Post by Admin on Apr 29, 2014 22:30:52 GMT -5
Salam everyone,
I am writing to talk to you about my step 1 experience so as to maintain the
cycle and keep this group alive. I’ve used this group regularly during my
preparation in viewing what other people have gone through and I feel I owe a
lot to active members in here, God bless them all.
I want to start by saying the road to these exams is not easy nor difficult,
with some dedication and hard work, you
can do it as many have done before.
I’m a 5th year Kasr al Ainy medical school student with a ranking
of 437th out of about 1000 (unofficial ranking).Duration of preparation:
7-8 months, 6-7 hours a day.
Materials:
First aid
Q banks (Uworld, Rx, Kaplan, Blue Penguin)
Ta7 review videos
Kaplan videos
Kaplan high yield videos
Goljan Rapid Review 600 pages
Kaplan LN (biochemistry only)
Wikipedia
Webpath for images (renal, neuro)For assessment:
NBME 7,11,12,13
Uworld self assessment exams 1,2My preparation:
It started in March 2012 when I made up my mind and took the decision to take
that road. As most of us, I decided to start with Kaplan with no obvious plan
ahead of me which wasn’t a good way to start and at this point I learned my 1st
lesson, you have to have a clear plan with a timeframe from the start till the
end. I started with physiology, was studying it along with my school studying
so I was on a slow track where my 2nd lesson stroke me, your USMLE
studying should be your #1 priority. During that period I was following TA7
live sessions and in his after-exam session he said that Kaplan is not
necessary and the most important is the first aid book and doing as many
questions as you can, I took that word and searched it a lot through others
experiences until I made sure of it and that’s when I learned my 3rd lesson,
you have to read about a lot of experiences before making your plan. Following
my finals I decided to start and constructed my plan which was actually Ta7’s
plan. We were a group of 4, studying together and motivating each other which
is much better than done on solitary basis in my own opinion.
The plan was as follows:
The 1st run:
- Ta7’s videos with FA >> 1.5 month
- FA with blue penguin Q bank( a free small one but was good as a start) >> 20 days
The 2nd run:
- Rx Q bank offline (1200qs) >> 10 days
- FA >> 2 weeks
The 3rd run:
- Uworld Q bank offline >> 20 days
- FA >> 10 days
The 4th run:
- Kaplan Q bank offline >> 20 days
- FA >> 1 week
The 5th run:
-Uworld Q bank and self assessment online >> 3 weeks
- FA >> 1 week
The Exam
My preparation was going to take roughly 6 months. I prepared myself and
started as planned following my exams at the end of July 2012, dedicated to my
plan and was intending to take my 1st step exam in February during
the winter vacation but for some reason my papers were rejected, I was discouraged,
became less strict to my daily schedule but learned a 4th lesson, always remember that ALLAH has everything perfectly planned for you. I resent my papers again, got accepted and scheduled for the 1st
of April which gave me about 45 extra days, where the first of them were lost
to laziness and some exams at my school, but did benefit through Goljan and Kaplan
high yield videos.
So now you may ask, when did I use those other materials?
Okay then, for Kaplan videos I used them in two cases 1- In topics that Ta7 didn’t
explain like (Embryology, Behavioral sciences other than psychiatry) 2- In
topics at which I felt I need more such as (biochemistry, some of genetics and
cell biology). I used Kaplan notes only in biochemistry, while Wikipedia was my
resort whenever I find something vague in First aid.
Self Assessment Scores:
NBME 7 offline after the 2nd run >> 151/200(75%)
NBME 11 offline after the 3rd run >> 163/200(81%)
NBME 12 offline after the 4th run >> 170/200(85%)
NBME 13 offline after reading Goljan and watching Kaplan HY videos >> 174/200(87%)
UW self assessment form 2 online at the same time as NBME 13, 1 month before my exam >> 258
UW self assessment form 1 online after finishing UW Qbank online, 10 days before my exam >> 260
The Real Deal >> 251N.B to approximate your offline NBME score to 3 digit score, here are some
formulas:
1- #correct answers * 1.4
2- %correct answers * 2.9
3- this table www.scribd.com/doc/52845176/NBME-USMLE-SCORE-TABLE
Few suggestions according to my OWN humble experience:
Goljan(600 Pages): I see, it does not worth your time especially if you are short of time, too much for the exam.
