sukhs
Forum Senior
Topics: 16
Posts: 186
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hi drplacebo
congratulations
can u plz tell how far was uw helpful?
also wat is the best way to do it?
i am tired a hell lot after 5 blocks, so much dat i quit then..
some questions seem very tuff and kinda off the point 4 step 1
can u plz tell wat was ur experiance of usmleworld...
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| rock
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 305
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congratulations drplacebo and good luck for your step 2.
and i have to appreciate your attitude(not once did yu lose your cool or use impolite language) to the little challenge as well. speaks volumes about you. and plz no offence to darlyn.
i am still going thru my preparation and i am going a little slow but i am so far feeling good and enjoying my reading. after my first read i plan to do a second read and questions as well. so far i have the online downloaded kaplan 2006 qbank and also the 2004 qbank and the first aid qbook. i plan to do the UW as well. is kaplan qbook mandatory or can i skip it ? thanks buddy.
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| drplacebo
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 141
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As an answer to 1 of the PM's I received:
Though only kaplan notes for Path wud hav been sufficient for a moderate score, Goljan is must for a high score. So it depends on the score u r aiming 4, how strong r u in Patho-phys, etc. Audios is a must...I went thru them twice.
I found Webpath too haphazard & huge to revise....thus more than needed. Slides did not need that very level of expertise.
Regarding UW, I guess it wud be a must, considering the new trend of examination & difficulty level. I got hold of it just 4 weeks before my exam & had to rush thru it pretty quickly. It was a rollercoaster ride wherein my confidence levels soared though rarely & for some subjects, mostly it drowned a lot. There were definitely some weirdo Q's which appeared too senseless & were not surely reflective of the exam pattern. So I wud advise like start atleast 2 months before & do it for about a month, random timed, but dont be too much concerned about the scores since its afterall a learning tool & not a too exact predictor (like NBME). There are instances where even abot 55% scorers secured a 99. So its all about how far u grasp from it rather than how much u score in it.
To rock:
Actual Q's were nowhere like Q-Book, but it helps to acquire some important concepts. Most take the exam without doin full Q-book prep but try to do max of it...with the explanations Of course. !!
Edited by drplacebo on 04/07/07 - 07:20 AM
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| mytime
Go Marching in!
Topics: 39
Posts: 3,174
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DRP. loved ur scores and told u so!!!!!!!!!!! But came back to tell u nothing could be that little red feather!!!!! U didn't have to prove anything.......... 
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| forumdoctor
Forum Senior
Topics: 14
Posts: 123
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dr. placebo, iam waiting for ur response.
it will be awesome if u put ur study methods, as 3 months is short for somebody like me..........., like ur revision, study flow, etc
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| eva
Forum Junior
Topics: 6
Posts: 28
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This is wonderful,Dr.Pacebo and I congratulate you for this.I'm prepare the step 1 and sometimes my motivation decrease involuntary,you're a really good example for all the IMGs!
Good luck for the step 2!
Eva
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eva
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| eva
Forum Junior
Topics: 6
Posts: 28
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Something else:can you tell me please about your studying method?.
Eva
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eva
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| steppingsam
Forum Junior
Topics: 9
Posts: 69
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Congratulations DrPlacebo,
You worked hard and got what you wished for, a pair of 9z.
Your story encourages me. Thanks for sharing.
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Although your efforts may fall short, Keep aiming at the skies, For no man is ever known to reach, Much higher than he tries.
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| hedieh
Forum Guru
Topics: 47
Posts: 436
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Congrats drplacebo! u did great! I learned A lot from ur advices!
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| drplacebo
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 141
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Let me ensure that I offer no unrealistic hopes of acing this rigorous
exam in a very short span, but with some efficient, smart techniques it
could be considerably condensed.
--->To get some facts clear I have not started to set a record in a short
term prep....but I 'HAD TO' compelled by the the pressure to take it then
or lose my chance for 2008 match.
Pressure is'nt always bad if U know how to harness it properly.
Afterall u need to know ur enemy before u set out for battle.
