LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hi Cyra, today has been a good day so far (3pm) - listened to Goljan Hemodynamics and renal system and completed 100 questions. Did not do well on the questions- most of questions in these blocks were from male and female genitourinary system and I need to revise that properly again. Infact, thats what I am going to do from now to 5pm. Also, I will start with Physiology of reproductive system.
___________________
lisa
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
All good stuff Lisa!!!!.. ....going through patho and physio simultaneously sounds good...shall help you integrate stuff even better...keep it up...good luck for tomorrow!
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Hope your revision is going on as planned....do keep us updated on your progress...take care...
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hi Cyra.....Things did not go as planned. Feeling so down! I took a test and scored just 40%! What have I ben doing all these days and months? maybe this exam is not for me! Maybe I am too old and dont have "it" in me anymore. I cant seem to be able to even apply the simple formulas I know already. God help me please! If my real exam is going to be like this, I am much better off not taking it and getting throughly humiliated.
Hey, thats not me! Ok, maybe the NMS questions are too tough! Anyone else feels that way? Anyway, I am not a giver-upper, I am a fighter, and I will fight this. Even if the odds are stacked up against me, I am not going to quit! If the exam gets the better of me, then I will have given it MY best shot. I will keep my chin up and go on with my life. This is not going to get me down! Yes, this is a promise I am going to make to myself now and never forget. This is just one small hurdle to test what I am made of, and I am made of real strong stuff.
I am going to get back to Phys now. I am not going to let the negative feelings get the better of me. Afterall, I took NBME part one almost a month back and got passing scores! That was my aim at that time. That has to mean something, right?! Ok, there is no more time to mope, doubt, worry and analyze my strategies. Just enough time to go with the plan, keep working, keep climbing without fear of falling. I will get there, sooner or later, and it will be worth it!
___________________
lisa
|
| kaira
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 128
|
hey lisa ur like a warrior..........no matter wht ur spirits dnt dampen..........way to girl .....
as long as nms qs r concerned...i personally havent solved thm bt ths is wht my friends and many people frm ths forum hav to say tht ,yeah...the questions r a bit difficult and nt much usmle orientated.....like q book and q bank.......so i feel no matter wht ur scores r read the right and wrong ans for all questions.....and u will no longer be on 40% isnt it???
right now just work out a solid plan which covers all ur weak areas and stick to it like a glue.......
we all knw u cn doo it...........
better days r just round the corner
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Lisa...i panicked when i started reading your post...but then i scrolled down and saw that you are one strong person...may God bless you with immense inner strength to get through this!!!The NMS questions...hmm..well from what i know...no one really uses them..because as kaira said...they are just exactly the same style as the ones on the USMLE...ppl just reccomend kaplan...Qbook and Qbank...u have to go through these in detail...know them cold along with FA...i don't know if u have seen it...but you might just want to read through the post by ditch doctor in the exam experiences...it just lifts ones spirits up!...do have a look...and buddy!!the NBME scores don't lie...ppl use those scores to assess how well they are prepared for the real thing...u passed that!...and have been working hard ever since...i say just forget about NMS...if u really want to stick to it then use it as a learning tool...not as an assessment tool...like kaira said...no giving up at this stage...you are going to nail this thing...you have "it" in you and you know it...i am so proud of the way you couselled youself up there...keep going...
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hi Kaira and Cyra, Thank you for looking out for me and encouraging me. I feel much better now and yesterday I did study well after that low feeling. I did one block of pharmacology questions from Q book and scored 74%. I hope to also go through the questions from Katzung for key topics like ANS, CNS and CVS and the drug interactions topic. That should make me stronger on that. I have Kaplan 2002 and Q book. I have gone through Q bank too.
I like the stepprep site. I just discovered it and hope to go through it before my exam. I have postponed my exam again and my new (and hopefully final) date is August 4th. My problem is, that I need to read and review many times over before I can master something and cant cram to save my life. Also, I tend to forget soon enough!
Today I will do anatomy and Behavioral from FA and one or two blocks of questions from Rapid Review. I will find the post by ditch doctor, Kaira. Thanks again!
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Cyra, thanks again for recommending that I read ditchdoctor's jouenal. Though I had read it already, I had not paid much attention to the most of the details because he had used differernt books from what I am using and I tend to panic if I see something totally new now.
My Q bank average was 51% but I complted it in the first week of april and I am glad to see that he also started out there. I now feel inspired to really see why I got a question wrong and make sure I never make a mistake there. I just completed renal- for this I did the fluid and hemodynamics along with it and path and phys and feel like I finally can manage a table on the renin angiotensin levels or the adrenal hyperplasia syndromes! Now to Anatomy!
___________________
lisa
|
| kaira
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 128
|
nice to see all ur negative feelings r out of the window.....give ur exam only whn ur prepared...and yes as cyra said dnt forgt to judge urself by giving nbme..............
ur dng gr8.......keep up the spirit
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Thats just awesome Lisa...you are doing just fine...keep going like this and you will definitely be all set to nail this thing...and i understand that when ppl use diff books one tends to panic...but u must remember that in the end they have almost the same info...its how well you grasp the info and then use it practically is what matters...good luck with anatomy LIsa...i just started with it today too...take care
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
I completed anatomy from first aid today and did one set of questions from Q book. Though it is essential to know FA, it is quite inadequete in itself! I got 60% in test one from Q book. I looked at 2 chapters from HY Histology and Neuro each and simply got too tired. Must review Kaplan anatomy in detail once again. I dont know when!
