Comprehensive Subject Exams | NBME (2024)

FAQs

Who takes shelf exams? ›

During stage two of the MD curriculum, you take shelf exams. The results of these tests measure your understanding of specific instructions and hands-on experiences covered in the core clerkships—the clinical rotations that help you transition from classroom studies to patient care.

Shelf exams are generally designed to be of comparable difficulty to those you will see on USMLE® Step 1 and Step 2. In fact, many of the questions are retired from previous Step exams!

However, the majority of clerkships in the U.S. use the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Medicine Subject Examination as an end-of-clerkship examination. Because this exam is not developed locally and is obtained from the NBME “off-the-shelf,” it is commonly referred to as the “shelf” exam.

Your equated percent correct (EPC) scores indicate the percentage of the content that you have mastered.

If your medical school allows retakes, if you fail a Shelf exam, it is advisable to retake it within 90 days of your first attempt. This is because initial Shelf scores can be completely expunged and replaced with the retake score if the retake occurs within 90 days after the original exam.

While the shelf exam is not required by all medical school programs, and it's not a requirement of obtaining a US medical license, shelf exams remain a popular way to test medical students on the knowledge acquired during their clinical rotations.

Program Variability: Residency programs differ in their approach to evaluating applicants. While some programs may weigh shelf scores heavily, others may prioritize letters of recommendation, clinical evaluations, and other qualitative aspects of a student's performance.

How do you interpret a shelf exam score? The NBME shelf exams were originally scaled to a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of 8. Keep in mind, this is not recalculated every year. The actual average in a given year has tended to creep up and is usually somewhere in the low-to-mid 70s.

While shelf exams are challenging assessments, designed to evaluate students' readiness for clinical rotations, passing these exams is achievable with adequate preparation and study strategies.

NBME medicine shelf exams are 165 minute exams that happen at the end of each core rotation, also known as clinical clerkship.

How do you score high on shelf exams? ›

Try to leave the 2-3 days immediately before the shelf exam for dedicated studying. Use this time to review the material and practice questions you've covered over the past few weeks. Take at least one NBME for each rotation.

Unlike the USMLE Step exams, you are free to get up, stretch, eat a snack, drink some water, and use the bathroom at your leisure during the shelf examinations.

1. How is the exam curved? This question is actually more broadly broken up based on the following questions. - The exam score sheet states that the exams are curved to a mean of 70 with a standard deviation of 8, but when the percentiles are given they don't match up.

A 90% estimated probability of passing Step 1 within a week still means that 1 out of 10 students with the same level of performance will fail based on the predictive model. The estimated probability is not the same as the percentage of the content mastered.

The subject examination score is scaled to a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of 8. A CBSE score of 70 is approximately equivalent to a score of 200 on the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) Step 1.

Unlike Step 1 and Step 2, shelf exams are standardized for you. Everyone takes them on the same day through the same proctoring. Whoever is on your rotation will be taking the exam with you as well.

In the journey to residency, medical students' shelf exam performance holds significant weight in applications. Shelf exams, designed to assess students' knowledge and clinical reasoning in specific core clerkships, can play a pivotal role in shaping the narrative of a medical student's academic capabilities.

The Basics: Cost, Where to Sign Up

All NBME Self-Assessments cost $60 (see below for more). Subject (Shelf) exams cost $20 each.

How do you interpret a shelf exam score? The NBME shelf exams were originally scaled to a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of 8. Keep in mind, this is not recalculated every year. The actual average in a given year has tended to creep up and is usually somewhere in the low-to-mid 70s.