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fizzychi
Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18 |
Hey All I don't think I've ever posted anything in my life, but I've been reading everyone's post weekly to get some inspiration! Its good to know that people are in the same shoes....I want to share some thoughts! Firstly ANYONE can get 99 in this test! It's all about question interpretation so you need to do LOTS and LOTS of questions! In my medical school, I am probably an above average student. My step 1 mark was 92/226 and I was somewhat disappointed with my mark cos I knew I could have done alot better! The best resource by far was Uworld, Kaplan was good in the beginning, but was useless towards the end of my preparation because the questions were not in the style of the actual exam. NBME form 1 was easy, form 2 was harder and the exam was about this level (mine one anyway). I only watched the video twice because its tedious and makes me fall asleep. The notes were great, but still not comprehensive enough for me. I made my own notes, a combination of the video + the Kaplan notes turning them into SUPER NOTES! Seriously though, that is the extent of how much I studied for a period of about 10 weeks, 8 - 10 hours per day, 80 Uworld questions per day took up a LOT of time + around 6 hours of note writing, rote learning etc. For Kaplan, I did 150 questions per day (AFTER UWORLD.... I probably should have done it before UWORLD) The problems I had was measuring my progress, at times I wasn't sure if what I was doing was right....was I suppose to be watching more videos, my friends are doing this, and I'm doing that! The best measure of progress is your UWORLD scores. In the beginning I was getting low 60's and towards the end I was getting mid 70's. don't get lazy with reading and learning it, because the explanations are invaluable to understanding WHY you got the question wrong, and how NOT to get a similar question wrong the next time. In the last 10 days, I revisted my SUPER NOTES, memorised key equations and parameters (e.g. blood pressures, target cholesterol levels). I stopped doing new questions, and finished off all the questions I got wrong in UWORLD, which boosted my confidence and my final mark in UWORLD. I also looked through some textbooks for pictures/scans/xray pics etc.... I also read CRUSH step 2 which I thought was good for high yield knowledge...definitely better than First AID step 2 CK (way too much info for last 10 days!) Try to sleep earlier and earlier the week before your exam. HAving just said that, I STILL couldn't sleep the night before my exam. One of the major problems I had with step one was that I was TOO nervous and only got 2 hours sleep the night before, I ALMOST fell asleep during the exam! so I knew I was pretty much stuffed. I wasn't going to repeat this for this exam NO WAY!!!....I managed to get around 6 hours....which is still pretty crappy, I ended up trying to meditate and thats how I felt asleep  I bought two bottles of red bull, a pasta meal and some lollies and chocolates for my exam....it helps to arrive early and have a nice person greeting you at the exam.... ACTUAL EXAM I felt was around the level of Form 2 NBME, probably alittle bit harder and more vague. I was used to reading long questions, and luckly I didn't get any super long questions. It also really helps to know the lab values off by heard, it really saves heaps of time. Most questions were ofcourse internal med 55%, about 10 % gyne, 5-10% psych, 5-10% randoms and 15-20% peds and surgery. I didn't get any live clips. I got around 1 or 2 x-rays/scans per block, one was scaphoid # on xray, one was spina bifida/arnold chiari on U/S, got a few chest xrays. Got a few pediatric spot tests, i thought it was cavernous hemangioma, I got two questions on developmental pediatrics....nothing too hard I think. Some quesitons were just obviously not going to be counted so don't let it throw you off! I had probably around 3 questions per block that were completely random/incomplete questions. I did 2 blocks, then 10 min break, another 2 blocks, then 10 minutes then 2 blocks then 25 minute break and so on..... do the tutorial at home so you that extra 15 minutes! Perhapes I was lucky to get a pretty straight foward exam! Or maybe I was just REALLLYYY determined to get a good score and studied MEGA hard...I am really proud I got this done during my 5th year of med school. It was SOOO worth it in the end because now I've got so much more wacky knowledge that impresses the hell outa my consultants. Don't just aim for a PASS!!! EVERYONE CAN GET 99! Aim higher and you may just be surprised in what you can achieve! Final stats Did exam 10 Oct, got marks 31 Oct online Took exam in Sydney, Australia NBME form 1 (four weeks prior) 620 NBME form 2 (2 weeks prior) 620 UWORLD (all questins + wrong answers) 70% Kaplan 76% USMLE CD 44, 41, 43 final mark 260/99!!! GOOD LUCK!!!! there is LIFE AFTER EXAMS!!!! I'm GOING TO RIO DE JANEIRO
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supra
| Forum Elite  Topics: 19 Posts: 342
congrats fizzychi on such a big fat score,i envy all those who scored 99s'.i gave my first exam step 2 ck on nov 1st n i m in the same boat as those waiting the longest 21 days
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bhanusupriya
| Forum Elite  Topics: 6 Posts: 412
very big congrats fizzychi. .after reading your experience.....u deserve it.enjoy your day man...
