Exam Center: Atlanta Exam Date: 26.November.2005 Result: Passed Weeks for Result: 8 weeks My Experience: I took my test at the Atlanta center, which was very professional, clean and polite. The center had 24 testing rooms (12 facing the opposite direction in a corridor), a lounge area, and of course a waiting area. Before the exam we were briefed on the do's and dont's via a monitor, then a video. We were then informed that we could use the bathrooms during the test, but that would be time taken away from your patient encounter. There was a decent lunch provided, which was better than I had expected. Digitaldoc's blog mnemonics, which were like those from Kaplan were right on the money ! I wrote them on my sheet for every encounter, which eliminated the chance of forgetting something during the interview. I was always the last person entering the room, as I took notes beforehand which proved to pay in the end. This was so key in the parent/infant case. My Advice & My Errors: My Errors: 1) Freaking out- trust your own abilities, and above all follow the mnemonics! I choked on the first patient encounter, because I let my nerves get to me. It seemed to be the general consensus that after the first 3 cases, most people calmed down and were able to feel somewhat at ease. 2) Be prepared to write a decent note, refine your note writing, just to work out the kinks. 3) Even if you forgot to do part of a physical exam while with the SP, write it down in your note as if you had. 4) When washing your hands, ask the SP questions, in order to not allow yourself to get pimped by them, and make eye contact while washing your hands. 5) Don't allow yourself to get into the trap of attempting to diagnose the patient. Digitaldoc's site was very helpful in showing techniques that avoided placing myself in most of the tight spots. Advice: I was also able to contact a practice partner through USMLEbuddies.com - which was an invaluable assett, seeing that the time we practiced was directly related to what we were asked on the exam. We studied about 1 week together before I took my exam. Overall I studied about 2.5 weeks for this exam. My Stay / Cost / Travel to Center: I stayed very near - did not need a hotel stay ! Name : Dean, MD

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