USMLE tips/advice/experiences wanted!

kingofkong

Hi

I'm yet to find an Irish person to share their usmle experience

Anyone taken it??

I'm sitting it in august this year

mardybumbum

kingofkong wrote: »

Hi

I'm yet to find an Irish person to share their usmle experience

Anyone taken it??

I'm sitting it in august this year

I'm sitting it in a few days so Ill get back to you then.

DeadlyTwig

mardybumbum wrote: »

I'm sitting it in a few days so Ill get back to you then.

:O Best of luck!!

KingKong, Also planning mine for this summer although haven't settled on a date to do it yet. I'm tempted to leave it as late as possible. What timescale are you giving yourself to study?

kingofkong

DeadlyTwig wrote: »

:O Best of luck!!

KingKong, Also planning mine for this summer although haven't settled on a date to do it yet. I'm tempted to leave it as late as possible. What timescale are you giving yourself to study?

I've 8 summer weeks to study for it but I'm hoping to get about 1/4 of FIRST AID well anotated and quizzed before then

From what I've come across on the web 6 weeks is the minimum you should study

kingofkong

mardybumbum wrote: »

I'm sitting it in a few days so Ill get back to you then.

Best of luck!

Have you planned out how you will take your breaks??

mardybumbum

For those of you who are interested there's a free Diagnostic by Kaplan here

Enjoy

kingofkong

ill give that diagnostic test a go maybe at the beginning of July

go my hands on the Doctors in Training review guide, it goes through First Aid in a structured video format with a companion study guide that has Qs etc

its a 15 day program - worth looking at

mardybumbum

7 days

kingofkong

mardybumbum wrote: »

7 days

best of luck again! and Ill be patiently waiting for your experience!

So are you "off" for the summer after that?

Biologic

Good luck Mardy, I'll be eagerly awaiting your experience of the exam too. My exam date isn't until late September but I'm already petrified by the workload of examinable material.
King- I've worked through about 20 of the DIT videos and find them really good. Each 1.5 hour video is taking me about 3.5 hours to finish though, what with annotations and all. But that could be just me being a slow idiot. Another resource I'm using for path called Pathoma. It's a concise textbook with an online video course to support it. I'm in love with it. It explains everything in such a way that you finish chapters thinking "It can't be THAT easy".

mardybumbum

kingofkong wrote: »

mardybumbum wrote: »

7 days

best of luck again! and Ill be patiently waiting for your experience!

So are you "off" for the summer after that?

'Fraid not.

Have Obs/Gynae, paeds, psych and GP finals. Then doing a month of general surgery and a month of vascular surgery in philly. Get back home the day before 5th year begins so I'll have no summer.

Did buy tickets to the body and soul festival so that's one thing to look forward to.

Thanks again for the best wishes and I'll have an update on Monday.

Aaron

mardybumbum

Went down to Barrow Street today to scope out the Prometric centre and nearly skulled myself going up the steps.
Here's hoping for a more positive experience there tomorrow.

Biologic

mardybumbum wrote: »

Went down to Barrow Street today to scope out the Prometric centre and nearly skulled myself going up the steps.
Here's hoping for a more positive experience there tomorrow.

Time for all that hard work to pay off for you, which I'm sure it will.

Jessibelle

Best of luck Mardy

mardybumbum

Well that's that.
Went fairly well I have to say. First block was the hardest. Block 2 and 7 seemed unusually easy.
Cradling a pint now in the local. Will post up my experience of the whole thing later.

Glad it's over and I certainly don't envy anybody in the process of studying for it.

kingofkong

fair play

it's the ultimate thank-god-that's-over exam I imagine

i paid for mine a few days ago, €725 if anyone is wondering

kingofkong

Biologic wrote: »

. Another resource I'm using for path called Pathoma. It's a concise textbook with an online video course to support it. I'm in love with it. It explains everything in such a way that you finish chapters thinking "It can't be THAT easy".

I checked Pathoma out and it looks really good, just what Ive been looking for


Did you go for the subscription online??

Also whats the big deal about Goljan, he's notes dont look grea, just loads of bullet points, or is there more to it than that?

Biologic

kingofkong wrote: »

I checked Pathoma out and it looks really good, just what Ive been looking for


Did you go for the subscription online??

Also whats the big deal about Goljan, he's notes dont look grea, just loads of bullet points, or is there more to it than that?

