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Step 1 form guide Medium

Step 1 NBME 31: what's on it and how hard it is

NBME 31 has 121 questions in our copy. The average question is 78 words long and 81% take two or more steps to answer. It leans most on general principles, blood and immune system and endocrine.

Difficulty (0–100)
72
Average question
78 words
Take 2+ steps
81%
Have an image
29%

When to take it

Middle of dedicated (weeks 3–4), once you have a first score to compare with.

Students say it feels about as hard as it is.

Our original practice exams

Systems it tests most

Share of the questions in each system.

  • General principles13%
  • Blood and immune system12%
  • Endocrine10%
  • GI and liver10%

The full breakdown

Every system and subject, what the questions ask, and what changed from older forms.

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