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Adequate planning for the “USMLE Step 1 Exam Day Time Strategy” is very important for several reasons. First of all, it will keep you confident and with a more relaxed attitude during your exam day that usually tends to be very stressful. Second, it will help you to control your timing and avoid taking longer or shorter breaks when they are not the best option.
The USMLE Step 1 Exam is an 8-hours long exam in which 7 hours are assigned for question blocks, 45 minutes of break time, and an optional tutorial of 15 minutes (if you decide to skip the tutorial you will have almost an hour of break time). Although this explains a lot about the general structure of the exam, it does not specify how things work in the middle of the day. For example, it is important to consider that during our break time if you decide to go to the restroom or to grab a snack, you will need to go through the security checkpoints in your way out and in again into the exam room. It is important to consider this since this takes away a few minutes of the break time for relaxing or doing something else outside of the exam room.
Therefore, for knowing how to plan your day, it is very important to familiarize with the general concepts of the test day by using the materials provided on the Prometric website. Please, go to the following link to find more information about the test centers environment.
The orientation video is very useful and you can watch it here:
It is crucial to practice at least once a full-length timed exam trying to simulate the conditions in which the test occurs normally. For achieving that, you can use the different organizations that have created self-assessments for evaluation of your performance such as the National Boards of Medical Examiners (NBME) or Uworld. Simulate a 7 blocks examination that you can take during a time of 8 hours because that is how the real exam will be. You can find more information about the self-assessment exams for practice before the real USMLE Step 1 exam in the following links:
It is possible to schedule a practice session to be done at a Prometric center. This is very helpful for getting to know the environment before the exam. Personally, I found it to be a great way to be a little more relaxed during the real exam since you will have taken away the stress of how things work. During this practice session, you will be treated as when the real exam occurs, having to go through all the steps such as the registration, locker assignment, security, and others. You will be able to take breaks and see how much does it take to go in and out of the test room. It will help you to get familiar with the center and be worried only about the exam itself during your test day and nothing else. There are 3 blocks during the practice session, that are the same questions already posted on the USMLE practice materials section in the usmle.org website. To be eligible for a practice session, it is necessary to apply for the USMLE exam and get your scheduling permit since you will need the scheduling number and your CIN number that are described in the scheduling permit. Please remember that the practice session is more for getting to know a Prometric center and familiarize with the conditions in which the exam takes place. To schedule a practice test, you may go to the following link:
The “USMLE Step 1 Exam Day Time Strategy” that you decide for your final exam should be practiced during this simulation exam as closely to reality as possible. To achieve that, this is a time strategy example for reference:
You can see here the black characters column representing the total blocks of the test. At the right of the Blocks Column are the possible break times we can take (blue characters) which are 6 breaks in total in between the 7 blocks. The tutorial time is also considered in this strategy, which will be assigned 2 minutes for the highly recommended headphone test before starting the test. This indicates that our goal before starting the exam is entering the tutorial section and take less than 2 minutes for checking the headphones before entering the first block. Next, the amount of time that we have assigned for every break including the tutorial is described in the third column in green characters. This is the part that you may modify depending on your preferences, however, in my opinion, this is the simplest strategy to follow.
Finally, the MOST IMPORTANT column to understand is the first one on your left of the image (red characters). This column describes the time at which you are expected to start each activity, starting with the tutorial that should be started when 60 minutes of the break time is available. Before initiating your exam, you will be asked to write your ID number on the screen, after which the exam will start. Once you started the exam, take less than 2 minutes for the tutorial and start the first block. You will finish your first block and 58 minutes of break time will remain available. You will take your first 5-minutes break here, which means that you should be starting the second block when the break time clock gets to 53 minutes. After finishing the second block, there should be 53 minutes remaining of your break time. Take your second break, this time it will be of 10 minutes, which means that you should be starting your third block when the remaining break time is 43 minutes. Continue like this until the end of the exam.
To summarize, before starting your exam, write the red column that you should try to memorize for your exam in the paper you are provided in the test center once you are on your computer. Then simply follow your timing and do not spend more time than the already assigned. An example of what you will follow during your exam can be described like this:
- Block 1: Start with 58 minutes remaining (Since we have spent 2 minutes on the tutorial for the headphones check).
- Block 2: Start with 53 minutes remaining.
- Block 3: Start with 43 minutes remaining.
- Block 4: Start with 35 minutes remaining.
- Block 5: Start with 15 minutes remaining.
- Block 6: Start with 10 minutes remaining.
- Block 7: Start with 0 minutes remaining.
This strategy is much easier than trying to follow a clock. Remember that, during your exam, there will not be any clock on the computer or the test room to show you the real-time of the day. Therefore, your timing during the exam should be managed with the clock provided in the exam software. It is important to consider as well that going out of the room may take around two minutes from the computer to the outside where the restrooms and lockers are. The estimated time to enter the room is approximately 2-3 minutes. This means that if you have a 5-minute break and you would like to go to the restroom, you should act fast to not waste more time than assigned.
In a nutshell:
Memorize your numbers as in the presented red column in the image above and use them as your timing tools during your exam. The numbers represent the remaining break time at which you should start each block. Plan ahead how you will manage your time during the exam since it can have a remarkable impact on your performance.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please, if you would like to comment, do not hesitate to do so in the comments section below. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the most current information published on our website, and please follow us on Facebook as well. Good luck with your exam.
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