Yeah the only option for Pathoma is an online subscription. He posts you a book too, which is essentially a summary of his videos with loads of room for annotation. All in all, I'd say it's the best money I've spent on USMLE prep yet.
Goljan has a book, a few PDFs with high yield points and an audio series. People swear by the audio files, but I haven't used them yet. I have his book too, which is very good but has an intimidating level of detail. I'll probably only use it for anything Pathoma doesn't cover well.

kingofkong

Biologic wrote: »

Yeah the only option for Pathoma is an online subscription. He posts you a book too, which is essentially a summary of his videos with loads of room for annotation. All in all, I'd say it's the best money I've spent on USMLE prep yet.
Goljan has a book, a few PDFs with high yield points and an audio series. People swear by the audio files, but I haven't used them yet. I have his book too, which is very good but has an intimidating level of detail. I'll probably only use it for anything Pathoma doesn't cover well.

how long do you think it would take to complete pathoma?

Biologic

There's about 36 hours of video. Doing it on x1.4 speed knocks that down to 24 hours. I find myself repeating certain sections if I'm lost or to annotate, so realistically it'll take me closer to 30 hours to complete.

kingofkong

Biologic wrote: »

There's about 36 hours of video. Doing it on x1.4 speed knocks that down to 24 hours. I find myself repeating certain sections if I'm lost or to annotate, so realistically it'll take me closer to 30 hours to complete.

so very doable in a 6 day week

I'm def going to use it, the online reviews all highly recommend it

also the voucher code "Nu" gives 20% - saw that on some random forum

mardybumbum

Sorry for the delay. Was quite busy yesterday enjoying things that I haven't been able to do for the last month.

My own experience of the day.....
I tried to chill out the evening beforehand. Really only went over some high yield tables in FA and spent most of the day listening to music and gathering my thoughts.
Went to bed at around 11 o clock and got up at around 7. Had a bowl of porridge with some sliced banana and listened to some more tunes.
Had a taxi ordered which brought me down to Barrow Street for 8:30.
When I arrived I had to sign in and was given a locker to store my bag in and some nibbles.
I was actually fairly relaxed throughout the whole exam. Didn't stress out during any blocks even when there were questions that I didn't have a clue about. There will definitely be a few topics that come up which you wont have seen before but you just have to rule out whatever choices you can and make an educated guess.
I took a small 5 to 7 minute break after each block except for block 3 where I took a 20 minute break.
You have to sign in and out of the room at every break and you get sweeped down with a metal detector before you go back in again so you really only have enough time for a quick toilet break and a snack.

In each block there were at least one or two questions which I knew were going to require a bit of time to work out. I marked them straight away and moved on to the next question without answering them. Also, if there were any questions that I wasn't 100 percent sure that I had answered correctly, I would mark them as well. I usually had about 15 mins at the end of each block which I would use to do the one or two questions which I left until the end and to review the other questions I had flagged.

There was definitely a neuroanatomy theme in my exam and from talking to others who had taken step 1 they would often tell me that there would be a recurrent theme in their blocks. Neuroanatomy suited me down to the ground so I was happy enough with that. I know some people bring a copy of FA with them to the test centre to review whatever theme appears in their exam. I think thats a ridiculous idea. Much more important to get some fluids and food into you during the break imo.

I'm sure you have a load of questions which I am more than happy to answer. I can remember how stressful the whole Step 1 thing can be. Have had to rush that as I'm on Psych rotation at the moment.

Feel free to ask any questions you like and I will try to respond to them when I get home.

Yours Sincerely,
Aaron

kingofkong

mardybumbum wrote: »

Sorry for the delay. Was quite busy yesterday enjoying things that I haven't been able to do for the last month.

My own experience of the day.....
I tried to chill out the evening beforehand. Really only went over some high yield tables in FA and spent most of the day listening to music and gathering my thoughts.
Went to bed at around 11 o clock and got up at around 7. Had a bowl of porridge with some sliced banana and listened to some more tunes.
Had a taxi ordered which brought me down to Barrow Street for 8:30.
When I arrived I had to sign in and was given a locker to store my bag in and some nibbles.
I was actually fairly relaxed throughout the whole exam. Didn't stress out during any blocks even when there were questions that I didn't have a clue about. There will definitely be a few topics that come up which you wont have seen before but you just have to rule out whatever choices you can and make an educated guess.
I took a small 5 to 7 minute break after each block except for block 3 where I took a 20 minute break.
You have to sign in and out of the room at every break and you get sweeped down with a metal detector before you go back in again so you really only have enough time for a quick toilet break and a snack.