Kaplan HY: very helpful, I strongly recommend it.
Rx Q bank: it helps in memorizing first aid through questions which is a good way to go, almost does not contain any additional information.
Kaplan Q bank: it has some weird questions but as for me, it was a big advantage.
I think watching biochemistry Kaplan videos is a must. - While studying try your best to discover the links between different disciplines, integrate the information to connect all the information together, rendering it easier for recall.
Assess yourself regularly and objectively along the journey, find out your weakness points and work on it.
Finally it’s all about FA and Uworld. And the one million dollar tip 'always go with your 1st hunch." Acknowledgement:
We all are greatly indebted to Dr Mohamed Salah and to all the founders of EAMTAR for their continuous help and support.
SPECIAL THANKS to TA7 who helped me alot throughout my preparation particularly with his remarkable videos. ________________________________________________________________I wish you all the best folks.Any queries, feel free to ask and I’ll be glad to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.
I’ll leave you now with nine myths I came across written by Pakistani guy and I
agree with most of them, Salam.
Myth number 1:Do not appear for USMLE Step 1 within your graduation
Verdict: Baseless, illogical reasoning
Explanation: This is so prevalent in Pakistan it’s
almost pathetic. One of the biggest concerns surrounding our students is that
Step 1 is a huge risk to be taken before graduation. Let me put it in another
way: Step1 would always remain a risk whenever it is taken, whether during or
after graduation, whether with a preparation of 4 months or a preparation 14
months. It is an unpredictable exam. Let me reassure you that taking Step1
within your graduation would, 90% of times, result in a score that would be
substantially higher than when having taken after your graduation. Why? It’s
simple! You have a habit of studying for prolonged time periods and you haven’t
yet stepped into your professional field. Furthermore what you have been
studying all along during your medical studies is still fresh in your mind.
Basic sciences is something that troubles even the experienced doctors, let
alone a mere young student. It’s all about finding the right tempo to study for
extended time and when you enter the profession, that is something quite
troublesome. Take my advice: rather than wasting your time during your medical
studies, spend it swimming through Step1 recommended textbooks.
Remember you are in direct competition with
medical students of US. They typically appear for Step1 at the end of their 2nd
year and Step2 at the end of their 4th year.Myth number 2: You need clinical exposure to fully understand Step1’s clinical vignettes
Verdict: Not necessarily!
Explanation: Remember US medical students don’t
have any clinical exposure leading up to their Step1 exam. While attending wards
may help you understand the methodology leading to diagnosis and management,
you definitely do not need to wait till you acquire maximal clinical experience
for Step1. Most of the cases can be fully understood easily by simply applying
knowledge of basic sciences you just learnt. Radiographs and gross specimens
can be practiced by simply getting help from the world wide web and selected
university department websites. Similarly heart sounds can be made available
through a simple Google search. You just need to be active enough to utilize
the internet as an aid to your studies. You would only be rarely tested for
management of the patient, which is the primary focus of Step2 CK and not
Step1. In majority of occasions, application of knowledge of basic sciences is
what is expected of you.Myth number 3: Cram, by heart, all of Kaplan series Verdict: Wrong and time wasting!
Explanation: Let me begin by stating US medical
students only rarely, if ever, turn to Kaplan for their study. Kaplan
definitely is a good series but thinking that it lays out the syllabus content
of Step1 for you is nonsense. Step1 does not have a very well defined syllabus.
The closest you can get is finding the syllabus release on usmle.org for Step1.
Instead of spending time cramming all of it, it’s more useful to concentrate on
selected areas more. Myth number 4: First read, Second read, third read, fourth read, Step1 Verdict: This depends!
Explanation: Remember everyone has his own way of
studying. This sequential method typically follows the Kaplan series and has
little significant benefit. It is very rigid and cannot be modified. A lot of
people asked me repeatedly how many reads I have done. My answer was always the
same: is the number of reads the method to use to judge someone’s preparation?
That’s the purpose of NBME sample assessment. Don’t let the “number of reads”
fool you. Some people study fast and they find that spending little time on
everything gives them sufficient time to revise; others find the opposite to be
true. This means a person who has done 2 reads may be doing just about as good
as another who has done 7 reads. Besides some subjects need more reads than
others; pharmacology needs more commitment than does anatomy.
