kaikangaru
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thanks maveric and lilac! my invite's from suny upstate. havent picked a date yet though. 
rightsaidfred, really? i bought mine april/may this year, they only had the 5th ed (2006) and it set me back close to 2thou. (did goodwill rip me off?!?) then again i have no idea how fast prices drop, so i'll convey the info to my friend, thanks
why do i spend so much time online?!? SHOULD be studying for CS, seriously!!!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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congrats kainkangaru!
i'd be happy to answer any questions...or at least try...in my experience, these types of forums have helped tremendously...
it's early am here now and i'll be starting my usual day helping with autopsies in a few minutes! i have one goal: not check my email or eras until i get home later at 5pm! let's see if i can do it...i did check my yahoo account, but that's not what i used to register with eras. hehe.
good luck everyone...have a great day!
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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congrats kaikangaru, that's the first step in getting matched, now that your one foot is inside the door, you gotta nudge yourself in!. Good luck with the interview!
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| lilacmd
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thanks rightsaidfred.. i texted melonie ds morning but she didnt reply so i tried calling her..the phone is out of coverage area..do u know if she has any other contact number? and thanks again for the site..il try to download it later.do u know if i can listen to it through ipod?
guys, if u can recommend a good study schedule/program for ck, i would really appreciate it..and wat books and qbanks to prioritize..with all the resources im getting, im really confused wat to study first..but dont get me wrong, it really appreciate all the recommendations..thanks!
godbless everyone!
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| lilacmd
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Posts: 12
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thanks rightsaidfred.. i texted melonie ds morning but she didnt reply so i tried calling her..the phone is out of coverage area..do u know if she has any other contact number? and thanks again for the site..il try to download it later.do u know if i can listen to it through ipod?
guys, if u can recommend a good study schedule/program for ck, i would really appreciate it..and wat books and qbanks to prioritize..with all the resources im getting, im really confused wat to study first..but dont get me wrong, i really appreciate all the recommendations..thanks!
godbless everyone!
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| xthine
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 100
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^^UWorld Qbank is a must for the CK. Books to read are FA for the CK (available at Fullybooked and Goodwilll) and Crush the Boards (which you can get locally although it's just a photocopy of the book) make sure you get the latest edition
If you have the time Kaplan lecture notes and videos are good. The questions from Kaplan Qbook are too easy and give you a false sense of confidence in my humble opinion.
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| lilacmd
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Posts: 12
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hello xthine..can u tell me where i can get hold of a photocopy of the crush the boards here? atleast i have an alternative means of getting one if ever i cant contact melonie.
thanks for the advice!
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| taz31
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 24
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lilacmd: i got my copy of crush the boards sa web, particularly sa torrents.
kaikangaru: congrats sa IV! magagaling talaga mga classmates ko! =)
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| lilacmd
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 12
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torrents?sorry m not so familiar with this site..i have to download torrents first?
rightsaidfred, im not so familiar with megaupload either..il just click the download button right?hahaha..sorry, m not really good on these things but m willing to learn.thanks!
and can u buy just the kaplan simulated exam cd separately without the books?
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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lilacmd,
you can download torrents from torrent sites, but in order to open them, you need to download a filetransfer program such as bittorrent or limewire, just like napster/kazaa. Anyway, I do believe there are torrents of the cds out there, you'll just have to look for them in the net.
megaupload is a file upload/transfer site naman. Just click on the links and the file automatically downloads into your computer. It's easier, but you have to download parts of the file you want, unlike in torrents, you can download the whole thing right away.
About the cds, back in UST, I got the cds from a certain mang florence (i dunno if you met him fellow thomasians, if he still sells books and hiliters -hehehe) but I don't have anyway of knowing his contact info. If by chance he is still selling stuff at UST, you can pay him a visit probably. Oh, you'll know him, during my time, he has a big sign written on a cartolina saying "Florence's books " or something, and he has a small table at the second floor of the med building, haha.
Now, about the books, i'll send you a private message about it. check your inbox.
Reagrdign study startegies. I think I studied 3-4 months for the CK. I watched all the cds, then read the kaplan notes twice i think. Then I used UW as my practice questions. The kaplan qbank is fairly easy compared to the exam, and I really don't recommend it for practice. UW is not that perfect either, I have always found UW very trivial in some questions, too complicated to be answered at our level of learning. But it serves as a practice exam only, just to build your confidence, and how fast you can see/diagnose/treat 46 patients in 1 hour. And then I think during the last month of my review I tried to go back to some of the topics in kaplan, and just read FA during the final weeks. 50-60 pages a day of the kaplan books and around 5 blocks a day of the UW qbank, that was my schedule. But its always up to you how you should format your schedule, the important thing is you should stick to it.
