Hello people...i am an img graduated in december 2012..below I'm going to briefly mention my step 1 journey..hope it helps.
I started in feb 2013...first 2 months I went over Kaplan lecture notes and videos except for patho for which I did pathoma...I made sure I understood each and everything in the video lectures...although I kept forgetting stuff I was quick to realize that the exam was mostly about concepts so I moved on...next 2 months I read Kaplan notes and pathoma without the videos..to further enhance my concepts I did usmle Rx subject wise after each subject I read...
I then gave first aid a read in 14 days. Next 10 days till the end of June I did Kaplan q bank. I basically ran through it and managed to get around 40-50% of it done...
in July I started uworld and managed to get it done in 22 days (78% aggregate) and made annotations off it on my fa... After uworld I gave nbme 11 and scored 252...gave another read of fa in 12 days and read genetics from Kaplan and saw neuro videos again after which I gave nbme 12 and scored 252...I went through some of my uworld again in next 8 days after which I gave nbme 7 and got 257 and uwsa 1 and got 263 both on the same day...gave a 3rd read of fa in 6 days and gave nbme 13 ( 257) and uwsa2 ( more than 265) after that on the same day. Next day I gave nbme 15 and scored 257 again ( lol I know I was super consistent in my nbmes)...last 3 days I just went over fa high yield topics or concepts that i thought needed reinforcement...the day before my exam I just relaxed mostly, watched some football, went out with a friend to get some snacks...I tried to sleep early but i couldnt sleep properly due to the expected anxiety . Had a 6 7 hour sleep in pieces.
Exam was trickier than most nbmes but doable. I marked any question I had a doubt on so I ended up marking 20 to 25 a block....I thought genetics and behavioral sciences had more wtf type questions but genetics was solvable if one had done their kaplans right...the rest all subjects were fair game...
I know I leveled up from my nbmes but I owe it mostly to the fact that in the exam I was much more focused and perhaps the pressure got the best out of me....
my advice to anyone looking ahead to tame this beast would be to simply make concepts from whatever tools you decide to use for your prep. I think kaplan video lectures do that job in the best possible manner and then you have fa which gives you all you need to know for the exam but without the concepts , so I would recommend doing lectures. I know some would argue that uworld does a fine job in making you understand conceptual stuff but the problem is that while the kaplans give u everything in sequence the qbanks albeit awesome study tools don't give u things in a proper sequence which leaves u a bit confused at the end of the day since the exam content is so vast...just my opinion. However doing as many questions as possible is also key since they help reinforce stuff over and over again and in different scenarios. VERY IMPORTANT!!!!
I tried not to write a whole notebook,lol, so if anyone has any specific questions regarding the prep material or anything I would be glad to help out to my best ability...many people will tell you many different ways to go by your prep but as doctors its a part of our training to use our own judgment as to what's best at the end of the day.
Congrats!! i see something here that ive been noticing is that uwsa are actually getting more accurate whit the real score, they have probably read are post about the overestimation.
Congrats!! i see something here that ive been noticing is that uwsa are actually getting more accurate whit the real score, they have probably read are post about the overestimation.
congrats for that awsumm score my exam is in 15 days..so most of the concept building time is over for me..uwrld cumulative is around 80% n uwsa 260..get a lot of behavioural science questions wrong..culd u suggest me sumthing for these last days will be really thankful..
Hey... If you are getting 80s in your uworld then probably your prep is very sound... I would say if ur using fa just keep doing that as much as you can in the last days plus as many nbmes as you can give, 13 and 15 are highly recommended... And most importantly keep your confidence high cos not everyone is as well prepared... Good luck!!
1. did u use goljan as well? or anything else for pathology?
2.did u annotate kaplans and uworld in FA?
3.is kaplan anatomy enough for the exam?
4.which subject was hardest for u on the exam?
i have studied my first read of kaplans(except pathology) and pathoma, im trying to annotate kaplans in FA which takes me so long... i dont know whether it is wise or not...
:scared:
1. I just used pathoma notes and videos for patho and i think its the most concise and conceptual material for patho.
2. I only annotated some uworld on my fa... U dont need to annotate anything from kaplan to fa because everything in the exam is either in fa or uworld one way or another, so id rather leave space on fa for my uworld notes. I think its a good strategy to study fs along with kaplans that way u can make concepts off kaplan and photographic memory off fa which i can read as many times as u feel.
3.i thought anatomy in kaplan was good enough but there might be a bias here since my anatomy during med school was pretty good.
4. Personally for me the ethics portion of behavioral sciences was the trickiest... Gtankly i didnt even see a way i cud improve on it give that i had done it from all available resources... I wud say keep ur biostatistics top notch cos thats where u can score in bs and for ethics just do ur best and count on ur luck on exam day...
