05-21-2017, 09:12 AM
Step 1 experience:
My experience was full of ups and downs. It was a long journey. It was hard. But with patience and hard work everything is possible. I am writing this, because I always wanted to give back to the online community and may be motivate or inspire someone out there, who might just be needing some encouragement.
Duration: a total of 11 months. (Discontinuous)
Sources:
FIRST AID – Step 1 (4-5 reads).
UWORLD – 1 time. 2nd time 60% of questions.
Other books:
Kaplan – Biochemistry and Genetics.
BRS – Physiology.
Pathoma – Pathology.
Ethics – Conrad Fischer cases.
First Aid Q&A.
So, I started preparing September 2015, my first read included, at that time I was internship training at a hospital 4 days/week 6 hours/day and a volunteer 2 days a week 4 hours/day: First aid, in addition to the other books mentioned above (as needed). I would also use google and youtube for further explanations.
At this time I would also solve Q&A after each chapter.
It took me exactly 4 months.
1/1/2016 I started UWORLD. And I would read first aid with it. (2nd read).
I finished uworld in March 10TH. I would write notes on first aid and on a side notebook.
For some reason (lack of experience) I scheduled my exam April 30th before doing any assessments or nbmes. Because I thought that would force me to study harder (not a good idea btw), and because I had my Step 2 CS scheduled May 19.
March 11 I started a third read of First Aid with uworld notes.
April 11 I take nbme 13 and it was terrible !!!!!! Barely passed.
I threw a tantrum :p got angry at the world. But of course postponed exam till God knows when, stopped Step 1 preparation and went straight to CS. For personal reasons I also had to move to another country after taking the CS.
I took CS May 19 and I move to another country right away. After settling down I started preparing again June 1st. June 1st-July 9th I was staying at home studying. July 10th I started working a full time job as a GP, because I needed to work. The work load was not suitable I tried for 5 months, those 5 months I was “supposed to be studying” but I really wasn’t. barely 4-5 hours/week !!!
I quit my job, because I got a more suitable offer with reasonable working hours. It was December 2016 already. I worked 48 hours/week. I had my exam scheduled March 22. I studied really hard January/February/March, was doing First Aid and uworld. But March 15 I take an nbme I do terrible again !! and I postpone. Of course again I did the same mistake of scheduling without doing nbmes (what was I thinking).
I was just trying to find what was I doing wrong, I obviously had to change my methods if I wanted the results to change. So, I tried to see what were my mistakes and why was I solving the questions wrong. Discovered that I had the knowledge and lacked the exam taking skills.
So, I decided to spend a month doing nbmes only with little reading in between.
March 15 nbme 210
March 22 nbme 218
April nbme 224
April 2 nbme 228
April 6 nbme 234
I scheduled exam April 19.
REAL DEAL: 236
TIPS AND ADVICES:
1- Never give up. I can’t even tell you how many times I doubted myself. How many nights I spent crying because I felt like I am forgetting everything. It is only you against your doubts. Every single time I was knocked down I got right back up. Even if you had those days of doubts, just study and work hard anyways. It is doable with hard work and dedication.
2- Focus on FIRST AID and UWORLD as main sources. Don’t waste time on other things(use just for elaboration of few topics).
3- Start doing nbmes early, and observe you exam taking skills, not just the knowledge. It doesn’t matter if you mess up your first nbme, learn from your mistakes.
4- When you feel that things are stuck change you methods. Don’t expect different results when you are doing the same thing over and over again.
5- PLEASE PLEASE, don’t interrupt your preparation. I had my personal reasons of why I interrupted and took CS and moved. But if you have the choice, never stop studying. STUDY EVERYDAY. USMLE STEP 1 has to be in your mind every single day.
6- Once/week do something fun. Go out with friends, watch a movie. You need to decompress.
7- Find a daily getaway. Exercise, long bath, reading, dancing, music, praying, cooking. Anything that you can do for 30-60 minutes.
8- Some confusing important topics, I used to keep reading half an hour before bed. Like murmurs, immunology tables, biochemistry tables …etc. (for example whatever chapter I am studying during the day, 30 minutes before going to bed for 5 days in a row I would read a specific table). It helped me, it might help you.
9- I created my own flash cards for some topics. It was helpful.
Again; never give up. The journey was tough. But it is worth it! You can do this.