Good luck with CK!
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| kaikangaru
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 15
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hey lilac! i did the tamad version of hecmd's CK preparation. i studied for 3months--2 non-intensive months and 1 intensive month. here's the breakdown: did the kaplan books once, did half of the kaplan videos (tinamad na to finish everything), read crush twice. i did UW for about 3 weeks, about 3-4 exams per day. i wrote down my notes from UW beside similar topics in my crush book so it'd be easier to find them later. my book looks like s--t but i highly suggest you do this so you that can go back to the notes more efficiently. spent the last few days for knowledge consolidation: rereading some bits of crush and my notes, taking the 3 exams on the usmle cd for confidence boosting, etc etc. i never touched qbook, never did qbank.
the exam was really REALLY hard. i didn't feel confident about my answers at all. but i must've done something right, cause 3 weeks later i got a score much higher than expected.
so here's my two cents. pick a book between FA and crush, and stick with it. since they're both basically review books, i think you'll only need one. i bought both but just highlighted a few pages of my FA before ditching it. (it was too detailed for me, the kind of detail that you should be getting from kaplan anyway) okay so just keep going back to that book to consolidate. repetition is key. sometimes even if you feel you don't know it, familiarity leads you to the right answer. and hecmd is right, you NEED UW for the time pressure, the long questions, the training for the unique type of questioning that CK has. don't expect a lot of zebras like in UW. but know the common diseases inside out so that if they are presented in odd ways you'd still be able to recognize em.
hmm that felt more like fifty cents of opinion. hehe. anyway that's what i did, because i'm much lazier than your average med student. good luck lilac, just keep your cool and remember that God's got your back. 
TAZ SINO KA BA?!?!?!?!  hehe
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| kaikangaru
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 15
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and thanks ustmd2006 and hecmd23! keep us posted with your IVs okay? i'm picking late nov-early dec for my NY IV. maybe i'll see you guys there!
at the end of another eras week, let's hold hands and pray for good things to come into our inboxes in the next. hehe relax guys, weekend! 2 days of no email checking!!!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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yet another dry week for me...*sigh*
have a good weekend everyone!
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| grace4pink
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
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hello fellow doctors! I'm glad that ive found many filipino IMGs here. It's good to realize that there are supportive pinoys around willing to help. I am now living here in New York , graduated at MCU batch 2004. I took my internship in the Philippines and passed the licensure there. Im working as a part time medical assistant. Last July30, I took the 1st step of USMLE here but unfortunately, I didnt make it. What I did was a 3mos. of self-review but not that confident enough during the time of the exam because I failed to go back with some subjects. Ive known an old practising doctor here and advised me to took the review at Kaplan because me mga tip daw nangagaling sa mga US graduate reviewees which may help sa exam. I dont know if it still applies today. I hope somebody will help me regarding what materials to review, length of time ideally, tips and others. I wish the next time na pagkuha ko I can have a high score as most of you have. Thank you so much and God bless sa ating lahat..
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| xthine
Forum Junior
Topics: 2
Posts: 100
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Lilacmd: Try this number for the Crush 09214153255 or 09062617387
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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lilacmd, sorry to hear close na pala sila. Well, i dunno any other place where you can get em, so you might be stuck with the original ones.
grace4pink,
like what that shoe commercial said, "fall 7 times, stand up 8" So, just keep on trying.
Step 1 for me was probably the exam I was most prepared for before taking it. Well, probably because I'm more of the basic sciences person, that's why I found it quite easy to review. Some say step 2 is easier, but those people saying this are the clinically oriented ones. Anyway, I studied probably 3 mos using kaplan notes and first aid. Watched kaplan videos while reading. Then subscribed to UW for the practice tests. I think UW is very helpful for the step 1 (not much for the other steps), coz UW is academically oriented, asking loads of questions, some trivial, some nice to know, but mostly keepers. Reviewing for this (and basically for the other steps) needs consistency. No matter how intensive/laidback your schedule is, you just need to stick to it, so that the review of information is constant.
Good luck and hope you do well this time, and to the other applicants, brace yourselves for another week ahead.
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| taz31
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 24
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kaikangaru: we took the same 7yr course. O ayan, that narrows it down to a few choices.
currently reading FA for step 2 CS. and practicng my communication skills and watching PE videos sa net. btw, yung white coat that you have to bring to the center, pwede ba yung short sleeved blazer or does it have to be long sleeved? or is it anything goes? Thanks!