Thanks alot dr. Mac.... I did about 115 Qs a day of uworld and went thru all explainations... So the way i did was that i used to skim thru the explanation and if i thought i had not a good grasp of a certain topic then i would read it again... It worked out for me since i had alot of concepts straight even before starting uworld... I started in low 70s avg and moved upto 78... U will definitely move up sonce ul be learning things that r repeated over n over again but i wud say by no means take ur uworld score as a predictive to ur actual thing... What matters is how much u take out from your uworld experience... Good luck!!!
Looking at the experiences of recent takers there seems to be a trend shift towards Gross Anatomy and Molecular Biology. How do you recommend we approach those areas?
How do you suggest we consolidate the information, because almost through with second read but seems like running in circles. You do one subject, do it's question with reasonably good scores but it's gone by the time you do the new one. What's you take on this?
Could you please summarize your prep in last couple of months?
Looking at the experiences of recent takers there seems to be a trend shift towards Gross Anatomy and Molecular Biology. How do you recommend we approach those areas?
How do you suggest we consoliduworld the information, because almost through with second read but seems like running in circles. You do one subject, do it's question with reasonably good scores but it's gone by the time you do the new one. What's you take on this?
Could you please summarize your prep in last couple of months?
Thanks insomniac... Well u see every form is different but for genetics my experience was that kpln lecture notes just do the trick... For anatomy honestly i cant really say since my anatomy was good even before starting the prep but in mu opinion fa and uworld are enough if you understand it well.
I know its difficult to keep everything in mind since the content is awfully vast and the way ur feeling is totally normal.. But the beauty of this exam. Is that even if u don't remember something from the top of your head but u had understood it well when u read it, the probability is very high that ul get a question from that topic right, its hard to explain but the exam is structured in such a way that it makes it easier to even guess the right answer if you'r basic concepts r good...
In my last 2 months i just did uworld fa and nbmes, made a cocktail out of those n gulped it down the memory lane... Lol... And my insomniac friend dont forget that the more rem sleep you have the more you retain stuff so try to sleep good 8 9 hours ever night... You will do great, stay motivated, thats half the game..
i ve 6 weeks left for my exam!!
unlike d popular method..i am doing UWORLD SUBJECTWISE.... 65-75%..ll b done in 4 days!!
mainly using it as a studying tool!Read every explanation of correct and incorrect answers...annoted in FA!
Should i take Kaplan Qbank now?
or just continue revising UWORLD and FA n give NBMEs and UWSA?
i ve 6 weeks left for my exam!!
unlike d popular method..i am doing UWORLD SUBJECTWISE.... 65-75%..ll b done in 4 days!!
mainly using it as a studying tool!Read every explanation of correct and incorrect answers...annoted in FA!
Should i take Kaplan Qbank now?
or just continue revising UWORLD and FA n give NBMEs and UWSA?
Thanks alot friend....i would say that although it is a personal choice, my recommendation would be to give n nbme after ur uworld and see where you stand... Ur uworld scores are very good n if ur reading everything carefully and uve done fa aswell i really dont think ul get much out of kaplan qbank if u get a decent nbme... However doing morr questions is also a wise strategy and if u want so i would say go for usmle rx, ive heard it helps incorporate fa in ur mind... Then again u will be doing the same concrpts in rx as in uworld... Good luck
u did a great job and now u are sharing us zis magnificent experience. am planning to take z step 1 in z coming march. i read z kaplan for each subject once except for path which i use goljan.i saw z kaplan videos too.
1,how would u advise me to use z remaining time so efficiently?
2,when shall i start uworld,nbme?
u did a great job and now u are sharing us zis magnificent experience. am planning to take z step 1 in z coming march. i read z kaplan for each subject once except for path which i use goljan.i saw z kaplan videos too.
1,how would u advise me to use z remaining time so efficiently?
2,when shall i start uworld,nbme?
Thanks alot friend... Since you have a lot of time with you i would say you should go for a qbank other uworld, either do usmle rx or kaplan qbank, this shall help consolidate ur concepts from what you read in kaplan... Also try to do first aid a couple of times before starting uworld... Regarding nbmes n uworld start with these within 2 months of ur exam... Do ur fa in between that too and trt to giving nbmes after ur world reads and fa readsvto know where you stand..but then again thats how i wudve done it and every body has thier own way... Some people even do uworld within 3 weeks of their exam and it works out for them... Good luck..
n
Hey, thanks a bunch... i think fa and uworld had most of it one way or another. Micro from fa is the best tool in my opinion... Kaplan lectures r good in the sense that when you listen you tend to retain more, other than that i think since theres osnt much to understand in micro( other than virology principles and basics of bacteriology) so ul be fine with fa and uworld... But if ur looking for that extra edge id say do kaplan then
hi Barcaboy congo on ur step 1 score..amazing
Have few questions,
I did 4 months of all kaplan videos and lecture notes except neuroanat.Even though i did it for 4 months...not good enough .
