gasmann
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Hi Guys,
i have been a regular visitor at this website for sometime now. This is my first contribution though. I took my Step One 4 weeks ago and the results have just come through. Far better than I thought, 244/99. I just thought I would share some tips especially for those who graduated a while ago(2001) and are working busy jobs while preparing for the exams.
I must admit I didn't allow a lot of time for preparation. 2 1/2 months while doing a very busy Intensive Care job is probably not the way to go.
Material used: First Aid 2008, my bible!!- saved my bacon, this one
USMLE world- great resource, tough questions but great prep
Kaplan Q bank- not as good as USMLE world, but preferable to watching the kaplan DVDs if you are short on time
Goljan audios- great value for time invested, i would listen to this at the gym, on my commute to work etc
this is all i did, my weak areas ie, immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry - tried kaplan notes at first but eventually i ended up reading first aid
TIPS- do not get bogged down with large review books, great if you have months to prepare, but usually a waste of ur time Focussed reading around questions is a better strategy
-Select ur revision material early and stick to it!
-Don't get bogged down with minutiae, cover all important topics and once u have ur core knowledge base, u can aim for 260 or over!
-Do not waste too much time over ur weak areas. By all means put some effort into some extra detailed reading in those areas. But it is all too easy to get drawn into spending hours with fat textbooks. I was getting nowehere with biochemistry, i decided to pretty much memorize first aid and attempt the questions, u will be surprised at how many u can answer. i read up the explanations on usmle world and that was it. I knew i couldn't answer all questions and i was fine with that.
Exam exprience-
skipped tuturial- 2 blocks back to back- 10 min break- 2 blocks- 20 min lunch break- 1 block- 5 min break- 1 block- 5 min break - final block + feedback
I thought i had made a right mess of a couple of blocks, one does tend to remember all the difficult questions -only natural met a guy who was taking step 2 CK and his media questions wouldn't play, so he had to be sent home to come back another day!! I would have flipped had that been me. He took it with a lot of grace.
I never believed it for a minute when i read previous posters saying how they thought they did poorly and ended up with fab scores. Well, what can I say? I am singing a different tune now. I thought i would be lucky if i got 90+, so I am thrilled to bits
A very special thanks to all the moderators, u r doing a fabulous job. I am an anaesthetist and so was closely following Mazingers progress through the match. Good luck on ur placement. Well, time to hit the books, step 2 here I come!!
 
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| kingsof2005
Forum Senior
Topics: 10
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congrats!!!!!!
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| doctor123
Forum Senior
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congrats
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ALLAH; guide me to the Path of Success.
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| sandeep366
Forum Junior
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Posts: 39
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wow thats a great score! congrats
sir , can u suggest me how to do USMLE WORLD... i mean is it necessary to take notes? actually i began UW by taking notes after each block, but found that its consuming 5 to 6 hours per block. so i just stopped taking notes, now i am just going thru the explanations after doing each block random q - timed mode... i have done 30% of the UW q bank and my average is 63%....is that ok? and one more thing.. i havent yet started reviewing FIRST AID... my exam is in 7 weeks time..can i start it now?
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| gasmann
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 3
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Thanks guys,
Sandeep, this is my take on it. You have 7 weeks to prep , focus on getting through usmle world, take brief point notes if u wish or better still, mark the questions with explanations u would like to come back to. The idea is not to finish usmle world for the first time a day before the exam, but rather to get as much knowledge as u can from the question bank. And yes, the best way often is repetition. First aid works along the same lines. aim for broad coverage of topics. You will feel like a right idiot if u missed a question straight out of first aid or UW, because u didnt have the time to go over the questions again. Take heart, 7 weeks is a lot of time. If u spend it wisely. You can either read Robbins for the entire duration of the 7 weeks and be pretty damn sure of not remembering a thing. Or read first aid, memorise the key facts, do UW, get a feel of the exam questions, build up ur knowledge base, and possibly have time to consolidate this with a revision of the same material.
For the life of me I couldn't get immunology. After trying to read kaplan notes for a week with no avail, I fell back to first aid. Mugged every word in the section. Did UW and again got the relevant points. You dont need to have an in depth knowledge to pass this exam. I was surprised at how many immunology questions i could answer from just the two sources i mentioned. There were a few bouncers of course, but i am pretty confident i wouldn't have got it had I a PhD in immunology!
Chin up, I am sure u will do well.
