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Strategy for preparing for USMLE Step 1
I am in school in the DR and we go year round without a break. Taking a quarter off to prepare for the USMLEs is not an option.
I am only in the first quarter and hope to prepare for the USMLE utilizing the following strategy. At the end of this semester in the 2-3 week bread I will go over the subjects covered utilizing various videos ie. Kaplan, Pass and CDs with questions, books ie. First Aid etc. that I have. At the end of each successive semester. I will again review all material of previous semesters plus that of the one I just completed. Closer to the exam time I will use Qbank to do extra questions. I invite comments on this approach to preparing for Step 1 which I hope to write after basic sciences. Any helpful suggestions are welcome. Thanks |
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Books Kaplan - paper Q-bank Lange - paper Q-bank Method - in the above two books do 50 block questions every day. The Kaplan is by subject with two tests per subject area - the Lange is 50 questions at random. This gets you use to doing questions - After you do the questions review the answers. Make a hit list of things you missed in the subject area and research them in your courses. Also the Made Ridiculus simple series has a Step one with 1000 questions on CD as does the Goljan Path book. Do questions in these books also. The BRS books also have questions. Do these as you go along with your courses. I read where a student did this at school and the USMLE was less difficult to prepare for. Many people say the best test prep is to get it the first time...
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PreMed Forum Moderator In Grad school in Biology |
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seriously and honestly, don't get too many review books..; If I had to do basic sciences over again (I don't, thank goodness), but I would have only two review books: First Aid and Goljan's pathology. Then the rest would be the textbooks required by the school and the notes provided by the instructors. I concentrated so much of my energy in "fixing" my test anxiety.. that it just made it worse during the exam... Find a study plan that works for you, and stick to it... everything else will fall into place....
That is what I'm doing now... and am learning that I understand the material, and I do get mixed up in my concepts and it's okay (I'm not perfect even though I try to be)... medical school is hard work, and if you put in the work, the benefits will show... good luck to you...
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"SLAM-DUNK THE STEPS" “Peace, it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, no trouble, or no hard work…..it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
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MD90 has a really good point about "test anxiety" - you have to have to know how you learn and do on tests. If you have issues in learning -There are professionals who can help you learn better. I am not in medical school yet - however, I have done over 1,000 Q's in the q-banks, practice tests and am doing pretesting so I know where I am weak for class. I am also plotting how long it takes me to learn a new concept. My statagy is to do the best I can do in basic science along with making sure I integrate all the information.
BTW - I am a dyslexic - my biggest concern is spelling and words that are similar that I may confuse on tests.
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PreMed Forum Moderator In Grad school in Biology |
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Thank you all for your helpful responses. I look at some questions now and I am overwhelmed to a degree because I haven't taken the courses but as I go along I will step by step try to understand the material in a wholistic way seeing how it all fits together and will use my review material at the end of each quarter and day by day to build up to the exam. I don't get time off and there is no live Kaplan course available here in the DR. I have lots of material to prepare with and I like the advice that it is a good idea not to get too many review books I have First Aid, Goljan Pathology, Brs Pathology and Goljan USMLE and other stuff so hopefully I have enough in that department. I have a bunch of CDs and an extrahard drive with Kaplan stuff. I hope I will be able to get it together. MY BIG CONCERN IS NOT BEING ABLE TO TAKE OFF 3 MONTHS TO JUST REVIEW!!
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I have just started preparing for USMLE and I was wondering if anyone else was feeling that in order to do well in step 1 you should have a good clinical knowledge? I feel like many questions are case based. Can someone please correct me if I am wrong because this will help me in the way I prepare.Thanks! |
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You can find methods to do multiple choice tests in a good library. Save your money for review books with question banks (q-banks). You can get good used Kaplan, Lange and other q-banks and Robbins reviews. Also you can download megs notes on how she studied for the Step one. These methods have been followed by many students successfully - are they quick and dirty - no - they take time and structure. Hope this helps.
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PreMed Forum Moderator In Grad school in Biology Last edited by jameslynton; 06-29-2006 at 11:32 AM. |
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