--->Now that I started I looked for people who done such a thing in almost
such a short span of time. Having none in my circle, I turned to forums,
experiences & was surely not disappointed.
--->Having always believed that if a person of almost similar capabilities
performing something big, any person of reasonable capacity can replicate
it if willing to put similar efforts.
I still recommend askdoc's post on step 1 prep
http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/34492/1
which covers in detail about issues like:
How to choose resources,
Reasons for not improving scores inspite of practice, etc.
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| inkspot
Forum Guru
Topics: 30
Posts: 596
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Wow drplacebo I am impressed with ur efforts and your advices here on P4U will be quoted for quite some time.
Congratulations and all the best for Step2.
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| spitmetal
Forum Guru
Topics: 25
Posts: 637
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a guy from my school got a 225/94
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| spitmetal
Forum Guru
Topics: 25
Posts: 637
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so DarlynVMD nobody is trying to trick or sheat you
for a given 2 digit score the 3 digit score got down
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NEVER REGRET IF U DID YOUR BEST--"THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T DO SOMETHING WILL KEEP SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T DO IT.....BUT REMEMBER YOU CAN DO IT!!" by Dr. Luck a member of this forum
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| spitmetal
Forum Guru
Topics: 25
Posts: 637
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and DarlynVMD i have found out that the residency programs take more in count the 3 digit score that the 2 digit.
https://services.aamc.org/Publications/showfile.c...
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NEVER REGRET IF U DID YOUR BEST--"THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T DO SOMETHING WILL KEEP SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T DO IT.....BUT REMEMBER YOU CAN DO IT!!" by Dr. Luck a member of this forum
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| rock
Forum Elite
Topics: 23
Posts: 305
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thanks Drplacebo...will take note of your advice
and interesting info spitmetal...i was wondering about that...thanks.
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| drplacebo
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 141
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My method may not suit many, but here is what I did:
          Never really focussed on memorizing points, formulas in my first nor even in
my second read. Kept those volatile facts for the last.
Those readings were meant as Dr.Goljan emphasises for just understanding
basic definations & getting concepts straightened.
I personally prefer more number of quick conceptual non-memorizing
readings rather than slow memorizing readings.
Ultimately u gotta choose wat best suits u.
The bottomline is to form those NEURONAL CONNECTIONS right in ur brain
Getting birds-eye perspective of topics is of utmost importance.
For it System-wise approach {like in FA or KME} is a better option
Supplemented my reading with various resources like audios, tables, comparision charts wherever possible. Built mental images of vast amount of facts & concepts.
Created mnemonics, lumped similar info together & etc.
Never stop experimenting with learning styles but dont risk the same with
resources. Find whats best for u & stick to it.
To suit my mental bandwidth used
audios with different play speed settings to suit my need. In the end as
exam neared I could increase my comprehension to understand them at upto
2x speed & so was my reading pace.
Make sure that effort put everyday was atleast a bit better than the
previous day & the the routine consistent.
[I gotta confess that almost always I was running behind schedule,
everybody does....else to secure a 99 the level wud have been set at maybe
270-275.]
Most take the exam with the sense of unpreparedness, in fact I was shying
off to take my NBME & seriously considering resceheduling my entire
eligibility period again, staking my options for 2008 match.
I believe that every day wasted is to be compensated by adding about 2
days more to ur prep time, coz its not simple mathematics but a complex
interplay of various parameters like amnesia chopping off the rear end of
ur memory bank.
To avoid it, the key here is CONTINUOUS & CONSISTENT EFFORT.
Questions:
Doing Q's almost right from the start helped a lot ( use different kinds
of Q sources- websites, review books, throw away Q-Banks. Coz just reading
was too boring 4 my pattern of learning, It worked complementary to each
other, Q's creating the 'thirst' while explanations,notes quenching it.
It is needless to say that I was performing disastrously in them.
But its also a part of my learning, so never was very concerned of how bad
the score was.
I believe so many aspirants pay a lot for Q-banks, but take that as the grand finale & associate confidence levels to these 'not so significant scores & predictions.'
imho-They associate immense pain to mistakes done. The best concepts learnt are the ones where I felt too dumb & put in the extra effort to master the concept.
