I am planning to take USMLE, How can I prepare well for the tests %26 what should I expect?!
by the way. I've never taken it before!
Answer:
Hi, All depends in how much time you have to prepare for the USMLE step 1Make a schedule!! Its very important that if you start with a prepared schedule to stick with it from start to finish.Kaplan is a great resource, depends in how you learn. If you learn taking classes, then take a course with Kaplan or buy their videos. If you learn reading yourself, then buy the books.
Q-Bank is a most!! (from Kaplan)
First Aid is a most!!
They have usmle world (practice question) (much cheaper, but kaplan is better)
Try to do at least 50 question per day to practice.
Other resources are: BRS, and High Yield of every classes.The NBME offers a series of exams to practice. They have one for free and I think it has 150 questions. usmleforum.com and valuemd.com have a lot of inside from students from other countries. The exam is divided in blocks of 50 question (total of question is 350). You have 8 hours ( and 1 hour of break to eat :) and clean your mind between blocks)After the exam, RELAX!
Well I hope I can help you. Good luck with your exam. GBBye!
well there's only one way STUDY AND STAY AWAY FROM COFFEE, WHEN U CANNOT STUDY ANYMORE GO FOR A WALK, SLEEP.THEN STUDY!IT GOT ME THROUGH !
Yey! I'm taking Step 1 in February. Just study hard. After all, it's the most important exam you'll ever take in your medical career. Also, check forums on the internet. They'll have good advice on which books to study. Anyway, just study like your life depends on it. Good luck to us both!
If you go to studentdoctor.net there are a lot of helpful forums on taking the test and study strategies. One great way to prepare for it (in addition to reading First Aid and/or Step Up) is doing Kaplan practice questions through Qbank. Kaplan is offering a deal on their website where you can get 6 months of Qreview (which includes Qbank) for ~$500 - expensive but according to many, including myself, it's well worth it.
I have just taken the USMLE Step 1 last year and I am happy to share my experience with you.First, just to be sure, I hope you know that there are 3 part to the USMLEStep 1 tests your preclinical (1st and 2nd year) knowledge, most students take their Step 1 in July or August of 2nd year (right before clerkships begin).
Step 2 is two parts (clinical skills and clinical knowledge), there is also a Step 3.Since I have only taken Step 1, I am not going to talk about Step 2 and Step 3.The most important part of preparing for USMLE Step 1 is to work hard during your 1st and 2nd year of medical school. Know your lecture materials.I started preparing for Step 1 in the Christmas (of 2nd year). I signed up for an online question bank (see below for more on question banks), and began reviewing certain topics that I had found to be more challenging (e.g. Renal). By the time I began seriously preparing for Step 1 in April, I already had a pretty good grasp on those topics.Then I bought the First-Aid book, used it as a guide and went through all the organ systems one by one. I would skim through First-Aid, highlight the important stuffs and review the high-yield facts, then I would go back to my class notes (or sometimes review books, but not textbook) for things that I had forgotten. I gave 2-3 days per system, then I would sit down and do more online question bank until I got a reasonable score.Repeat this for all organ systems, then leave yourself a few days to do an overall review.Now, as for the online question bank, there are tons of them out there (Kaplan, USMLERx, USMLE Easy, USMLExchange, USMLE World, USMLE-1,2,3, etc.). They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. But I would suggest you buy two of these - Kaplan and USMLExchange.Kaplan is sort of the gold standard for Step 1 review. The questions are excellent and very similar to the real test in terms of format (may be a little bit harder than the real test). The interface is reasonably similar to the real USMLE testing interface, and it offers great performance tracking functions. The only downside is that it is extremely expensive. If you really can't afford it, I would try USMLEWorld (or just use the following one alone).USMLExchange is great because it does not require a subscription. Which means you can use it for as long as you want. This is the question bank that I signed up during Christmas for my "pre-review" process. It has tons of USMLE-style questions, also of outstanding quality. You can choose to review based on discipline or organ system. And if you choose the "multidiscipline" one, you will get some non-USMLE-style short questions ideal for a quick review. It also offers performance tracking functions and USMLE-style interface. USMLExchange is not expensive at all, currently it charges $10 for 400 questions and it uses a sort of pay-per-view system. If you can't afford Kaplan or USMLEWorld, I would just use USMLExchange. By April, when you begin your real Step 1 review, I would just reset the account by clearing all the saved performance, then you can keep track of your review process.One last thing, take the practice test at the real test center 1 week before the real exam to familiarize yourself with the environment. Do not study the day before the exam, just relax and stay calm.Good luck with your studying!
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