QBank and Step 1

Hey Joe,
Congratulations on getting this behind you! It’s over so go and let off some steam. Read those trashy novels and think about anything other than USMLE Step I. It is very typical to come out of that exam feeling as if your brain has run out of your head onto the floor of the Prometrics Center. I found listening to the Bee Gees about all that I could mentally deal with in that first half hour after completing the test!
I am sure that you did fine and that third year is going to be great for you. Now go have some fun and relax!
Natalie
(My last hours in the Trauma ICU are ticking down)

Yaaaaaay Joe! You have such a good way with words - you really captured the ambivalent feeling I had walking out of the center, hoping I did well enough, but really truly not being sure.
I know I was a nervous wreck counting down the days to find out, terrified I’d be having to re-learn all those horrid inborn errors of metabolism
Can’t wait to hear that you did OK!
And for all of you Step 1 survivors, consolation: Step Two is MUCH BETTER even though it’s longer.
Mary

Yeah, Joe!
Whoop!
Your medical school career just past the nadir of nastiness. Step I was, by far, the worst part of medical school for me (assuming fourth year won’t be all that bad). After that test, things get much more interesting. You’ll work hard but at least it will be clear why you wanted to go to medical school to begin with.
You’ll be seeing real live, honest to God patients instead of just reading about the molecules in make-believe patients.
You should also be warned, however, that if you’re like most of my class, you’ve pretty much burned out your studying abilities. I studied my butt off, truly mythical levels of studying, for Step I. In the end, it probably didn’t matter that much but I haven’t been able to study much at all for anything since that. And here’s the cool thing…it doesn’t really matter since much of what I learned in third year was from experience, not books.
So, congratulations on getting Step I over with. I’m sure you did very well. Now for the fun part.
Take care,
Jeff