LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Congratulations, an! You are a big inspiration indeed! Could you tell what materials may be helpful for preparing for the ethics part of the exam besides the step one and two kaplan materials? Did you try BP Psychiatry?
Still on Endocrinology! Studies were interrupted because Poosh was not feeling well. Hope she recovers completely in the weekend and I can get back to my routine.
___________________
lisa
|
| an
Forum Guru
Topics: 19
Posts: 437
|
no i didn't use BP psych..do look into it, coz ethics is heavily tested, and i got the only borderline performance in my score sheet in ethics..but all qu from ethics were pretty similar to those that came in step 1, so kaplan notes should be good too.
regards to Poosh..
___________________
I don't believe in miracles...I rely on them. And sometimes, I create my own.
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Thank you an. I think I will stick with Kaplan as I am not very eager to try to look into new materials with exam exactly a month away.
Finally managed to complete Endocrinology. Scored in 50s again. Started Renal system.
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Finished review of Renal and Pulmonary systems. Plan to do Rheumatology and GIT today. I have made a tentative plan upto September 13th and plan to take NBME on 13th. I hope to complete IM review of CK material by 26th August and start working on Kaplan step 3 material and CCS related stuff till 31st. Then I will revise CK material and UW explanations for questions that I got wrong topic-wise. I dont know if I will feel ready enough to take NBME on 13th September, but by then, I will surely decide if I will be able to keep my Septmber 21, 22 dates for the real exam or not.
___________________
lisa
|
| damian33
Forum Junior
Topics: 5
Posts: 91
|
Hi Lisa I just read your Journal you really deserve recognition congrats for such a great great Job. Good luck on your Exam and take care of your Family (I noticed you never mention your husband just your daughter ....that's pretty sad a lot girls opt to have this kind of hostile and passive agressive behavior towards the oposite gender .Thank God my girlfriend is not like that any way please don't take it personal it is just a simple and very personal comment)
___________________
Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Damian, Thank you. I mean to record the progress of my preparation for USMLE step 3, and any personal details I may include are because they probably detracted me from my prep. Please dont draw conclusions about my life. Good luck to you.
Completed IM review atlast! Started Behavioral Sciences, from Step one kaplan text. Hope to be atleast half done by the end of the weekend.
___________________
lisa
|
| damian33
Forum Junior
Topics: 5
Posts: 91
|
Agreed Lisa that's your private life I apologize for that comment, actually I can see you are a pretty smart Lady. Well again Best of Luck and please continue with such a nice work, you are encouraging and helping others to keep going. Thanks for the Good Luck I do need it I took it 1st and 2nd of this Month getting results pretty soon I hope just pass.
___________________
Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed
|
| amygdalaa
Forum Guru
Topics: 24
Posts: 399
|
Hi Lisa
congrats on your pregnancy.
I have read all your prep journals for evry step. I have just registered for step 3. Hope to take it in oct 3-4th week. I will be starting prep soon.
take care and keep going. You have been an inspiration to me.
___________________
"If at any point you feel you cant..... then you MUST"
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Thankyou, Amygdalaa.
Finally I went through the 5 practice cases in the software. Managed only two optimally, one so-so and two dismally. It is quite a different experience thinking about what tests to order, when to see the patient or results, when to reschedule patient visit, etc. after preparing for multiple choice questions where the instinct is to answer the question as soon as quickly as possible and move on. I have read through the 60 CCS cases from the UW print outs and not sure how I can get more practice and comfort in using the software.
As for the theory part, I have decided to stick with revising the Kaplan CK text alone. I am lagging behind in my plan and feel a little hopeless, but I think I can sincerely say that I am doing the best under the circumstances. For now, I still want to try and give NBME on 12th and if I get a passing score, I will go on to revise UW notes and step 3 notes and give the exam on 21st. Lets see.
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
I have been practising the CCS cases from UW on paper as suggested by a friend. I never thought about it and it was a very helpful suggestion. I am writing down when I would like to review the patient and when and where I would like to transfer the patient as well. I tend to miss around 5 things suggested by UW per case, 2 of which seem important. Hopefully, this practice will help. As for theory, I am revising whatever I feel like and whatever I can, without a plan. This is not my usual or prefered method but it is the only thing I am able to do right now. Sep 12th is fast approaching- afraid I might lose my nerve to take the NBME! And why is there just one form for step 3 and four forms for step 1!! 
