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Step 1 form guide Medium
Step 1 NBME 16: what's on it and how hard it is
NBME 16 has 81 questions in our copy. The average question is 69 words long and 78% take two or more steps to answer. It leans most on brain and nerves, heart and vessels and blood and immune system.
- Difficulty (0–100)
- 56
- Average question
- 69 words
- Take 2+ steps
- 78%
- Have an image
- 21%
When to take it
Extra practice early on. It is an older form: shorter questions and more straight recall than today's exam, so don't read much into the score.
Students say it feels about as hard as it is.
Our original practice examsSystems it tests most
Share of the questions in each system.
- Brain and nerves17%
- Heart and vessels14%
- Blood and immune system11%
- Lungs10%
The full breakdown
Every system and subject, what the questions ask, and what changed from older forms.