simon73
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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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
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 81
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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
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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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
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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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
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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Hi commit,
Hope your studies are coming along well as planned. Keep us posted.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Hi simon73,
Feeling a little guilty here. I was under a lot of pressure last week. So over the weekend, I spoiled myself and visited a few friends. Did not spend any serious time on studying at all. For a moment, I was thinking, oh man, maybe I should let this go, just let it go. It felt so good not to worry about studying at all. It has been a hard journey. Whenever I was getting some sort of momentum, something came up and it took a long while to get back into rhythem.
But I don't want to disappoint myself when I am old and look back. I don't want to regret that I did not fight until the end. I don't want to be a quitter, especially considering how much time I have spent to convince myself this is the way to go. So I am going to study, be it a success or a failure. I am going to do what I have to do.
Simon73, you have been a great friend along the prep and I am very grateful for all your cheering and encouragement. Let's hope we won't disappoint ourselves. Let's fight.
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| simon73
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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Thank you commit. Believe me, i completely understand the emotions going through your mind while having good time with family and friends, as i had that several times and still do occasionally. But as you said, i just want to put in my effort in the best way i could with all the distractions/happenings around me. Let's fight and move forward.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Yeah, simon73, that's the exact emotions I am talking about.
Back to the study, will try to finish a quick review in the next 3 weeks and take NBME 1 or 2 at that time.
Wed and Thur, will try to finish Respiratory and Reproduction pathology. It's a lot to cover. But I'll try my best. Will take 2 more blocks of UW to see how bad things are I have forgotten a lot of Micro and Pharm these days. Anyways, it's time to move forward. No more perfection, just do my best and hopefully it will be enough.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Scored poorly on UW at 50%, which is a new second low, got a 48% a while back. It is all right. I made a few lucky guesses and some mistakes as well. It is a fair test. Just need another 4 or 5 tests to get the feel back. Darn, it is not easy. Keep trying, harder and harder.
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| simon73
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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Keep it going commit. Dont be discouraged by the scores. A lot of my scores are in that range and someone in the journal stated that it is better to make mistakes here and learn more than in the real exam. So, i am taking it with a positive spirit and moving forward.
Happy reading.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Hi simon73, thanks for the kind words. You are right. It is better to make mistakes now than later. 
Good a lucky break today, scored 72%, the highest so far! One thing I may be doing right this time is that I don't spend too much time on things I have no clue at all. Instead, I put more efforts on getting some "logic" or "educated guess" into the ones I know a little bit but not enough to give a definite answer. I know this is a very awkward sentence, but I think you know what I am saying. But I know, by no means, the score reflects a jump in my knowledge. There are only about 10-15 Qs that I know for sure, the other 20 some Qs are just lucky. It is simply a combination of luck and some technique. Additionally, I am more relaxed this time answering questions.
Keep reading hard and work on details, we will prevail.
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| match2010
Forum Senior
Topics: 4
Posts: 481
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hey commit .....how is the prep going so far? i see your are improving on UW ...keep working hard and yeah i reallly liked the post where u said tht u are not a quitter and u want to fight till the end .....im almost in the same boat as you are and trying to fight and struggle for the exam  ....we all will make it there buddy ....goood luck studying ...i will be dropping by here often now.
___________________
Rather the pain of discipline than the pain of regret.
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| simon73
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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Hi commit,
I agree with the answering technique. It is no point in wasting time on questions which we have no clue, rather it is wise spent on where we need to make some educated guess.
Hope you are having a good weekend study.
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| veteran
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 81
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Hi Commit, when I started, I was first daunted by the mammoth task of USMLE prep.
Several times, especially when preparing for step one, I was so tempted to just not bother. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I persevered. It is sweet to be a doctor in the US. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep working!
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| doctor123
Forum Elite
Topics: 15
Posts: 430
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Keep it going commit
Read Revise Read Revise
DR.123
___________________
ALLAH; guide me to the Path of Success.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Thank you, match2010, simon73, veteran, doctor123. I will keep it going, hard and strong
I am working pretty hard for the last couple of days. Hopefully, I will keep my momentum this time around. Goljan's audio is unbelievable. I learned so much from it.
I finished another UW block and scored 66%. I got a couple of breaks again. But I really started to appreciate the UW Qbank. The explanation stuff is really good.
I need to work on my technique more to finish the block faster. Veteran mentioned his technique to save time on the relevant Qs. I think it is pretty good. I will start practicing that. Hopefully, I will finish the block 5-15 min early. That will make me feel more comfortable and confident.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Currently, the goal is to take the NBME on July 5th. I will try to take July 6th off then, apparently depending on the score.
I have reviewed Pharmacology for the last two days. I felt I was getting better at it. Just took a UW block. Ironically, I scored pretty bad on pharmacology. I guess just glancing through things will not get the job done. I will need to go a little deeper and thorougher. Generally, I did OK on the block, get a 66% again. It seems I can have a better understanding at the Qs now. But there are always some stupid mistakes. One day, I should really organize and process the wrong Qs to improve a little bit on that. I have kept saying this for ages. Definitely will do it next week.
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| study499
Forum Guru
Topics: 5
Posts: 576
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Hi Commit,
You are doing a very good job...I am inspired by your improvements on UW scores...I have done only a couple of blocks of UW questions so far and my scores are not promising...all the time I 've been advising people not to be worried abt the scores...but now i am frustrated by my scores as I am really close to the exam...or at at least like to take my exam soon...in 6 weeks if I improve on my uw scores and get a good score in the NBME...
I have read Veteran's techniques and will apply them next round but do you have any advice in this regard...I do the questions in one system or one subject..ie. biochem...and timed mode...
Many thanks and all the best !
___________________
With God, all things are possible.
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| simon73
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 484
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Hi Commit,
You are doing well, keep up the good work.
I have the same frustration as study499. I am scoring low with UW blocks and isnt helping much with boosting my confidence or prep. May be i need to reevaluate my prep. Any advise would help us.
Thanks.
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| commit
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 264
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Hi study499 and simon73,
I can definitely understand your (or our) frustration. I think for me, the Goljan audio definitely helped me to understand pathology and pathophysiology a whole lot more. Before doing that, I had reviewed pathology briefly twice. But it was basically glancing through, I did not know what's important and the concepts were mostly understood but not retained. After reading his audio notes and listening to his lessons, it makes me a lot more confident on patho. I feel like I am getting about 2 to 4 more Qs right after listening to the audio.
So far, I have finished almost half of UW. I scored relatively well only for the last three blocks. I don't know whether it's just a fluke. As for techniques, as I said, I tried not to spend too much time on the ones that I don't have much chance. Secondly, I have used Qbooks to practice finding and highlighting the key words in the question stems. So when I am spending more time to analyze the questions, I am trying to focus on those keywords. Sometimes, by doing this, it simplifies the thinking process.
Finally, I have to say that I can only have definite answers for about 15 Qs. The other 17 Qs I answered right, some are well-educated guess and some are just lucky. I don't know if that makes any difference. But I don't really feel I have improved much. Let's do it.
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