cric1
Forum Senior
Topics: 14
Posts: 40
|
Hey guys, I just took step 1 today, and its such a relief to be over!! It feels almost like an anti-climax...for an exam that has such major repercussions...Okay, I 'm not saying it was totally easy, but certainly better than I expected.Easier than NBME in my opinion (or maybe I was just more prepared for exam than NBME). Its not like people say, with impossibly long questions that are twisted...if you have a good understanding of the mechanisms of things, then you'll be ok. I think we spend a lot of time learning minutae that are in the Kaplan notes, when those details aren't even on the exams...they even say things like...best treatment for this would be a beta-blocker, etc.
My study plan for the exam was a bit warped, I had no idea what step 1 entailed at all...tried for months while working to study from the kaplan books, but did goljan a miillion times. eventually 5 weeks before exam a friend who had just done step 1 really advised me to listen to Kaplan lectures, and what a difference!! I went from having piece-meal knowledge about things to really understanding stuff as a whole...which is important for these exams. Swotting doesnt help, understanding how things work and why is whats important.
i bought a zillion books and lugged them around the world with me (what a pain!) but didnt even look at some. Every book that people recommended, I got...but in the end here's what i think are the best:
Kaplan books + lectures
Robbins Book of path q when studying path (only in first revision of path, not really necessary at the end)
First Aid is good only in the last week when you have done your final revison of all the subjects. Its not really good to study from unless you have a really good understanding of thebig picture. (but annotate as u go along)
Road Map Pharm is great, use it along with first aid. Its enough, dont bother with Katzung, its too much really. I used Lippincott and Katzung, and ended only liking Road Map.
Biochem : Kaplan audio are great...the lecturer is the Goljan of Biochem, I swear!
Micro : MMMRS is good if you have time, but i found it too thick and frankly just too much!
Path/; Goljan's Path Review Book is great, it corresponds to his lectures too.
Physio: Kap and BRS
Cell Bio : High-Yield definitely
Everything else, Kaplan was more than enough!
(Had all H-Y but didnt use them)
More about the exam later, really tired now.
|
| rm
Forum Senior
Topics: 16
Posts: 77
|
hey cric1...congratulations its all over!!! sounds like u did great!! i was just curious--what was ur NBME score? and on ur exam were there alot of molecular questions?
|
| drworm
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
Posts: 137
|
thanks for all the info cric1....it really helps to know what counts the most. Congrats!
|
| sasim
Forum Elite
Topics: 7
Posts: 126
|
thanks for the info. It is really helpful. I'm sure you will get very nice score.
I have a question..Im doing pathology from BRS and was wondering do I need to memorize all the rare syndromes/diseases or should focus on the common diseases only?
|
| cric1
Forum Senior
Topics: 14
Posts: 40
|
Hi, sorry for the delayed reply, I've been travelling since Thurs. No, the rare diseases really do not need to memorised. What I found about the exam is it is very clinically orientated and focuses on your ability to be a good doctor...thats why emergency stuff like poisonings and drug intoxication are important. Dont forget the ALS basic aproach to any emergency/acute medical problem- call 4 help, then A,B,C,D Airway, Breathing, Circulation , Disability. If you are a foreign grad and already practicing medicine then this stuff will come easy to you...e.g. what to fluid to administer in an acute med/trauma prob (i'm not saying know the constituents of each fluid, just that e.g. somebody comes in in hypovolemic shock and the first thing you do is give them isotonic saline, its not going to be to give them whole blood immediately , etc)
The common diseases are really focussed on, and my best advice would be to know the molecular basis of these diseases. Please dont waste time trying to memorise little details cos u think 'what if they ask me this little detail'...(there are a number of obsessive-compulsive personalities amongst us!) you tend to stress yourself out more and feel that you're not going to remember everything...when all you need is simply to understand things. And thats the way stuff tends to stick in your head as well, if you understand the 'why' behind them. I was never one of those conscientious students who always asked 'why?' but all I'm saying is for this exam spend more time on things like physiology, general path (why do certain cancers occur? why do the cells have such long lives? is it because they dont die when they should like maybe an apotosis gene is mutated? etc...etc..etc..)
when i think back now i feel that there are stupid mistakes i made...and these could have been avoided by knowing first aid pharm really really well. the rececptor mechanisms is really high yield, (use High-Yield).
One good piece of advice when you're doing the exam, is to remove yourself from USMLE step 1 and try to put yourself in a clinical situation with a patient. And to use common sense, especially with the behav science questions. Often we try so hard to classify things in terms of disease that we miss the common sense behind them. Its the gut feeling that counts, and its what will get you through this exam, whether you're studying for it, or actually taking the exam.
I know what it feels like at this stage, when you're all confused, not sure if you're using the right resources, doing enough or using the right strategy. But the important thing is to be well-informed about the exam (hey there is a syllabus that the NBME lists for the steps, although it is quite general I found it gave me some insight into what they are testing), and it is important to trust yourself. If you feel that you're not 100% confident with something, then do it over and over until you feel better about it. What is fundamental is that it really helps build your confidence. Try to work on your mind from early on. And remember, the scariest thing about the exam is actually sitting for it, the fact that D-day has arrived- the actual exam isn't that scary at all. Anyway, good luck, and feel free tro ask any more questions.
|
| sasim
Forum Elite
Topics: 7
Posts: 126
|
Wow.... thanks a lot for taking out time for writing all the details of the exam.
|
|
| |
| | | | | | |