then i started on uworld.I never knew that i should do uworld qbank in random timed mode and within a week i exhausted 100 biochem questions.So after that i did 3 blocks random timed and i understood my prep is not good as i got 45 to 55% in randomed timed mode.I thought i should get more clearer concepts and now back to kaplan notes with offline kaplan questions and reading 15 u world questions/day.I am actually kinda stuck with my prep and confused.Can just tell me how to proceed to next level ahould i read kaplan and videos once again or go ahead with questions?
hi Barcaboy congo on ur step 1 score..amazing
Have few quesns,
I did 4 months of all kaplan videos and lecture notes except neuroanat.Even though i did it for 4 months...not good enough .
then i started on uworld.I never knew that i should do uworld qbank in random timed mode and within a week i exhausted 100 biochem questions.So after that i did 3 blocks random timed and i understood my prep is not good as i got 45 to 55% in randomed timed mode.I thought i should get more clearer concepts and now back to kaplan notes with offline kaplan questions and reading 15 u world questions/day.I am actually kinda stuck with my prep and confused.Can just tell me how to proceed to next level ahould i read kaplan and videos once again or go ahead with questions?
Thanks alot buddy.... For one i would say just relax and stay motivated... if u think u did ur kaplans properly there is no point going back to them but if you have timevon ur hands u can perhaps do that... And as far as uworld goes it doesn't matter what scores u get, what matters is hoe much you learn from it, try to build your concepts word by word from uworld.. Ur scores will continue to rise as you learn more and more... Good luck
Congrats alot ...
very well deserved
i have a few questions ..
i have done my first read of kaplan notes along with videos .. although dont have grapped much
I saw some what less videos for micro n BS .. is it enugh?
than i started doing sec read cmpleted my anatomy n physio .. ALHUMDULILAH .. i did uworld n some what kaplan quedtion along with it subject wise .. i was able to answer some of the mcqs ..i m doing u world in book form..
can u guide me further what subject i shd startnxt n in how many days shd i complete it ?n move on which further subject?
What is usmle Rx and uswa ? Did u did DIT? Is i helpful?
i havent given a single read to FA can u guide me when shd i start it ? N when shd i give Nbmes ?
N there is more quedtion i havent started application process shd i start it now .. i have plan to give it in jan /feb/ march ?
Kindly help me on it .. bit moving haphazard thats creating anxiety .. so i need help .. will be thankful ..
once again great work ..
Hi doc, thanks alot for your kind words... I think ur going fine with ur prep... The more u relax n not be anxious the better ul learn.. I usually recommend friends to do biochem physio anat first and then move to morr clinical stuff likebpharma micro n patho... I cant really say how much time cos that depends on ur timing and all but il assured you that whatever time you spend as long as you understand stuff it l all be worth it.. Usmle rx is a qbank made by fa authors, people say it helps consolidate fa plus if u do it it increaes ur question pool and hence makes ur concepts stronger since many similar questions are repeated with different wording in all qbanks... Uwsa is a practice test administered by the uworld authors. U can find it on their website along with the complete qbank... Just like the nbme it helps predict scores butva general consensus is that it overpredicts but individual experiences vary... I did not review DIT so im not the best person to comment on it although ive heard it helps... Regarding nbmes i recommend doing all close to ur exam with a space of a week or so in each to gauge ur prep, they r expensive but in my opinion totally worth it... Fa i would say u shud try doing it along with kaplans so u make ur photographic memory on fa n not kaplans when ur making ur initial concepts.. Please try to review some of the above posts incase ive missed out anything... Most importantly thing big of urself n study calmly, ul do just fine, whatever tool u use make it count...
Question:
1. How often did you repeat the subjects...
2. for example did you do Physio and in the evenings in bed you quickly went over another subject such as Sphingolipidoses in biochemistry or anything else you did weeks before.
I am currently doing Genetics but every evening I walk through my room going through Glycolisis and TCA in my head... I feel it is all about repetition
Question:
1. How often did you repeat the subjects...
2. for example did you do Physio and in the evenings in bed you quickly went over another subject such as Sphihelpful cipidoses in biochemistry or anything else you did weeks before.
I am currently doing Genetics but every evening I walk through my room going through Glycolisis and TCA in my head... I feel it is all about repetition
I personally did not follow such a strategy cos i thought it would leave me confused a bit at times. But if it works for you then its perfect, stick to it n stay confident, integrative study can be help considering how integrative the exam is, but i left that to fa to deal with... Good luck!!
congrates for mighty score
just confuse about micro, read it frm kaplan once,,,,nw dnt wana repeat it eventhough i dnt remember anything,,,is fa enough??hw much micro did u get in exam and difficulty level like mechanisms of resistance,viruses,fungi,helminths?
