How to interpret USMLE scores

You will get the following info in your USMLE report :
your 3-digit score
your 2-digit score
Mean and Standard Deviation for recent US/Can registrants (not IMGs) - first time test takers.


This is a common misperception to call 2-digit score percent or percentile - 2 totally different things, by the way; it's neither percent, nor percentile!

From biostatistics you should know that percentile is the percent of people from total 100% who received scores lower than yours.

By using your 3-digit score, Mean and Standard Deviation and special statistical table, you can calculate your percentile, and by using your 2-digit score, you can calculate appr. percent of correctly answered questions.

USMLE Scores and Percentiles (simple guide)

2 digit scores are standardized so that the minimum passing score is a 75 and the maximum score is a 100. This approximately correlates to each digit between 75 and 100 being 4 percentiles of those who passed. The 2 digit score is something requested/required by state medical boards for all licensing exams so they can quickly evaluate the score without figuring out each exam's scales.

Scores used to be calculated after a group of students took them and you were given a 2 digit score, a 3 digit score, and a percentile. They used to do it where a large number of students took the exam, then they were all graded and statistics were calculated based upon all the students taking it then. The percentile was where you stood among the other students who took the exam in the block from which your exam was taken and scored. Therefore, each year, the median score would get a 50th percentile, although one year this could be a 205 and the next a 210. So a 240 in 1990 might be a lower percentile than a 235 in 1991. The problem is that a 240 is doing better, but 1991 may have been a "dumber" year so you could have a higher percentile with a lower score.

Now with computerized exams, they do not score your exam relative to the others taking it when you do... it is referenced to historical performance of the test items at which time a "difficulty level" for each item was assigned. This way, a 240 is a 240 no matter when you take it. Also, you do not have to wait for thousands of students to take the exam, do all your statistics, and then calculate the scores... you can calculate the score immediately. The implication of this, however, is that it is impossible to calculate a percentile since you are being scored against an inertia-laden grading curve. Every student could get a 240 now, and every student can fail.

There are many implications of this grading policy, and understanding it (really understanding it, not just saying that 240 is good and my score report says the mean was x with a sd of y) will serve you well.

Goljan Audio Transcript - Pathology Lectures

This is something that you shall check. Goljan Pathology lectures now are accompanied with Audio Transcript. Full content of the audio transcribed in a concise document. 300+ pages of high quality transcript...

Couple of quotes:

"I like this!!! it was difficult for me to follow Prof. Goljan listening to audio lectures. Now I can read the transcript and focus on the areas I need. I put my favourite yellow and green labels on the most inportant pages... Thank you soooo much!"

"Great stuff - I downloaded goljan package in couple of hours and already started using audio transcript. This is fabuluous!"

Are you preparing for Step 1 ?

Are you preparing for USMLE Step 1?
I would like to check your opinion!

What is better?

Kaplan Video Lectures
Pass Program Video
Kaplan Webprep
Gold Standard

Interesting link - medical guidemaps

That is a very useful for USMLE Step 2 CK preparation.

Here is the desceription from the owner:

I started this new website in March 2005.

Its main purpose is to host my soapbox essays. My soapbox essays are critical essays that are mainly focused on reviewing/analysing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in order to demonstrate weaknesses/flaws in the design and interpretation of RCTs. My latest essays are at the top of the list. My oldest essays are at the the bottom of the list — some of them express opinions which I no longer hold, or opinions which reflect my limited EBM knowledge of earlier years.

I have also decided to host my medical guidemaps on this website. Please note that i) I am retired and I am no longer practicing clinical medicine and ii) I am no longer revising the guidemaps. Therefore, the guidemaps should be perceived to be outdated. I personally suspect that my neuro-ophthalmology guidemaps will remain clinically relevant, even though I am no longer updating those guidemaps.

Jeff Mann. MD.

Government Motors

I know this is not strictly related to USMLE... but I have read today that General Motors is bankrupt and people renamed it to Government motors.

The Government Motors started by selling the Hummer brand to unnamed buyer...

Do you know what will happen with General Motors after it have filed the Chapter 11


(AD)

Goljan Audio and IPOD - solution found

A Lot of people were asking how to use Goljan Audio on IPOD and there were several ways to achieve that and some of them worked and some did not.

And finally there is a full solution to the problem.
You can easily listen to Goljan Pathology Lectures on your favourite Ipod, Iphone...in the car, during workout, while commuting.... Please note that this method does not work for other MP3 players - only for Ipod.

