lavendersblue
Forum Junior
Topics: 1
Posts: 9
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Hi,
Well my thoughts on the exam (and you'll all have this clarity afterwards) is that the exam really focuses on the big picture. Literally, the majority of what you need to know is in First Aid. So, my advice is understand the material well from Kaplan and then fill in the blanks into your first aid........then with this overall understanding of all subject matter, begin to read first aid over and over again.
In Kaplan qbank i must have done at least 15 questions on the Glycogen storage diseases.....factual tidbits about each of them......on my exam there was nothing. So the actual exam varies......mine had lots of immuno and genetics whereas someone else who wrote on the same day had a lot of pathophysio. The NBME seems to have a very large pool of questions so don't waste your time going over 'remembered questions' or recently asked topics..........trust me, i did that and it didn't help.
After you've filled Kaplan material into First Aid just keep reading it over and over and over again. Before my exam I didn't understand why people emphasized the need for questions......and at a certain point I got so frustrated qbank. However, keep at it because although the content on the actual usmle is not nearly as picky, it does teach you a couple of things: It teaches you to be able to jump from topic topic. It teaches you how to read and analyze questions. For example, if you get a qbank question wrong and while reviewing the answer you think "grr....i knew that!!! what a silly mistake!".....take it a step further....analyze how you picked your answer, think about the logical steps you took in analyzing the question and answer options.
Unless you're a really memorizer (which I am not) you can't possibly know everything so that you're able to recall information and answer all the questions right off the top of your head. So, learn to 'think' about questions and eliminate choices and make an educational and logical decision about an answer.
I only used Kaplan material and I felt that was adequate for everything except anatomy. After my exam I went thru my first aid and the vast majority of the material is in there.....it's just not explained....hence why you need to use Kaplan the first time around to understand what you're eventually going to commit to memory. I'm just annoyed at all the silly mistakes i made
Keep at it. I'd say 3 months with 8 hours of study every day is more than enough. (the week or two before the exam adrenaline will help you increase study time to 12 hours per day) The first month and a half get thru Kaplan videos and books and keep filling in first aid. The next month and a half keep reading first aid and do all of qbank.
Well good luck!
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| tolito
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 119
Posts: 2,174
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thanks for sharing your experience and for giving some pieces of advice. first, congratulations for completing the exam and Gl in the scores.
i am a poor student. i need to read a material over and over again in order not to miss out on detail. i get the big picture of a subject fast but i miss out on the detail that is why i need to read and reread and make my own notes. i can see from your posting that the exam tests on details. all the details are in kaplan and fa the trrouble for me is that i do not 'see' them until i answer questions and miss it. and then go back to the same books and the answers are right there!
never mind the 'easy' ones you think you missed. i believe you will get enough right to score in the 90's.
do you think kaplan is fine for immuno and genetics??? which year did you read?/
GL in step 2.
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| kulmur
Forum Senior
Topics: 1
Posts: 28
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Well good for u...u r done!
quick q...did u do goljan audio ...if so did it help and when did u squeeze it in?
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| robin082006
Forum Hero
Topics: 471
Posts: 5,123
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Thank you for sharing your experience.
I have the same problem as Tolito's. I read Kaplan lecture notes very fast. Everyday I read about 100 pages but did not remember details. I only memorize when I do questions but after that I forget. So repetition is the key for me.
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| mavis
Forum Senior
Topics: 0
Posts: 84
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Hi Lavenderblue
Did u do the NBME??? And were questions that were in q-bank some what similar to the exam? Thanks
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| lavendersblue
Forum Junior
Topics: 1
Posts: 9
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Hi all!
Well don't worry about repetition.....it's possible and just requires hard work. Questions will reinforce the material also.
I didn't do Goljan audios......I had the opportunity to listen to John Barone (the Kaplan path lecturer) live in person and he was absolutely amazing. I also never really cared for Goljan that much in medical school......he was too all over the place.
I didn't take the NBME's close to my exam date so i can't help you there. I only took one a long while before I started memorizing just to get a feel for the exam. I can however say that the exam is much more clinically oriented and less 1 liner than NBME 2.
The actual USMLE questions are the style of Qbank but the difficultly of the NBME.
I read the 2005 lecture notes and I felt it was adequate for everything. On my exam there were some really weird immuno and genetics questions that weren't covered in kaplan.......when i looked them up in other medical immunology and genetics books they weren't covered there either..........so i think it's just the luck of the draw with questions like that.....i'm hoping that they were experimental.
Someone once said to me that you don't need to be a genius to do medicine and pass this exam.......you just need to be a hard worker. I strongly agree with this.......hard work will see you through this exam. (people who are just naturally brilliant will have an easier time of course) but if you're just average like me, work out and do your best.
remember, i am saying all this WITHOUT HAVING RECEIVED MY SCORES YET.......so this is just my advice and 2 cents.
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| pocas
Forum Elite
Topics: 7
Posts: 169
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 yu ll pass thanks for yur important 2 cents
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| lavendersblue
Forum Junior
Topics: 1
Posts: 9
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Thank you i just did the oasis trick and it says I passed!
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| chlorpromazine
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 10
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congrats. good luck
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| rouadefoc
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 109
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Hi Lavendersblue,
Keep on going.Good luck. 
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