                 Despite rigorous preperation, the projected score by my experienced friends, was around  85-87 based on my scoring pattern about 6wks prior & was disturbed immensely by it (& had my reasons to believe, 'coz they assessed by
friends who too aced the exam with pretty high scores)
Even then I kept slogging hard & smart, kept experimenting.
But thereafter the impovement was in geometrical proportions I believe in
retrospect; 'coz the hardwork & experimenting reaped late, but THEY DID.
The fact lies not being able to score highly in them all throughout but in
being able to never get to mistake a similar Q. Say, when given a similar
test for the second time, being able to score about 95-100%.
U CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ANYTHING, Ur scores, miss timelines, fall behind
schedules BUT U CANT AFFORD TO LOSE HOPE 'coz its UR LAST STRAND THAT CAN
PULL U OUT OF ADVERSITY.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things,and no good thing ever dies."
                                                        -Andy Dufrayne in 'Shawshank Redemption'
Edited by drplacebo on 04/09/07 - 12:02 PM
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| spitmetal
Forum Guru
Topics: 25
Posts: 637
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excelent post drplacebo
SURE URE helping people
keep in the good work
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NEVER REGRET IF U DID YOUR BEST--"THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T DO SOMETHING WILL KEEP SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T DO IT.....BUT REMEMBER YOU CAN DO IT!!" by Dr. Luck a member of this forum
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| junoon
Topics: 4
Posts: 47
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Excellent score! Very encouraging exam experience>>Thanks a lot buddyl!!!
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| drplacebo
Forum Senior
Topics: 6
Posts: 141
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In response to pm's about the time I spent daily studying & number of readings I gave, Q-Banks, etc.
          I have spent about 16-19 hours everyday (sometimes forgetting my meal, chores, etc) & finished almost 7-8 readings with relevant text & review books by my side......It was very much necessary for everyone I wud recommend the same.
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Hey JUST KIDDING. If I wud done so I wud have landed in an mental asylum halfway through. I just started with about 5-6 hours improved to 8-9 hrs & last month was a mad rush with 10-11 hours maybe.
            About readings maybe 2-4 times, I cant say for sure since it all depended on the subject & topic. Like physio & Behav took 2 times incompletely 'coz I find them easy, whereas Autonomic NS. from pharma needed almost 4 times to get the knack of it. Number of readings is pretty relative, based on the need.
After my my first readin' subject-wise, system-wise approach is advisable later.
Doing lots of Q's, went back to books only when absolutely needed.
After getting the broader perspective, OUTGROW the subjects demarkations & focus on clarifying only needed points as & when needed. Prepare randomly.
Afterall when the exam nor the patient presentation is subject-wise why should our preperation be so.
           Though being off the books/practice for about 2 long years I can say that I have'nt found the need to go through my text books for concepts.
 Â
Q's.............Do as many standard Q's as possible. Exam was like the overlap between easier half of UW & good proportion of Kap Qbank. So both are advised if time (& of course the purse) permits.
In the final month prepare for lengthy sessions of Q's as 2-4 blocks can be a cake walk.
The real mettle lies in doing the next few blocks when fatigue is a huge factor.
Finally to all ur prep, don't forget to add some good nutrition....little stretching..... soothing music .... bit of prayers.......wishes from ur loved ones .........& Reassurances, positive vibes from ur friends........... n loads of laughs
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
Edited by drplacebo on 04/09/07 - 01:39 PM
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| unique1
InGodITrust
Topics: 19
Posts: 1,429
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Wow !!!!!!!!!
You really worked very hard drplacebo !!!! You definitely deserved a 99!!!!!
Thanks for the pm and your great advice.
Good luck with your future steps.
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| ExodusZ
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 24
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You're cool !!! I'm so envy ^^
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| drhappy
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 1
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It was am amazing experience.Congratulations on ur score. I believe am the most happiest person after looking at ur score . and people like u r a great inspiration 4 ppl like me.
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