JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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Hi guys congrats to all who slayed the beast! I recently took and passed step 1 and here are my sources and experience! I have been a somewhat quiet observer of this forum, and I am glad to have the opportunity to share my experiences with those that need it!
Sources I used to prepare for USMLE Step 1
Anatomy:
o High Yield Anatomy facts compiled from USMLEWorld forum
Histology:
o Did most of learning in Basic Sciences Histology class
o Road Map to USMLE Histology (read during basic sciences)
· Physiology:
o Kaplan Physiology Videos
o Guyton & Hall Physiology Text book: Textbook of Medical Physiology 11th Ed(good system-wise physio)
o BRS Physiology
· Biochemistry/Genetics:
o Did most of learning in Basic Sciences class (Lipincott, Pretest)
o First Aid for the Molecular Biology
· Neuroscience:
o Purple Neuro Text: The Human Brain: An Introduction to its functional Anatomy 5th Ed. Nolte
§ This book is excellent for the brain cross section pictures: EXACTLY THE SAME PICTURES OF THE SPINAL CORD, CEREBRUM & BRAINSTEM APPEAR ON THE NBME AND USMLE
· Behavioral Science:
o BRS Behavioral Science
o Kaplan Behavioral Science Videos
· Microbiology/Immunology:
o Did most of learning in Basic Science Class
o Microbiology made ridiculously simple
· Pharmacology:
o PharMNemonics flash cards
o First Aid Pharmacology Section
· Pathology:
o Did most of my learning in Basic Sciences
o Goljan Pathology Audio & notes
I did not “Read†First Aid Cover to Cover, but I read it alongside my notes when I reviewed the subjects and systems, and while I took USMLERx Qbank. It was ESPECIALLY useful to me for Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, Immunology, Renal, Respiratory, Cardiovascular.
I listened to PASS program videos during Basic Sciences, and quickly reviewed them in 5th semester.
Total Prep Time: Exactly 6 months after completion of 5th semester
· Adapted 99 Model of self-study www. mletips. com to my personal style and goals
· Prepared subject-wise then questions
· Prepared system-wise then questions
· NBME’s taken in between studying until >600 scored in two consecutive tests
Did not Take any Review courses or retreats.
Questions done (in Approximate order):
o USMLEWorld – 100% Completed: (72% ~ 256/99)
o WikiTestPrep – 100% Completed: (79% ~ 231/97) www. wikitestprep. org
o Rapid Review Biochemistry, Behavioral, Microbiology, Pharmacology
o USMLE Official questions from www. usmle . org (88% ~ 255/99)
o Goljan Comprehensive Exam
o USMLERx – 100% Completed: (82% ~264/99)
o Kaplan Q Bank – 100% Completed: (79% ~ 255/99)
o PRETEST: Pathology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Vignettes for Step 1
o NMS Test Prep
o Kaplan Simulated Exam (76%)
o Lange Q&A 7 blocks (76%)
For those with Step 1 correlations, I used USMLE Step 1 Estimator. Kaplan Qbank and the USMLE questions were the best correlations. Surprisingly, NBME underestimated my score!
NBME Scores in the order I took them:
· NBME1:460 = 208/85 (right after basic sciences)
· NBME2:480 = 213/89 (right after 5th semester)
· NBME5:570 = 232/97
· NBME6:640 = 247/99
· NBME3:600 = 244/99 (2.5 weeks before exam)
Many of my practice exams were done under exam conditions; timed blocks, with my food for the day already prepared and breaks organized. I had been doing that months before my exam so I was mentally prepared for an 8hour exam. 2weeks before, I also checked out flashcards on prep. askdoc-usmle. com (compiled from FirstAid).
The week before the exam, I reviewed notes I had made during my preparation, from questions in various qbanks. I covered no new material. I reviewed the Brain cross sections from the Neuro book. My exam was on a
Thursday morning; I stopped studying on Tuesday, and just watched movies and got rest.
The day of my exam, I got up as usual, had a hearty breakfast, and prepared my food for the day which consisted of a sandwich, lots of fruit (watermelon), water, orange juice and just a few pieces of candy – no coffee or tea (don’t drink coffee anyway). My breaks were timed about 5-6 mins per break – just enough time to grab a few bites and go to the bathroom. I felt energized throughout the exam; never felt burnt out, even at the end. My practice exams were excellent in building mental endurance.
At the end of my exam I felt that by God’s grace I had done well, and that I had studied all I could possibly study for the material I was asked.
My USMLE Step 1 Score: 256/99
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| medschoolmania
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 38
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aweseome prep and amazing score congrats!!! so your an IMG or an AMG? im guessing IMG because of the fifth semester. what source did u find best fit for the boards to study for the pharm section and during ur basic sciences, that seems to be my only hurdle in med school right now!! any info wud be great!
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| brainstem
Forum Guru
Topics: 28
Posts: 1,554
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congratulations......... very gud score....... gud luk 4 further steps
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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thanks! i'm an IMG student, from the Caribbean... for pharm i used the PharMNemonics flash cards ( you can get them from amazon.com), and first aid... I was pretty scared about pharm myself but these 2 sources helped me the most.
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| sidiyaa
Forum Junior
Topics: 0
Posts: 92
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congratulations it is awesome score .
what about the immunology, idid you feel that FA is enough for the exam ?
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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Thanks. yea FA was very useful for immunology. That was my main source for that subject.
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| defcon8
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 16
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Hey congrats on your score. Its cool to hear someone else uses Nolte. Alot of the books you used seem similar to my curriculum books in Jamaica. Which Caribbean country did you study in?
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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AUA in Antigua. Are you at UWI?
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| defcon8
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 16
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Yea UWI Mona
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| pmapunk66
Forum Elite
Topics: 14
Posts: 326
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very nice score dude! CONGRATS and enjoy, all my best wishes for the further steps. 
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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Ahh UWI...when I was younger I thought of going there, but the paths I took for undergrad led me to AUA
thanks pmapunk66!!!
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| dr_puma
Forum Guru
Topics: 132
Posts: 1,544
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congrats for top score buddy
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| healtheworld
Forum Senior
Topics: 3
Posts: 135
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congratulation ...good job
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| thanhy02b08
Forum Newbie
Topics: 0
Posts: 2
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you are really great,,,from the bottom my mind..I have to say that..
.....
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| drneyo
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 28
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congrats...thats a perfect score...
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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thanks everyone!
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| SE580
Forum Junior
Topics: 12
Posts: 48
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Hi! Im planning to take the USMLE step 1 on March 19. I am doing an NBME assessment test on Saturday to see if I'm ready. I will only take one, and if the results are great, I'll sit for step 1 as scheduled. Since you took all forms, is there one form which you could recommend (which you think correlates to the real exam with regards to difficulty of questions, accuracy to the real score?) Thanks so much!Congrats too!
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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well all of the nbme's underestimated my score, and i am not really sure if any of them accurately represented the difficulty of questions, but if i have to pick one, i would have to say form 6. good luck!
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| abdulaziz89
Forum Newbie
Topics: 4
Posts: 15
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congrates boss
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| JESRMagna
Forum Newbie
Topics: 2
Posts: 20
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thanks man!
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