srf
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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 07/02/06 - 04:04 PM. Reason: correction
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| srf
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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
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hey u are great & thanks for your experience.
Good luck for the other steps
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| doctor81
Forum Elite
Topics: 34
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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
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Topics: 73
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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
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Thanx.
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| frontal
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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" i have miles to go before i sleep "
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| achilles
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srf, were you also working during your preparation or did you study full time ?
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| srf
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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
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Hats off!!
May your son surpass you-every parents' dream!
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| srf
Forum Guru
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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
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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 06/02/06 - 07:50 PM
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| srf
Forum Guru
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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
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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
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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 Guru
Topics: 59
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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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| srf
Forum Guru
Topics: 73
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frontal, drk1980 & som,
we all require inspiration & guidance from each other till we all get residency.
som
I read psych four times during step 1, so felt no need to read it again during step 2.
in fact I got asterisk in psych during real exam.
Let me write more about UW. how to use it? I think tutor mode & doing 5 to 10 q subject wise is a good way to do UW. kaplan q bank is good for time mode base practice.uw give many useful information. I wrote it down either in kaplan or first aid.also took active part in prep forum by putting & answering as many q as possible during my step 2 prep period.
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| srf
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time
15 march to 15 april
exam is less than 45 days away.
time to do kaplan q bank on line,
did all q in time mode in block of 25 or 50.
most helpful tip from kaplan.
read q once only do not read & answer but read ,think & answer.
I found it most useful tip ever recieved.
finished all q in 20 days .got 78%.
I found that in real exam q are more like kaplan than UW.
No one can ignore kaplan, they may be costly but very high yield.
now only three week for the exam time 7 april, time for taking NBME tests
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| achilles
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srf your journal is really helping me plan my things. thanks a lot.
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" it's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up"
" i have miles to go before i sleep "
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| srf
Forum Guru
Topics: 73
Posts: 405
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achilles,
if I were you I would have done NBME 3 in tutor mode [3 is easy than 2 in my opnion] than NBME 2 in tutor mode but doing it as if it is time mode.than also take medicine NBME test in tutor mode during last days. good luck to you. you deserve much better score than 450. any thing below 90 is injustice to you. IN fact you , babli, frontal , rasul , yasmeen & few other should not have problem in getting score well above 90.
babli will get 99 for sure.
now my NBME 1 TEST .three week before exam.
did it in time mode.
time was not problem for me, got 510.but I was physically & mentally exhausted after the test.
lessons learned from NBME 1 test.
1] I need more physical stamina, so started doing execise for 15 minutes daily
2] I also needed to increase my mental stamina for that I started taking deep breaths for several minutes, a sort of meditation with eye closed.very helpful in real exam during break time.
3] my heart rate still increases when I see unfamiliar q. this is not good. I must accept that there will be so many q in real exam, the answer of which I will not be knowing.so decided to do new q from pretest every day.be familiar with unfamiliar q! I need more reading in some area.
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| srf
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time.
two week before the exam,
took NBME 2 in time mode got 550,
but what about wrong answer .how to recollect them all?
I thought that it is better to take NBME in tutor mode but do it as if it is a time mode.
in tutor mode we get 4 hour per block so after finishing block within hour we have time to look at all q again.
continued revision of weak area.
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