desdinova
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Hello , I am quiet member but I want to share my exp after receiving step1 score. I hope some of You - fellow doctors - will find it useful.
I took exam on 23rd of June , in Berlin. Good quality LCDs , nice atmosphere , not so helpful (but amiable) staff and generally ok. It took me about 10 months to prepare , although I believe it can be done quicker - I wasted many weeks , reading almost nothing , due to other activities and work (internship in home country – Poland) . I began gathering materials and info during my final year of medical school - the list of books below is based on multiple exam experiences and opinions I’d read before I started the assembly. I started studying right after graduation in the fall of 2007.
Exam itself is doable , however I left Prometric more enthusiastic than my result would tell. In my opinion it is far easier than Usmleworld – or maybe the proportions of simple/difficult MCQs is different. In UW there are 25-30 challenging questions per block , whilst in Step1 – maybe 10-15. I had enough time, each block I had 5-10 questions marked and 10-18 minutes left. I suppose I was even too relaxed and reckless during the test – like sitting home and doing another UW test  I recommend to focus and try to stay motivated whole exam , ‘cause after few blocks you’ll really feel like “let me go home” owing to weariness and …bore. I began to speed up , just to push another block forward. I think that reasonably planned breaks are important to prevent that kind of concentration problems and derealization. To give you another view - friend of mine who also took step1 that day got 258 (using exactly same materials) but complained about time shortage.
Exam content is mainly (70% ?) patho/physio and some behavioral. It is difficult to categorize questions as falling into specific subjects because many (if not most) are integrative and combine many topics. Purely “exotic subjects” (histo/embro/cell/anat/neuroanat…) questions were very very rare. No HOXes or gene expression except of ADP-rybo-toxins mechanisms. I had single multimedia MCQ – heart auscultation. Many graphs and diagrams.
MATERIALS: (achtung! my remarks are true for the exam I took , might differ across examinees)
1. First Aid 2007 –Priceless , serving as a notepad into which I put almost every potentially important info I came across during studying my books and doing Usmleworld .It is perfect as it allows you to review practically whole material (assuming your notes are already there) in relatively short time. FA also systematizes your study and sometimes explains more than some review books. Pharm in FA is definitely enough for good score. Regarding other subjects: micro is relatively weak in terms of details and explanations – e.g. no HIV serology graphs!!!!!! ; same applies to reproductive (weakest chapter) , respiratory , molecular biology. Immunology doesn’t explain many thing it could and should – just few more sentences each page would make it much more useful. What I want to say about chapters mentioned above is that I had to input staggering amount of notes to make it work for me –I left no free margins in many chapters. Sometimes I got the feeling that authors forget that this exam is mainly ‘bout “concepts and mechanisms” – two favorite words of E. Goljan who we all know.
2. Kaplan Behavioral (2002) – vague biostatistics concepts explanations - FA and UW gave me better idea about many topics. Behavioral is difficult to asses – I did poorly during actual exam but my friend who used same materials got * in behav. (?)
3. Kaplan Biochemistry (2004) – covers genetics. Easy to read. Nice and big figures/graphs - very useful when reviewing metabolic cycles – I had put my notes on them , ripped them out and put em into FA. 
4. Kaplan Micro and Immuno (2004) - solid, easy to read and more than enough.
5. Goljan Pathology Rapid Review 2007 – marvelous book , one the golden 3 resources I could recommend anyone (Goljan+FA+UW) – it contains tons of clinical info , not only in pathology but also in histo/embro/cell biology which will save you from reading “exotic subjects” like cell/embryo/hist.
6. BRS Physio (2007) – good book in general (best physio available I suppose) , but requires time and intellectual effort to “digest” some topics which are vaguely explained – CVS,respiratory,renal…those req. many additional notes and hours to make any sense. On the other hand some simple topics are overemphasized.
7. Katzung Pharma Review (2004) – only selected topics + first ~40 pages - Pharmacokinetics/dynamics/ANS/Drug metabolism. Rest of book is a waste of time , same info (and more up-to-date) you will find in FA – and sometimes even more.
8. HY Neuroanatomy – barely skimmed through –focused on cross-sections, angiographs.. Generally not very helpful. Especially if you have read physio, patho , FA and went through anatomy atlas beforehand.
9. Sobotta anatomy atlas – always before my eyes accordingly to currently reviewed subject. Emphasis on topography of organs, vessels and nerves + CNS cross-sections. Atlas +FA=enough for Step1.
10. Other subjects: embro, anat, cell biology etc.. only FA.
TESTS:
1. Qbook – few chapters .. got bored and dropped it.
2. USMLEWORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SIMPLY MOST IMPORTANT LEARNING TOOL NEXT TO FA2007 AND GOLJAN PATHO!!! It’s priceless and it is difficult for me to imagine taking Step1 without intensive prep with UW. Absolutely brilliant and worth every single $. Do as many MCQs as you can , do them in timed mode - then READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL the explanations and make notes into FA. At the end of the preparations your FA will grow so powerful , that you wont feel intimidated during exam. Plus UW java application layout is graphically IDENTICAL to actual exam so You will feel comfortable at Prometric
Completed 90% , UW cumulative score=80%
Haven’t done NBME. I assessed myself by doing “timed, unused” MCQs from UW all the time.
I want to thank all members of the forum for their exam experiences and advices , I read many of them during my prep and found them extremely helpful – hope that someone will find mine exam experience helpful too .
As a general advice – remember to DISSECT every topic and concept - feel comfortable with it and make sure you understand it. Basic concepts and mechanisms are the essence of Step1.
GL to all who are yet to take Step1 and remember:
“Who dares , wins” [Special Air Service Regiment motto]
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| usmlekiller
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congrats!!!!! and thx for the great post!!!!!!
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| dowjunk
Forum Elite
Topics: 14
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Thx desdinova. Congrats to our new daring winner!
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| medschoolmania
Forum Newbie
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how many times did read ur FA book? im finishing my first yeear of medical school rightnow, and entering the second year, we have path, pharm, micro, do you believe kaplan is a good source to study from for these subjects?
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| desdinova
Forum Newbie
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medschoolmania ---> it's difficult to say how many times I read FA.. First time was after I finished reading review books - or to precise during second read of review books when I started making adnotations into FA. Then , I reviewed my already adnotated FA with simultanous skimming through review books again , and finally i reviewed FA without looking into review books - the last final review of FA was a quick one and just before exam. Besides every time I was checking answers in Usmleworld (timed,unused) I had my FA by my side and skimmed through the particular topic that was tested. Kaplan is great for micro , good for pharm (for me FA was enough , but I have graduated already and finished my pharma course in med school + other clinical subjects so it was easier for me to restrict only to FA) and rubbish for pathology. For pathology I suggest Goljan Rapid Review. My choice of books was based on many opinions and exam experiences , hence i dare to call it optimal.
GL
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| dr_puma
Forum Elite
Topics: 11
Posts: 269
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great score congrats
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| SeYYeDo
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Topics: 6
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CONGRATS ON THE GREAT SCORE MAN!!
WELL DONE!!
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| vaibhavbora
Topics: 14
Posts: 250
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congrats
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VB
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| target
Forum Elite
Topics: 3
Posts: 739
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Awesome post dude ! Wish you were not a quiet member all this time and passed on such excellent info. THanks for your time and effort. Congratulations on the great score!
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| innocent devil
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congrats
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