Confused? I am too! When you try and follow
“number of reads” rule, you’d end up even more confused. Solution? Try and find
your own best method. If you get a good NBME score, this means you’re doing
fine.Myth number 5: If you get less than a two digit score of 95, you’re good as gone. Verdict: Ignorance!
Explanation: While Step1 is very important, it is
not the only thing required to judge a candidate. Remember there’s Step2 CK as
well, number of attempts at Step2 CS, Electives, Research experience etc. They
all form part of what is known as a “well rounded candidate”. Not everyone gets
a 99 at Step1 and those who don’t must not lose their confidence. Step1 is an
exam, just like every other exam and is prone to causing mishaps and accidents
in results. If that happens to you, I guess hard luck but should you lose hope?
Try and compensate from Step 2 CK or the best of all, research. Don’t make
Step1 a matter of life and death because it’s not worth it.Myth number 6: Step 1 is all about concepts….
Verdict: and…..cramming!
Explanation: Don’t be fooled into thinking you
don’t have anything to learn in Step1! Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
have far more knowledge that has to be learnt compared to what you do in
college, in addition to making concepts. By all means, make maximal attempts as
learning as much information as possible. If you don’t know the virus names and
groups, you cannot answer any question based simply on “concepts”. Knowledge in
Step1 is tested very rigorously, but it is typically very cleverly disguised as
they simply form a part of the multiple process thinking. Learn everything;
don’t leave things out. Yes and that means you have to learn Ebola virus,
Japanese Encephalitis Virus and Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus too!Myth number 7: 70-80% of Step1 exam is full of Pathology Verdict: Wrong!
Explanation: It’s true that almost 95% of the exam
has clinical vignettes that can be directly correlated to Pathology however the
subject matter that is being tested may not necessarily be pure Pathology. You
may be given a vignette on Ataxia-Telengiectasia but you may be tested on an
immunological concept, or a molecular biology concept. Now that the current
USMLE exams are full of clinical vignettes (as stated on the official
usmle.org; number of questions in clinical vignette forms to be increased), you
would find this to be even more prevalent.
My purpose is to tell you to divide
your attention equally amongst all subjects. 70-80% Pathology on exam never
means 70-80% time on Pathology and 20-30% time on remaining subjects. Infact
Molecular Biology is a dominant force. Step1 reflects current standards of
medicine. You may in fact realize that spending more time on Microbiology than
Pathology would be more high yield.Myth number 8: Delaying the exam by a month or two would increase my score Verdict: What makes you think the opposite may not
happen?
Explanation: Read the verdict again, and again and
again. Do you have any guarantee that you would definitely not slack off, run
the risk of forgetting important facts after breaking your study momentum and
decrease your score instead? Remember momentum and sustained effort are
extremely important. When you choose an exam date, stick to it. Try to carry
your momentum straight uptil that date. Breaking your rhythm would only
increase your anxiety and make you forget important facts.Myth number 9: My friend got a lot of virology in his exam; I must spend all my time studying virology Verdict:Fair enough, but isn't "all your time" a bit too ambitious?
Explanation: The issue here is that there is
little uniformity within a Step 1 exam, and little comparative value between
Step 1 exams in terms of subject content, NOT standardized 2 or 3 digit score.
For example your friend just gave Step 1 about 2 weeks prior to your final
date. He seemed to get a lot of questions from virology and defense mechanisms
(behavioural sciences). Should that make you think you should spend your next 2
weeks till your final date studying with full force, these topics? This is a common
psyche of anyone who is about to take his or her exam, to rely a lot on what
has already appeared. It's fair enough, but you have to make sure you do not
compromise the rest of your study. Step 1, as stated already, is an
unpredictable exam. You may be tested a lot, instead of virology, on mycology
on a disproportionately high scale i.e. far more questions than you might
anticipate. When you go through Step 1 forums, you may see some people stating
they got a lot of biochemistry but little anatomy, and others attesting to the
exact opposite.You should always make an effort to study each and
every subject in Step 1 with equal time and honesty. As stated elsewhere, yes,
there are subjects like Pharmacology and Microbiology that require
disproportionately more time but this is not because they appear a lot on the
exam, but because of the nature of these subjects that warrant consistent
revisions.
