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Are Kaplan lecture notes/videos necessary for step 1?

6K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Pedsdoc88 
#1 ·
Hello to all my fellow residency aspirants!

I am an IMG done with med school. I started my prep almost 20 days back and had decided that I would use the following material :

BRS Physiology
Kaplan lecture notes and videos(for all except pathology and Physiology)
Pathoma(text and videos) + Goljan(systemic path reference)
First Aid
Uworld
Kaplan Qbank
NBMEs

It's just been 20 days and the blandness of the kaplan material is already getting on my nerves and taking up too much time. Some of my friends who have recently taken the step 1(some of them got 260+) suggested that I just run through the kaplan material and finish it in a month's time and I have barely finished a subject in 20 days. For the kind of person I am, I feel everything's important and find it difficult to segregate between the high yield and low yield stuff. I fear that I might go into depression if I read it any longer. Can someone who's done well on the exam tell me how important is the Kaplan material, if yes, how do I use it effectively? And if the above mentioned material, if done well, enough to secure a 250+ score?

Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
Used A few Kaplan LN to prep for the exam, but I have not taken it yet. But here is what I am currently using:

Kaplan Anatomy, Immuno and Microbiology, Behavioural Sciences.
BRS Physiology
Pathoma
USMLE FA

I kept the books, to a minimum to lessen confusion and being burnt from all the reading..
One of the best tools also to have is Uworld, in my opinion is a MUST HAVE!
 
#6 ·
I'm nearing the end of my preparation and as of yet I think giving an NBME first would tell you where you stand and what you need to do. If you do not do too bad ~ 210 and you still have ~ 2 months, then you can simply target your weak spots and do FA with UWorld. But if you score bad like ~ 170-180 ( like myself) or less, you probably need a thorough review. One safe method (but requires more time), is to go through each Kaplan LN with videos, doing FA and Uworld for each subject along with it; taking notes on FA. Then reviewing the FA and doing UWorld timed+random. This probably could take 4-6 months.

A second approach if you don't think you need an in depth review, would to do FA with DIT + Pathoma and then UWorld. This might take ~ 2-3 months.

Having read most of Kaplan LN, I find them quite dull and confusing without the videos. Some, like BS and Immuno LN are written relatively better than others but, the videos do help more.

But, in any case, I think taking a self-assessment first, would make it easier for you to decide how you might want to proceed.
 
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