Here is how to use Goljan on Ipod

Premier Review For Step 3

Premier Review courses are designed by the faculty of Mt. Sinai & Harvard Medical Schools and a lot of people rate Premier Review for Step 3 higher than Kaplan.

The following topics are covered in Premier Review Lectures for Step 3:
Biostatistics
Cardiology
Dermatology
Endocrinology
Eye and ENT
Gastroenterology
General Medicine
Gynecology
Hematology and Oncology
Human Development, Vaccinations & Health Maintenance
Infectious Diseases
Medical Ethics & Test Taking Strategies
Medical Genetics
Nephrology
Neurology
Obstetrics
Psychiatry
Pulmonary
Rheumatology
Surgery, Trauma & Orthopedics

Social networking for USMLE takers

Quick questions to my regular blog readers.
Are you using any of the social networks to communicate with your USMLE peers?

Please answer in the comments to this post.
Your opinion is very important for me.

Step 1 Notes 2009

Kaplan Step 1 Notes 2009 edition is now available for all USMLE takers. You can get them (2008/2009) if you are attending the Kaplan Live Center and paid full fee for attendance.


An alternative would be to look for Kaplan Step 1 Notes 2008/2009 edition on Ebay.
Another alternative would be to ask from your friends - some of them might have these new notes already and can share them with you.

If you are constantly on the move - then you might consider getting scanned notes instead of hardcopy notes.

Here is the link to try

USMLE Step 2 Lectures 2008/2009 edition

Many friends asked me about USMLE Step 2 Lectures published in 2008/2009.
Unfortunately, I have not heard of these videos on the grey market. Kaplan Step 2 Videos have been released in 2002/2003. Although some people keep referring to them as 2006 or even 2007 step 2 kaplan lectures, in reality this is 2002/2003 Step 2 Lectures.

On the other side - medicine is not IT science and is not changing every 3 years.
So, stick to whatever materials you have and keep fingers crossed...
Good luck in your Exam!

Resident salary rise in 2008

The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) released survey results on what Medical residents across the US were paid for the 2008-2009 academic year and here are the mean figures:

* 1st Year (PGY1 / Intern ): $46,000

* 2nd Year (PGY2): $48,000

* 3rd Year (PGY3): $50,000

* 4th Year (PGY4): $52,000/-

* 5th Year (PGY5): $54,100/-

* 6th Year (PGY6): $56,500/-


Which roughly imply about a 3% increase over the last year.

Full salary survery report can be downlooaded from here:

Medstudy Pediatrics

2007 Medstudy Pediatrics or Pediatric Medstudy 2007 contains the following topics:

Allergy and Immunology
Cardiology
Dermatology
Emergency Toxicology
Genetics
Endocrinology
Gastroenterology
General Pediatrics
Infectious Diseases
Metabolic Diseases
Neonatology
Nephrology
Neonatology

MedCalc is a free medical calculator, that gives you easy access to complicated medical formulas and scores. It has been available on mobile platforms for almost a decade, so it leverages years of experience in bringing medical equations to physicians in an easy to use, yet very powerful format.

Itunes

Iphone in medicine

The iPhone has huge potential as a mobile computing platform, especially for physicians.

Sure, other mobile platforms exist — the Treo, Windows Mobile devices, tablet computers — but none have the graphics capability, the memory, the computing power, the form factor, and the ease of use of the iPhone.

What follows is the result of a brief brainstorming session about potential applications of the iPhone for doctors. Some have already been announced for the iPhone, are available on other platforms, or are currently in development. Let's see how many of these applications are eventually released and sold in the App store. My guess? All of them.

* Drug database
* Anatomical atlas
* Medical calculator
* Interface for electronic health record
* Viewer of radiologic images
* Interface for laboratory results
* An expert system to help with differential diagnoses
* Messaging system for laboratory alerts and hospital pages
* Interface for medical devices (like ultrasounds and EKG machines)
* Dictation recorder
* Device for electronic prescribing
* Device for directly receiving and reading medical journals and podcasts
* Medical book reader
* Reminder system for patient visits and meetings synced remotely with the office through Mobile Me
* Display for patient education videos
* Medical simulator (ACLS, for example)
* Telemedicine device (pending the eventual release of iChat and a videoconferencing system)
* Interface for medical literature searches (Pubmed, Google Scholar)
* Word processing device for papers (I'm still waiting for a bluetooth keyboard)
* Communication device for hospital teams (Using Twitter or another system)
* Secure system for messaging/emailing patients
* CME course viewer (with text and/or video)

What other application ideas can you come up with?

