Vtak
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 3
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HEY…I just received my score a week ago and have started a rotation…I am hoping others in our college follow along and write their exam experiences and study techniques.
Oh ya, this is my experience and please don't get angry if this doesn't work for you…
USMLE Step1 score: 90/ 224
NBME Part 1: 480/ 87 (3 weeks before)
NBME Part 2: 540/ 93 (1 wk before)
Kaplan Qbank: 68% (ended up w/ 72-75 in the last 2 weeks, started w/ 60s) ALL random 50 questions sets
Kaplan Vignettes: 74% (not a good learning tool)
NMS Qbook: 70-85% (good questions source)
Kaplan Qbook: 70-80% (good to do after finishing each section in Kaplan Lecture Notes)
All right, I studied from around beginning of January to 1st wk of April and took the exam on April 18th…got the score back on May 20th.
Everyday…I studied from ~7-9 hrs and watched one movie (everyday)…I don't like stressing myself too much and that was my way to escape the pain I had the entire day…I also took one day a week off…
FIRST 2 MONTHS
I did Kaplan lecture notes w/ the Kaplan videos for first 2 mths (Kept adding to important sections in FIRST AID)…and then went into doing all questions and First Aid…
Did behavioral science, embryo, and then went into organ system based studying for physio, anatomy, pharm, path… did cardio, GI, Resp, Renal, Gonads, Endocrin. And even blood this way…
Then I finished everything w/ Bone, Skin, Joints and General priniciples of path and physio.
I left biochem and neuroanatomy with its path till the last because it's a lot of detail to be remembered for a short amt of time…
After every section, I would do the Qbook questions for it and then go into Webpath and review all the questions in there…(for major organ systems at least)
I started Qbank, a mth into the review and did 50-100 questions all random and timed for the first mth and a half and then increased it to about 250 questions a day at the end…
NEVER STUDIED FROM GOLJAN>>> did it in basic sciences but I got nothing on the exam out of his material….
THE LAST MTH
…I started doing the rest of the questions I had left and FIRST AID…I ALWAYS DID 50 QUESTION SETS TIMED…I would do about 350 questions a day in the last 15 days…
Now is a good time to talk about FIRST AID… I feel 95% of my exam was somehow related to it… I learnt things that were not that important in kaplan but were clearly shown to be relevant in First Aid that were on the exam… After my first NBME score, I sat down and went thru each section of FIRST AID from A-Z and ended up w/ a 6% better mark on the next NBME…
THE LAST FEW DAYS
After my second NBME, I was pretty much fed up of studying…and finished the rest of the Qbank and did the NBME Qbook…
I think I wasn't that scared of the exam by this point because of the fact that I knew what the 560 of the NBME meant and also because I was doing much better on the Qbank and other sources…
Again…. I reviewed from my FIRST AID every day.
THE EXAM DAY
The problem I faced was that I had only 4.5 hrs of sleep the night before because I didn't change my internal clock to be able to sleep at a normal time…. But still, Went into the exam and started w/out the jitters that I thought I would have…
Skipped the tutorial
Saved 15 mins for break time
Block 1: 55 mins
No break
Block 2: 60 mins
5 min break
Block 3: 60 mins
2 min break
Block 4: 60 mins
No break
Block 5: 60 mins
15 min break
Block 6: 60 mins
Long Break…went to get coffee at Starbucks
Block 7: 60 mins
I finished every section except Section 5 w/ 10-15 mins left to check my ~10 marked questions in each section…The exam was pretty easy when compared to Kaplan questions but was exactly the way NBME was...
Section 5 was a tough for me, maybe cuz I didn't take a break or maybe because there were a lot of scientific-experiment-pain-in-the-ass-that-no-one-gives-a-f***-about questions were in it…
But overall, I got tonnes of path… all systems were touched… also, lots of MOA in pharm and genetic testing questions…
Didn't see that much behavioral, epidemio, biochem….(or they were easy and I don't remember them)
Lots of pictures but if u know the common slides and pathology…u will not have a problem…
CONCLUSION:
I think the important thing is deciding on a reasonable objective and spend time working for it….
Theory is important but questions are the key… WE all have the tendency to not do questions if we feel we are gonna bomb them but this is how we learn and you need to realize that it is better to get questions wrong than right because with that you learn something and are not wasting your time.
I cannot Say more about the FIRST AID STEP 1 than I already have…it increased my score by at least 10%
DO the NBME exams…they are expensive but I got at least 5-6 questions right from them and also they are the only good indicator of how you are doing.
