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My experience with step 1(264) & 2CK(265)

43K views 98 replies 57 participants last post by  drarjun 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum and have been looking at it for past few weeks. Unfortunately, when I was preparing for these exams, I was not aware of this forum. First of all I would like to say thank you to the staff (Sabio, Steptaker and all) and the members for making this site what it is today!

I truly believe that one should never copy the study pattern of another, but should develop his/her own pattern that suits the most to their needs. I will mention the study material I used while preparing for these two exams and if someone finds it useful, it'll be my pleasure!

For step 1, I used KLN, Goljan RR Pathology, FA (as a reinforcer), Lippincott biochemistry for genetics, BRS behavior science and most importantly, UW QBank. Towards the end, I did NBME 7 and UWSA 1 and 2.

For step 2CK, I used KLN for CK, MTB for step 2CK and some topics from CMDT 2011. Again most importantly UW QBank and in the end NBME 7 and UWSA.

But the real thing I wanted to tell everyone is don't over burden yourselves with these exams. Honestly I'm an average student, graduated from an average medical college of India. I'm serious when I say that if I can do this, you can do it better! There is no secret to these exams, we all know which books to read, which QBanks to solve. It's only about hard work and dedication. Everyone of knows most of thing that will come in the exam, we all have graduated from a medical college after all, one of the toughest courses there could be! And those who write the review books like Kaplans FAs, they are truly masters of this field and they write everything for us that is needed for the exams. The key does not lie in WHAT we read, but HOW we go about it. Being faithful towards prep and ourselves is the "secret ingredient" (for all the Kung fu Panda fans!). I would never give an advice of what you should read and from where you should read, my only advice is be dedicated and enjoy your studies and life at the same time! This is just a "step" and our ultimate destination. I recommend everyone to read what Dr. Conrad Fischer has written in the initial few pages of his book MTB.

Feel free to ask me anything you want to, I would be glad to help anyone in what little way I can.

Thank you again for creating this wonderful platform! And God bless you all!

Good luck
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Congrats on superb scores! :)

Thank you for your words of encouragement!

I'm the optimistic type but I really doubt that I can do better than 264.
I'll be extremely happy with a 255...
I guess that makes me an under-achiever. LOL! :))

Thank you for being so kind as to extend a helping hand to us who haven't still taken the exam.
I assure you, you will be flooded with questions and private messages! Happy-2

I certainly agree with everything that you said, but my favorite part is where you advice us to enjoy studies and life at the same time. :)
 
#5 ·
Congrats for ur great score..i am from india too(an average medical college and an average student too).have my step 1 on 2nd april..can u please tell me whether its natural to score badly(i mean those 55-60%) in uworld??i mean how much didi u score..having real problem in getting gud scores in the first 10 blocks of uworld..though i feel i am learning a lot and jotting down all facts on fa but still something that still stings me...
 
#7 ·
Hi,
You know you said the main thing in the end of your post! "you are learning a lot"!!
I truly believed it does not matter how much you are scoring in QBanks, it's not a reflection for how we will do in the real exam. It is meant for us to use it as a learning tool and we should use it that way only. I know its easier said than done, but try not to look at the percentage score, but focus everything on figuring out where you went wrong and correcting those mistakes. I used UW to iron out my flaws and you are just in the starting phase of it. I guess it's better to do 15 wrong questions and learn from them instead of just doing 3 wrong and not learning from them.

And April is a while from now and keep focussing on the mistakes and analyze your performance graph after you have done 30 35 % of QBank

Good Luck!
 
#8 ·
Hi,
that was an awesome score on both the steps.congratulations!! i have exam in 15 days and i am looking at kaplan important concepts and using FA on the side along with UW Q bank learning my mistakes....what concepts in Kpln anatomy are heavily tested as its taking very long time to go through that book.and what did u do for the last 15 days?
 
