Surgery
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What is the surgery shelf exam?
Traditionally it is believed that the surgery shelf is heavy on GI topics. In fact, GI, hepato-biliary, and trauma are some of the topics that are frequently tested on the surgery shelf exam. It is imperative to do your best and to pay attention during your clerkship: in the OR, on pre-rounds, on rounds, and in clinic. You will learn a great deal by knowing your patients well, by being having a good grasp on their pathophysiology. Unfortunately, patient exposure is not sufficient preparation for the shelf exam: chances are, you will not see everything that you are going to encounter on the test. You cannot leave that up to luck. For that reason, it is also important to have an organized study schedule outside of your rotation. This is where your tutor comes in! We will also keep you motivated at the end of those long days on the surgery clerkship. You may not feel like going through questions after being awake since 4 AM, but we will be right there by your side, getting you through.
How is the surgery shelf exam scored?
The surgery shelf exam has 110 multiple-choice questions. The score is based off a scaled score and is not just a strict percentage correct. Different schools may implement a different passing score required based off the raw scaled score.
How is the surgery shelf exam test administered?
The surgery shelf exam is usually administered through the NBME portal at either your school or at a Prometric center. There is usually 2 hours and 45 minutes given to complete the exam.
How much tutoring is needed?
If your rotation is roughly 4 weeks, we recommend meeting two times per week until the exam.
How much does tutoring for the surgery shelf exam cost?
It depends how many hours you decide to go with to get the tutoring cost. We have different packages with different number of hours, and each higher package gives a cheaper per hour rate.
What does surgery shelf exam tutoring include?
Every student will get a customized schedule to follow for the surgery shelf exam. The schedule will be based off your specific progress, performance, and weaknesses in terms of what to work on. The schedule will be revised over time based off the progress over time. Students will meet with their tutor 1-on-1 over video call and go over questions in terms of how to analyze, approach, and answer the questions correctly. This will help for the OB/GYN shelf exam as well as the USMLE Step 2.
Who is the surgery shelf exam tutoring for?
The surgery shelf tutoring is for many students. Some examples include:
- Students with a low USMLE Step 1 score
- Students with a failure on the USMLE Step 1
- Students with previous low shelf exam scores
- Students with any failures on previous shelf exams
- Students who feel overwhelmed with the amount of information needed to absorb and apply during questions
- Students who feel lost in how to prepare for the surgery shelf exam
- Students with low NBME shelf practice exam scores
- Students with anxiety or test taking issues
- Students who want to aim high on the shelf exam for those wanting to go into a more competitive residency program or specialty choice
What makes our surgery shelf exam tutoring different?
We are the only tutoring company that creates customized study schedules based off the specific progress of our students for the surgery shelf exam. We are also the only tutoring company that adjusts the schedule for preparing for the surgery shelf exam. You meet with a tutor that you will stay with until your surgery shelf exam as well, which sets us apart from the rest.
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- Fully online, available whenever you are.
- We teach strategies on/how to approach/text questions.
- We focus on high yield material and work through cases.
- We keep you motivated and on track
- We're MC friendly
- Student information in kept completely condifential.
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