What we are, what we aren't, and the honest answer to the question we get most. Short version: no. We test the same concepts the NBME forms test, in our own words, with different patients and different answer choices.
We do what every Step 2 resource does. We look at what the NBME forms ask, and we build notes, flashcards and questions around those concepts.
The difference is where we stop. Most resources also cover everything in the USMLE Content Outline, the official list of topics the exam can test. That list is huge, and much of it rarely or never shows up. We only include what has actually been tested on an NBME form. If the NBMEs haven't asked it, it isn't here.
Your real exam may include something no NBME has tested before, and we won't have covered it. We think that cost is worth it.
Our goal is for you to master that 70 to 80 percent completely. We believe that alone puts you well above the average score.
We understand the worry: if everything is built from the NBMEs, couldn't it spoil the forms? Here is what actually happens when we write a question. We keep the concept the NBME tested. We change everything else: the patient, the setting, how the disease presents, the lab values and the answer choices.
Both questions below were written for this page. Neither is a real NBME question.
A 67-year-old man with chronic kidney disease comes to the emergency department after missing two dialysis sessions. He feels weak. Serum potassium is 7.0 mEq/L. ECG shows peaked T waves.
Which of the following is the most appropriate next step?
A 24-year-old woman is brought in after being trapped under debris for six hours. Her urine is dark brown. Creatine kinase is 48,000 U/L and serum potassium is 6.6 mEq/L. ECG shows a widened QRS complex.
Which of the following should be given first?
Highlighted = changed between the two versions. The answer is the same idea.
| Version A | Version B | Changed or same | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient | 67-year-old man | 24-year-old woman | Changed |
| Cause | Missed dialysis in CKD | Crush injury, rhabdomyolysis | Changed |
| Presentation | Weakness | Dark urine after being trapped | Changed |
| Labs | K 7.0 | K 6.6, CK 48,000 | Changed |
| ECG | Peaked T waves | Widened QRS | Changed |
| Answer choices | 4 of the 5 options are different | Changed | |
| Concept tested | Hyperkalemia with ECG changes: stabilize the heart with IV calcium first | Same | |
If you learned the concept from Version B, you will get Version A right. That isn't inflation, it's learning. You didn't memorize a patient or an answer letter. You learned what to do.
This is what every major QBank does: they study what the NBME asks and test it in a new way. If that inflated scores, every QBank would.
Summaries and flashcards avoid the exact phrasing of any question. You get the underlying concept, highlighted, never the giveaway wording.
References stay off until you switch them on, so you're never spoiled by accident while you still have forms to take.
The model only ever sees notes about the concept each question tests, never the question itself, so it can't leak one even by accident.
Choose which NBME forms your flashcards and questions come from. Study only the forms you've already done, and keep the rest untouched as honest practice tests.
You can choose to study only from the NBME forms you've already taken, and keep the rest untouched as honest practice tests. We added this to earn your trust, not because we think the questions spoil anything. Most people try it for a while, see how the questions are built, and turn the filter off.
Most students take an NBME form once, review it, and never go back, assuming they now know everything on it.
Try retaking a form you did a few weeks ago. Almost nobody scores 100 percent. After a month or more, many people score close to what they got the first time.
Reviewing a question once doesn't mean you've learned its concept. That's what OnlyHighYield is for: the concepts the NBMEs test, repeated in new questions, flashcards and notes until they stick.
No. Every question, flashcard and note is written by us.
No. Our explanations and summaries are our own.
No. We test the concept, not the question. If you want to be extra careful, study only from the forms you've already taken.
No, and on purpose. We cover what the NBMEs have tested, which students tell us is most of the exam.
Start free with the Concept Library, flashcards and a few NBME look-ups.
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