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srf
Forum Guru  Topics: 73 Posts: 405 |
My profile age 45 y0, M Joined medical school 1978 completed graduation 1984 post graduation in anesthesia 1987 practiced till 2005 april in India. came to u.s.a. may 2005. strated inquiring about usmle. opinion received. Do not try for it ,it is not easy. you can make more money with less effort in other field. if you fail, do not give up try again. getting residency is not easy you will require good score. in step 1 you will not get above 80 ,but make sure to get above 80 in step 2. while in India I had started reading about step 1 & never thought that usmle can be that difficult. So I dicided to make a serious attempt to pass this exam. first of all I must know where I stand, I must remember that I am taking basic science exam after 25 years. I did step 1 q without much reading in june 2005 . got 35% to 40% correct. I set my goal to reach above 70% in each subject. score goal was around 85 I assessed my speed of reading & remembering. with 8 hour study I could read 50 pages or 50 q in first reading. Based on this I decided to take step 1 on dec12. Most advise me to rely on kaplan so I took online step 1 kaplan class. read kaplan notes two times. also read lippincott series books. I reached 70% correct over all by dec. so gave the exam & got 89/220. After exam I knew that I am going to pass but I was not sure of score. I also tought that I should have given the exam after some preparation. Did not feel to read seriously for step 2 untill I got my result in mid jan. I will write about my step 2 & cs next time. Edited by srf on Jul 02, 2006 - 2:04 PM. : correction
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
lesson learned from step 1 1] reading many book is waste of time & effort. 2] I should have read kaplan notes for third time. 3] did not knew much about first aid or NBME TESTS 4] do not be influnced by other . set your own target & achieve it by appropriate measure. 5] did not used Gojjan , should have look at it.
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nithu
| Forum Senior Topics: 15 Posts: 199
hey u are great & thanks for your experience. Good luck for the other steps
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doctor81
| Forum Elite  Topics: 34 Posts: 239
hi srf u did a great job getting 89 in step 1 &97 in step 2 u are great man plus an inspiration for many at ur age plus for younger ones too who have nothing to attend to except studies &still can't manage it all the time wish u good luck for step3
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
thank nithu step 2 prep period 13 dec to 15 jan anxious waiting for result. wanted to start prep for step 2 but mind was not ready thought what was the use of reading if got very low score. Decided to quit if fail. strated looking at step 2 material. Done step 2 q provided by usmle cd ,got 65% correct. thought that step 2 is easy if I can only pass step 1, I lack motivatin for study during this period. I thought that it is wise to wait for result before I strat spending money for step 2. Nevertheless continue to read for step 2 by purchasing usmle secrets on ebay. Result was recieved in mid jan. everybody including myself were plesantly surprised by result. previously I wanted to take step 2 in end of june . but as I thought that step 2 is easy than step 1 , I decided to take it in april end. Before that I subscribed for UW got 56 to 58 % correct from begining.
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3535
| Forum Elite Topics: 25 Posts: 332
Thanx.
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frontal
| Forum Guru  Topics: 56 Posts: 434
A retropective journal was a great idea srf. And you've written it too well. 'Do not try, it is not easy', 'other fields', is what I also keep hearing and sometimes I start having doubts. The time and money involved and the uncertainity...these can get scary at times. Your story is inspirational. Thank you.
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
thanks to doctor81,3535 & frontal for providing me further inspiration to write this journal. time 15 jan 2006. decided to go for step2. if you target at sun & fall short you will still lend up on moon. highest score I could think of at that time was 99/244. so I made it my target. study plan to do UW in two month & also kaplan notes first reading. 15 march to 15 april kaplan online q bank .second reading of kaplan notes. last to week NBME tests. exam date 29 april. also bought first aid step2 to have look at it.
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seri
| Forum Senior Topics: 4 Posts: 189
hi hats off to you once more! your post is great. in terms of what you heard from others and how you chose to rise to the challenge says a lot about you. congrats. what impressed me the most is how you learnt from your step 1 experience and got your strategy for step 2 set. g/l
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
Hi seri, thanks for your kind words. let me write more about step 1, becuase I learned a lot from step 1. why I got 89/220, not not above 90 in step 1? well answer is I never thought that I could do that, so never tried for it. o.k. what should I have done to get it? 1]I thought NBME tests are best to judge our level of prep, if not adequate I should have postpone the test . 2] increase the time of reading, I must defeat my laziness. mind always plays tricks with us. "you need break. have some fun, may be fresh from break I can study better tommrow more efficiently." are common excuses to counter act such thougts I tried this . ok we will have a fun,but let us do just 5 q or read a page. what is a harm ? no time o.k. just 1 q. now 1q more, now again 1q. every time I thought I should stop reading, I read little more. 3] started reading in early morning from 4 a.m. so hardly anyone has chance to disturb me. next I will write about problems I faced during my step 2 prep & also my method of study.
