starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
hi there,
I have been studying for step 1 for quite some time now. i wrote it recently in november, after studying for it for about 4 months. unfortunately i failed. i will be honest though, i never put in my hard effort, nor my 100%. more like my 70%. i think i can learn a concept very fast, but it takes me a while to imprint it in my memory. i think i was too rushed, so i was very bad at memorizing. my usmle world scores were about a 85, but my nmbe and my step 1 score was horrible .
i know that since i failed, some people will look at this post and ignore it. because "she failed-what does she know about prepping for this well" . trust me i have said that about alot of posters myself. but i realize now that their posts are the most important. because they have tried various things, failed and can tell you what not to do, or what was definite in helping.
i read step 1 the wrong way from the start. i chose to do kaplan audios and videos. but they were too lengthly, that near the beginning i was just listening and reading ot hurry up and complete them and move on to the next kaplan subject. i was not retaining anything. kaplan audios were about 40 hours per subject, whereas pass program is 40 hours total . i wish i had done pass program from the start. to me, its better to read something small and reread and reread and know that well. then read something big, and have no time to reread and learn it.
i used first aid too late.
this is what i would do if i could redo it.
this is a one year schedule. you can trim it to however you wish.
but i stress doing it by organ. i stress using first aid early on, and ading your notes in it so you can pick it up at one point and just read that and only that. and feel comfortable that its quoting from your other sources as well.
i would read it all by organ, it helps paint a picture. personally reading a chapter on pharm terrifies me, but if i read one page for the heart when im doing cvs its less intimidating. thats why i suggest doing it by organ.
anywho.. this is ROUGH OUTLINE. that i highly suggest.
this is all i suggest you use as material: pass program, goljan audio/notes/pictures and first aid. as well as qbank or usmle world.
1st month: Pass program videos and notes. they are about 50 hours total in length but they summarize everything really well and give you a good handle on the information. teach you key ways to look at the questions. the notes are also very good. i feel they filter out a lot of junk that kaplan tells us to learn, but sometimes too much info is just overwhelming and we don't retain anything. i feel pass program teaches us slightly differently , im not sure how high yield it is. but it definitley helped me in my weak areas like git, renal, cns. it sorta dumbed it down for me.
2nd month: goljan audios wit its notes. its about 40 hours of audio. his lecture class divides it in 5 days, 8 hours daily. do it however you wish to. use his slides as well to help u get the information better.
for both first and second month, i STRESS that you know those notes well. not just glance at them. you are given 30 days to do 40 hours of audio and notes. do not let yourself down and take advantage of such a time flex. know those notes well. i learnt if you work hard the first time, you dont need a second time to reread that information. I also, suggest refering back to first aid as you complete something in goljan or first aid. to ensure that "yes first aid does have it" or "no first aid doesnt, let me add it in".
this way at the end your one source will be first aid. and you will have those extra notes to help you fil in the gaps first aid was missing.
also everyone hypes up first aid so much. for me, i get insecure when i switch texts, and keep on looking at my old text to make sure my new text is right. so what i do now is, at the end of the day when i am watching tv, needing a break, i just flip through my notes, read them. and find them in first aid and read. this way when u eventually need only first aid, you will find it easy to use as you used it once already casually.
trust me-one thing i am proud of is my first aid book. it is amazing. it has every single note that it missed from kaplan or pass program or goljan. its a huge book-lol. but it has everything. now in my retake attempt, i could if i wanted to jtu read my first aid and be more than ready along with questions. i would be covering kaplan, pp, and goljan in one READing material. but i will still use the study plan i made, as i learn from listening. don't think its too late to make a first aid book like i made.
honestly speaking first aid has everything. but no one gives it that credit. when you start reading a text, and searching for that information in first aid you will be shocked at how many times first aid had it. about 15% of your reads , first aid wont have. that's all. it wont take that much time out of your day to add in a line or two, every video into your first aid.
