aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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hi,
im a mom like so many of u here, tryin to study and do so much more , i plan on writin step 1 in april /may. this would be my second attempt , so it has been a tough road since , well thats life .
im startin this diary to get some prespective on how im doin by getin input from all of u here.
this is wat im usin for my prep :
1. KAPLAN notes + DVD lectures
2. Glajan audio + 100 pages HY notes + Rapid review ( for pathology )
3. HY neuroanatomy
im not sure about usin FA or not bcoz it didnt help me much the last time ........
4. Q bank + Q book
5. NBME atlest twice b4 the exam
i would love yo have support and advice from u guys ............
BEST OF LUCK
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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dear destiny,
i started doin anatomy (kaplan) on 12/10, im half way through it
my target for today is ...........section III , chaptres 3,4,5 ( im already half way chapter 3 did that last night )
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| BB
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Hello,
writing the diary is for sure great idea ! Stay focused and motivated ! I wish you all the best to get to your destiny. I'm a mom too , just started prepering for this exam. Seeing that I'm not only one here gives me a courage.
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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hi BB thanks for u support , i know being a mom AND studin is not easy (as i thought) 
well last night was not so good , my dear son kept on screamin his lungs out as at 10:00 pm he did not wanted to sleep and fully charged , and i wanted to study and finish as much as possible ...... finaly i manged to get back to my books at 11:00 and finished my task.
for today i would like to do chapter 6 only and revise chapter 4,5 to make sure i do them properly. i usually plan on doin Qs every day but dont get to it ........... well i plan on doin some Qs tonight for sure thats why im doin just this one chapter .
ill be gettin the dvd lectures soon so ill be goin through anatomy again with the lectures addin notes .one thing i needed to ask , Is kaplan neuroanatomy enough or do i have to do HY , i should mention that neuro has not been a very strong subject for me , always had trouble with it.
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| BB
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Hello Aisha,
Today I just got by mail the Kaplan lecture notes. You know I only started prepering for test . I guess with the holliday aproaching I will really start to study next year 
Tell me about the kids..... It took me an hour to put my son to sleep today ( 19 mo old ) . How old is yours ?
Stay focused and you will do great this time for sure ! Where did you buy DVD lectures ? On ebay ? I can't advise you with neuroanatomy.
BB
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| monamoon23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 16
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WOw being a mom and studying for this is a very difficult challenge. I applaud you too. You remind me of one of my very close friends. Wishing you both all the best with your motherhood and your exams! :-D
BB - yeah you can get the kaplan lectures on DVD off of ebay.
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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hi BB , well mine is 13 month old and i just can not make him fall in to some kind of routine , anyway last night i got lucky and he slept at 8:30 , so i got some extra time.
i bought the dvds from sone guy who had advertised on some usmle forum ( not this one ) and he is give alot of bonus things as well , i havnt recived the package yet , but if u want me ill tell u the details as soon as ill get the package ( may be today or tomorrow ). and i can give u the email add of this guy and one more girl who is sell this. i hope this helps u GL
ok dear diary , i manged to finish gross anantomy ( section III ) last night and now im only left with neuroanatomy . i did some Qs as well .
Here is a problme , im not able to do more then 20 Qs at one time ( God , i know thats really bad ) , its may be bcoz im doin this the last thing b4 goin to bed and my brain and body are exhausted ............. but im doin these Qs with the expalnation and some times i do go back to my books if i need to , do u guys think this is a problme , i havnt timed my self yet , bcoz im still goin through my first read.
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| aisha2
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startin with neuroanatomy today , hopfuly ill finish it by the wkend , decided to stick to the HY neuroanatomy.
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| aisha2
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Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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Bad idea  , i thought i could do neuroanatomy in 3-4 days , its goin so slow and i keep goin back n forth cant remember things , it might take me more then a wk , this is my second read with this subject and want to do it perfectly and fast , want it to be on my finger tips , plus wkend is here , not good  , im goin crazy , last night i went to sleep revisin the bld supply to brain in my head and right now i dont remember it properly n im mixin up every thing , im so frustated  .
PS; sorry for ventin like this ppl
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| BB
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Hallo,
When would you like to take your test ? How long are you prepering this time ? I just want to get an idea how long its takes a mom prepare for this exam .
I think its important to remember and understand what you are reading . Don't get frustrated about the'' how much time it takes'' . Just keep doing what you doing .
BB
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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hi BB , well im plannin to write the exam in april may june slot , in my mind i think i can mange it , but lets c , i think for that ill have to apply in jan , so im studin hard to c where im in jan and then decide for sure if i want to go for this eligiblity period.
how long it can take for a mom to study ? it depends on how good of support u have and if u have any kind of help , and how fast u can go through things , i have personaly stoped thinkin about how long it might take me , im just readin and try to do as much as possible in one day .......
hope this helps
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| aisha2
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i dont think ill able to finish neuroanatomy by the wk end , it might take me a couple of more days .
now im gettin a lil bit double minded about which book to use ( i hate when this happens ) i thought ill use HY but now when im compairing it with kaplan they both seem to be the same with a few exceptions ......... hope fully ill finish neuroanatomy by 22nd , may be b4 that if i get lucky some how .