In each block there were at least one or two questions which I knew were going to require a bit of time to work out. I marked them straight away and moved on to the next question without answering them. Also, if there were any questions that I wasn't 100 percent sure that I had answered correctly, I would mark them as well. I usually had about 15 mins at the end of each block which I would use to do the one or two questions which I left until the end and to review the other questions I had flagged.

There was definitely a neuroanatomy theme in my exam and from talking to others who had taken step 1 they would often tell me that there would be a recurrent theme in their blocks. Neuroanatomy suited me down to the ground so I was happy enough with that. I know some people bring a copy of FA with them to the test centre to review whatever theme appears in their exam. I think thats a ridiculous idea. Much more important to get some fluids and food into you during the break imo.

I'm sure you have a load of questions which I am more than happy to answer. I can remember how stressful the whole Step 1 thing can be. Have had to rush that as I'm on Psych rotation at the moment.

Feel free to ask any questions you like and I will try to respond to them when I get home.

Yours Sincerely,
Aaron

any chance you could share your study plan and resources that you used?? what helped most?

mardybumbum

I can certainly advise on different texts/resources but I cant help you with a study plan as I have never made one in my life.

I'll break it down into subject by subject.

Gross Anatomy There really are very few areas of anatomy that you are likely to be tested on in Step 1. Some favourite topics would be;
- innervation of lower limb ( be able to tell difference between superficial vs deep peroneal vs tibial vs femoral nerve lesion )
- innervation of upper limb, focusing especially on the hand and brachial plexus
(likely to be given description of pt with Klumpkes, Erbs, wrist drop, hand of benediction, e.t.c and identify the nerve that has been severed on a diagram)
- GIT is going to be arterial supply and portosystemic shunts (both covered well in FA)
- Thorax is going to be a patient stabbed in midclavicular line in 5th intercostal space....what structure is damaged, blah blah blah. Just learn the boundaries of the heart, lung, pleura, spleen, liver, e.t.c.
The upper and lower limb stuff is not covered well in FA but only require a read of the relevant sections in BRS Anatomy. I didn't read the whole of BRS anatomy and I never had any intention to as it's seriously low yield. Focus on the above and you'll be doing well.

Embryology:Another seriously low yield subject. FA is your only man for this. Focus on FA and you are flying. I reckon I only got about 5 embryology questions and they were all covered by what I had learned in FA.

Neuroanatomy: I got quite a bit of neuroanatomy in my exam. I know a friend who recommended neuroanatomy made ridiculously simple but even that is overkill imo. All you need to know well are the Brodmann areas (identify brocas, wernickes, visual, motor and sensory cortex, e.t.c ).
Be able to distinguish caudate, striatum, GPe, GPi, thalamus on coronal section.
You need to know three tracts (corticospinal, posterior columns and spinothalamic), where they are located in the spinal cord, where they cross over, and what they are responsible for.
The medulla and midbrain infarcts are worth looking at as well. I got medial medullary syndrome in my exam but you could be asked about Wallenbergs, Benedickts, Webers, e.t.c.
Thats neuroanatomy in a nutshell.

Biochem: I must admit that I read Lippincotts but I'm not convinced this was of any benefit to me. I really think biochem is covered exceptionally well in FA and that it should be your sole resource for the subject.

Microbiology: Micro made simple is the ****. It's fairly easy to get through and has some nice mnemonics/visualizations which definitely helped me in remembering things I would have forgotten otherwise. The section in FA is top class and was all I needed once I had annotated in a few bits from Micro made simple.

Immunology: I know I am going to end up sounding like I have shares in FA but it really does cover immunology quite well also. I also used BRS only because there were very small things not covered in FA like papain/pepsin Ig cleavage sites, ouchterlony, RISA, RIST, e.t.c but 90% of what you need to know is in the FA chapter.
Also, dont bother with the micro part of BRS. It covers nothing that has not been covered by FA.

Will post up the rest in a bit

mardybumbum

Behavioral Science and Biostats: There is a BRS text for behavioral science but I went nowhere near it. You will be able to answer most BS questions from FA. A lot of the questions are picking the most appropriate reply to a patients question and these are usually fairly obvious.
Biostats on the other hand just requires practicing a load of questions. This is where the Qbanks come in handy. The only thing FA doesn't go over well is this diagram. You definitely need to know how how increasing/decreasing the cut off value changes sensitivity,specificity, PPV and NPV.
The only other things you will be tested on in biostats are odds ratio/relative risk which are fairly straight forward.