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
Thanks Suptra and bhanusupriya!!!! Good luck with your score supra, you've done it that's the main thing!!!!
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njcjzy
| Forum Guru  Topics: 27 Posts: 814
fizzychi, congratulation for a wonderful score. Thanks for your saying that everyone can get a 99. I believe that too, while with a condition of MEGA hard work!
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HILFIGER
| Forum Elite Topics: 26 Posts: 235
Great score fizzychi, congratulation! Did you get questions testing step 1 knowledge? What do you think about kaplan Internal medicine, is it enough for the exam? Thanks
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
Thanks njcjzy... Hilfiger, I personally didn't get any step 1 knowledge questions....although my friend who did it two weeks before me said he got a few relating to the glycogen storage disease etc. My take on it is that the likelihood is lowish, and even if you do will only be 2 or 3 questions ... and it's just not worth stressing or revising step 1...because you never know if they will indeed ask or not. Kaplan Internal medicine was probably 75% enough, but if you did UWORLD Internal medicine questions along with it, it is definitely enough! Uworld is not only a question bank to test your knowledge! It can really fill in the gaps of knowledge that Kaplan left out!
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HILFIGER
| Forum Elite Topics: 26 Posts: 235
Thanks
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veroni14
| Forum Senior  Topics: 5 Posts: 133
Congratulations...excellent post!
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MRMAVERICK
| Forum Guru  Topics: 52 Posts: 1115
congrats fizzychi
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
Thank you all for your kind words 
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nigerdoc
| Forum Newbie Topics: 5 Posts: 11
hi trying to study as well for step 2 tried reading kaplan notes have read them about some months back but i cant remember much of it so am doing uworld now should i finnish uworld and go back to my notes or i should just do the videos after uworld or what am really confused but am pressed for time most take the exams in a month
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hgheith
| Forum Senior  Topics: 56 Posts: 541
Congrats Fizzychi, Thank you for sharing your experience, it was very helpfull, have fun in Rio!
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
Hey Nigerdoc I allocated around 4 hours on uworld per day and 6 hours of notes reading. Although some people did it in randoms of 46 everyday, I would work out a time table over the course of say two weeks which will cover all topics. e.g. Internal medicine - 1 weeks, day 1 cardio + respiratory, day 2, GI/hepatology, nephrology, day 3 haem/oncology, day 4 neurology and etc...then I would do the lectures/read the notes on the chosen topic of the day, then do 46 questions on the topic of the day. It becomes clear what you need to focuss on when you do this. I found it helpful....once every few days, I would also do random blocks of 46.
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nigerdoc
| Forum Newbie Topics: 5 Posts: 11
Thanks its pretty difficult reading the notes but i guess i will start reading the notes again with the videos i hope it will hel me as well thanks.
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
It is REALLY tiring and boring just reading the notes. I found watching the videos helped me concentrate alittle more, its tempting to just listen, but I found some extra stuff in the notes not in the video....anyway, good luck!
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usmletopper2
| Forum Senior Topics: 33 Posts: 147
hi fizzychi what books did u use in addition to kaplan? did u use FA.was it useful.i 'm just begenningmy prep for step 2 need u r advice.
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standup
| Forum Newbie Topics: 0 Posts: 1
 no one could be in more hot waters than me....have got 19 days to go in my CK. Its 0021 hrs tuesday and I am going through kaplan Infectious Diseases notes. Wanna finish it quick and than go through pulmonary and nephrology (int medicine) i can do it....i Will do it
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fizzychi
| Forum Newbie Topics: 1 Posts: 18
Hello USMLEtopper2, I only used CRUSH Step 2 and Kaplan Qbook...I did also buy a second hand copy of FA but i didn't like it as much as step 1!!! I liked the way CRUSH was written, nice and easy to read and high yield stuff!! look into it! SEriously, all you need is Kaplan notes + their videos + USMLEWORLD. U can try to read Blueprints maybe JUST as supplment for topics such as derm and ENT as it was lacking (but low yield). Medicine was about 75% enough....may need a supplement for REALLY random illness (I just used emedicine.com). Hello Standup!!!! GOOD LUCK!!! Not long ago I was in the same waters!!!! JUST push for 19 days longer and you will feel THE BEST when you finish! Those notes are GREAT, trust them!
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usmletopper2
| Forum Senior Topics: 33 Posts: 147
thank you for the advice.will try to follow it
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