My experience was full of ups and downs. It was a long journey. It was hard. But with patience and hard work everything is possible. I am writing this, because I always wanted to give back to the online community and may be motivate or inspire someone out there, who might just be needing some encouragement.
Duration: a total of 11 months. (Discontinuous)
Sources:
FIRST AID – Step 1 (4-5 reads).
UWORLD – 1 time. 2nd time 60% of questions.
Other books:
Kaplan – Biochemistry and Genetics.
BRS – Physiology.
Pathoma – Pathology.
Ethics – Conrad Fischer cases.
First Aid Q&A.
So, I started preparing September 2015, my first read included, at that time I was internship training at a hospital 4 days/week 6 hours/day and a volunteer 2 days a week 4 hours/day: First aid, in addition to the other books mentioned above (as needed). I would also use google and youtube for further explanations.
At this time I would also solve Q&A after each chapter.
It took me exactly 4 months.
1/1/2016 I started UWORLD. And I would read first aid with it. (2nd read).
I finished uworld in March 10TH. I would write notes on first aid and on a side notebook.
For some reason (lack of experience) I scheduled my exam April 30th before doing any assessments or nbmes. Because I thought that would force me to study harder (not a good idea btw), and because I had my Step 2 CS scheduled May 19.
March 11 I started a third read of First Aid with uworld notes.
April 11 I take nbme 13 and it was terrible !!!!!! Barely passed.
I threw a tantrum :p got angry at the world. But of course postponed exam till God knows when, stopped Step 1 preparation and went straight to CS. For personal reasons I also had to move to another country after taking the CS.
I took CS May 19 and I move to another country right away. After settling down I started preparing again June 1st. June 1st-July 9th I was staying at home studying. July 10th I started working a full time job as a GP, because I needed to work. The work load was not suitable I tried for 5 months, those 5 months I was “supposed to be studying” but I really wasn’t. barely 4-5 hours/week !!!
I quit my job, because I got a more suitable offer with reasonable working hours. It was December 2016 already. I worked 48 hours/week. I had my exam scheduled March 22. I studied really hard January/February/March, was doing First Aid and uworld. But March 15 I take an nbme I do terrible again !! and I postpone. Of course again I did the same mistake of scheduling without doing nbmes (what was I thinking).
I was just trying to find what was I doing wrong, I obviously had to change my methods if I wanted the results to change. So, I tried to see what were my mistakes and why was I solving the questions wrong. Discovered that I had the knowledge and lacked the exam taking skills.
So, I decided to spend a month doing nbmes only with little reading in between.
March 15 nbme 210
March 22 nbme 218
April nbme 224
April 2 nbme 228
April 6 nbme 234
I scheduled exam April 19.
REAL DEAL: 236
TIPS AND ADVICES:
1- Never give up. I can’t even tell you how many times I doubted myself. How many nights I spent crying because I felt like I am forgetting everything. It is only you against your doubts. Every single time I was knocked down I got right back up. Even if you had those days of doubts, just study and work hard anyways. It is doable with hard work and dedication.
2- Focus on FIRST AID and UWORLD as main sources. Don’t waste time on other things(use just for elaboration of few topics).
3- Start doing nbmes early, and observe you exam taking skills, not just the knowledge. It doesn’t matter if you mess up your first nbme, learn from your mistakes.
4- When you feel that things are stuck change you methods. Don’t expect different results when you are doing the same thing over and over again.
5- PLEASE PLEASE, don’t interrupt your preparation. I had my personal reasons of why I interrupted and took CS and moved. But if you have the choice, never stop studying. STUDY EVERYDAY. USMLE STEP 1 has to be in your mind every single day.
6- Once/week do something fun. Go out with friends, watch a movie. You need to decompress.
7- Find a daily getaway. Exercise, long bath, reading, dancing, music, praying, cooking. Anything that you can do for 30-60 minutes.
8- Some confusing important topics, I used to keep reading half an hour before bed. Like murmurs, immunology tables, biochemistry tables …etc. (for example whatever chapter I am studying during the day, 30 minutes before going to bed for 5 days in a row I would read a specific table). It helped me, it might help you.
9- I created my own flash cards for some topics. It was helpful.
Again; never give up. The journey was tough. But it is worth it! You can do this.