cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Thanks to Allah, I got 98/243 for step 1! It is one point less than 99 but I take it as a challenge so that I can work harder for step 2. I am so grateful for Allah's mercy and greatness. Without Allah's help, nothing would have become possible. I am also thankful for my dearly husband who has been always supporting me and believing in me, for my parents and siblings who have been encouraging me. Most of all, I would like to thank those "pioneers" in this forum who generously shared their successful stories which helped me so much in the course of my preparation. I hope that my exam experience would pass this blessing to those who are about to take step 1.
I am an IMG and graduated about 10 years ago. I would not count for you how many months I prepared for step 1 as I realized that it's not important as a piece of experience. It is only you that can tell how much time is enough for you to get a good score. For "old" IMGs, I would strongly suggest you to review some textbooks (e.g., Robbin's for path) to reach a good understanding of subjects.
The materials I used are
1) Pathology: Robbin's big book (which helped me have a high performance in the exam) and Kaplan notes as review. I did not do Gojan since I felt that I was o.k in this subject.
2)Physiology: BRS and Kaplan notes
3) Biochemistry, behavioral sciences and Genetics: kaplan
4) Pharma: kaplan + Kazung
5)Micro: kaplan + ridiculously simple
In my last couple of weeks, I revised FA twice. I did USMLE CD which I got 81% correct. I did not have time to do NBME. I felt that I was ready for the exam so I did not care that much (I will do NBME for step 2 though).
I did Q-book and Q-bank which helped me familar with the question format.
My exam pretty much covered all the subjects. Here I'd like to advice you to prepare all the subjects equally well. I got a lesson that I did not pay attention to skin and connective tissue during the preparation...turn out it was this subject lowering me one point down.
Hmmm...I think that's about it. You are welcome to ask any questions. I will come back regularly to respond your inquires.
What's most important...please ask for God's help all the time. God can give you strength that you could never ever imagine.
|
| karusmle
Forum Guru
Topics: 292
Posts: 986
|
congradulations cali.............all the best for ur step 2 ,can u please tell us what all topics were high lightened in ur exam?????
|
| sarika
Forum Guru
Topics: 195
Posts: 1,200
|
Congratulations cali1997 for the PERFCT score .you are an inspiration for all those people who graduated a few yrs ago. Goodluck in your step2!
|
| atwas
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 1
|
aswk & congrats cali1997. you've inspired me!! nway just started preparing for step 1, am in 3rd year. don't know if i've done the right thing by starting soon. can you put some light on how to go about it.
do's & don'ts.....e.t.c
|
| ssrpk
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 154
Posts: 2,809
|
congratulations on your brilliant success & good luck for step 2
___________________
life is guud
|
| kingsofke
Forum Guru
Topics: 24
Posts: 715
|
Congratulations on your great score. And best of luck for your next step.
___________________
In Life there are neither rewards nor punishments, just consequences.
|
| an
Forum Guru
Topics: 19
Posts: 437
|
congrats cali, its an awesome score....
three cheers..
___________________
I don't believe in miracles...I rely on them. And sometimes, I create my own.
|
| reet
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 152
Posts: 1,411
|
congratts on ur success..
whould ya write something about EXAM style,,,any CT scan, any slides,pictures, lab values????????? wht do u think ,, questions were equally spreaded ??? did u find any block tuff? did u finish in.......minutes???
thanks..
___________________
Live as u were to die tommorow. Learn as if u were to live forever.
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Congratulation cali!!!
Hope you ace step 2 as well!!! Good luck!
|
| drsnq
Forum Elite
Topics: 24
Posts: 168
|
congratulations on getting this decent score...good luck for the step 2
___________________
drsnq
|
| kulmur
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 28
|
CONGRATS ON YOUR EXCELLENT SCORE!
Can I ask what you used for anatomy?
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Hi
Karusmle: thanks for your nice wishes. I think all the subjects were covered in my exam. The heaviest subjects are pathology, physiology (path-physiology) and pharmacology. I did not feel good about genetics and biochemistry but surprisingly I got "higher performance" on these two in the score report. Kaplan does not cover anatomy well (I only used kaplan on this so my performance is not "higher").
Sarika: Thanks for your nice wishes. I am glad to see that my note can be inspiring even to one person. Good luck
Atwas: I am not a fresh graduate so I am not sure whether my advice would be helpful. I guess ssrpk can give you a better input about this. Go and PM him...he was very helpful for my exam preparation  good luck! Work hard and I am sure you will get 99 with red flag
Ssrpk and kingsofke: hey folks. you are those "pioneers" I talked about in my note. Ssrpk, thanks again for your kind replies to my inquiries before I took my exam. By the way, although I did not succeed joining in your 99s group for step 1, I will work hard for step 2 and hope that I can be in your "99 gang" soon
Hey An, my dear friend. Thanks! I am sure that you will get a great score very soon...Congrats in advance!
