maylea
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Well, it took 5 days, but my score finally arrived in the mail today: 216/88. Quite pleased because I only needed a pass. The extra points are a bonus indeed. As promised, here is my exam prep/exam experience.
I am an older IMG, graduated from med school in 1990, worked in my home country for about 8 years, migrated to NZ and been out of touch with medicine for the last 6 years. I am also a mum of 2 young boys, aged 4 & 2 who I absolutely adore!
My study period lasted 4.5 months, but given the unexpected things that usually happens when one has a young family, that dwindled to 4 months. I started with 4-6 hours/day, 5 days per week during the 1st two months, increased it to 6-8 hours/day during weekdays and 8 hours during weekends during the 3rd month and finally, went crazy and studied 8 hours/day on weekdays and 8-10 hours during weekends. Am so grateful to my hubby and parents in law for making this schedule possible.
I didn't know about Kaplan materials when I started so I chose my books from FA. These are the following:
HY for Anatomy, Histology, Neuroanatomy, Embryology, Cell and Molecular Biology and Behavioural Sciences and Immunology.
Lippincott's Illustrated for Biochemistry – liked this book. Has chapter summaries and one general summary at the end which makes for lightning fast review.
Trevor and Katzung for Pharmacology – liked this book too – good end of chapter practice exams with explanations.
Goljan's Rapid Review for Pathology
BRS for Physiology
Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple – very fun to read.
PLUS FA and USMLE Step 1 Secrets.
I only did one reading of all subjects and panicked when I read about people doing their 2nd and 3rd reading. But I was determined not to postpone my exam, so carried on. Started doing q bank 3 weeks into my study. Before my subscription ran out, I did 3 'simulated' exams 2 weeks apart, ie: sat down and did 5-6 blocks of fresh, mixed questions. I did this mostly to build stamina and endurance and I highly recommend everyone to do this before the actual exam. I made the mistake though of subscribing to qbank too early – by the last 6 weeks I had no more q bank to practice on! I highly suggest you have the qbank until the day of the exam to monitor your progress.
I jotted down notes in my FA, from my reading and from explanations from q bank and other questions banks. Aside from Kaplan q bank, for practice qs, I also used USMLE Rapid Review (book with CD), Pathology Rapid Review (cd), NMS (did only 1 test made up of 180 qs), and USMLE CD. Took NBME 1 about 6 weeks before the exam – got 380. NBME 2 – 10 days before the exam (530), and NBME 3 (490) 4 days before the exam. NBME 3 score has the most accurate correlation with my actual test score.
Listened to Dr. Goljan's lecture two weeks before exam.
I personally believe that passing this exam does not only mean stocking up on one's knowledge of the basic sciences. One also has to work on his/her test taking skills, build stamina for the actual test which is like running the New York Marathon, and believing in one's own ability. This exam is doable…you have to believe that you can be the master rather than the slave. After all, we did not become doctors without getting through standardized tests like this time and time again in medical school. We have to put it in perspective…we have a tendency sometimes to let this scare us to death. I know I did and I really have to talk myself into believing that I can do it, and I did and SO CAN YOU!
For the actual exam: I did not sleep well the night before…woke up about 3-4 times and struggled to go back to sleep. But I arrived at the centre bright and early, had a nice breakfast with my hubby and reported for the exam. I had already planned my breaks beforehand, which was to take 2-min breaks in between blocks during the 1st 4 blocks, take 20 minutes break for lunch after the 4th block, 2 min break after the 5th block, and a 10 min break after the 6th block. Time was not an issue for me during this exam.
My exam had mostly patho-pathophysio. Almost all qs started with a clinical vignette. Physio was mostly those arrows that point up and down. Heaps of Genetics..some really weird ones, I did not know what they were talking about. Micro and Immuno manageable, Biochem and Histo kind of mixed, ie: there was a question about LC Fatty Acids..where in the cell it was synthesized. Anatomy the classic UE and LE injuries. Neuroanatomy – 'where is the lesion' kind of stuff. BS – classic patient-doctor relationship. Statistics..this was my most hated subject and I had tons of it! I had these qs (lots of them) which started with a 'researcher is doing this experiment' and the question would relate to pharma, or micro, or genetics. These were the ones that made me say 'what in heaven's name are they talking about here'! I just hoped that they were experimental. Maybe they were coz I passed. Had a few CT/MRIs, slides, schematic diagrams. Two MRI's of the abdomen, ID spleen and IVC. One schematic of the fungal structure, ID the site of action of Amphoterecin, a schematic of the mitochondria, ID where TCA takes place. One micro slide...vignette relating to systemic fungal infection. I chose Histoplasmosis cause it looked like IC organisms plus patient was from Cincinatti (they did not mention Ohio! - tricky!).
That's all I could remember for now. Came out of the exam feeling I've been browbeaten but chose to be positive about the result. Celebrated with a nice dinner at a Turkish restaurant and got tipsy on half a glass of red wine! 
I knew I was getting tired by the 6th and 7th block cause the number of items I marked dramatically increased. So I will stress again: practice, practice, practice and build your stamina! It is a draining exercise.
Kaplan qbank - 64% (6 weeks before exam)
NBME 1, 2, 3 as above.
NMS - 72%
USMLE CD 35, 38, 42.
Lastly, let me share these words with you all. My friend wrote these words in her letter to me a few days before my exam and it became my prayer. I wish you all 'a feeling of calmness and confidence, a clear mind and a 100% recall'. Goodluck and God bless everyone.
I'd be more than happy to answer any questions.