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Yesterday I complted review of Surgery. Today hopefully, I will be able to tie up the loose ends in OBG. Tomorrow is for Psych, and monday and tuesday for revising whatever I can in IM and Peds. I h ave decided to take NBME on 13th. I think I am getting a hang of the CCS. I have developed a little check list that I tick off when I am practising and hopefully, I will be comfortable enough at exam time that I wont need the list. I consistently forget to do a pregnancy test for women in the reproductive age group! I dont know why the fonts have changed! Anyway, Hope to get a lot done today. Better get started!
___________________
lisa
|
| retail
Forum Elite
Topics: 37
Posts: 208
|
I have been reading these posts and I am HUGELY impressed and motivated. Also I have some Qs
I applied to Step 3 and now I got a mail that my orange card is being sent. But I havent started my prep. I applied as I didnt want to miss the Sept1 deadline and actually did so on Sept 1. How much reasonable time of prep is advised ? I ned to know this to book my dat.
Also I have other responsibilities...Family..and so I cant manage more than 6 hrs a day.
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Hi retail, I am probably not the best person to answer your question since I have not taken step 3 myself. I will do my best anyway. I think the time needed for preparation depends on when you took CK, how confident you are with the topics (as the same concepts are being tested in step 3), and what materials and methods you are planning to use for step 3 prep. Perhaps 3 months is a good rough estimate to factor in some unexpected breaks.
Completed OBG by revising my UW Q notes (from step 2 and step 3) and also the OBG related CCS cases. This time I did not forget the pregnancy test! I wish there were mnemonics for the CCS like for CS exam! I am making some mnemonics as I go along- not good ones, just what works, so not worth sharing really. Sundays are full of distractions. Will do my best with Psych today.
___________________
lisa
|
| retail
Forum Elite
Topics: 37
Posts: 208
|
Thanks for the input
Good luck with the prep
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
You are welcome, retail.
Yesterday I was not able to do much. Only managed to look up wrong answers from UW 3 Q bank in Psychiatry- about 30% of what I had planned. Moving along anyway. I am planning to do quick reviews of Endo, GI and renal systems in IM and Peds today and tomorrow as those were my weak areas from CK.
___________________
lisa
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
I am having my first major panic attack for this exam. I have only revised the UW questions for Endocrinology the whole of today and since it is 11pm already, not much of the day left. Actually, thats not true. This morning, I took up Cardiology on a whim though it was not something I planned and that was what I revised until lunch time. When I started preparation for step 3, I wanted to work towards a score over 95. As the preparation dragged along, my expectations waned and right now, I just want to pass comfortably and would be very happy with a score over 85. I want to postpone the exam right now. On the other hand, I dont want to prolong my agony any longer!
___________________
lisa
|
| retail
Forum Elite
Topics: 37
Posts: 208
|
Just do it
We are sure u'll do well
U have put in a lot of work
|
| retail
Forum Elite
Topics: 37
Posts: 208
|
Hey! One Q.-Do we need to know doses for CCS
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
I took NBME earlier today and scored 560. I am encouraged by the score and will aim to take the real exam on the 21st and 22nd as I had planned. Honestly I am pleasantly surprised by the NBME score. Psychiatry is the worst of the lot though I thought that went well and was stumped by some of the OBGYN qs which I seem to have done well. I have not been practising CCS for the past 4 days. In the next 7 days, for MCQs, I think I will revise the UW questions and read up on concepts that I am not very confident about from Kaplan CK text. For CCS, I must try to allot a couple of hours daily and try to work out the topics on paper. I am going to realax rest of today though!
To the best of my knowledge, we only need to know route and frequency of drug administration for Step 3.
___________________
lisa
|
| an
Forum Guru
Topics: 19
Posts: 437
|
way to go LisaM...u r ready for the exam...gd luck.
___________________
I don't believe in miracles...I rely on them. And sometimes, I create my own.
|
| retail
Forum Elite
Topics: 37
Posts: 208
|
Great score now just smooth out the rough edges
|
| LisaM
Forum Guru
Topics: 16
Posts: 321
|
Thank you an, and retail.
I dont have a solid plan for the remaining 7 days before exam, and will take one day at time. Today I will revise Psychiatry. Will start by going through all the cases in the Step 3 Kaplan text and then go over high yield topics from CK text and UW notes. I looked through the Washington Universtidy ethics website last weekend but did not spend much time on it. Today I will try to solve the couple of questions at the end of each topic and read the relevant explanations alone as the topic discussions look quite lengthy.
___________________
lisa
|
| pjohnson
Forum Elite
Topics: -8
Posts: 118
|
good luck for step3 lisa
Parul
|
| doctor81
Forum Elite
Topics: 34
Posts: 240
|
good luck
Lisa M
|
| cyra
Moderator
Topics: 29
Posts: 844
|
Way to go LisaM!!!This is wonderful....I am sure you'll do great!
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
