What do you think of this...

[neilc]

hello everyone...i am just putting together my study plan for Step 1, which i will be taking in late august, and i wanted to bounce my ideas off y'all, see what you think. i am shooting for a very high score, as i am an img and want all the doors to be open as wide as possible.

so, i am thinking that i want to use the most simple material that would include all the information likely to be on the test. also, i want to practice the same style questions over and over and over. here is my plan:

books: First aid, BRS path, phys, micro, biochem and pharm, usmle behavior science, neuroanatomy and clinical anatomy made rid simple. also, i plan just to casually read the UCV series when i have small amounts of time.

practice questions: kaplan q-bank, retired NBME questions and answers, 2 books of practice questions, web-path, and the appleton and lange cd with timed practice exams.

i will have about 10 weeks, and that should be time to do all those books at least once thoroughly, and i will do something like 100 questions a day.

any ideas as to my plan? am i leaving anything out, or hitting anything too hard? i have a good base from my basic science education, but i really want to know everything well when exam time comes..

thanks in advance!

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[Doc]

Neil:

Looks like you have it all planned out. Getting organized is half the battle . I always recommend taking a Kaplan course (or something similar). However, I know that it might not always fit someone's schedule or budget....but it is still the best thing. If you have already considered that option and didn't find it feasable, I think that your plan is the next best option. Best of luck!

[neilc]

yeah, i thougt about the kaplan review. but, they are pricey and i am just out of basic science, so i think i am passing on that. i have always been much better at the independant study anyhow. how are those review courses set up? are they lectures? after this semester, the best thing is that my exposure to lectures will be greatly reduced. i hate those things! i never learn much that way, unless i get a really dynamic teacher. i do best on my own, reading and taking notes late at night...

as for the additional books, i keep hearing about katzung pharm, so i will have to look into that. i think i will use it for my class (which i am taking now) and focus on the BRS for review. also, i do have a review of pathology, which is a book of tests on all the systems, and general path. it is by Damjanov and Rubin, and has 1000's of path questions. i am using robbins for the class, so i think my base of knowledge will be good. just gonna do practice questions forever, and know BRS cold...

good luck Dr. B, and thanks for the input doc!

anyone else have a success story or recomendation? love the input...