Edited by maylea on 11/16/05 - 05:42 PM
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| KEROCHI
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Congratulations!!! Your exp. is amazing!!
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| drsnq
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congratulation ...I have my exam on 13 dec...I have only one month time...what u suggest whct i have to do in my last month ...
thanks for ur participations..
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drsnq
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| amariah
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Congratulations! Ur preparation and experience brighten-up my early+gloomy day... 
I had such a terrible unmotivated day yesterday and felt totally not ready for my exam next-week. Some mix feelings of to postpone my exam but I've been preparing for the exam for the last 6mths or so...
And definitely fear to face stats questions but hope to overcome the feeling during the exam.
Well...guess I better start doing more practise.
Thanks again...
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| ALFA
Forum Senior
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Congratulations!!! Your experience inspires me!
Could you tell what are those NMS qs? And NBME-I thought there are only 2 forms for step 1??
Thanks for sharing your exp.!
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| zzpearl
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thanks for sharing!
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| amygdalaa
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Hi Maylea,
thanks for your experience. It has made me feel a bit better.
I too am an IMG with 2 kids. I have mine in 2 wks. I am scared s*** , but with the kids and stuff, no time to be scared....
got to run...
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"If at any point you feel you cant..... then you MUST"
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| amygdalaa
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and an "old" graduate too!
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"If at any point you feel you cant..... then you MUST"
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| maylea
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Thank you very much everyone.
Drsnq: Continue doing questions and read explanations for both wrong and right answers. If you can, do several blocks in one day so you will have an idea of what it would be like during the day itself. Use the performance feedback in your practice qs (if any) to guide further review, ie: focus on your weak areas. Two weeks before the exam do NBME coz it is a good indicator test readiness. Again, use the performance feedback to guide further study. Last week, focus on FA and committing things to memory. Day before the exam stop studying, go out and do something fun for stress release. You will then feel recharged and refreshed for the actual day. Go in to your exam with confidence. You can do it! Hope this helps. PM me if you need further input. Goodluck and God bless.
Amygdalaa...you can do it too! Keep going and before you know it you'll be there! Goodluck with the rest of your prep and your exam.
ALFA: NBME just added two more forms to their CBSSA - form 3 and form 4. Form 4 is 'field trial' only - I don't know what that means, but I took form 3 on the spur of the moment. Got so anxious 4 days before my exam - needed to see if I was ready. You can do the same. Goodluck with your exam. PM me if you need more help.
All the best everyone.
Edited by maylea on 11/15/05 - 10:29 PM
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| maylea
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Amariah...hope you do better than me on Statistics. I just had a look at my performance profile-statistics is not listed individually, but I was strong in behavioural science. Must have made a few correct guesses!  Goodluck, God bless.
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| maylea
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ALFA: Sorry I forgot to answer your question about NMS. It is book of review questions divided into 6 tests, composed of 180 questions each. I understand there is a newer edition which comes with a CD. I am not sure if the CD is programmed to provide performance feedback. Anyway, the questions are rather picky but the explanations are very well written. There is also a good collection of colored plates that you can whizz through a few days before the exam. Hope this helps.
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| ALFA
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Maylea, thank you for advice. Good Luck for Step 2!
One more Q: do you think Goljan's Rapid Review for Pathology is enough for Path? I am studying from similar sources as you did. No Kaplan.
Thanks.
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| maylea
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Hi Alfa: For me personally, Goljan's Rapid Review for Patho was enough. If you can supplement it with his lecture series it would be better. My strongest subject in step 1 was Patho, so I guess that tells you something about this book. GL.
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| ALFA
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Thanks, Maylea. Yes, I do have his lectures...great! Thanks again, it sounds reassuring
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| maylea
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You're welcome. Glad to help. When's your exam? Good luck.
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| ALFA
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Well, I still have a couple of months to go. Not definite with the date yet. GL to you too!
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| aprepdoc
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hi maylea,I am also amother of2-a 5yr old anda 4yrold.grad in1996.congrats on your score
yours is an inspiring story and can you ls advise if after one reading,can I revise from first aid and qbank for 1month.as I have already postponed my exam once and lost the fees.I have to do it this time by end on january.the one reading I have done has been over the year.I know its bad but its toughas I am loosing focus and motivation.pls help.I hope I can remember ant,physio and microimmuno that have read months ago.pls reply.
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| amygdalaa
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I would like to tell you that I made a screensaver out of the message your friend sent you and that you shared with us. I used to look at it whenevr I could feel myself getting worked up. I finished my exam and have posted my experience. thanks and good luck!
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"If at any point you feel you cant..... then you MUST"
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| maylea
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Hi amygdalaa...that is really nice. Congratulations on finishing your exams. I'm sure you'll get an excellent score.
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| maylea
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Hi rx_tox: how are you getting on with your preps for step 1?
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| sakdoc
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hi maylea, iam also a old grad.of 1996, i have 2 kids ,3 yrs old and 14-months old i realy got strength from ur detail exp, of step 1
give me some suges, for my study b/c i am hoping to take part 1 in may 2006
please reply
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| maylea
Forum Elite
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Hi Sakdoc,
I sent you a PM. Please check your inbox. Cheers.
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| aaldahir
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cong. for every body who pass the exam....
i took step 1 twice and the 2nd time ifelt soo confortable i evenfelt i will take more than the passing score..... can some body tell me the way to study,,,, i studied fa.,brs, kaplan only the area wr. i feel weak, qbank
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| maylea
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 86
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Hi aaldahir,
Please check your inbox - I sent you a PM.
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