commit
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One of my weakness is my poor control of time. I am wasting too much time before I sit down and pick up the books. Once I get to study, I am studying pretty efficiently and believe it or not, I am actually enjoying studying for most of the time. So part of my problem is that I don't start often enough. Also, I am taking too many breaks and the breaks tend to get too long. TV and internet are the main distractors. Sometime, I spend 10 mins necessary on what I am supposed to do on the internet and then 50 mins on trivial things.
To get more stuff done, I will first be quick to start. Just push myself a little bit more to get started and things will get easier later. Secondly, I need to limit my internet time to 30 min each day for emails and journals etc. Hopefully, I will do better after following those guidelines.
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| commit
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Time to have a plan again.
1. Big day will be Sep 7th or 8th. That leaves me about 4 months.
2. NBME form 1 June 15th. Form 2 July 15th. Form 3 August 1st. Form 4 August 15th.
3. Will go through FA and goljan once in the first month (before June 15th), goljan audio 40 hours too, with about 1 hour each day. At the same time will do about 800-1000 Qs in UW (have finished about 400, will finish before July 30th, plan to review the wrong Qs one more time at the end.) That's about 200-250 Qs each week. If possible, squeeze in more Qs from other sources, such as Qbooks, Robbins, Goljans or Kaplan Physiology Qbank. But it is not that essential.
4. Will start Kaplan Qbank from July 1st. Plan to finish in 2 months or 8 weeks. That will give me about 300-400 Qs each week, considering there is also a slight overlap with UW.
5. For the second and third month, will spend more time on Qs and assoicated topics with the wrong Qs. Will have another read of FA (twice) and goljan (once), selected chapters of Kaplan notes. If possible, will review the whole Kaplan notes one more time in the second and third month. But I doubt there is enough time for that.
6. Last month, focus on review NBME Qs, some wrong Qs and finish Kaplan. If possible, get into other Qbanks, such as USMLErx. Read FA a couple more times and recognize weak areas and repeat and repeat.
7. Of course, the NBME score will be used as a guide along the prep.
Due to all the unforseen circumstances, I "offically" lower my expectations now to 99. It will be done more practically now. But the real expectation is to give the best I can offer and leave no regret behind. In a balanced life, usmle is not everything. I will give its due respect, but no more. Life is bigger than usmle. Just try the best I can.
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| SOS
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ALL THE BEST
you are right, life is indeed bigger than USMLE.
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| simon73
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Thank you commit for your kind words. After a gloomy weekend, i am positively starting my new week. Your plan looks great. All the best. Lets keep checking each other as we make progress. I have scheduled my exam on August 29th, a week before you for some practical reasons in work. I will try to stick to this date, if at all possible unless my evaluation strongly otherwise.
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| commit
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Reviewed neurology last night, which was good.
Did another block of UW, got a new low this time 48%. But I think which may be a true reflection of where I stand right now. And also for the first time, I had some time control issue. Yes, it sucks. But I just have to suck it up and move on. I am not worried. I should be motivated.
So I went ahead and did one more block, which is really hard. Honestly, a lot of times, I don't even know what those UW Qs are talking about. I marked about 80% of questions. And yet, I scored 68% this time. I feel like it is just nonsense to be so occupied by the percentage at this stage. It is important to learn from those Qs rather than to find confidence or feel assured. I have a lot more learning ahead of me.
Edited by commit on 05/14/08 - 01:50 AM. Reason: add more stuff
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| commit
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The past two days were emotional for me. I am feeling the pain from the earthquake in my home country. I have managed to donate some money. I wish I could do more. But sigh and tears do no good. I cannot help to realize how precious life is. Let me put all my grief into action. I want to crash the USMLE and become a real doctor and help people as soon as possible. Let's work on it now.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
I am sorry for your pain. It is a shocking news for all of us. We will them in our prayers and assist in ways we could.
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| commit
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Hi simon73,
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Tragedy like this is beyond words. Sometime I cannot help but think life is a joke. But I then realize, there is also another dimension of life, which is sympathy, love, fulfillment, joy and many other wonderful things. Life is an amazing journey. Coming to this world is a wonderful thing. Leaving, which is inevitible, is actually beautiful sometimes. (a young couple used their body to protect their baby; baby survived and they did not) Leaving this world is not that terrible after all, as long as we had a good ride with a good heart.
The biggest fear for me right now is to waste this precious chance of being alive. I have squandered some precious time in the past, which cannot be changed. I hope I can put my time into better use in the future.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
I agree with what you have stated. At times like this, what all we thought matters in life doesnt anymore! and we seem to lose faith and hope.
Let me share something one of my friends shared. I am not sure if you believe in God (I am), but the context may apply to non-believers as well. He said that for believers, they have only one question in life that is unanswered: 'Why bad things (such as the earthquake, tsunami etc) happen to people (who we know are good?) ? But for non-believers, they have a whole host of questions unanswered, which they seek their entire life and get frustrated!!
He said that there was a well learned saint, who once had the same question and was thinking about it while walking along the seashore. His thought process was distracted while he saw a little boy, who dug a small hole in the sand on the shore, ran to the sea, fetched some water with both hands and poured it in the hole, and he was continuing to do it several times while the saint was watching. Finally, the saint broke his silence and asked the little boy what he was doing. The little boy said that he was trying to fill the hole with all the water in the sea. Exclaimed, the saint said to the little boy that you know it is not possible. Immediately, the little boy said that it is similar to his quest for an answer for his question, and he ran away. This was a wake up call for the saint, he felt as if God spoke to him. However, learned one is, it is unimaginable to get an answer for all the questions. He realized that God's brain is like a sea and his, like a hole and it is uncomprehensible with human brain to think we can find answer for all the questions. Only thing, we as humans should have is Faith that God with all the mighty brain is acting according to his plan, Faith will deliver the Hope for us to move forward in life with the limited human capacity we have.
