NRE Step 1 is on 8 November. Here is what to do with the last 8 days

The short version

NRE Step 1 is on Sunday 8 November 2026. That leaves 8 days. You cannot learn the whole of medicine in 8 days, and you do not need to. What you can still change is how you perform on the day.

So the plan is simple: one timed mock paper a day, then review every question you got wrong. It is the closest thing to sitting the real exam, and it shows you which subjects are still losing you marks.

Why mocks, and why now

In the last week, reading new chapters mostly makes you anxious. Mocks do three things reading cannot:

• They train your pace. Step 1 is 200 single-best-answer MCQs. If you have never sat 100 questions in one go, the first time should not be in the exam hall.
• They show your real weak spots. Not the ones you feel bad about. The ones that actually cost you marks.
• They make the exam feel normal. By day 8 you will have done this seven times already.

The pass mark is 60% according to PMDC's recent press releases. Our mocks tell you after each paper whether you are above or below that line.

The 8-day plan

Count down from the number of days you have left. Every day has the same shape: a mock in the morning, review in the afternoon, a short top-up in the evening.

If you have more than 8 days, start with Mock A and simply add days. We have five full mocks (ten papers of 100), so there is enough for ten days without repeating a question.

How to review a mock (this is where the marks are)

Doing the mock is half the work. Spend at least as long reviewing it.

1. Every wrong answer: read the explanation for all five options, not just the right one. The next question on that topic will use a different option.
2. Every lucky guess: treat it as wrong. You will not be lucky twice.
3. Write one line per mistake on a single sheet: the fact you missed, in your own words. By exam day this sheet is your revision.
4. Look at your subject breakdown. If one subject keeps dragging you down, that is your evening topic.

Do not start a second mock on the same day to "make up" for a bad score. Review the first one properly instead.

Where the marks are

Step 1 is mostly clinical. Our mocks follow PMDC's published subject table, and two subjects dominate it:

So in the last week, a wrong Medicine or Surgery topic is worth more of your time than an obscure basic science fact. Basic sciences are asked through clinical scenarios, so revise them that way.

Full subject list: NRE Step 1 high-yield subjects.

Admit card and exam day

• Admit card: when we checked PMDC's website and the NRE portal on 31 October 2026, no admit card or centre notice had been posted yet. Keep checking your NRE portal and pmdc.pk. If you registered for the old 11 October date, make sure the card you print shows 8 November.
• Centre: check the city and address the moment the card is out. If it is in another city, travel the day before.
• Documents and reporting time: follow exactly what your admit card says. Keep your original CNIC or passport with your admit card the night before.
• The night before: no new topics, no mock. Eat, sleep, set two alarms.

If your mock scores are below 60%

Do not panic, and do not abandon the plan. Your first mock is partly a test of pace, and pace improves with practice. Watch the trend across the week, not one score. If you are still well short by day 3, spend the evenings only on Medicine and Surgery, because that is where most of the paper is.

And if the worst happens, PMDC runs Step 1 more than once a year. One sitting is not the end of the road.

Sources: PMDC public notice No. Exam-97/2026, 5 October 2026 (NRE Step-I re-scheduled); PMDC NRE portal; pmdc.pk; PMDC press release on the NRE, January 2026 (pass mark). Last checked: 31 October 2026.

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