kingsofke
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I am going to divide it into 2 parts. In first part i will just note down my timeline of preparation. And then in second part i would go into my own understanding and interpertaions of things which are purely the work of me and i am not responsible of any damage it might incur. Dont read it if you are not good at abstracts 
(I dedicate this to my friend Mansoor , who actually gave me the idea of this timetable from his own experince. I am going to mention my own time periods but this is not to be followed literally.)
I started on 5th april with a crude timetable which was as follows in proper order
Physio--10 days Biochem and genetics--10days Anatomy (all ) --10 days Patho--15 days micro and immuno--- 10 days Pharma--- 7 days and Behavior--5 days
I was to do everything from Kaplan , listen to audio lectures and only to do Gross anatomy from High yield and Embryo from High yield (not the big one , just 33 or so pages small one)
I mostly stuck to it only that i was quick in my time table and just did AL review question book with every subject. I did physio-5 d biochem and genetics--6days Anatomy---8days Patho --12 days micro immuno--7 days Pharma --5 days Behavior--4days. I listened to Goljan for patho and kaplan lectures only for micro,pharma and behavior.
I then started my second reading and did everything in a bit more days for every subject and did Kaplan Q bank subjectwise. i did some clinical vignette series books (3 or 4).And i did FA with each subject.After i finished (1m and 20 d) i repeated all kaplan Qbank (q's i did wrong and the new info not in lectures i underlined) After which i did Blackwell online exam in exact simulation. I then started my 3rd reading and finished it with Qbook in 16 days. I then did Kaplan simulated exam in exact simulation to real. I had booked the date before (17 days after my kaplan exam). I did 4th reading after that in 14 days and did goljan 100 pages and somethings from FA. And wasted last day completely (watched Mosnter Inc. and had a long walk in afternoon.)
Now thats my whole story . Its sole purpose in telling in such details is to let you have and idea what possible way to plan your preparation could be. I will like to say few things on my mind which offcourse is my own opinion.
When you start the prep its just like standing in front of a desert and not knowing how to cross it efficently. Like a desert there are No way markers so that you know with confidence how good you are going and how close you are to your goal. I was damn lucky to have it all charted out for me from people i believed in;who themselves had performed excellent. I think it really helps if there is a 99er close by who knows you and can guide you the best. Like your senior or better yet clasfellow.
The ideal time period is said to be 4 readings , 1st in 2 m ,2nd in 2 1/2 m and third in 25 d and last in 15 d . The ideal books are said to be ( and i believe ) are Kaplan set of books. The other books usually are either not properly explained or too elaborative taking lot of time. Listening to patho goljan lectures and behavior by steven daughtery of kaplan is soooooooo good that i would have to say it is imperative.
A lot of Q books are out there , thought very informative and enlighting are no where close to the real exam q. The difference being the thinking required to see through the deception. So they should better be done in first reading for learning purposes and may be in second but never afterwards.
Kaplan Qbank has made my day. Without it i couldnt have awnsered more than half of what i did. The reason is not the bulk of information it have ( many a time which is not high or even low yield at all , esp the one you dont see in your lecture notes ) But because it actually let you develop a thinking pattern to dissect through the question and get to what actually being asked. Someones are so classical that they are so closely repeated in actuall exam. Kaplan Qbook i found excellent for knowing your stregnth and weakness . Not much new info though.
Cause i didnt used NBME at all so I think the best simulation is Kaplan simulated exam .It so closely simulate the exam that it could tell you how much you could score. Still people say (and i believe) that the best simulation is NBME.
Dont start to assess yourself untill 2 readings atleast. Yes do questions before that but for learning purposes only. Qbank should not be as assessment tool too i think. Best is to assess yourself around a month or so before exam (ie after 3rd reading and qbank).
Things i did and did or didnt found usefull.
I did anatomy atlas. (please forgodsake dont waste your time.)
I did Webpath ( it is though very helpful is too much. Skim through and concentrate on more common things).i did webpath questions (all of them) and i found them usefull to revise your knowledge But not a must to do (do it in your 2nd reading and then forget about them.)
I did blackwell clinical vignettes and were good for biochem and micro but no for rest.
i did online ethics website (link was here on this forum) and it was amazing. A must for all imgs http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/top...
I did ct and mri websites . Dont go into detail just do any good one with 20-25 slides. (like virtual hospital website)http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/radiology/NormalRadAnatomy/ (browse other sections too if you like)
I did derma atlas website and was not needed.
I did goljan 100 pages .excellent . a must.
I did FA ,that was a good read but too basic for me (almost all stuff i already remembered . Excellent for revising pharma and micro in last desperate times .
I did Review of epidemiology and Biostatistics by Lange ,and is imperative for us imgs.AL epidemiology should be read before reading kaplan (which should be read too ,kaplan is better exam oriented but AL teaches you the concepts better. so they compliment each other.)
I did AL Review question book (in my first reading) . I did BSS cd and AL CD (in my 2nd reading) , WebPath Q's and some minor other sources. (good to review knowledge but not good for exam.)
Its all i can think of for now. if you found it usefull let me know so that i could post more that i have in my mind.
Edited by kingsofke on 10/12/05 - 05:04 AM
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| sobia naeem
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well congratulations on your great score and to living up to expectations.!!!.great study plan..wish u had told this one and a half month back..