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#10 ·
Hi,
Well, I took*step 1 before step 2CK, so I cant recall exactly which topics in anatomy were heavily tested, but I do remember that in a nutshell, UW's anatomy is very good and covers the topics of the real exam. One thing to keep in mind for anatomy is that it will be relevant clinical anatomy that is asked. So even if reading kaplan, we don't have to cram and memorize everything. While reading, ask yourself whether this part can be incorporated in a clinical scenario and this helped me.
About what I did during my last 15 days, I did the UWSAs and NBME 7 with 2 3 days interval and focussed on my weak ares, which were mostly behavior science!
Sorry for not being able to answe the anatomy part clearly, but I hope it helps you!
Good Luck!
 
#18 ·
Hi,
I remember that skin pathology in Goljan was a bit too much! What i did was, I noted down the topics given in skin pathology of KLN(obviously they were high yield ones) and read those and their associated pathologies from goljan. Didn't really use FA as a primary source for path or any other subject though. I used to quickly glance through FA and if I found any new info in it, I used to make a note of it in Goljan...
I can safely assume that FA must be enough for skin path but since I used goljan as the main path book, I really can't be 100% sure!
Hope it helps! Good Luck!
 
#20 ·
Hi
When I was preparing for step 1( an year back), NBME 11 and 12 were not there. I did NBME 7.
I decided to pay for one NBME only and for both step 1 and 2ck, I followed 2 rules,
1. Do the latest/newest NBME
2. Do the expanded version

Especially the expanded one is a much better because atleast we get to know which we did wrong!

But again, its just my opinion and all of them must be more or less pretty accurate of our current standing!

Good LUck!
 
#24 ·
Hi,
Sorry for replying late but was a bit busy!
I didnt watch any dvd. It was just I didnt had the patience to watch them! I am not saying they are not good, many here have said they are great and they are very helpful...but it just didnt click for me! I tried some micro videos in the beginning.*
Good luck!
 
#26 ·
Hi
Well, I used CMDT for topics which I have already read and understood well from that book during my final year exams in IM. I wont say it's really a good idea to use CMDT as a study material if you have not read it before.
But just to answer your question, I read some of CVS and a lot of Neuro from CMDT. Some endocrine topics also. But again, I think it's too extensive for 2CK.

Hope this helps!!
Good luck
 
#28 ·
hello & thnx for posting these helpful tips.
& congrats on your amazing work .
Can u give an advice to me , am a 3-rd year student preparing & planning to sit for the exam in 7-8 months , u can imagine the lack of time with the med school & everything else.
Just some tips for me for my anxiety & my studying.
I am truly enjoying studying as you said
Thnx in advance !
 
#29 ·
Hi, thanks for your kind words.

I feel you have enough time with 7-8 months. I don't know what tip I can give you for your studies as you are the best person who knows about your study patterns and habits. What I can say is that whatever you do with dedication! I'm sure you will do great!!

And regarding anxiety, do what relaxes you!! For me, it was food!! :D

I don't know how useful my reply was, but I do wish you good luck!!
 
#32 ·
Hi,

I think it all depends on your definition of "enough". From what I experienced, yes FA and UW are good sources for them, but I aslo did Kaplan notes.
I really wish I knew what was enough or not, but I can say that the facts of these subjects will remain the facts whether we read it from source A or source B. So understand and read carefully from which ever source you read, this would be my best suggestion. :)

Good luck!
 