I am writing to talk to you about my step 1 experience so as to maintain the
cycle and keep this group alive. I’ve used this group regularly during my
preparation in viewing what other people have gone through and I feel I owe a
lot to active members in here, God bless them all.
I want to start by saying the road to these exams is not easy nor difficult,
with some dedication and hard work, you
can do it as many have done before.
I’m a 5th year Kasr al Ainy medical school student with a ranking
of 437th out of about 1000 (unofficial ranking).Duration of preparation:
7-8 months, 6-7 hours a day.
Materials:
First aid
Q banks (Uworld, Rx, Kaplan, Blue Penguin)
Ta7 review videos
Kaplan videos
Kaplan high yield videos
Goljan Rapid Review 600 pages
Kaplan LN (biochemistry only)
Wikipedia
Webpath for images (renal, neuro)For assessment:
NBME 7,11,12,13
Uworld self assessment exams 1,2My preparation:
It started in March 2012 when I made up my mind and took the decision to take
that road. As most of us, I decided to start with Kaplan with no obvious plan
ahead of me which wasn’t a good way to start and at this point I learned my 1st
lesson, you have to have a clear plan with a timeframe from the start till the
end. I started with physiology, was studying it along with my school studying
so I was on a slow track where my 2nd lesson stroke me, your USMLE
studying should be your #1 priority. During that period I was following TA7
live sessions and in his after-exam session he said that Kaplan is not
necessary and the most important is the first aid book and doing as many
questions as you can, I took that word and searched it a lot through others
experiences until I made sure of it and that’s when I learned my 3rd lesson,
you have to read about a lot of experiences before making your plan. Following
my finals I decided to start and constructed my plan which was actually Ta7’s
plan. We were a group of 4, studying together and motivating each other which
is much better than done on solitary basis in my own opinion.
The plan was as follows:
The 1st run:
- Ta7’s videos with FA >> 1.5 month
- FA with blue penguin Q bank( a free small one but was good as a start) >> 20 days
The 2nd run:
- Rx Q bank offline (1200qs) >> 10 days
- FA >> 2 weeks
The 3rd run:
- Uworld Q bank offline >> 20 days
- FA >> 10 days
The 4th run:
- Kaplan Q bank offline >> 20 days
- FA >> 1 week
The 5th run:
-Uworld Q bank and self assessment online >> 3 weeks
- FA >> 1 week
The Exam
My preparation was going to take roughly 6 months. I prepared myself and
started as planned following my exams at the end of July 2012, dedicated to my
plan and was intending to take my 1st step exam in February during
the winter vacation but for some reason my papers were rejected, I was discouraged,
became less strict to my daily schedule but learned a 4th lesson, always remember that ALLAH has everything perfectly planned for you. I resent my papers again, got accepted and scheduled for the 1st
of April which gave me about 45 extra days, where the first of them were lost
to laziness and some exams at my school, but did benefit through Goljan and Kaplan
high yield videos.
So now you may ask, when did I use those other materials?
Okay then, for Kaplan videos I used them in two cases 1- In topics that Ta7 didn’t
explain like (Embryology, Behavioral sciences other than psychiatry) 2- In
topics at which I felt I need more such as (biochemistry, some of genetics and
cell biology). I used Kaplan notes only in biochemistry, while Wikipedia was my
resort whenever I find something vague in First aid.
Self Assessment Scores:
NBME 7 offline after the 2nd run >> 151/200(75%)
NBME 11 offline after the 3rd run >> 163/200(81%)
NBME 12 offline after the 4th run >> 170/200(85%)
NBME 13 offline after reading Goljan and watching Kaplan HY videos >> 174/200(87%)
UW self assessment form 2 online at the same time as NBME 13, 1 month before my exam >> 258
UW self assessment form 1 online after finishing UW Qbank online, 10 days before my exam >> 260
The Real Deal >> 251N.B to approximate your offline NBME score to 3 digit score, here are some
formulas:
1- #correct answers * 1.4
2- %correct answers * 2.9
3- this table www.scribd.com/doc/52845176/NBME-USMLE-SCORE-TABLE
Few suggestions according to my OWN humble experience:
Goljan(600 Pages): I see, it does not worth your time especially if you are short of time, too much for the exam.