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| karusmle
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BUDDY,GOOD MAN,U REALLY ROCK ..............WELL CAN U TELL ME ABT THE ETHICS WEB SITE PLEASE.......AND THANKS FOR HELPING ME THRO HARD TIMES , I M SO HAPPY FOR U ...................AFTER SEEING UR SCORE I JUMPED AND WAS TRULY HAPPY..........GOD HAS BLESSED U SO MUCH..........HAVE FUN MAN , NOW IS UR CELEBRATION TIMEEEEEEEEEEE
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| neo335
Forum Elite
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that was gr8 work that u put in n ur score will say that... well done.. really well done... i am close to my exams.... so i suppose i found this out late, my bad luck... its reallygood for the new blokes ...
wel do put up ur other ideas.. it cud be of help still ... to many including me...
well done once again... all the best for ur future..
neo
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| AAzad
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Congradulation ,
Very good job , and thank you for sharing your study method with us
and
Good Luck.
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AAzad
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| reet
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kingsofKe hearty CONRATUALTIONS on ur success. really appreciate ur help by posting a wonderful experience over here. would ya tell us about ethic website pleaeseeee
good luck in future
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| ramoK.
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kingsofke, everything you wrote is very nice and count for me and for others I am sure, thank you...God bless you! good luck in all you do! Ramo
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| sasim
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CONRATUALTIONS kingsofke. Good luck for Step 2
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| kingsofke
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http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/top...
Hi here is the ethics website. And i did epidemiology and biostatistics review from Lange series (very helpful).
Thank you so much for your appreciation . I will probably keep posting. I couldnt post this all before cause i didnt knew what my score might be . Still this is just something that worked for me. Dont hesitate to mold it your own pattern and convenience . Hey kar i need a 99 from you too man , keep up the hard work and please dont stress out , cause it will only do more damage (think of that) .
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| migs
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Excellent post king, I was about to start a "where do I start" post but there is no need to do that now. I wanted an outline and you've already provided it within your post. There's just one thing I want to ask, During your first read won't the things you read in the beginning become quite distant towards the end ? How do you overcome something like that, do you revise every once in a while ?
Thanks
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| kingsofke
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Yes they actually start getting distant ,and the grasp after first reading is different from person to person. But everyone (including me) agrees that this should not be your target in first reading.
First reading : try to grasp the concept of everything , its very very important ; dont move ahead if you are not comfortable with your topic or chapter conceptually .ask questions to yourself and better yet try to deduce from things ,what i call try to read b/w the lines.
Second reading : this is where you memorize the bulk. So Qbank is very helpful . It will help you remember and help you to know what to remember. people do repeat in part or complete subject if they think they havent yet memorized the bulk of it. ( i usually did it with chapter or chapters like in biochem and micro etc) . So its not one reading to be exact. And this is the one and ONLY time you would venture out of your basic books .You like something ,write it on to your basic book. NEVER open any other book after this time other than your one book for that subject.
Third reading : start making links , refresh the bulk and notice what you forgot last time. A quick but thorough go through .
Fourth Reading : is just to see what you have forgot to skim through what you know and slow down whats still not very familiar. A real quick reading so that distant thing shouldnt happen NOW.
Fifth Reading: I am personally highly againts it. More damage than good so not worth it. And none of my classfellows every did it.
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| desperate for 250+
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exrtremely useful post
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| zzpearl
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King, Thanks a lot. I am preparing for my exam in Dec. Your post will definitely help me.
I have a question about the Qbank. You used Q bank as a tool for learning more than assesment as you did all of it subject wise after 2nd reading. Have you done all the 2000 qs in this way? How did you become used to the real exam format, randome qs in each block? Have you ever try to finish 7 blocks continiously before the exam? I am worrying that my brain will not work for that long strain.
Also Have you doen the exam Qs in the Webpath CD (or online)? HOw do you think about it ?
Thank you very much.
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| desperate for 250+
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wat do u mean by clincal vigenette books......are u talking abt ucv.......and hey which mcqs resourced did u use in addition to kaplan q bank.......and did u do those wid your second read or wat
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| sid9
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hi there
extremely useful info. what site did u use for xrays,ct and mri?
and what sources of q did u use subjectwise and then comprehensively for all subjects?
please reply to these qs and is appleton biostats and epi reqd in addn to kaplan
thanking u in advance
and congrats on yur grt score
sid
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| usmlegr
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kingsofke, how did you score?
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| kingsofke
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To ZZPearl: i am happy that you found it usefull. Yes i did all the 2000 questions subjectwise and untimed , hey trust me speed never been mine problem ; anyway I did Blackwell online test continously 7 blocks and kaplan simulated exam continously ,and offcourse the usmle sample cd .And yes it is hard to give 7 blocks in a day; the real problem being you start loosing cioncentration towards the end but then thats something you have to practice hard to do. I came to know of it when i gave my kaplan exam and then next 2 weeks i concentrated on stamina building (now dont ask me how, figure out a way for yourself )
Yes i did webpath questions (all of them) and i found them usefull to revise your knowledge But not a must to do (do it in your 2nd reading and then forget about them.)
To desperate for 250+: I did AL Review question book (in my first reading) . I did BSS cd and AL CD (in my 2nd reading) , WebPath Q's and some minor other sources. And yes its ucv series.
To sid9: http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/radiology/Normal... (browse other sections too if you like) And yes AL epidemiology should be read before reading kaplan (which should be read too ,kaplan is better exam oriented but AL teaches you the concepts better. so they compliment each other.)
To usmlegr: my score is 99/259.
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| karusmle
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hey kingsofke did u do whole of BSS cd??those 3000 questions???? do u recommend it ????
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| kingsofke
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No i didnt . Just 500 or so. And no i dont recommend it.
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| usmlemaster
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How did you find NBME 1 & 2? Are they any where near to real exam?
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