing center before your actual test day!
Develop a game plan for your test day including what time you’ll wake up, what your morning routine will look like, and how you’re going to get to the test center.
You should plan to budget plenty of time the morning of your exam for getting ready, eating breakfast, and getting to the testing center at least 30 minutes early.
2. Maximize your break time.
During your exam, you’ll notice two clocks in the corner of your screen. The first clock tells you the time remaining in your current block of questions, while the second clock indicates how much time remains for the whole exam day.
This second clock will also include additional time for breaks. For example, for USMLE Step 1, you have seven blocks for which you’re given 1 hour each. However, the second clock’s timer will start at 8 hours so that you have 1 hour of break time (45 minutes if you do the tutorial) over the course of the day.
You’re free to divide up your break time however you like! You can only take one long break for the entire day, or you can take a break after every block, or after every second block, etc. It’s really up to you. However, you should never take a break during a block, as this will get flagged as irregular behavior. Therefore, before clicking in to start the next section, check in with yourself to make sure you’re recharged enough to keep going.
My general advice is: take a break once every one to two blocks. Having just a few minutes to collect your thoughts, use the restroom, drink some water, or eat a small snack goes a long way in helping you be your best before you dive back into the exam.
A few pieces of advice about structuring your break time:
The time you spend on the tutorial at the beginning of the exam will come out of your break time.
The tutorial is posted on the NBME website so do this before your exam day! This allows you to skip right through the tutorial on the day of your exam.
Budget your time well!
Time management is part of what’s actually being tested on the USMLE. Any excess break time you use beyond what you’re allotted will come out of the time you have to answer the questions in the last block.
Once the second clock runs out, it’ll close out the testing interface no matter where you are in the test, so make sure you take this into account when planning your breaks.
Again, time management is part of what’s actually being tested on the USMLE!
3. Manage your emotions.
From the days leading up to your exam through to the end of your test day, it’s natural to have a host of feelings. Making sure these feelings don’t get the best of you is crucial.
It’s normal (even beneficial) to have a bit of stress over the exam. After all, it’s good to be in that moderate stress, maximum performance region of the Yerkes-Dodson curve.
In the weeks leading up to the exam, some tips to handle the stress include:
- Carving out time for yourself
- Eating well
- Sleeping well
- Staying physically active
- Making time for family and friends
What to Do After Exam Day
After you take the exam, de-stress! You’ve earned it. Hopefully, you have time to catch up on tasks (and your life) and are able to be with friends and family doing what you enjoy. The most important point here is that you shouldn’t dwell on the exam. If you found the exam very difficult, the likelihood is that other people did too. So don’t worry about it!
In general, results are released two to four weeks after your test date. When your result is available, you’ll get an email from the organization you registered for the exam with. Until then, enjoy your life and celebrate—this is a momentous moment in your medical training and an incredible accomplishment!
The Bottom Line
Remember: You can do this! You spent innumerable hours studying and already put in the work to get to this point.
Taking USMLE Step 1 is enough to make anyone a bit nervous, but remember, the exam is now pass/fail. You’ve already done the hard work to achieve your goals and you have what it takes to pass.
If you feel anxious, breathe and and think about how far you’ve already come. You wouldn’t have made it this far if you didn’t have what it takes.
Good luck and remember, you can do this!