Kaplan HY: very helpful, I strongly recommend it.
Rx Q bank: it helps in memorizing first aid through questions which is a good way to go, almost does not contain any additional information.
Kaplan Q bank: it has some weird questions but as for me, it was a big advantage.
I think watching biochemistry Kaplan videos is a must. - While studying try your best to discover the links between different disciplines, integrate the information to connect all the information together, rendering it easier for recall.
Assess yourself regularly and objectively along the journey, find out your weakness points and work on it.
Finally it’s all about FA and Uworld. And the one million dollar tip 'always go with your 1st hunch." Acknowledgement:
We all are greatly indebted to Dr Mohamed Salah and to all the founders of EAMTAR for their continuous help and support.
SPECIAL THANKS to TA7 who helped me alot throughout my preparation particularly with his remarkable videos. ________________________________________________________________I wish you all the best folks.Any queries, feel free to ask and I’ll be glad to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.
I’ll leave you now with nine myths I came across written by Pakistani guy and I
agree with most of them, Salam.
Myth number 1:Do not appear for USMLE Step 1 within your graduation
Verdict: Baseless, illogical reasoning
Explanation: This is so prevalent in Pakistan it’s
almost pathetic. One of the biggest concerns surrounding our students is that
Step 1 is a huge risk to be taken before graduation. Let me put it in another
way: Step1 would always remain a risk whenever it is taken, whether during or
after graduation, whether with a preparation of 4 months or a preparation 14
months. It is an unpredictable exam. Let me reassure you that taking Step1
within your graduation would, 90% of times, result in a score that would be
substantially higher than when having taken after your graduation. Why? It’s
simple! You have a habit of studying for prolonged time periods and you haven’t
yet stepped into your professional field. Furthermore what you have been
studying all along during your medical studies is still fresh in your mind.
Basic sciences is something that troubles even the experienced doctors, let
alone a mere young student. It’s all about finding the right tempo to study for
extended time and when you enter the profession, that is something quite
troublesome. Take my advice: rather than wasting your time during your medical
studies, spend it swimming through Step1 recommended textbooks.
Remember you are in direct competition with
medical students of US. They typically appear for Step1 at the end of their 2nd
year and Step2 at the end of their 4th year.Myth number 2: You need clinical exposure to fully understand Step1’s clinical vignettes
Verdict: Not necessarily!
Explanation: Remember US medical students don’t
have any clinical exposure leading up to their Step1 exam. While attending wards
may help you understand the methodology leading to diagnosis and management,
you definitely do not need to wait till you acquire maximal clinical experience
for Step1. Most of the cases can be fully understood easily by simply applying
knowledge of basic sciences you just learnt. Radiographs and gross specimens
can be practiced by simply getting help from the world wide web and selected
university department websites. Similarly heart sounds can be made available
through a simple Google search. You just need to be active enough to utilize
the internet as an aid to your studies. You would only be rarely tested for
management of the patient, which is the primary focus of Step2 CK and not
Step1. In majority of occasions, application of knowledge of basic sciences is
what is expected of you.Myth number 3: Cram, by heart, all of Kaplan series Verdict: Wrong and time wasting!
Explanation: Let me begin by stating US medical
students only rarely, if ever, turn to Kaplan for their study. Kaplan
definitely is a good series but thinking that it lays out the syllabus content
of Step1 for you is nonsense. Step1 does not have a very well defined syllabus.
The closest you can get is finding the syllabus release on usmle.org for Step1.
Instead of spending time cramming all of it, it’s more useful to concentrate on
selected areas more. Myth number 4: First read, Second read, third read, fourth read, Step1 Verdict: This depends!
Explanation: Remember everyone has his own way of
studying. This sequential method typically follows the Kaplan series and has
little significant benefit. It is very rigid and cannot be modified. A lot of
people asked me repeatedly how many reads I have done. My answer was always the
same: is the number of reads the method to use to judge someone’s preparation?
That’s the purpose of NBME sample assessment. Don’t let the “number of reads”
fool you. Some people study fast and they find that spending little time on
everything gives them sufficient time to revise; others find the opposite to be
true. This means a person who has done 2 reads may be doing just about as good
as another who has done 7 reads. Besides some subjects need more reads than
others; pharmacology needs more commitment than does anatomy.