#31 ·
hi .. congratulations

coongratulations on ur fantastic scores. i am preparing for step 1 . i took too long just to prepare and till now i cant begin the real study. i get confused frustrated . i want to do alot of stuff at the same time. i want to work part time and study for the test and take it for less than 6 months. do u think that is possible , or i need to focus on the exam only? thank you in advance
 
#33 ·
coongratulations on ur fantastic scores. i am preparing for step 1 . i took too long just to prepare and till now i cant begin the real study. i get confused frustrated . i want to do alot of stuff at the same time. i want to work part time and study for the test and take it for less than 6 months. do u think that is possible , or i need to focus on the exam only? thank you in advance
Hi,
Try and relax first! You can do wonders in 6 months even if you are starting fresh today! But you need to control your mind and not get frustrated easily. Remember, we all have gone through the stress and anxiety of these exams. Try and be a little methodical and realistic in your planning, noone can do a lot of stuff at the same time! There can be a lot of distractions/duties in our life besides these exams and the best thing about these steps is that we can take it when we are ready!
You have to decide yourself about the time management regarding part time job and studies because everyone of us has a different pattern. But in both the cases, I'm sure you can ace it!! :)

I wish you the best of luck!! :)

Hope it helps!
 
#35 ·
how?

im a 5th year medical student from russia who is having summer end semester exam.
i try hard to squeeze my time for preparation for USMLE.
but it's really depressing since i have to archieve a balance between my sch academic performance and the progression towards USMLE.
everyday i try my best to study part of USMLE and prepare for my clinical year disciplines.but often i dont hv adequate time for reading up USMLE at the end of the day.. :toosad:
there's another 8 mths to go..while i just finished kaplan anatomy and biochem,immunology.
any idea or advises about how to make a efficient schedule?

thanks in advance..
 
#36 ·
im a 5th year medical student from russia who is having summer end semester exam.
i try hard to squeeze my time for preparation for USMLE.
but it's really depressing since i have to archieve a balance between my sch academic performance and the progression towards USMLE.
everyday i try my best to study part of USMLE and prepare for my clinical year disciplines.but often i dont hv adequate time for reading up USMLE at the end of the day.. :toosad:
there's another 8 mths to go..while i just finished kaplan anatomy and biochem,immunology.
any idea or advises about how to make a efficient schedule?

thanks in advance..
Hi,
I think giving usmle when ready is the best idea. Saying that you have plenty of time still left. Don't be depressed! Work out a realistic plan that meets your desired result and the time you have in hand. My first advise, stop being depressed and cheer up! It's just an exam and if you really want to do both of them together, go ahead and do it. I believe only way to be efficient in studying is having a clear mind. Don't over-think about all this. Read carefully, sincerely and well. No matter what we want, we still have only 24 hours in a day and we still need to sleep and eat right. Keep your academics up and keep going for USMLE untill you are certain that it's either possible to give both of them or it is turning out to be too risky. Once you are certain, go ahead with your instincts.

I really don't know how much I can advise you regarding how exactly you can make it efficient as you know the best which topics are tough and which are easy for you.

Cheer up and study happily!! :)

Good Luck!
 
#43 ·
I don't think its necessary to remember whole RR Goljan Pathology, or for that matter any of the prep books. What I felt about Goljan was that he really tries to clarify the concept which is the best thing. The way to build up on the concept is not to read it again and again but to practice it with applying it in questions, where UW comes in! Of course, there will always be lists and other things which are not meant for understanding but rather just to know. Noone can remember every thing from these lists. So don't bother about too much about how many times you are reading goljan and revising goljan before test. Keep concentrating on the topic and application in a question rather than the fact itself. This is just my way BTW. Hope it helps, good luck!
 
#49 ·
Hello,

Also i had a quick question.... were biostats and epidemiology high yield on your step 1 exam??? should i just go over those once? and not break my head over it???

did you use any other source for behavioral science besides kaplan notes???
Hi,
I don't remember how many biostats questions I got exactly, but I do remember that they were pretty easy and you don't have to "break you head" over it! If you have time you can go over them quickly as it wont take much time. For biostats and epidemiology I didn't use any other book except KLN. For the psych related part of Behavior Science I did read some BRS but only because it was so nicely explained and I was weak coming into the prep for step1 in this topic. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to read BRS as KLN os good enough for exam point of view, but if something draws your interest and there is time, reading it for your own personal fun wont hurt!
 