Pharmacology: I used Lippincotts because I had the time. As with biochem I cant be sure it was of any use to me. I think its a bit OTT for step 1. Pharmacology Recall is quite good and highlights the side effects/MOA's that you are likely to be tested on. Again, as with pretty much every other subject mentioned so far, if you know whats in FA, you know 90% of what's needed.

Physiology: Probably the only subject that's not covered entirely well in FA. I used BRS and annotated whatever wasn't covered well into FA.

Pathology: It's very simple. Rapid Review and FA are going to be your friends here.
I have the Goljan tapes but didn't bother with them. He basically just reams off Rapid Review but at a very slow pace with a few jokes thrown in for good measure.
I also went through BRS but it doesn't cover anything that Goljan/FA dont.
I don't know a whole lot about Pathoma but I did check out one of his YouTube vids. Took him 7 mins to describe pathogenesis of PNH. Certainly not something I would use myself.

mardybumbum

As for the Qbanks, I used UWorld and Kaplan.
A lot of step takers on the various fora recommend UWorld over Kaplan.
I found them both to be of equal quality and I would certainly recommend purchasing both of them if time/finances permit.
Kaplan were kind enough to give me a free four month subscription to their Qbank so I may be biased in that regard.

If you have a smart phone you should download both their apps which are now available on both iOS and android. I was able to tear through the question banks as I was able to get blocks done when on the train/luas/e.t.c.

I would also recommend purchasing the two self assesment forms with UWorld. They cost €25 each but supposedly give a good estimate of within what range your score will fall.

As you go through the Qbanks mark any questions that you feel you haven't quite grasped the concept of even if you answer them correctly. It's of benefit to review these questions along with the questions you got wrong in the last two weeks before the exam.

If you're on twitter get following @kaplanmedical
They post up offers now and again. Send them a DM and ask for discount code.
I also got a free two week trial from @USMLEWeapon
Theres a very nice lady by the name of Anna who runs the twitter account and she may be happy enough to offer a free trial to those who are interested.


Cant think of anything else to add at the moment.
Looking through my posts its easy to identify the recurring them of FA,FA and more FA. This is certainly something that I know most other step takers would reiterate.
If you have a limited amount of time and want to make the most of it do a load of Qbank questions and a load of FA.
The other texts are merely to fill in the very small gaps that FA leaves out.

Hope this is of some help. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.
Aaron

mardybumbum

kingofkong wrote: »

I've 8 summer weeks to study for it but I'm hoping to get about 1/4 of FIRST AID well anotated and quizzed before then

From what I've come across on the web 6 weeks is the minimum you should study

Finally, THIS

Annotate the crap out of FA, but only with high yield, not any old rubbish.


I absolutely covered my copy with anything that was in Goljan/BRS/Qbanks and I had difficulty remembering.

kingofkong

mardybumbum wrote: »

Finally, THIS

Annotate the crap out of FA, but only with high yield, not any old rubbish.


I absolutely covered my copy with anything that was in Goljan/BRS/Qbanks and I had difficulty remembering.

this is all great info thanks very much

the picture is hilarious *gulp*

mardybumbum

kingofkong wrote: »

this is all great info thanks very much

the picture is hilarious *gulp*

Ha, that's an extreme example. All that annotation does help though. Ties the loose ends together.

mardybumbum

Got the dreaded email today telling me I could log in to view my result.
Downloading the score report was possibly the most anxiety provoking few seconds I have ever experienced.
I wasn't sure If I wanted to open it or not. The last few days I had been focusing on all the difficult questions I got and had actually convinced myself that I may not have even passed.

Got a 252 in the end which I'm delighted with.
Going to celebrate with a big mug of tea.

Biologic

Holy crap that's a good score. I'd backflip to India for a 252. Well done Mardy.
I haven't seen many people take step 1 during the clinical years. Do you think that stood to you or did the rotations get in the way of step 1 prep? Also, assuming a good work ethic and decent foundation, do you think 10 weeks is enough time to do well (230+) in step 1 for someone finishing year 2 of the 4-year programme? I finish at the end of July and want to take the step on September, but getting a 230+ is more important to me than sitting in Sept.
Thanks and congrats.