Don't be too fussed about ur scores on these sites.I used them as my primary knowledge source, I am too old to go back to crusty textbooks !! Bottom line- come exam day , u should be able to answer any question broadly based on UW, First aid, not what ur cumulative percentage was on ur first attempt.
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| Moods
Forum Newbie
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Hi gasmann, congrats mate. Grrrrrrrrrreat achievement. Working in Thoracic surgery , I can imagine how busy ICU can be ( am an oldie too). Its inconceivable how you managed to make time in a 24 hour day which is not long enough. Once again congratulations!
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| classymom
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 19
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Your story is a great inspiration to all in general and specificaly for old imgs like me with jobs and families, kids and having to multitask 24/7. My exams are in 7 wks time and im just doing what you did!! Hope i have a good if not great result too!! All the best for you, keep going!!
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| botchy
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 8
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any advice on someone who failed step 1 twice?
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| P4a99
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 43
Posts: 2,420
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Congratulations. 
Please:
- Did you have any multimedia questions on your exam?
- What is your advice on how to use the Question Banks?
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2008 Step 1 Study Plan Discussion ..... I am a moderator not a source for download links. Please do not ask me for any.
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| kalyanova
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
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Good job !!
I have question about the usage of UW..
Would you recommend me to use it on a 'random timed' or ' subjectwise timed' or untimed?
and going over UW twice or more would it really help or just make me remember the questions?
I am asking this as I would like to find the best way to use UW..some say to use it as a test prep.. and others a learning tool...
I want to use it for both..but how?
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| gasmann
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
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Thanks everyone for your warm wishes.
Botchy, take heart. Whats's done is done. The silver lining here( i know it's hard to see when u r feeling down, but believe me there is one) is u have a chance of passing with a great score rather than just passing. I am not sure about what happened with ur exam. Was it a problem with ur preparation, or was it nerves on the day of the exam. you will need to assess this before taking ur next attempt. There isn't a worse thing than making the same mistake all over again. I am quite happy to advise but will need a bit more info on ur situation(when qualified, study materials and technique and what happened at the test etc)You can PM me if u like. The important thing is not to lose heart, easier said than done, I know. Get a good support network if u can, or use this forum. Best of luck. As they say, when u r down,there is only one way to go, UP!!
P4a99, No, fortunately i didn't have any multimedia questions on my test(may 16,2008).
Well as i said before, time was not a huge issue for me. During the exam, if i encountered any question which needed more than a minute (calculation, a bit of deep thinking etc) i would mark it and skip straight to the next . Once through the 50, i would work my way through the marked questions.That way i knew that i would get all the questions in the block which were relatively straightforward and not run the risk of getting them wrong owing to poor time management. Knowing ur MCQ technique does help, being from India and having written what feels like a gazillion MCQ exams, I feel i have a technique which works for me. Find what works for u. So no, i did UW untimed. The second time around my idea ,with the marked questions, was never to see if i could get them right. 9/10 times you will, for exactly the reason u suggested. You will recognise the answer straight away. I would focus on the explanations and read those as i felt they had the most to give. Especially for me , as i wasn't reading any review books(Only First aid)
Kalyanova, I might suggest u try an NBME sample test for exam technique, as the pressure is really on. there are no answers to peek at, and u know u will be hit with a report card at the end!!
At the end of the day, everyone is different. See what works for u and stick with it. On the forum HY embryology came highly recommended . I am sorry, I took one look at the book and ran a mile!! It is not the book, it is just me. The style and format didn't gel with me. So as always, my trusted First Aid came to the rescue!
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| P4a99
Forum Fanatic
Topics: 43
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Thanks
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2008 Step 1 Study Plan Discussion ..... I am a moderator not a source for download links. Please do not ask me for any.
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| supra
Forum Elite
Topics: 17
Posts: 342
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hey gazmann,congratulations,u r an inspiration 2 many
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| kalyanova
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
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gasmann..
my question was not about the test taking skill..but rather how to use UW most efficiently..
but thanks anyway
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| fuobs
Forum Junior
Topics: 9
Posts: 36
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Hey gasman congrats on ur splendid score. Just wanna know how many months u used in preparing for step 1. Really intend retaking step1 in about 10weeks from now.That is 2months and 2 weeks. Should i just stick with first aid and uw? The large vol of d kaplan LECTURE notes scare me alot. Pls reply as soon as possible.Thanks
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