#50 ·
Thank you for the help

appreciate it...

also i was wondering? did you ever do the usmle rx question bank? would it help after doing uworld 2x??

I wanted to get it when my uworld expires on july 06... an then do it for 3 months..n back to uworld the month of my exam..?

is that a good idea??
 
#51 ·
Thank you for the help

appreciate it...

also i was wondering? did you ever do the usmle rx question bank? would it help after doing uworld 2x??

I wanted to get it when my uworld expires on july 06... an then do it for 3 months..n back to uworld the month of my exam..?

is that a good idea??
I really don't know how good usmle rx is. I only did UW and can say for sure that UW is the most important thing in prep. However, you say that you have lots of time after UW expires and want to use another Qbank too, I would suggest playing a safer game with Kaplan Qbanks. From what I have read, Kaplan is second in race to be the best Qbank after UW. I didn't do the whole UW again after first round but I did only the wrong ones and ones which I marked( I can safely assume in total they were about 40 - 45% of total Qbank) I think keep doing new questions will help us so if you have so many months between the time UW expires and your test, I think it's a good idea to go for a new Qbank rather than keep repeating UW again and again.
 
#52 ·
yeah thanks for your advice...

actually i had kaplan qbank before...a long back.. but i couldn't finish it... i only did like 20 tests in it... then it expired.. as i had it with kaplan center prep course...

then i got the qbook..which i'm currently doing...

soo thts y i thought of trying usmle rx...

should i still get kaplan qbank even if i have the kaplan qbook?
 
#53 ·
yeah thanks for your advice...

actually i had kaplan qbank before...a long back.. but i couldn't finish it... i only did like 20 tests in it... then it expired.. as i had it with kaplan center prep course...

then i got the qbook..which i'm currently doing...

soo thts y i thought of trying usmle rx...

should i still get kaplan qbank even if i have the kaplan qbook?
As far as I know, Qbook and Qbank of Kaplan are different. But don't take my word for it and double check with someone who has taken Qbank and compared with Qbook.

I think you must have seen this link, but just in case you haven't it might be helpful to you...
http://www.usmle-forums.com/usmle-s...176-what-best-usmle-step-1-question-bank.html

Clearly the top 2 are UW and Kaplan. A person who has actually done usmle rx, would be the best one to tell you about how it is in comparison to other two. There were some comments on usmle rx towards the end of the thread about best Qbank for step 1.

I really can't tell you much more as I haven't personally seen neither Kaplan nor usmle rx Qbanks!
 
#54 ·
first read step1

Congratulations for the great achievement. Just a question. I am preparing for step 1 first read but it seems my pace is slow. I have been annotating the notes with videos and I study approx 10 hrs a day with few breaks. It has been about 4 months and I am still on it. What do you think would be a good time period to finish the first read of step 1 Kaplan. I feel that the longer I take to finish first read the more I tend to forget what I read months ago. How long did you take to finish your first read of step 1?
 
#55 ·
Congratulations for the great achievement. Just a question. I am preparing for step 1 first read but it seems my pace is slow. I have been annotating the notes with videos and I study approx 10 hrs a day with few breaks. It has been about 4 months and I am still on it. What do you think would be a good time period to finish the first read of step 1 Kaplan. I feel that the longer I take to finish first read the more I tend to forget what I read months ago. How long did you take to finish your first read of step 1?
Hi,
It took me also about 4-5 months to go through the first read. I think a good time period for finishing first read depends on person to person. Obviously you are putting in the hours everyday and you are doing great! I'm also a slow reader and I took that into account while planning out a timeline for everything. I believe slow but steady reading in whihc you understand and get the point is better than quickly skimming through pages! But that's just my thinking and people do really well with both ways. The counter-argument to what you say about taking longer to read and forgetting could be if you just focus on speed you are not going to remember most things next week! So my suggestion, find a balance between your speed and the thoroughness with which you read. If you have a time constraint that's another thing and in that case you are bound by time to finish what you read.

Good luck!
 
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