Reet: I did not put very much work on CT or slides. I basically could answer the question before seeing the slides. But this is only my experience...I would not encourage you to neglect slides. I did not memorize lab values...I usually checked the values they provide. Yes, some blocks were difficult for me but some blocks were easy. I completed each block fast, usually gave myself 20-15 mins to recheck the answers. Hope this helps
Hey Cyra, thank you! Thank you for your encouragment before my exam. Good luck with your exams!!!
Drsnq: thank you!! Good luck with your exams!!!
Kulmur: Thanks. I used kaplan only...but it was not enough for my exam. I think we need more review materials beside kaplan.
|
| drsnq
Forum Elite
Topics: 24
Posts: 168
|
hi...u said kaplan is not enough for anatomy ...u think high yield is enough..basically i used kaplan plus high yield ..is thay enough...or we have to use some other meterials...
thanks
___________________
drsnq
|
| Shakeels
Forum Guru
Topics: 26
Posts: 468
|
Hi cali1997,
I jus want to ask you that, did you mean Kaplan in Neuroanatomy or in Gross Anatomy and embrylogy, or both. Bcz kingofke told us that Kaplan Neuroanatomy is a killer and they would ask that much detail in real exam.
So tell me exactly???
I will be waiting for your good advice.
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Hi drsnq and Shakeels,
I got tens of gross anatomy questions which were not covered by Kaplan. I talked to one of my friends about this. He told me that he used usmle road map gross anatomy and he got a "higher" performance regarding this subject in his exam. It's not a thick book so I think that it would not hurt to flip through it before your exam. Good luck, guys
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
The questions I got mainly surrounded limbs (arms and legs...muscle relation, vessels and nerves passway) and head (e.g., sinus communication and anatomical relationship). focus on these two if you have limited time.
|
| gimbugie
Forum Junior
Topics: 7
Posts: 60
|
Congradulations Cali! You are a source of inspiration. May Allah bless us all!
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Hi Gimbuigi, Ramadan Mubarek!
|
| Shakeels
Forum Guru
Topics: 26
Posts: 468
|
I think cali1997 you are right, even in q bank gross anatomy is hard and its not possible to do those questions from kaplan anatomy book. But neuroanatomy, kaplan did a good job.
|
| vaness
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 8
|
yeah nice score. but being an IMG your only shot is matching into internal medicine.
general surgery, orthopaedics, radiology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, and dermatology...the professions with the bug bucks $300,000 +/year are taking US grads with those same numbers. at my medical school, the "average" Step 1 score for admissions into the general surgery program was 235, and every one was AOA(straight honors in medical school).
good luck in internal medicine or psychiatry
|
| neo335
Forum Elite
Topics: 39
Posts: 174
|
congrats cali... well done.. all the best for the comng exams.....
hi vaness.... since surgery closed at 235 .. cant cali get into it?? whats an AOA? what scores do imgs need to get into ortho?? does clearing step1 in 2 attemps hinder ur chances in ortho??
also one more thing... what about img's chances in sports medicine?? does one get into it directly or u ahv to do something else b4 u get into sports med as a super speciality?? waiting eagerly for ur reply.....
thank u... n all the best..
wch med school r u frm??
neo
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Thank you, neo335, for your nice wishes! Good luck with your exams!! Work hard and Be patient--you will get to your goal!!
-------------------------------- (I ought to make a line here to separate these two notes!)
Hi Vaness, thank you for dropping by and expressing your worries! For your comments, I have no word to say as I am still in the journey of my preparation. But please go to the match section, you will find that your worry is simply a rumor. I have two IMG friends (one got 98/99 and the other 99/99) got positions in radiology and general surgery, respectively. The one that is working in general surgery just got an open in orthopedic surgery for himself this year (He is really GOOD in OR..so no doubt about his success). I have another friend (99/95)...IMG of course...got in pediatric Neurology. So as long as you work hard, the door of success will open for you. US is a quite fair country...that's why she attracts so many talented and hard-working people!
Good luck to all that are working hard for your dreams. NEVER GIVE UP AND HAVE STRONG FAITH IN GOD!
Edited by cali1997 on 10/29/05 - 01:56 PM
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
I got several PMs asking about BBS. I feel that this may be helpful to other people so I put my reply here.
I did not do it due to limited time. However, according to my friends' feedback and other usmle giants ' comments , I would highly recommend it to those that just start your preparation. For those whose exam is close, it may be helpful if you read your weak areas from BBS (BBS consumes lots of time).
BBS: board simulator series
|
| Shakeels
Forum Guru
Topics: 26
Posts: 468
|
Is that BBS?? or BSS. I'm sure that it is BSS.
|
| cali1997
Forum Senior
Topics: 5
Posts: 38
|
Oops, sorry. yes, Shakeels, it's BSS!
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
