Kluver_Bucy
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 11
| | 04/07/05 - 10:24 PM
2 of 2 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #1 |
I'm just starting to study for Step 1. My exam is in June. Could some of the people that have taken the exam, post some mistakes people make studying for this exam.
I am not a good student, so please be kind with advice.
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| berkeleyboy
Forum Elite
Topics: 15
Posts: 361
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I would have taken personal notes of the stuff I was going to forget either on blank paper or in FA which ever you prefer. Read those over and over again while doing your revisions. This will be really key during your last week or two before your exam because your not going to have time to re-read everything in detail like you did when previosly going thru the subjects.
Also, try to look at a lot of pictures, slides, drawings, mri, x-ray...angiograms..... Anything you can that can be looked at visually, look at it. there were a ton of pictures on my exam that I had no clue what was going on.
Try to do more questions at the end of your studies and not towards the beginning wherre you will most likely forget a lot of stuff.
All the best.
berk
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| nonstopdoc1
Forum Senior
Topics: 14
Posts: 196
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Ill beg to differ here. Yes its helpful to lookt at lot of pictures,EKGs and xray but IMO they dont help you much in your exam. Often the pics in real exam are difficult to interpret and diagnose. Most of the answers people come up with are by reading the question which often gives you the answer but not always. So if you have time than yes do spend time on pictures but if you are running on a tight schedule than you can even skip them all togher.
I spend lot of time on pics during step1 as i had lot of time fro prep but during step2 and step 3 , I was walking on such a tight rope that I ddnt spend a single minute on path pics or xrays.
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| pray4md
Forum Senior
Topics: 13
Posts: 124
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i would have done kaplan one time and transcribed anything important into first aid from kaplan or any school note source. then review the hell out of first aid. go through every question in qbank and find the answer in first aid....THEY ARE ALL THERE. no one believes me, but every qbank question has the answer in first aid. its ALL there. so do the question, then read the section in first aid. it works.
thats my opinion.
p4md
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| omarsaleh66
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
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Sup guys; I usualy post on SDN. I just took the exam last monday. Biggest mistake for me was missing easy anatomy questions that are in First Aid. In my opnion First Aid, Goljan Audio and Goljan HY 36 page notes had tons of information coming from them. Be sure to take plenty of snacks like protein bars, m&Ms, coffee thermos, tylenol, coffee drinks. Once u take the exam, u will have alot of energy and short 5-10 minute breaks are good anough to take between every section. Skippin the tutorial is a great idea. Also dont freak out. I walked out of the exam feelin that I guessed on atleast 1/2 the answers and many others felt the same. Also I realizr now that I missed a lot of questions that I think were "easy" quesitions. It's easy to make stupid mistakes in the test so becarfeul and concentrate.
later
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| Kluver_Bucy
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 11
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Hey Omar! Nice to see someone familiar. I need some help. I'm having trouble with Pharm and I scared that I might flunk Step 1 because of Pharm and Anatomy. Do you have any good advice on what I can do for Pharm. I've tried to read first aid and it is so dry. Thanks a bunch.
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| omarsaleh66
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
| | 06/09/05 - 10:19 PM
1 of 1 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #7 |
First Aid and all the drugs in USMLE Secrets will be the best prep for pharm. I got alot of questions on cyclophosphamide so know its mechanism, how it needs p450 to be activated, etc..
Learn about what drugs are metabolized in the liver and what is contraindicated in liver failure and renal problems. Make sure u know the methods of how resistance is formed in drugs (acyclovir) is popular.
As far as anatomy, Every embryo question except 1 was from First Aid so know First aid well. The other embryo question i got was very hard and not even in HY Embryo. So dont bother. As far as studying for anatomy - do First Aid and the blue boxes in Moores. I think that will be the best prep- atleast from the experience i had on my exam.
gluck- PM me on SDN if u got anymore questions- I check that all the time
later
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| chemamr
Moderator and PGY2
Topics: 703
Posts: 4,442
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Donīt forget to make a MCQs QBank, like Kaplan, itīs useful.
Edited by prep4usmle on 01/31/06 - 09:04 PM
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| Agrada
Forum Junior
Topics: 9
Posts: 47
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Well, For me ..It,s never difficult to understand the facts in the books,
The Problem is how to make these informations stick to my brain...Memorizing is the problem.
I don,t like to re-study the same subject more than once, this my problem
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| NYmyc
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 10
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BIGGEST MISTAKE --- hands down would not spending enough time with Genetics and Cell Bio. After I walked out of that ER (examination room) the kindly gentleman outside handed me my A*S on a partially dismembered orange ticket 
I also agree with omarsaleh66, DONT miss easy anatomy questions from First Aid... they are the easiest of the lot and makes you feel like a goat if you miss em... especially when you frantically open that page up and see the little note you made right next to it ..."Know this COLD" ...sheesh.
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| docmama
Forum Senior
Topics: 3
Posts: 83
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THIS TOPIC WAS FOR MISTAKES OF EXAM TAKERS ON THEIR USMLE STEP 1...am I right? Those who have other questions...if u look through the forum, especially on exam experiences...u will find tons of info on what kind of material to use...etc. Please let this topic be ... so that others can use this as a resource. Thank you! Forum moderators?
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| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
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My mistake was being scared of First Aid and waiting for until a month before my exam to go through it. When I started my preparation, whenever I opened First Aid, I panicked because it only seemed to remind me of how much I did not know. I wish I had reinforced my reading of every subject from kaplan by memorzing facts from FA rightaway.
All the best with your step one!