Confused? I am too! When you try and follow
“number of reads” rule, you’d end up even more confused. Solution? Try and find
your own best method. If you get a good NBME score, this means you’re doing
fine.Myth number 5: If you get less than a two digit score of 95, you’re good as gone. Verdict: Ignorance!
Explanation: While Step1 is very important, it is
not the only thing required to judge a candidate. Remember there’s Step2 CK as
well, number of attempts at Step2 CS, Electives, Research experience etc. They
all form part of what is known as a “well rounded candidate”. Not everyone gets
a 99 at Step1 and those who don’t must not lose their confidence. Step1 is an
exam, just like every other exam and is prone to causing mishaps and accidents
in results. If that happens to you, I guess hard luck but should you lose hope?
Try and compensate from Step 2 CK or the best of all, research. Don’t make
Step1 a matter of life and death because it’s not worth it.Myth number 6: Step 1 is all about concepts….
Verdict: and…..cramming!
Explanation: Don’t be fooled into thinking you
don’t have anything to learn in Step1! Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
have far more knowledge that has to be learnt compared to what you do in
college, in addition to making concepts. By all means, make maximal attempts as
learning as much information as possible. If you don’t know the virus names and
groups, you cannot answer any question based simply on “concepts”. Knowledge in
Step1 is tested very rigorously, but it is typically very cleverly disguised as
they simply form a part of the multiple process thinking. Learn everything;
don’t leave things out. Yes and that means you have to learn Ebola virus,
Japanese Encephalitis Virus and Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus too!Myth number 7: 70-80% of Step1 exam is full of Pathology Verdict: Wrong!
Explanation: It’s true that almost 95% of the exam
has clinical vignettes that can be directly correlated to Pathology however the
subject matter that is being tested may not necessarily be pure Pathology. You
may be given a vignette on Ataxia-Telengiectasia but you may be tested on an
immunological concept, or a molecular biology concept. Now that the current
USMLE exams are full of clinical vignettes (as stated on the official
usmle.org; number of questions in clinical vignette forms to be increased), you
would find this to be even more prevalent.
My purpose is to tell you to divide
your attention equally amongst all subjects. 70-80% Pathology on exam never
means 70-80% time on Pathology and 20-30% time on remaining subjects. Infact
Molecular Biology is a dominant force. Step1 reflects current standards of
medicine. You may in fact realize that spending more time on Microbiology than
Pathology would be more high yield.Myth number 8: Delaying the exam by a month or two would increase my score Verdict: What makes you think the opposite may not
happen?
Explanation: Read the verdict again, and again and
again. Do you have any guarantee that you would definitely not slack off, run
the risk of forgetting important facts after breaking your study momentum and
decrease your score instead? Remember momentum and sustained effort are
extremely important. When you choose an exam date, stick to it. Try to carry
your momentum straight uptil that date. Breaking your rhythm would only
increase your anxiety and make you forget important facts.Myth number 9: My friend got a lot of virology in his exam; I must spend all my time studying virology Verdict:Fair enough, but isn't "all your time" a bit too ambitious?
Explanation: The issue here is that there is
little uniformity within a Step 1 exam, and little comparative value between
Step 1 exams in terms of subject content, NOT standardized 2 or 3 digit score.
For example your friend just gave Step 1 about 2 weeks prior to your final
date. He seemed to get a lot of questions from virology and defense mechanisms
(behavioural sciences). Should that make you think you should spend your next 2
weeks till your final date studying with full force, these topics? This is a common
psyche of anyone who is about to take his or her exam, to rely a lot on what
has already appeared. It's fair enough, but you have to make sure you do not
compromise the rest of your study. Step 1, as stated already, is an
unpredictable exam. You may be tested a lot, instead of virology, on mycology
on a disproportionately high scale i.e. far more questions than you might
anticipate. When you go through Step 1 forums, you may see some people stating
they got a lot of biochemistry but little anatomy, and others attesting to the
exact opposite.You should always make an effort to study each and
every subject in Step 1 with equal time and honesty. As stated elsewhere, yes,
there are subjects like Pharmacology and Microbiology that require
disproportionately more time but this is not because they appear a lot on the
exam, but because of the nature of these subjects that warrant consistent
revisions.
