How to do well?

[ssg1980]

I don't get it, I've been studying for more than two months for the CK now, I've read the Kaplan books, watched the videos, did 50% of USMLE WORLD and my average is still 52%. I was supposed to take the exam two weeks ago, but failed miserably in NBME . Frankly, postponing didn't even help either. No matter how much I study, the material doesn't seem to be sticking. I thought Step 1 was more difficult, but I was able to study for it very nicely. I don't get why I suck at this Step 2 stuff. It's so aggravating. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions. Maybe I'm just studying the wrong way or the wrong material. I don't know. Please help.

[IMG SURVIVOR]

What score you got in the NBME?
which NBME you took?

[ssg1980]

I did NBME 2 and got a 330 miserably.

[IMG SURVIVOR]

For step 2 ck I can tell you that in my humble personal opinion is to do the following:

1-Think you do not know nothing and you need to learn it. This aproach is terrible but when you have read about calcium 98 times there are things that your brain just skip naturally, you will be lalalala and BAM skip something important.

2- Know that you are studying not for the test but actually to work as a Doctor. For example I HATE/dislike OB/GYN and pediatrics BUT when I think that maybe a nephew or a kid may need my knowledge then, It has another meaning.
Remember people will come to you for advise when you are a doctor.

3-Everything you read have in mind:
- what is the pathophysiology of tis
- What is the main concept from this
- What is the best dx test
- What is the best intial tx
- What is the best tx

And try to learn the protocol what do you do next.
Now the thing is that they give you a case and you are like errrrrrrrr I will go with a, but wait the book says its c. That is when you need to realise and learn when you are suppose to do what first.

I think drsc was the one that psted this with the ask doc part.

Framework for analyzing Weak points throughout Review.

We can divide our whole preparation into 3 parts,

1. Knowledge Acquisition(KA) - This is where you put information into your Knowledge Bank(KB) Most new graduates are extremely fine here (Except if you're one of those who barely made it. Crammed for every test and promptly forgot everything afterwards. Most Old graduates and some IMG graduates usually have problems here. If your deficiency is primarily here (like me both old and IMG), I'm sorry, I don't think there can be any successful prescription but to hit the books.

2. Knowledge Recall or Review(KR) - This is how well you extract information from your KB. Most new graduates have some problem only here. FA and the QBank makes a fantastic tool for improving Recall. So people with problems here usually give fantastic ratings to FA and Qbank.

3. Test Preparedness (TestPrep) - If you are not familiar with CBT, MCQ or clinical slant to questions, this is where your problem is. Problems with sitting for 8 hour exam is also classified here. Difficulty in answereing 2 to 3 step thinking questions also fall here. This is where QBanks are the most effective.

If the problem is primarily in KA, answering 100 thousand Q's will not help, IF your KB is full and you have problems only with KR and TP, hitting the books will be a waste of time. QBank, FA, HY and Flashcards should be the way to go.

How do I know where my primary problem is?

Well a quick way to know is to use an evaluation examination, preferably one that's very near like to the actual exam. (The Kaplan CD examination comes to mind)

If you find while answering the questions that either the choices, the question itself or the pictures makes you think out loud "What the Heck is this?" You have a KA problem.

If most of the time it is, "I know this, but I can't recall how you differentiate between drug A and drug B (or symptoms, presentation, treatment, mechanisms,etc.)" You're having a KR problem.

If you thought you had the answer, then find out it's wrong, but after reading the explanation, you are surprised that you had misunderstood the question, It's a TP problem. Running out of time answering questions is also a TP problem.

As the medical adage goes, from the Diagnosis all things flow. After you've correctly diagnosed your problem, then the treatment is routine. "

Please note: The above was not written by me and I do not want to take the credit of someone's hard work. The whole post can be found at What to do?- ask ASKDOC and the link was also posted earlier by IMG SURVIVOR.

[ssg1980]

Thank you so much. That was very valuable advice and I appreciate it. I think my problem lies in KR (recall). I'm just gonna keep going through usmleworld and learn from the explanations. Maybe look at a review book one more time as well. But thank you again.