99/275 !!!!! How I made it

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99/275 !!!!! How I made it

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15 Posts

dr_abhijit
Forum Newbie

Topics: 1
Posts: 7

10/15/06 - 01:26 PM

Hi every body!

received my score today. it is 99/275. I was very scared before it & during my periods of preparation anxiety I got a lot of support from this forum. So i want to share my bit.
I prepared for around one & half months working as a senior resident in one of the premier medical institutes of india. I studied for around 6-7 hrs a day for most of the period and around 12-14 hrs for the last 7 day. But my advantages were

1. I recently passed my M.D, Internal Medicine - june,06 - So 2 volumes of Harrison were fresh in my memory

2. I was actively practising what was asked in USMLE questions - So the medicine problems were relatively easy for me - I was able to a kind of " looking through " the questions.

3. Knowledge of Medicine - As medicine was my strength I devoted most of my time to other subjects

4. Readind speed - I am a fast reader. It is a really great advantage

How I prepared:

1. Step 2 is a both mental & physical game of stamina - for my entire prep period i gave daily exams of atleast 4 sets of USMLE WORLD qus. in exam mode - I used to give them just after returning from duty - TIRED & EMPTY STOMACH - it helped me a lot. I never became tired or became blank during the exam.

2. Practise exam - I practised USMLE WORLD daily - in the exam mode. My score were initially poor but latter improved a lot. It helped me a lot about TIME MANAGEMENT - I never was never hurried - in every session i was having 3-4 minutes left.

3. Sorting out areas of weakness - As medicine was of no concern for me i concentrated on other subjects - psy, G&O, PSM, surg. Within the first wk of prep I sorted out the subjects according to my weakness - so I read psy & PSM 3 times, surg & G/O 2 times and medicine once.

4. Application of knowledge - step 2 is not a exam of what u know, it tests HOW U APPLY UR KNOWLEDGE - so while studying i was always thinking of real life situation that would happen to a common US citizen & how AS A DOCTOR i would REACT. So i put a lot of effort to read thouroughly the the common disorders of every subject and how to DIFFERENTIATE them in day to day practice. Believe it payed off very nicely.

5. I read only Kaplan material - they are exellent, accurate and reliable. For medicine review I read CMDT - another great book and better for USMLE than Harrison.

6. USMLE WORLD - I can give testimony for it. Just do it folks, just do it. Regularly

7. Exam Ritual - I took leave from my job for last 7 days and developed a routine for exam - used to wake up regularly at 6 am. From 8.30 i started giving my USMLE WORLD exams. gave daily at least for 2 - 2.30 hrs.

8. FLOW EXPERIENCE - I read the book FLOW by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and greatly impressed by it. So in every practise exam i was trying to get a FLOW experience - and it payed off - I was at my peak concentration level during the exam

9. Being Positive - I never thought much about my lack of time or my poor performance or the exam horror stories published in forums - this forum and my wife helped me a lot to stay CALM, FOCUSSED and CONFIDENT

So these were my 2 cents. Hope it would help u as this forum has helped me.

platinum
Forum Guru

Topics: 46
Posts: 304

10/15/06 - 01:52 PM

congrats!!! great job

ssrpk
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Topics: 154
Posts: 2,811

10/15/06 - 01:55 PM

congratulations man for such a stellar score!

keep it up

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vanshita
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Topics: 23
Posts: 824

10/15/06 - 03:30 PM

Congratulation
Great score

robin082006
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Topics: 471
Posts: 5,125

10/15/06 - 08:27 PM

congrats for excellent score.

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dr_abhijit
Forum Newbie

Topics: 1
Posts: 7

10/15/06 - 10:11 PM

thank u . U can ask me questions.

USMLEGladiator
Forum Guru
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Topics: 121
Posts: 401

10/16/06 - 03:21 AM

what is FLOW experience.?

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scores are just up to how high we aim and of course the amount of effort and time we put into it

dharjma
Forum Senior

Topics: 11
Posts: 182

10/16/06 - 03:23 AM

congrats man.thats a brilliant score.
forgive my ignorance but whats CMDT?

dr_abhijit
Forum Newbie

Topics: 1
Posts: 7

10/16/06 - 07:17 AM

FLOW is a state of mind - a state of consciousness - a state of concentration so focussed that it amounts to absolute absorption in activity. Everyone feels flow from time to time. People feel strong, in effortless control, at peak of their abilities. I think this is the state when peak performances come. Such as an artist drawing a masterpiece or a golfer taking a shot. U can practice it. You can find a lot about it on net or read the books by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

dr_abhijit
Forum Newbie

Topics: 1
Posts: 7

10/16/06 - 07:20 AM

#10

Hi,
Thanks for ur comments. CMDT is current medical diagnosis and treatment by the Lange publications. it is published every year. It is concise but highly informative and very easy to read and remember.

ksh
Forum Newbie
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Topics: 1
Posts: 14

10/16/06 - 07:27 AM

#11

dr_abhijit wrote:

4. Application of knowledge - step 2 is not a exam of what u know, it tests HOW U APPLY UR KNOWLEDGE - so while studying i was always thinking of real life situation that would happen to a common US citizen & how AS A DOCTOR i would REACT. So i put a lot of effort to read thouroughly the the common disorders of every subject and how to DIFFERENTIATE them in day to day practice. Believe it payed off very nicely.

1. Could you please elaborate a little on that ? With some examples ? Specially on common diseases and how to differentiate them. I am trying to do that but not sure if I am doing it as I would like to have it done.It would do me and good to compare my approach or even educate me to do it more efficiently.

2.I was curious to know how long did you prepare for CS. Did you take Step 1 first or CS ?

===========

FLOW :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Csikszentmihalyi

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infliximab
Forum Guru

Topics: 22
Posts: 320

10/16/06 - 11:45 AM

#12

congratulations

USMLEGladiator
Forum Guru
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Topics: 121
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10/17/06 - 07:07 AM

#13

what is exact name of FLOW by Mihaly.See PM.

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scores are just up to how high we aim and of course the amount of effort and time we put into it

dr_abhijit
Forum Newbie

Topics: 1
Posts: 7

10/17/06 - 08:31 PM

#14

In my experience there will be a lot of questions on medical problems faceed by a medical practitioner who is practising in US community. Such as " A 59 yr old woman presents with shortness of breath for 4 days. " Then the question will elaborate the associated medical co morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis etc etc. There will be lot of unnecessary data to distract you. So u must know
1. What are the differential diagnosis of shortness of breath of short duration
2.How the different diseases present themselves
3. What are thr KEY diagnostic symptom/sign
4. What are the KEY investigations needed or the results expected in the investigation

MOST of the questions asked " What will be the next best step" - so u must be clear what should be done after what.
Have ur own algorithm of management prepared.

specially in Paed and Pregnancy qus there will be lot of qus on normal variation of growth/ pregnancy changes. o very careful preparing those qus as they will answer as " nothing to be done" or "re assure the mother/ patient"

howtopass
Forum Newbie

Topics: 0
Posts: 1

11/01/06 - 01:15 AM

#15

Congrats. Great score. Are u from PGI?

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