Kaplan Qbank, at least for my exam, was a little off because Kaplan tends to ask too many specific things…. The USMLE questions things you already know in a different way and does not have that many rare syndromes and drugs that Kaplan throws at us….
(we all need to realize Kaplan is a business and the only way they will get students to pay is by giving us questions we cannot answer and making us think the exam is impossible)
Go over Biochem, Epidemio, anatomy in the end of the review because these sections are hard to retain for a long time…
Know your Immuno…it's the dark horse of the exam, if u don't know it u might get screwed over…
Integrate the path and pharm w/ physio… know why things happen and what is the next consequence of it…
USE YOUR judgement... we all know what is most important and will be tested...know the most common diseases, drugs and pathways... don't waste too much time on obscure syndromes until u have everything else down pack...
Everyone gets dumb questions on the exam too...I got mechanism of oxacillin, what viral disease lowers Th4 cell count, and a lot of stupid questions that u get scared of answering cuz they are freebees that u dont expect on a exam of this magnitude but There are a lot of them...
Take time off at least once a week…And again, if u are enjoying the studying, u are not working hard enough…lol
Hope this helps...[/b]
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| son64
Forum Elite
Topics: 34
Posts: 245
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How long did it take to get your result from the day you took the exam?
Congrats BTW!!
I had 630 and 650 on the NBME 1 and 2 respectively but my real exam was like hell. I slept only for 2-3hrs the night before the exam(insomnia) and on the exam day, after I arrived the exam center, I had to wait more than 3hrs before I started my exam because the center had some technical problems. This, added to the inadequate sleep that I had the night before, totally screwed up my day. Now I am on the 19th post exam day waiting for my scores which for sure will be much lower than one would expect from my NBME results. I couldn't even prepare full heartedly for my step 2CS which is only 3 wks away and which for sure will be the hardest exam for me given my language constraints. Life sucks some times!!
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| Vtak
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 3
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it took me 4 wks to the day to get my results back
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| mitty
Forum Guru
Topics: 52
Posts: 376
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congrats Vtak! You have done a good job!
son64 p.s tell us about your prepartion.Donn't worry about your result b/c it is going to be 99.
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| son64
Forum Elite
Topics: 34
Posts: 245
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mitty,
I used the Kaplan books 2005 edition for all subjects plus first aid for the USMLE step 1. I did the whole Kaplan Q bank(2050 Qs) and the Q book. I averaged 81% on both the Q book and Q bank. Really, these are all the materials you need for the exam. And I was in a good shape by the time I was left with one month for my exam date( when I took NBME and got 650 and 630). But I got fade up with studying and I barely read during the last month, a time when one should actually be studying hardest . I kept forgeting whatever I had in my memory. And the worst thing was....my day of exam when I was sooo sleepy and totaly unable to concentrate. I can tell that the exam was doable but you really have to be in good mood when you sit an exam as long as the USMLE. Besides, I read no explanation of the Kaplan Qs that I did. After doing all the Kaplan Qs, I didn't even go back and check the Qs that I got wrong. So, the Q bank was basically useless for me( because it is meant to serve mainly as a learning tool but I learnt nothing from it as I didn't read an explanation of even a single Q).
But, if you still are chosing on which books to read, I would reccomend you the whole set of Kaplan plus the first Aid. Never go to the exam with out mastering the first aid. Just read all the kaplan books and try to understand everything plus know eveything on first aid plus do the q book and q bank & read the explanation of all Qs no matter weather you have got them right or wrong, you will be fine. Many people say goljan audio is a must. But I didn't try it, so, can't say anything about it. But it should be a very good source as I see many people calling it a must for step 1.
The exam is more of clinical. I have already done my step 2 CK before the step 1 and I found that many Qs I had in my step 1 can be answered with what you have read for step 2ck. This shows that the step 1 is mainly composed of pathology and pathophysiology. Also I didn't read anything for the behavioral science except first aid. I had kaplan for B/S but didn't read it.The reason was because I have already have some clue about B/S from my step 2 ethics plus I was simply bored to read. I too had the BSS CD( I think 3750 Qs with detailed explanations) but I didn't do it. I just had a look at it and the Qs are totally different from the type of Qs that you got on the real exam. Besides most of them are not in a clinical format unlike the case with the real exam. But people say the explanations are superb and I think they are right. I did only a block of Qs from it and had a glance at the explanations and I found the explanations excellent. You can use it as a learning tool if you are a kind of person who don't mind studying a lot. I hate studying.And that was the reason why I collected many materials but didn't read them all. I had the blackwell Qs too but I didn't even open them.