Today I am going to do Biochemistry from FA. Biochem and Pharm are the two most volatile ones for me. I had planned to do one topic per day from Pharm because I am still so weak in it, but it is simply not working out. I had wanted to spend about 2 hours and do questions from the back of the chapters from Katzung, but it is just too time consuming and I wonder if our exam is actually going to test us in that detail. When I first started reading Kaplan Pharm, it just scared me like FA did, because it was so condensed and assumed that I knew (or remembered!) a lot of stuff. Pharm has changed so much since my med school days- so much is new so much has been outdated. However, now that I have studied Katzung once, when I looked at Kaplan Pharm, it looks a lot more friendly and familiar. So, I am doing to use Katzung only for the early chapters and maybe the drug interactions and poisoning ones at the end. Otherwise, I am just going to try and master the Kaplan book by revising one topic a day very quickly.
___________________
lisa
|
| kaira
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 128
|
i thnk kaplan will be ur best bet at ths time.......... doo the topics frm tht book only, which u did it 1st... ..bt no matter where u did stick to it and knw it cold...and dnt forgt to pray hard
all the best
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Hey Lisa...i agree with kaira...stick to the book you used first...i am sure you must have put in a lot of effort the first time round with micro...and since it is such a volatile subject referring to a new book would just not be feasible...stick with kaplan!good luck!
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Yesterday I had a headache, and did not complete Biochem. Today I am going to start Behavioral Science anyway. Library opens only at 2pm and it is so hard to study at home. I have ear plugs, but can still hear poosh singing or playing or pounding on the door and calling "mummy". My husband says that she does that even when I am in the library, but somehow, I cant resist her when I am in the room and she wants to see me! Ah, the sacrifices one makes for this! Hopefully, it will all be worthwhile!
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Yesterday I started my final revision before I give NBME. I started with Beh Science and did the second test in Q bank. I got 72% which is quite an improvement from 64% which I got in the first test, but still nowhere near 85%- where I wish I were. I dont know what I should do if this is the best I can get. I know I can do better with more time, but this seems to have taken forever and I am so ready to get this over with and move on with my life. Then again, all my efforts have been leading up to this exam, and I dont want a moment of impulsivity to spoil all that I had worked for.
Today I will do Bio chem. Will start with Genetics and then pick up the pace towards the metabolisms. Thats the plan anyway. Poosh bas yet another ear infection.
God, Please give us the strength to go through everything we have to in this life with joy and love from the knowledge that you are with us always.
___________________
lisa
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Hey Lisa...you are doing just fine...just keep going....you will make it!!!!I hope Poosh's ear infection is settling down and you aren't having too much trouble...Do check your PM...and take care...
|
| kaira
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 128
|
dnt worry lisa.....god is always there fr all of us...
if u see the positive side ur improving drastically....a little more pains and u will reach ur goal.......
hoping fr a speedy recovery fr poosh.....
good luck
|
| KEROCHI
Forum Guru
Topics: 60
Posts: 971
|
You're doing great lisaM. keep it up! hope poosh gets better soon.
Wow your scores really went up. Good job. Good luck to you too. May God shower us w/ more strength & courage to finish this test successfully.
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hi friends- Cyra, Kaira, Kerochi, Thank you for caring. Unfortunately, Poosh's condition got worse. So I could not study today. My husband has offered to take care of her on thursday and friday and he cannot also take sick leave for more than two days without laborious paper work. Poosh had cough and vomiting today, and more cough! We could get appointment only for friday. So I spent today sitting on a rocking chair with her and despite myself, I fell asleep too!
My husband is back now and I am going to quickly breeze through micro as much as I can. I can sincerely say that I am trying to do my best under the circumstances and guess I should be happy with that.
___________________
lisa
|
| drworm
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 137
|
I am sorry to hear that LisaM. I hope she gets well soon. Life throws these tests at us from time to time. I admire you for being able to concentrate even amidst all these distractions. I'm sure you will be rewarded in the end.
|
| kaira
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 128
|
dnt worry poosh will be fine very soon .............
rembember god always tests us in all possible ways he cn ...........and im sure in ths test of urs u will cm out wth flying colours.....
take care of urself too
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Hey Lisa....hope Poosh is doing better now.looking forward to hearing from you soon...
|
| used2Bdoc
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 42
|
Hi Lisa, I wish Poosh will get well very soon then you can be back to your study.
By: Used2Bdoc 
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hello drworm, kaira, cyra, used2Bdoc, Poosh has gone to see the ENT doc today. She was coughing a lot, and wanted me to carry her. So I could not study last night. I am feeling depressed now, unable to concenterate though my husband and baby have made time for me. Feeling guilty too in a major way. But this too shall pass away!
Today I hope to revise Neuroanatomy and Histology. I will do most of it from Kaplan but also HY for selected topics. Yesterday I did two blocks of questions- anatomy and biochemistry from Q book. scores still at 70 and 72%. I will take NBME part two on the 27th (coming up so fast!) and then decide if I can indeed sit the exam on 4th august.
___________________
lisa
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