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achilles
| Forum Guru  Topics: 90 Posts: 1222
this is one of the best prep journals i have read. your story is really inspiring srf. let me congratulate you once more on your sucess and hope you get into anaesthesia which i hear is a little competitive but with a determination like you have nothing is impossible and plus you have so many years of experience. a very well compiled journal with what we all go thru during our preparations.
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achilles
| Forum Guru Topics: 90 Posts: 1222
srf, were you also working during your preparation or did you study full time ?
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
hi , achilles,your words inspires me to write more about my struggle. I am assisting my wife in running a small business of my brother.It took my 4 hours a day,so I can read for 8 hours.but many days are gone without much reading because of business involement or social commitments . I used to compensate on holidays.but there were days without any holiday for a month or so during step 1 prep.During step 2 I had much lighter duty to perform. you know life is never easy in america. I had to use much of my savings to cover expenses. my elder son is in medical in INDIA .Preparing for step 1. A costly affair you know.I have set a difficult target for him atleast for step2.will he surpass me? it is defeat which every father wants.
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3535
| Forum Elite Topics: 25 Posts: 332
Hats off!! May your son surpass you-every parents' dream!
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
Hi . 3535, thanks for good wishes. now let me write more about my preparation. date 15 jan 2006. got kaplan note books, also subscibed for UW. counted pages of kaplan step2 . compared step1 kaplan for psychiatry with step 2 kaplan psychiatry notes. what a surprise! almost same.let me start with this. finished first reading than did 100 q from kaplan q bank got 78% correct.also did psychiatric & epidemiology q from UW. all within one week. this is how step 1 helps in step 2.
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achilles
| Forum Guru Topics: 90 Posts: 1222
truly amazing srf !! this does not happen many times in life when we see father and son reading for the USMLE at the same time. and what a wonderful example you have set for your son and i surely wish and hope that your son beats your score on step 2. amazing !! the more i read and know about you, the more is my admiration and respect for you. srf, you have been truly motivating. Edited by achilles on Jun 02, 2006 - 5:50 PM
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srf
| Forum Guru Topics: 73 Posts: 405
achilles you are motivating me to right more. time 22 jan to 15 march. 1 week surgery, 1 week o.g. , 20 days medicine, 10 days pediatrics.for kaplan notes. did kaplan q after reading . got 74% for surgery, 74% for medicine ,78% for o.g. 72% for pediatrics. I found kaplan notes most useful & very high yield. kaplan notes & UW is a winning combination ,sufficent in itself for 99/244. if you are getting 80% in kaplan ,you will get asterisk in that subject, 75% is higher perfomance, 55% to 60% is pass. also finished UW subject wise. starting score 57% ,63% at the end .repeated incorrect q untill score reached 70%.
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frontal
| Forum Guru Topics: 56 Posts: 434
Wow! You're doing a brilliant job. I must say your son is lucky and I do hope he surpasses your achievement. You come across as a very responsible husband, father and doctor (not to mention the inspiration you are to the forum)! Keep going.
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drk1980
| Forum Guru  Topics: 147 Posts: 1036
Truly one of the most innovative posts tht I hv come across in here. I wish you the best for you and your family. Looking forward to more of your posts on Step2 prep retrospection.
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som
| Forum Elite Topics: 65 Posts: 358
srf, ur retrospect journal is amazing!!! letting others learn form ur experiences is very generous of u. wish u good luck man srf wrote: date 15 jan 2006. got kaplan note books, also subscibed for UW. counted pages of kaplan step2 . compared step1 kaplan for psychiatry with step 2 kaplan psychiatry notes. what a surprise! almost same.let me start with this. finished first reading than did 100 q from kaplan q bank got 78% correct.also did psychiatric & epidemiology q from UW. all within one week. this is how step 1 helps in step 2. did u read step 1 psych before step 2 psych?
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