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| aisha2
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as i finished the spinal cord and the brain stem chapters i felt as i had no idea what i had read and i was lost , thank god i recived my dvd lectures so now im kind of startin it all over again ( neuroanatomy ) plz tell me this is not a bad idea , im a slow reader and i had always needed to put more effort then my other fellow students ....... but anyway , if i can get some input on when i should apply for the exam , im not yet done with my first read ........ i did change some of the books i was usin , and thats probebly takin a lil more time , i want to take this test in april may june slot , do u guys think i can do it .........
ill up date on how much i have covered with the dvd lecture tonight.
good luck to all
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| aisha2
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well things werent goin so great , as i was not even able to up date my diary , but from today im gettin back on trck , still doin neuroanatomy , this is not one of my strong subjects so its takina lil more time then i expected , but im sure when ill be done ill be good with it , im done with brain stem .............. for tomorrow i have to do as much as possible
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| Doc2378
Forum Guru
Topics: 46
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Hey Aisha...keep walking ...take your time with Neuro...don't worry abt spending "too much time" on any subject... just get comfortable with the subject... enuff so that you can 'attempt' the first round of questions...(as for doing the questions...they'd help reinforce what you read so try to do them whenever you can)
...so your first priority should be 'understand' and not worry too much abt the timetable...
Anyways Neuro's a tough subject...I rushed thru my first read but now I gotta go back to it again...
Cheers!
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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thankx Doc2378 for ur support , im almost done with neuro , i just need one more day to finish last 2 chapters and i want to go through so things which i had a tough time so that its easy for me during my second read , i think it has takin a lil more time than usual bcoz first i read a chapter then i listen to kaplan dvd lectures and add some notes to my lectures , anyway i had fun doin this subject .... i actually understood some thing for the first time.
plus this holiday season is a lil bit busy anyway , but im tryin to keep in touch with my book every day , even if it is just for 2 hrs.
any HAPPY HOLIDAYS every one , and GOOD LUCK
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| shilahk
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Topics: 13
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hello aish2, go on studying, don't give up..we all face the same trouble as u do..while i am readin ur diary, i felt that u r talking exactly about what's happens to me and my husband...we study together..i am going faster and more efficient than him..he is too slow,,this is his 2nd try.. am so much worried about what he is going to do..but am not giving up at all...we used to decide to take step 1 in april but we changed our minds to june cuz material is not goin so much smooth with us..hope we all gonna make it...GL
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| aisha2
Forum Guru
Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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had one of the worse days yesterday , felt like throughin out all my books never to c them again , but hey cant live without them either , so here im with a new day
startin biochemistry today, im not settin a dead line as in when ill finish it , but im goin to us every second of the day i can until im done with it , ill try to keep my journal up dated.
GOOD LUCK
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| aisha2
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was not able to study yesterday n today days .........
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| aisha2
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started studin again yesterday , finished first 3 chapters of molecular biology ....... also did the lectures with it and added the extra stuff ...........
today ill do only chapter 4 , bcoz im doin it with the lectures it takes very longer then just readin through the subject.
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| reet
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GOOD GOING AISHA...
notes=lectures takes time,, but dont worry ....clear ur concepts though slowly.
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| aisha2
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thankx reet , last night stayed up prety late and tried to finish the chapter 4, but couldnt , so woke up early this mornin , finished chapter 4 and read chapter 5 now i have to read chapter 6 , will do the respective lectures also today ( tonight ) .........
will up date soon...... GOOD LUCK
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| reet
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aisha., at present u doing lectures...so 20 questions are best strategy. i have done my reading so 100 is best for me.. U will be able to sit long fr questions after finishing ur reads. in ur last months.
u just concentrate more on concepts and imp topics.
all the best... u are doing pretty good. keep it up.
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| sachida
Forum Guru
Topics: 54
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Aisha,
Let me appluad you for your committment. You remind me of my study mate in India. She had to take care of her home and still would finish chapters that we had decided to discuss. This was for our regular medical studies not usmle.
Its good that you took time for neuro. I met one post-doc in my research center who was really afraid of the questions on neuro-anat and had more then a few in the exam. He panicked and failed the exam for 3-4 questions. So its nice you covered it very well.
I do face the same problem regarding doing questions. Most of the times, I am apprehensive about how I did and jumpt to look the answers. Some times I get angry that I forgot some stuff I had read and jump to the answer. Now I try to do 25 questions at a time. I will let you know my progress.
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| aisha2
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Topics: 37
Posts: 414
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goin prety slow , got stuck on Recombant DNA and Genetic testing....... ill try to finish that tonight , just put my son to sleep hopin he wont wake up now ...... i havnt been able to do Qs .
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