The first step for me is always to skim the entire question stem (the vignette) as fast as possible (while not actually reading the question) and look for keywords that pop out.

For example, in Anatomy you might see the words ‘wrist drop’, in Micro you might see “Optochin”, in Neuro you might see “Tao proteins” and so forth.

Than scan the answers quickly to seek out the answer you are looking for based on keywords.

Decide on an answer without spending too much time thinking about it.

Whether you got the answer correct or not, go back now and reread the question carefully along with the answer key and jot down your own notes on important points that you missed.

Ideally, I would have the chance to go through all the questions in a question bank a couple of times during the block.