3d month-8th month: total of 5 months.
these are the things you need to cover.
biochem, physio, micro,immuno,cns,cvs,resp,endo,git,hem,musc,onco,repro,renal,derma, pharm
i suggest for each and every single thing. you give yourself say two weeks -MAXIMUM.
example: cvs: know the pass program , goljan, FIRST AID . keep in mind you used these three sources during your first two months, so it should be comfortable. and it should be a review if anything.
example:on all of cvs. perhaps do 3 days of each , then the last few days is reread, and questions. what i do is, the first day is the physio/anatomy of it. the second say is reread that. the third/fourth day is path. the fifth-sixth day is pharm of it. the seventh day is just questions. then the second week is redoing that all.
for some things like dermatology and musculo there is way too litle information, so ofcourse that can be covered in a day or two.
for some subjects there is no goljan, example biochem. so just do what you have for it, first aid, pass program.
from month nine-month 12 : it should be spent doing questions. and reading first aid
the way i do it is, i will spend 3 days to run through one of the organs , ie reread the two weeks i spent on cvs but read it in 2 days. then do questions. and see if i know my stuff.
etc.
this study plan is very flexible , i did it on purpose so you can add in what you think is best.
i knwo everyone raves about kaplan, but i personally thought it was too much information and i did not like the style. it didnt retain for me at all. pass program and goljan does retain because they talk to you casually, not so business like as in kaplan.
also there are two ways to do audio and readings.
if you have a month to do it, you can do it slow and steady and spend a month doing it once.
OR you can do it in two weeks, and hten redo it in two weeks. this way after the second time you will realize "wow i forgot this" or "wow i must have learnt this well" it will identify for you what areas you did not retain and what your studying style is, if it is working for you or not. i think the second way is th best way. my first study time was spent, me taking the maximum time i could per subject to read. at the end of it, i would be in such a rush to start the next subject. but later i realized how much i had forgotten in my first subject.
divide up your work now. read it once, then again , then again. you will be realizing what you forget, and being able to correct your mistake then and there.
i really hope i helped. i can not stress how imp it is for you to look at your sources now, and figure out how to use them .
everyone takes a year or six months to do it. but i think the time flys by. figure it out now where you can put in maximize practice reread time. use this wonderful website, get your sources ready. do not get confused with what to use for micro, when you are doing micro. ask ahead now!!
good luck
here is an upload i made. it is basically how many hours pass program and goljan are. and etc. a way for you t map out your time
note i have pass program audios, but i have tried for ages to upload them. i am sorry it wont work. but i know you can buy them online. its about 4000 to take the course, 3000 to buy the vids from them. i suggest going on craigslist and buying them for cheap. i know you can go online, google in goljan , and you can buy sets of goljan and pass proram for about 300 dollars.
Attached Files:
study schedule.doc (39 KB, 41 downloads)
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
also.. some advice.
usmle world or kaplan qbank. when i did usmle world, i used to read the questions/answers and swear at "damnit first aid does not have this" and get totally bitter. but then i would search in my first aid on that topic, and 8/10 times first aid did have it. and i would feel ashamed and happy at the same time.
trust me, first aid has its stuff. its just written in a subtle way. when you keep comparing first aid to your sources whether it be pass program ,goljan, or UW, you start to appreciate what is written in your first aid. and hold that information of high importance, and retain it better. , before id see a paragraph in first aid, and soemtimes id glance over it, and be like ' yea yea" its juts first aid. but then when i went back to it bc of goljan or UW, id b like "whoa okay i have to know this WELL".
OR sometimes, first aid doesn't have it, so i would add it in.
either way-eventually when you are just reading and reading and reading first aid, til it is coming out of your nose and mouth-lol.. you will be reading for UW without realizing it. you will come across UW information, goljan ifnormation , and Pass program information that you added in.
ps- i am sorry for the typos. my keys are slippery and i am always in a huge rush. also i hope i do not sound bossy or annoying. i am really just trying to help. i think that alot of my misinformation was due to being ill informed by peers. everyone just asid "kaplan , first aid" but no one explained why, and how , etc.
i think this site allows us to question things. and make our own decisions for the greater good
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
also.. some advice.
usmle world or kaplan qbank. when i did usmle world, i used to read the questions/answers and swear at "damnit first aid does not have this" and get totally bitter. but then i would search in my first aid on that topic, and 8/10 times first aid did have it. and i would feel ashamed and happy at the same time.
trust me, first aid has its stuff. its just written in a subtle way. when you keep comparing first aid to your sources whether it be pass program ,goljan, or UW, you start to appreciate what is written in your first aid. and hold that information of high importance, and retain it better. , before id see a paragraph in first aid, and soemtimes id glance over it, and be like ' yea yea" its juts first aid. but then when i went back to it bc of goljan or UW, id b like "whoa okay i have to know this WELL".