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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hey everyone! just as i was starting to chill with regards to not having heard anything from any programs...yet another group of applicants (on another forum...and probably u.s. grads) get some more invites...*sigh*...
oh well, i hope ecfmg hurries up and uploads my 2nd lor (supposedly received on sept.4...but i doubt it cause it was sent the 2nd week of aug!). on a brighter note, my 3rd and final one has been writen (and will be printed and hopefully sent) today. once those two are in, all i have to wait for is the darn cs result...
just a question for those who've taken cs and received their results...is there any chance of getting the result earlier than the posted start for score reporting? cause for my batch of tests, it isn't gonna be out until oct.10th. but i have heard of people getting their results 3 weeks post exam. any thoughts?
taz: not sure about the rules on the coat...most people i saw wore the long-sleeved, long coats (the ones fellows use). some people (including u.s. med students) use the long-sleeved short coats (like what phil. residents use). i've never seen anyonen use the short-sleeved coat and you may appear less professional to the patients (sps) since med. students here use long-sleeved coats.
did anyone get any news (good, i hope) from any programs yet?
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| gdmd
Forum Newbie
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Posts: 1
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Want to start eraly morning review
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| hecmd23
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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yep, its gonna be another long week. But I have a feeling something's brewing already.
taz31: it doesn't matter whether short or long sleeved. I used long sleeves, and there were probably a couple of american grads who used short sleeves during my exam. The thing is, and this is only my personal experience/opinion, wearing the long sleeved coat adds a bit of confidence. But other than that, It's not an issue whichever you opt to wear. Good luck!
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"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| rightsaidfred
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Posts: 4
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to lilacmd:
you can try 0920-2673704 (Loida). I installed goljan step2 on my ipod, and i listened to it while in the car to while away the time.
i downloaded the kaplan simulated exam CD on the same site (www.usmleforum.com). just use the search bar and go! very user friendly. plus, check out www.medicalheaven.com also for downloadable versions of USMLE review books.
good luck again on your CK.
and good luck to everyone for the match!
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| grace4pink
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Posts: 2
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hecmd23: i appreciate your reply and encouraging words. you somehow uplift and return back my drive to go on. i am not that good in basic subjects tlga, and do prefer the clinical. during the time of my step1 review, i got a low or rather failed score in step1 and passed the step2 practice test provided by ecfmg instead. anyway, a good doctor must start and knows the basic. ill be more prepared and constant with my review as what uv said. i wish the next try will be good. thanks for the info about the materials and ideas for the review..Good luck! God bless us all...
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| oneirosdreams
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Posts: 8
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Hi ustmd2006, we have the same score report period for our CS. Mine's also scheduled on Oct. I was hoping that mine would be sent via their new electronic scoring system, but apparently not. I guess we have to wait till Oct. Really, some got their CS results in 3 weeks? Lucky. Well, I really hope we pass. Took the test Aug 15. When was yours?
Hey taz, everyone wore long sleeves-knee length coat when I took the exam (fellow/consultant style). In a lighter note, one of the US grads even complimented the Pinoys' coats, ang ganda daw. He was surprised that we have ours tailored. I think they just buy theirs from a RTW shop. BTW...Go TUTAW!
Hi kaikangaru! See you pagdating nyo dito sa east coast =) Sana di ka masyado ginawin. It's starting to get chilly over here.
Good luck to all fellow Pinoys! May all of us be matched.
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| hecmd23
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Topics: 1
Posts: 146
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ustmd2006, yeah I heard stories about people receiving their score reports early, but I got mine exactly on the week it was supposed to arrive. I just dunno with the new electronic delivery system though.
Good luck with the results.
___________________
"I'm still the best there is at what i do best" -James Howlett
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| ustmd2006
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 156
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thanks hec...i do hope that the results somehow get reported early...regardless, my 3rd and final lor was sent today and i'm sure ecfmg will take forever with that (given my experience with the first 2 letters, it should be uploaded by the time my cs result comes out).
hi oneirosdreams! yup, we fall in the same score report period...but i took mine on july 31st in chicago...i felt okay about it...there were 11 of us...1 amg, 1 u.s. citizen who did med school in the carribean, 1 u.s. citizen who did med school in the phils (me...hehe) and the rest fmgs (from spain, and russia, and china, and india, and other places)...in terms of the english part, i should be fine. i felt the patients responded well to my smiles and pleases and thank yous (except for one...i don't know why she was so distant...i couldn't figure out what i was doing wrong...i do hope that that's one of the cases that's not scored for me!)...i'm most fearful of the patient note...hx and pe are ok...i'm a little shaky with ddx...hay! bahala na!
i don't know when the electronic reporting of scores began...so i don't know if we fall in that category.
anyway, as expected...another quiet day for me...
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