I also did the Kaplan simulated exam which is prepared in a similar mode to the real exam and I ended up with an average of 86%. My results on the kaplan Q bank, Q book and simulated exam sound good(averaged 81% 81% and 86% respectively) but one can't completely rely on these, as the Kaplan Qs, although similar to the real exam Qs, are easy to guess with out having the knowledge neccesary to answer the Q. In other words, the Kaplan Qs are similar to those you get on the real exam but, if you are good at making an educated guess, you will answer many of kaplan Qs that you don't actually know and this will give you a high score and false sence of security. But the Qs you got on the real exam were prepared in such a way that it would be hard for us to get the right answer by guessing, an educated guess of course. I am happy that I will no more be reading anatomy and biochem( off course if I didn't fail). I have one headeache, the step 2 cs, ahead and this step 2 cs seems to be the hardest of all these steps, atleast for me. I normally have a problem pronouncing the letter "r" and "t" even in my first language( I say sth b/n 'r' and 'l' for 'r' and sth b/n 'd' and 't' for 'd'). And when the fact that english is my second language is added to this, I am afraid that I will do poorly on the communications part of the CS. Well, let me hope that a miracle happens and I pass this CS.
Gl all, friends
Be good and stay good.
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| mitty
Forum Guru
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Thank you son64.The languge problem is the same for most img.From your writting I can tell that you are good in english.one question.I didn't do step 2 ck but I have done my internship and work in east Africa for 2 years.Do you think the clinical Qs can be answered from step 1 reading and clinical experiance without reading step 2ck material?
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| son64
Forum Elite
Topics: 34
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mitty,
No, you should never take these exams with out reading books specifically prepared for the USMLE. Step 2 ck is a lot easier than the step 1 and you will need much shorter preparation time for the step2 ck. But you still need to read step 2ck books and do step 2 Qs before sitting for it. You need to read the kaplan books for step 2ck as the cases you find on the USMLE are totally different from what we see in East Africa. I never saw a patient with systemic sclerosis, hemochromatosis, chaurg strauss syndrome, polyarteritis nodusa, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and etc but you find such cases on the step2 ck. Needless to say, you have to prepare specifically for the step 2ck too. Just read whatever materials you have and do the NBME exams before you sit any of these steps. Your NBME results almost always correlate with your final result. The NBME exams are the best way to make sure that you don't pass the real exam with very low scores which might be worse than failing( as some people say). Good luck brother/sister.
Edited by son64 on 08/25/05 - 07:31 PM
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| mitty
Forum Guru
Topics: 52
Posts: 376
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Thank you very much son64.G/L on your step 1 result and c/s .
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| drdeerajnathl
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Topics: 17
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| | 08/26/05 - 01:21 PM
1 of 1 forum leaders found this post helpful
| #9 |
Hi vtak which rotation u have got . even i have got step 1 - 90 and looking for internal medicine.
thanks
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| chummy
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 15
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Hi Itak,
Congratulations!!! I'm an img, still studing hard for step one.I don't really understand what you mean by Golian didn't help you.I'm listening to his 40hrs lecture and I'm finding him very interesting.He is really helping to understand pathology very well;because I tried studing from FA initially,everything is so shallow.I think the book is just good for review purposes.Anyway,I think Golian is very good because he is really integrating all the other subjects and I enjoy listenining to him.I plan to use FA towards my exam for quick review.
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| reet
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 152
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vtak
CONRATTS on your great score. and thanks for posting your nice experience .
good luck
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| dipti
Forum Elite
Topics: 32
Posts: 237
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hey sun64,
you did great job!! can i ask you few quetions? are kaplan Q book and Q bank different?if so how can i get Q bank?please help me...
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| drkps
Forum Newbie
Topics: 3
Posts: 15
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hi. congrats on your score. i am plannin to take the exam in dec. i took the kaplan step1 course but didnt study that much in the course. now i am just revewing the stuff and doing questions. i didnt know that FA is such a big help. its just facts its not that easy to read it. your post was very helpful. i'm surprised that you did 350 everyday before exams but then it only makes sense to do that. good luck on step2
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| drpawan
Forum Junior
Topics: 5
Posts: 27
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hi congrats i m planing to take my step 1in january
how many days hardly needed for preparation
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