OR sometimes, first aid doesn't have it, so i would add it in.
either way-eventually when you are just reading and reading and reading first aid, til it is coming out of your nose and mouth-lol.. you will be reading for UW without realizing it. you will come across UW information, goljan ifnormation , and Pass program information that you added in.
ps- i am sorry for the typos. my keys are slippery and i am always in a huge rush. also i hope i do not sound bossy or annoying. i am really just trying to help. i think that alot of my misinformation was due to being ill informed by peers. everyone just asid "kaplan , first aid" but no one explained why, and how , etc.
i think this site allows us to question things. and make our own decisions for the greater good
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
ooh ooh last but not least.. figure out what your weakness is. and make cuecards.
example-i absolutely suck at pharm micro.
so what i have done is, i took every bacteria/ drug and put it on a cue card. and i tell myself daily, i will read two cuecards of bacteria, and two of pharm.
and i will know those well.
a tiny dose everyday of this information, eventually you will know all of pharm and micro well. it just works easier that way. i think . and it isn't so overwhelming.
or if you are doing, say two weeks of cns. ahead of time, divvy up the drugs for cns. and do a few every single day. then get someone to quiz you on those drugs the next day to make sure you know those.
learn drug ab monday. reviwe drug ab , learn drug cd tuesday. review drugs ab,cd and learn drug ef wedneday. and so on. until you are done in no time.
|
| Kalyann
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 530
|
hey can u let me know
where do u add extra information in that first aid boook..
i mean doesnt it get congested and messy...
or did u punch hole first aid and put it in a 1 1/2 inch binder and keep on adding pages wenever and werever u wanted for the extra notes ?
pls let me know buddy.
___________________
Just hit the Bull's Eye with a 99.
|
| Kalyann
Forum Elite
Topics: 4
Posts: 530
|
here i think one can find pass program notes
http://googlelover.net/viewthread.php?tid=1833&am...
___________________
Just hit the Bull's Eye with a 99.
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
kalyann...
what i did for my editing fa book, was i spent the entire kaplan reads , compiling a list of what fa was missing. then i photocopied those pages of kaplan notes that fa was missing. and i took my first aid book , and unbound it. then i went to the office depot and got it bound for me. but i added in those kaplan photocopied pages as well.
i also just wrote all over the first aid book, like the margins etc.
to make it neater, you can just simply write in neatly whereever it is needed. if some info is too large, you can just add it into a notebook, and put down the page number to refer to in your first aid.
ie, FA cvs section. write down "refer to notebook page 15" and hten you flip to page 15 and continue your read.
start this early in your read, if you get too busy it becomes more of a pain to do . i am happy i did this, because now i do not need to look at my kaplan books, my first aid has all the information already
|
| hiprized
Forum Newbie
Topics: 6
Posts: 21
|
Hey, sorry to hear that. Dont let your self down, keep on trying and it will pay off. I myself am taking my exam on first week of april. I too have pass program notes and audio, do you think spending 40 hours on it will help me more than me spending that time to sudy through kaplan notes. you said your UW score was 85%....that is really high, i am wondering if USMLE questions were different than UW questions. Would you say the type and format of NBME questions were same to USMLE questions.
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
hi hiprized. how are you doing?
goodluck for your exam, best of luck
i think that going through the pass program videos is important, and knowing that material well. supplement that with your first aid, and goljan if you can is excellent. pass program vids are very simple and to the point, but don't take them for granted, know them WELL. i suggest you even skip the videos and read those notes of pass program.
UW is very good, it makes you take that knowledge you read form your FA and other books and actually use it. I think nmbe questions were harder, personally, however their style was straightforward. alot smaller ,less complicated. i thought they were evil, they looked easy but they were not.
kaplan, is a very good source, i just think it is way too much information personally. and its hard to retain it. do what you know by now, whichever source you have been using til now, stick to that, with your Fa. again alot of the exam ist straight forward, you know they will ask you on genetics, sme behavioral some basic physio graphs, so know that now, so you dont lose simple marks.
or if you download the goljan hiyield pages on this site, its better, because it is a good summary of what you should know by now. and also will remind you what you should go back and reread. i would def look at the goljans now. and read over your first aid.
|
| hiprized
Forum Newbie
Topics: 6
Posts: 21
|
Thanks starbrite. I guess i'll stick to what i have been using (kaplan notes and FA). I went to kaplan live lectures so i have lots of notes in it. I will def read pass program notes once.
|
| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
|
hiprized.. if you have good patience, instead of reading pass program notes once, just sit through the videos. they are about 60 hours in lgenth TOTAL. and a little unorganized. its easier, you might retain it by hearng, it will be more fun. i think the significance of the information is not shown in the notes, but through the speaker. personally . you wont think its very important from the notes.
sit through the videos, and i mean, whip through them.
if you think you got a good rewivew outa your books, sit through pass. its all review anyways. so you wont be hurting yourself.
|
|
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
