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Post Exam Feelings - USMLE Step 1


So you are done with one of the longest and most tiring exams of your life and now you do not know what to do. You try to suppress your feelings of anxiety but they keep finding their way back. Part of you wants to know your score as soon as possible while the other part never wants to think about it again. In feeling all of this, know that you are not alone. Everyone who takes this beast of an exam goes through this.



After taking my USMLE exams, I would always look up online for people's post-exam feelings. I needed to feel like there were other people out there who could relate to my situation but I never found anything recent so here I am, writing about my experience in the hopes that it might help some of you.

Here's what happened to me: After the exam, I stepped out of the Prometric center feeling drained but also relieved. I knew the hardest part was over, that I had made it through the biggest hurdle and I had given my best. I went home tired and got a good night's sleep. I spent the next few days relaxed but little did I know that my fear of failure was creeping up on me and about a week later I started doubting myself. I started believing I had made tonnes of mistakes and all the questions I got wrong kept coming back to me. Every night before going to sleep I would think about all the choices I made in the exam and how silly I was to have gotten them wrong. Around this time I started looking up for other people's experiences and would read anything I could find relatable. I saw how many people thought they were going to fail but eventually none of them did. It was reassuring but I still could not get the mistakes I made out of my head.

On my result day, I tried to keep myself busy to keep the anxiety at bay. I could not bring myself to view my result so I had my fiance check it for me and when he told me it is 259 I was beyond elated.

What I learned from this experience that could help others in my situation:

  • try not to think about how you did on your exam, trust your preparation and your assessment scores and do not underestimate yourself
  • for sure do not think about the questions you got wrong
  • try to keep yourself busy, spend time with family and friends as this much free time might not come again in the midst of this USMLE journey
  • believe in yourself
Hope this helps. Comment below to share your feelings and your scores when you get them so others can feel hopeful too. 
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