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lisa
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| vinzz
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
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I had 2 big mistakes. I found it so hard to concentrate the day before the exam and I felt that studying at that juncture was hopeless. If I could do it over, I would have planned to finish all the revision I wanted to one or two days before the exam. That way, I could have simply relaxed the day before. I planned to study the final pages of First aid (pharmacology) the day before the exam and just couldn't. In the end, pharmacology was my worst topic on the step 1.
The 2nd mistake was drinking too much coffee the morning before the exam and not taking a break to visit the bathroom after the 1st block. I couldn't concentrate during the 2nd block and probably did poorly on that block. i even ended the block early so that I could pee.
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| Wow!!!
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 18
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My mistake with studying was probably not memorizing the chemotherapy drugs. My mistake with the exam was not taking few benedryl the night before my exam to help me sleep. i only took one and I ended up only getting about 2 hours of sleep the night before because I was so anxious.
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| panzerkrieg
Forum Senior
Topics: 25
Posts: 51
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not doing the calculations in genetics not that i got many only 2-3 but i got them all wrong that is for sure
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| KEROCHI
Forum Guru
Topics: 60
Posts: 971
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Biggest mistake of all!! loosing confidence few weeks before the exam. That means freaking out won't do you any good.
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| shyma
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 65
| | 01/26/06 - 10:12 AM
1 of 2 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #17 |
Keeping NMB for the last days .Those should be done in the begining .Questions are very similar to real exam.
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MAY ALLAH SHOWER HIS BLESSINGS UPON US
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| adeelmd
Forum Elite
Topics: 40
Posts: 399
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I took this exam a long time ago. One thing I see a lot of people doing is not getting enough sleep. Sleep at least 8 hours during your studying, 10 hours is even better- it really helps in memory rentention.
4 days before the exam, buy a bottle of nyquil and take that (only the recommended dose, maybe even less) to get a good nights sleep. The only reason you are doing this three days before is so that you can figure out a dose that will get you to sleep, but wont make you tired in the morning. Buy only commercial nyquil, not the generic pharmacy ones, because they don't work as good. I think I am the only one that actually had a good night's sleep before the exam.
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| camilo
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 1
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wrote:
I'm just starting to study for Step 1. My exam is in June. Could some of the people that have taken the exam, post some mistakes people make studying for this exam.
I am not a good student, so please be kind with advice.
 iīm in the same situation, but a even have the books, you have any information abour this books on line.
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| malignant
Topics: 2
Posts: 24
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Hi,
First of all good luck for your preparation.I am an average student like you too which means hard work and logical studying.I just gave my step 1 yesterday.It looks like you are going for the exam in june.Good luck.Now few tips.
Usmle........30 t0 40 % you will get straight forward questions,don't panic and don't be nervous...think cooly and answer.If nervous close eyes and concentrate for few seconds.30 % indirect questions ,two level thinking not that tough as Kaplan,but requires some logic to answer.10% calculations physion and beh science like stats and epi, rest tough 15% are tough and confusing,rest very tough I couldn't think ,brain got blocked.
I am poor retainer I don't think exam is that tough only 10 % of the questions asked was weired to me.USMLE wants you to know things in depth.
eg :- parkinsons........neurotransmitter involved ....how does it work receptor type......where is the location..........always check MRI......genetics involved if any. tratment and sideeffects and also treatment for side effects.
Do molecular biology,must must must.Genetics last chapter of kaplan very important.Don't be scared of Pharma straight forward questions, revise revise and revise from FA, Focus on ANS and CNS drugs tons of questions with graphs.But don't worry they are not that tough but grasp the basic
I think I made lots of silly mistakes and I am not sure whether I'll pass or not,As I said I am poor retainer and didn't revise well in the last days as I was exhausted,I cud have done well if revised seriouly in last days.
Do FA over and over again,but it works only if u do the basic like at least 2 reading of Kaplan.
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| vanshita
Forum Guru
Topics: 23
Posts: 824
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thnax for sharing with us
GOOD LUCK with your score
don't worry you will get good score
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| malignant
Topics: 2
Posts: 24
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Thanks for wishing me luck on my score,Wish you the best for your exam,I recallled few more topics from the exam thought of sharing hope Iam not doing anything illegal,
I got at least 3 question on renal transplant, the physiology after donating a kidney how it affects the body .........................know everything in depth, like changes in bloodflow, GFR, creatinine clearance...........so know about it.
beh science ....................DSM IV,
and ethics also I got few calculations.
Anatomy questions mainly based on diagrams, got only 2 questions of embryo.
Lots of physio on renal , respi, MRI of cns.
Micro and pharma are cool, just don't get confused like me.
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| da123
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 3
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my regrets after my step 1 experience
1. i wish i had known how much molecular bio would show up on the test. there is NO molec. in first aid!! so its misleading. i managed to learn alot of it in the couple of weeks before the test, but my life wouldve been easier if i had just learned that stuff earlier on!!
2. i wish i hadnt let myself get so discouraged by qbank. qbank is good for learning but tests some of the most minute, ridiculous details ever!! so i finally learned to just ignore those stupid details (i had a notebook where i was writing down every tiny fact i didnt know and then i threw it away after i took the NBME practice tests and realized how those little details are pointless to memorize)
3. this is stupid, but i wish i had listened to my bladder more during the test!! once you start a block, you are STUCK. so even if you have to pee a tiny bit, take a break and GO!!
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| vikramjit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 15
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thanks da123 and malignant, i'll be appearing neext month and definitely keep your suggestions in mind,,, da123, your point about the bladder issue is well taken, it sure helps keeping minute points in mind.
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| missedtackle
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 21
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Buying all these useless study books I was convinced I needed and then never used.
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