11/19/2022 0 Comments Doctors in training vs usmle rxI even had some NBME questions show up on my actual exam. In addition, practice exams like NBME are a great way to assess yourself. They will help you become comfortable with higher level thinking and knowledge application like you’ll need on the actual test day. In my opinion, the single best way to prepare for boards is utilizing question banks. The final pass can be scary because it seems there is a lot you still do not know, but it is impossible to know everything, and you have to remind yourself that. Each day, I made little scratch sheets of either information I often forgot or very specific facts to review at the end of the day. By annotating every single thing over those 5 months into that one book, this final pass allowed me to once again see all I had studied previously. The final “block” was in the last week before my test, when I did a complete final pass through First Aid. I liked it, but I also felt the other resources had been utilized well and could have done without. I felt I would like the structure, and it would help identify weak areas for me. At my school, DIT was very common and used by the majority of people. When it comes to board prep courses, there are again many different options and many people do not utilize one at all. The third block was where I completed the Part 2 section of my Doctors In Training prep course. The first one was over a slightly longer period, allowing for difficulty with the first pass through materials. Both of these blocks occurred while still in school. I utilized USMLE-Rx during the first block and switched to UWorld after I had completed the first pass and gained a comfort level with the material. The first 2 blocks consisted of 2 complete passes (one pass each block) through First Aid, Pathoma Videos, and Sketchy Micro bugs. My schedule had 4 “blocks,” or periods in which I prepared. For example, at our school, most of the board preparation is spread out over 5 months, with only a few weeks at the very end of very dedicated, complete time off. This is another area that will be very different from school to school, depending on how much time off you get. In terms of overall scheduling, I separated my studying into specific blocks based on my resources. At our school, we also started studying while in school, so it made balancing classwork duties with board prep duties very doable. For me, I personally liked it as it gave me very specific tasks each day that I could check off as I went through my studying, which made each day seem less daunting and more manageable. The website combines all of your resources and creates a schedule in an order you choose. I utilized the online program Cram Fighter to make a daily schedule for me. Schedulingīe as organized as possible to make the most of your studying. USMLERx was a great first question bank to use because it focused primarily on fact recall and soaking up as much information from First Aid as possible – which I liked during my first pass. I wanted to save that until I had already done some preparation so I could make the most of the higher order questions UWorld offers. UWorld is a go-to question bank for your board preparation. Most of the information in these various resources is already in First Aid, so you do not want to be wasting time writing out extra information. I used a four-colored pen: blue for pathoma annotations, green for sketchy micro, red for Q bank answers, and black for DIT information. I annotated First Aid only so that I would be able to see all my annotations every time I read that one text. I bought the most updated version in December of the year before I took Step 1, had it spiral-bound at Office Max, and used that as my primary resource when studying. Obviously, the backbone of all Step 1 studying is First Aid for the USMLE. When it comes to study aids, keep your list as small as possible while covering all of your bases. These resources helped as I studied for Step 1 – but this is by no means a comprehensive list. Second, every school has its own unique way of approaching boards in terms of the amount of time you’ll have off and popular resources at that institution, so each approach will be different. Seek advice from multiple upperclassmen and integrate that advice into a plan that works best for you. First, every student has his/her own way of learning that works best for them. But as you prep, remember some key points. I have drafted a list of some general advice for students preparing to study for Step 1. Although it may not seem like it now, you are about to learn a lot – about both medicine and yourself – and you will be able to look back on this time period in amazement at what you were able to accomplish. Congratulations! Welcome to one of the most exciting times of your medical school career: preparing for your first big exams.
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