DistressedMom
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HI i am studying for 4 months now off n on mostly in the evening when my husband is back from work so he takes care of my 3 yrs old daughter. the problem is uptill now i was studying in the night 3-4 hrs slow n steady but now my exam is in about 3wks and i am so stressed.I cant revise more than a chapter a day with that little time, and when i do that, i cant do questions which everyone swears are of utmost importance. Meanwhile when i come back to some topic like after 10 days, seems like i have forgotten everything. e.g high rish procedures for prophylaxis, murmers, antibiotics DOC, to name a few. How do you guys revise and memorize the basics.I know many of you arent Full time students, you have jobs or kids to take care off too, plz tell me a way im going insane. Am i too stupid that i forget everything in a week? does it happen to you too and if it does how do you handle it...i have just 4 hrs each day how do i make the most of it. i have taken NBME two months ago scored in 400's so i thought i needed more time. Now my situation is no different preparation wise. If i go thru one subject and start improving, other subject slips away. Please help me tell me your secrets because im at the point of throwing eveything and walk away.
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| robin082006
Forum Hero
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Postpone your exam, Master FA.
Good luck.
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The Key to Succeed is Patience.
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| arlete
Attending in 2012!!!!!
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YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY and study at least 8-10 hours a day, at least for the last 3 weeks before the test. YOU NEED the short term memory for the high yield subjects. Hire a baby sitter, ask your husband to take a vacation, bring a family member to help you, a friend, a neighbor, somebody! Something needs to be done so you can really DEDICATE to this test. It's an investment, it's about defining your future, it's what you NEED to do.
I studied for USMLE 1 during 10 months (3 kids), and at the end, I had forgotten the first subjects I had memorized in the beggining. You don't use it, you lose it. That's normal.
Don't give up. You need to be happy to have a happy family.
Good luck.
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Que sera sera, whatever will be will be.
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| sachida
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Although I am no "mom", I can sympathize with your plight.
I am new "dad" and finding it hard to read for mle after days work. When I get home, naturally, my wife wants me to give her a "break" from newborn. And it becomes extremely difficult to study in few hours that remains.
I agree with previous posters- you need to go steady and slow in beginning but finish it off with bang- 4-6 weeks of intense study, no disruptions.
In your situations, hiring a baby sitter or putting ur child in day care for month and two should do the trick.
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93/91, CS passed, USCE 1 year, PhD (USA), Publications 2, Graduate 1999. Dont need visa
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| sachida
Forum Guru
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Another thing that I do now a days is look at the tables, charts or pictures while I am rocking the baby or feeding etc.
This high yield cramped up material is easy way to keep your brain exercising while you are doing something else e.g. cooking, giving shower etc. Of course, you need visual memory to do it and I imagine many of us do.
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93/91, CS passed, USCE 1 year, PhD (USA), Publications 2, Graduate 1999. Dont need visa
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| arlete
Attending in 2012!!!!!
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Yeap, Sachida, we need to be creative. I have flash cards I read during my kids'swimming class, waiting on the dentist office and even at the grocery store line!
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Que sera sera, whatever will be will be.
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| DistressedMom
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Thankyou everyone for replying. ARlete If i could get a baby sitter or my husband could take time off or only if i had a single relative around who could look after my baby (and not the other way around like im taking care of an elderly all day), there wouldnt have been an issue at all. Without going into much detail, unfortunately those are not options for me. I can only wish for all that luxury that some people i know just take for granted.
Robin i really liked your idea about firstaid. That book can be handeled in the little time window i get everyday to study.
Sachida you are the person who has to work all day just like me, please tell me how are you managing your time in detail. Again thankyou all for taking time off. I know i can do it i did step 1 too in almost similar situation one year back and got mid 90. its just that this time its going so slow.
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| arlete
Attending in 2012!!!!!
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If you did it for USMLE 1 with such a good score, I am positive you'll do it again. I think USMLE 1 is the worst!
I am praying for you.
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Que sera sera, whatever will be will be.
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| arlete
Attending in 2012!!!!!
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Robin, I had a bad experience with First Aid only for USMLE 2. Almost passed with a bad score. I think it's not enough. For USMLE 1, it was great.
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Que sera sera, whatever will be will be.
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| robin082006
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FA of course is not enough for the exam, but it is an excellent book for review.
ONly use FA after finishing Kaplan lecture notes. Do not use it as an exclusive study material.
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The Key to Succeed is Patience.
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| arlete
Attending in 2012!!!!!
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Robin:
I could not agree more!
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Que sera sera, whatever will be will be.
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| sachida
Forum Guru
Topics: 57
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Hi Distressedmom,
There is no need to be in distress.
I believe in trying your best.
You have your unique constrains and you will find a way to overcome it.
You already have done it for step 1. YOU can do it again.
I manage my time very poorly to tell you the truth.
Only thing I can tell, How I am TRYING to manage my time.
Make detailed outline on your approach to exam. Pick an exam date. At least a month early then you can afford. Work backwards in your time table..
Give tiem for revision, NBME
Then 2nd revision
Then Qbank and 1st reading
divide time for each subject... decide on material...decide on each days goal....
You can do it chapter wise or page wise...I have done page wise, 30 pages and 30 questions....
Set goal for each hour...
So now you are starting to micromanage...if you miss goal for one hour and constantly thinking about it..you wont miss many more...
if you just think about days goal and you miss it your whole day is gone...
For first week, you will do pretty bad, you will feel bit down
but it will gradually become habit..
And then while trying all these, I hit this zone where I am at full speed and into the subjects.. I start "feeling" questions and then I am comfortable with whole thing...
it happened for step 1...lets see if it works for step 2...
Again, doing tables, pictures and visual memorization is very important.
You can take tickle iq test. and try to find out your strengths...you dont need to buy full report. if you will score high (>130) you will get full report
For me, my type is visual mathematician...well too late
i just use my strength of visualization of information and patterns to study medicine..
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93/91, CS passed, USCE 1 year, PhD (USA), Publications 2, Graduate 1999. Dont need visa
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