Sorry, if i bored you with this story. I found it very appropriate when times i felt myself at cross roads or when nothing seems to work no matter how i try.
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| commit
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simon73, thanks for sharing the story. It's a great story. I love it (and the way you are telling it). I really appreicate all the comfort you have brought to me.
It's time to move on.
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| commit
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Right now, I am doing 1 or 2 hour goljan audio, then go through the new goljan audio word-to-word notes and then RR pathology for the relevant chapters, finally I will go through FA.
It seems working pretty well. I just need more time. Due to some issue at work, probably won't have too much time for the next month. Will still aim to take the NBME 1 on 6/15, but may postpone it to 6/20 ish.
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| veteran
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Hi Commit, all our trials make us stronger. Unlike most things that we do on a daily basis, studying requires all our focus and it is hard to focus when there are real world issues that cause us to not feel 100% when we need to study. If I may make a suggestion, please set aside for yourself. When you sit down to study, if you feel distracted, tell yourself that you will think about it in your "myself time". I love to multitask in my "myself time"- like go for a walk or work out, when in my mind, I go over all the frustrations of life. But life goes on. In the grand scheme of things, we are but a speck and we can affect our universe much more effectively as physicans. It might motivate you to give your all when you sit down for "study time".
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| simon73
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Well said veteran.
Hi commit, i plan to take NBME 1 on sunday, July 6th. Lets keep it going.
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| commit
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Thanks a million, veteran and simon73. I will remember you kind words and good suggestions. Yes, life goes on. I am started to get things together.
Did two blocks in USMLE. Terrible. 56% and 50%, some of the lowest scores. Before doing the tests, I was feeling pretty good. I feel like I have learned something recently. Apparently, it was far from enough. Also, I have forgot a lot of the microbiology, biochemistry, pharmacology stuff. I have improved quite some in pathology and a little bit in Anatomy. It is a long battle. I am furious and I want to win.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
I was worried too when i was consistently scoring low but got the message from others who have done the exams successfully and from you as well that - it does not make sense to be so occupied by the percentage at this stage. It is more important to learn from those Qs rather than to find confidence or feel assured.
So keep your hard work. We will come out with bright colors together.
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| commit
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Hi simon73,
Yes, I totally agree with you. But we can also use those low scores as additional motivations. Now I have finished 1/3 of the UW, I realize how amazing it is to score 80-90% like genbot did.
I did not go through the explanations very thoroughly the first time I finished and decided to review those Qs more throughly for the next 3-4 days. Hopefully, I can get something out of this.
You know, the whole test thing reminds me a lot about life. You feel like you are never ready to move on to the next step. But if you just dive in and do it, you will find that you are not that bad at all. Life is not perfect after all. With limited time and energy, as long as I am trying, I know I will be happy and proud for what I have done at the very end.
Edited by commit on 05/22/08 - 01:35 PM. Reason: edit
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| simon73
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Yes, it would be amazing to score 80% in UW. I have seen the scorethread and most of the people who scored 99 in the actual exam had scored an average of 60-64% in UW. i dont know how long before the actual exam, they took it. Considering that we plan to take the exam end of August or September in your case!, we still have over 3 months to read and re-read. I am hoping to do Kaplan in July-August, and I am hoping to score much better with that, something comparable to those who scored 99! This is the wish, lets see how things go on.
Yes, most definitely the experiences we face in preparing and taking this exam has a lot in common with day to day life events.
Have a good weekend studying.
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| simon73
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Hi there, How is it going?
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| commit
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Hi simon73, thanks for checking in on me. I am doing better and learning lots of stuff. I am trying to study Goljan audio and RRP together. I am also doing some pathology Qs from Robbins review. I hope I am getting a better hold on pathology.
I am also trying to review the finished Qs in UW. It is a little bit slow since there are a lot of stuff covered. But it is indeed a great learning tool. I haven't done a block of UW recently. I don't think I can improve the score any time soon either. It is such a comprehensive test and hard to improve in a week or two. But I think, if we keep trying, we will get there. I think the most important thing is to learn as much as possible for each and every day and also have a good systemic approach of studying.
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| commit
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Will be busy with work for the next five days. Hopefully I won't forget everything I have just learned. I cannot believe it that I am loving doing Qs and reading pathology for the last couple of days. Hopefully I will keep the momentum after the break.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
Working full time and studying, there will be days where our priorities had to be shifted. Come back and keep the momentum, thats most important. We will cruise along in this journey!
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| veteran
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You seem to be doing fine, co,mmit. Love, hate, elation, frustration, desperation are all tied so closely to the USMLE. The ratio changes as our comfort level increases. Ofcourse, it is all about reward and punishment and positive reinforcement. I am sure you will find the jounrey more enjoyable as you are getting more proficient in solving questions. Try to do atleast half an hour of revisions on the days you cannot study much as it will make you feel close to the subjects when you get back after your break.
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| commit
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Thanks, veteran. I really appreciates your enouragement. It is a tough road and one will understand this only after going through it.
But hey I am back. It tooks longer than I expected. Now I should have a two-month window to really go at this. It is crunch time.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
Welcome back. I had one of the least productive week but getting back to routine today. Lets give our best shot at this exam.
All the best.
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| simon73
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Hi commit,
Hope your studies are coming along well as planned. Keep us posted.
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