Thanks alot my friend. Remembering is not that important, if u think u understood it well from kaplan i would say just move on to fa since it covers almost everything of micro that most people get in the exam, same was the case for me although i cant comment on the specifics of the exam that accurately but i think i had a fair share of micro, but every examee has different experiences, so know ur micro well, fa is great!! All the best
Hi congrts on great score
currently doing uw subjectwise
done with patho and biochem
patho -90%
biochem-85%
cumultive -89%
do i need to do another q bank
Very strong scores i must say, perhaps ur concepts are sound so in my opinion an extra q bank wont add much in your case. Go with an nbme to see where you stand.. Good luck friend...
Thanks alot dr. David.. Please refer to my first post, it should precisely answer your question.. If you have any other specific question id be glad to help out..
Congrats for the amazing score!
I wanted to ask u..I plan to do 2 nbme forms..which 2 would u recommend?
Also, what resources did u use for imaging/ histology slides etc? Were there many questions on these?
Best of luck for rest of the steps
Hello drglo, thanks alot... If ur going only for 2, i strongly recommend 13 and 15...i am not going to go talking abt predictive values cos that just varies from exam to exam for ppl, but these 2 i thought were more similar to the actual exam as far as the format of questions goes since perhaps these are the latest. Did not use any other resources for these than the above mentioned... U do get questions but I've heard ppl getting only 3 to 4 to as much as 10-15 on these...
Good luck
I think if u had time on ur hand KLNs would be great to do since fav doesn't explain certain underlying principles which it assumes you to know... But fa plus uworld is not a bad combo either for immuno if u think ur baseline immuno concepts are not negligible and you don't have much time..
Hey thanks barcaboy ... For ur kind advices .. i will really follow that .. but i have question i havent applied yet for the date in ur opinoin shd i sumit my application if i m thinking for jan /feb/march ... ? N secondly after my second read i shd start with u world n nbmes ? Is pathoma really good for pathology .. bcuz i hate kaplan for patho ... N i started goljan culd only do general patho portion frm that ...
I think u shud submit your application, it wont hurt youb infact save u time later on, tgen u can pick a date whenever u feel ready for it.. Yes i wud say start with uworld after ur second read, and for nbmes give them in a planned sequence after every read of fa or uworld... Pathoma is great but if uve done goljan just stick with it, but try to filter out the high yield stuff by looking into pathoma videos if u get a chance...
im planning to give the exam by beginning of nxt yr hopefully, and i am still on 1st read dng kaplan LN & videos with uworld ques & FA .. is my approach correct?
i just need some advise..
also did u give nbmes online or offline? and which ones did u give?
im planning to give the exam by beginning of nxt yr hopefully, and i am still on 1st read dng Kath som LN & videos with uwoquestions ques & FA .. ithe bes my approach correct?
i just need some advise..
also did u give nbmes online or offline? and which ones did u give?
thanks .. [/QUOTE
Hey i think ur doing great, but just a thought, if u have time on ur hands i wud recommend u do usmle rx or kaplan qbank right now and save uworld for the end... that way u wudve done more questions and save the best qbank for the end.. Read some of my above posts abt qbanks it might help u... Gave all nbmes online, 7 11 12 13 15...good luck
Hello....Congrats on your achievement..such a great score
I have a question about cell and molecular biology ,do I need to you use any separate book for that or you think FA & KLNs are sufficient.......
Thanks in advance
hey amazing score....good for you u neurosurgeon!!
quick question.
do u think it is better to start and read FA AFTER your first thorough read of Kap LN or DURING your first thorough read of Kap LN?? which one works for you?
I plan of reading FA at least 5 - 6x times with systematic amounts of regulated frequency (1st read with notes over 12 weeks , 2nd read for 3 weeks, 3rd read for 2 weeks, 4th read in a week, 5th ready just a quick breeze through over a couple days before exam.
hey amazing score....good for you u neurosurgeon!!
quick question.
do u think it is better to start and read FA AFTER your first thorough read of Kap LN or DURING your first thorough read of Kap LN?? which one works for you?
I plan of reading FA at least 5 - 6x times with systematic amounts of regulated frequency (1st read with notes over 12 weeks , 2nd read for 3 weeks, 3rd read for 2 weeks, 4th read in a week, 5th ready just a quick breeze through over a couple days before exam.
Hey u have a sound plan... I wud recommend if any way you can fit in your fa while doing the kaplan reads would be best, u can incorporate all ur concepts onto fa and thereafter keep doing fa to maximize it all..
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