Free apps for Iphone - Epocrates

The free Epocrates Rx software for iPhone OS puts continually updated peer-reviewed drug information at your fingertips. Epocrates information has been shown to:

* Improve patient care and safety
* Save time
* Reduce administrative burden
* Enable confident clinical decisions

Overview

Our information is developed by healthcare professionals, with this edition specifically formatted for iPhone and iPod touch devices.

Most popular artices on USMLE Step 1

So you have just started preparing for USMLE Step 1. What are the most important things to consider before diving into preparation?

Have you checked Medessentials? Medessentials have core science concepts reviewed for success in medical programs and the USMLE.

Or maybe you were looking for Goljan torrents?As we have found they simply do not exist - so why not check the real site with download of Goljan audio, slides, notes and HY notes?

How about Kaplan Notes for Step 1? There are scanned notes that can be easily printed. You can also find them here

Oh, and by the way do you know how to convert your USMLEWORLD score to USMLE Step 1 Score? There is a magic formula.

Do you know that Kaplan Video Lectures are better than Kaplan Webprep? Why? There are 5 differences between old and new Kaplan USMLE Step 1 Video lectures.

What is considered a “good” score on USMLE Step 1? This and some other questions are answered in our FAQ on USMLE Step 1...

Biochemistry questions posted on 4usmle forum

Biochemistry questions posted on 4usmle forum:

http://www.4usmle.net/biochemistry/1713-juvenile-diabetes-mellitus-best-described-what-type-disorder.html

http://www.4usmle.net/biochemistry/1712-following-most-likely-diagnosis.html

http://www.4usmle.net/biochemistry/1711-following-appropriate-patient-renal-failure.html

http://www.4usmle.net/biochemistry/1710-following-enzyme-activities-will-remain-homogenate.html

http://www.4usmle.net/biochemistry/1709-following-pathways-most-correctly-considered-amphibolic.html

Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine

Intensive Review of Internal Medicine is a comprehensive review of internal medicine for physicians preparing for board certification (or recertification) and for physicians desiring a review of state-of-the-art developments in internal medicine. The program is conducted by distinguished members of The Cleveland Clinic Staff and eminent visiting lecturers who are renowned in their fields of interest.

Topics cover current concepts and Board related issues using an organ system approach. Emphasis is placed on relevant clinical information.


Topics & Speakers

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TOPICS AND SELECTED BOARD SIMULATIONS
Franklin A. Michota, Jr., MD, Moderator
Section Head, Hospital Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic

Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Pre-Test
Franklin A. Michota, Jr., MD

Pulmonary Medicine Board Simulation I
James K. Stoller, MD, MS
Vice Chairman, Division of Medicine; Head, Section of Respiratory Therapy, Department of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine; Associate Chief of Staff, The Cleveland Clinic

Board Simulation in Gastroenterology
Jean-Paul Achkar, MD
Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Board Simulation in Pre-Operative Evaluation
Amir Jaffer, MD
Medical Director, Internal Medicine Preoperative Assessment Consultation and Treatment Center; Medical Director, The Anticoagulation Clinic, Department of General Internal Medicine

Board Simulation in Hematology: Cellular Morphology
Karl Theil, MD
Department of Clinical Pathology

Board Simulation in Geriatric Medicine
Robert M. Palmer, MD
Head, Section of Geriatric Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine

Board Simulation in Medical Genetics
Franklin A. Michota, Jr., MD

Medical Aspects of Pregnancy
Janet M. Burlingame, MD
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Board Simulation in Women’s Health
Pelin Batur, MD
Department of General Internal Medicine

Many more topics on 56 CDs - ideal to listen on your IPOD. Great quality in MP3 means that you can use it during your workouts or while driving to work.

Click here to get more information about Cleveland Clinic IM Review

New Review Book for Pathology

This 5-star book (Doody’s Review rating) raises the bar in pathology review! As a testing resource, it provides the most up-to-date, clinically relevant review of pathology available. It guides students through the vast amount of pathology information they need to master to succeed on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Using the format of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the questions address the major topics in general and systemic pathology. Lippincott’s Review of Pathology effectively integrates your study of pathology to give you full confidence for your course examinations, the USMLE, and the American Board of Pathology certification examination. More information can be found on their offical site:
http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/aisrnews/?p=207

Bruce Fenderson and Raphael Rubin are Professors in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology.