Keep up the good work.
REHMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE PESHAWAR
PAKISTAN
REHMAN MEDICAL COLLEGE PESHAWAR
PAKISTAN
STEP 1 SCORE : 257
(ALHUMDULILLAH) EXAM DAY: 25 MAY 2017
Time frame:
Around 1 year with dedicated time of around 6 months
Time frame:
Around 1 year with dedicated time of around 6 months
SOURCES USED:
Kaplan with videos. (2 times)
Pathoma (2 times)
U World 2016 offline and online (in timed mode) (mcqs 2 times, explanations once only)
First Aid 2016 edition (3 times)
I only did answers from the mcqs of the ethics 100 cases (time shortage)
NBMES:
TOTAL MCQS I DID IN MY PREPARATION: approximately 6000
Before I started final year preparation:
NBME 1 (offline): 206 (after i did kaplan)
NBME 2 (offline):211
NBME 3 (offline):247 (after my first read of fa and uw)
NBME 11 (offline):249
NBME 7 (offline): 253
NBME 12 (offline):249 (mid-jan 2017)
After Final year exams were over:
NBME 18: 250 (online) : 610/800 CBSSA Score . 1 month before my exam.
NBME 17: 254 (offline) 3 weeks before exam
NBME 15:258 (offline) 2 weeks before exam
NBME 16: 262 (online) 660/800 CBSSA Score. 1 week before exam
NBME 19: 254 (online)650/800 CBSSA Score. 2 days before exam
Kaplan with videos. (2 times)
Pathoma (2 times)
U World 2016 offline and online (in timed mode) (mcqs 2 times, explanations once only)
First Aid 2016 edition (3 times)
I only did answers from the mcqs of the ethics 100 cases (time shortage)
NBMES:
TOTAL MCQS I DID IN MY PREPARATION: approximately 6000
Before I started final year preparation:
NBME 1 (offline): 206 (after i did kaplan)
NBME 2 (offline):211
NBME 3 (offline):247 (after my first read of fa and uw)
NBME 11 (offline):249
NBME 7 (offline): 253
NBME 12 (offline):249 (mid-jan 2017)
After Final year exams were over:
NBME 18: 250 (online) : 610/800 CBSSA Score . 1 month before my exam.
NBME 17: 254 (offline) 3 weeks before exam
NBME 15:258 (offline) 2 weeks before exam
NBME 16: 262 (online) 660/800 CBSSA Score. 1 week before exam
NBME 19: 254 (online)650/800 CBSSA Score. 2 days before exam
UWORLD ASSESSMENTS (online)
UWSA 1: 243
UWSA 2:255
UWSA 1: 243
UWSA 2:255
STUDY PHASE:
I started my preparation during the start of final year with Kaplan books along with videos for step 1 , I was very enthusiastic in the beginning and studied daily for about 8-10 hours. I finished physiology , anatomy,biochemistry in the first month but after that college started and with going to college my rythm was disturbed (i never picked up this pace untill last month of prep).I had alot of interruptions in my studies like college classes,wards rotations, college home exams,visits to BHQs,Final year exams preparation interval,electives( i skipped many but you cannot study for steps like this) I did not know the high yield material till the mid, I spent most of my Quality time on kaplan, ( biggest mistake, KAPLAN is not high yield at all) which i should have dedicated to uworld and first aid . Just kaplan microbiology and immunology took me 3 months to finish . I took a break from 1st feb to midapril(prep from 1st feb to 15 march, exam from 16 march till 19 april) to start studying for final year. I resumed my step 1 prep immediately after final year ended and had about 40 days to prepare for it .Before, I was almost certain that I could cross 260s because I was doing quite well without uw explanations but in end due to short time i could not cover everything to cross 260 and I had already taken extension because of final year exams.So In the last month, i studied as much as i could,worked around the clock, grasped everything i could, stayed up till late and get it over with either way.I did uw explanations, took nbmes, and finally first aid in last 2 weeks and went for exam . What I could not do in last month was revision and 100 cases of ethics.
I started my preparation during the start of final year with Kaplan books along with videos for step 1 , I was very enthusiastic in the beginning and studied daily for about 8-10 hours. I finished physiology , anatomy,biochemistry in the first month but after that college started and with going to college my rythm was disturbed (i never picked up this pace untill last month of prep).I had alot of interruptions in my studies like college classes,wards rotations, college home exams,visits to BHQs,Final year exams preparation interval,electives( i skipped many but you cannot study for steps like this) I did not know the high yield material till the mid, I spent most of my Quality time on kaplan, ( biggest mistake, KAPLAN is not high yield at all) which i should have dedicated to uworld and first aid . Just kaplan microbiology and immunology took me 3 months to finish . I took a break from 1st feb to midapril(prep from 1st feb to 15 march, exam from 16 march till 19 april) to start studying for final year. I resumed my step 1 prep immediately after final year ended and had about 40 days to prepare for it .Before, I was almost certain that I could cross 260s because I was doing quite well without uw explanations but in end due to short time i could not cover everything to cross 260 and I had already taken extension because of final year exams.So In the last month, i studied as much as i could,worked around the clock, grasped everything i could, stayed up till late and get it over with either way.I did uw explanations, took nbmes, and finally first aid in last 2 weeks and went for exam . What I could not do in last month was revision and 100 cases of ethics.
1. KAPLAN SERIES 2014.
1.I started with Kaplan + videos. Its quite low yield but you cannot skip it , you need it for the foundation building. I did Pathoma with videos for pathology . Pathoma is the best for steps, i had questions solely from pathoma on exam. I did do Goljan with audio lectures but only once which i never revised again. Goljan is too much for step 1.However its your choice whichever you pick.
1.I started with Kaplan + videos. Its quite low yield but you cannot skip it , you need it for the foundation building. I did Pathoma with videos for pathology . Pathoma is the best for steps, i had questions solely from pathoma on exam. I did do Goljan with audio lectures but only once which i never revised again. Goljan is too much for step 1.However its your choice whichever you pick.
2. FIRST AID 2016 EDITION.
First aid is like your gold standard treatment for USMLE step 1. Do it thoroughly , do not rush through it. A single point in it can be developed in a 14 line long confusing scenario and the answer will depend whether you knew this point or not. Do First Aid as many times as possible.Due to limidity of time, I did it 3 times.
First aid is like your gold standard treatment for USMLE step 1. Do it thoroughly , do not rush through it. A single point in it can be developed in a 14 line long confusing scenario and the answer will depend whether you knew this point or not. Do First Aid as many times as possible.Due to limidity of time, I did it 3 times.
3.U WORLD 2016 OFFLINE AND ONLINE
After kaplan and first aid , i started with 3 month subscription for uw 2016 online without doing explanations. My first time overall percentage was about 82%. I did not do any other qbank. UW is your score raiser, it orients you to the real exam, gives you a real picture of how the exam will be, has an obscene amount of knowledge and the tiny details which are not in first aid.
Now, due to my final year exams, i could not complete my prep and also could not take the exam in my original eligibility period, so i extended it. the downfall was that my online uw subscription ended and i did uw explantions from offline after exams, though i did have pictures of online uw. I did the mcqs 2 times and the explanations of uw once only as i did not have time. I only annotated the systemic portion of uw, nothing else.
After kaplan and first aid , i started with 3 month subscription for uw 2016 online without doing explanations. My first time overall percentage was about 82%. I did not do any other qbank. UW is your score raiser, it orients you to the real exam, gives you a real picture of how the exam will be, has an obscene amount of knowledge and the tiny details which are not in first aid.
Now, due to my final year exams, i could not complete my prep and also could not take the exam in my original eligibility period, so i extended it. the downfall was that my online uw subscription ended and i did uw explantions from offline after exams, though i did have pictures of online uw. I did the mcqs 2 times and the explanations of uw once only as i did not have time. I only annotated the systemic portion of uw, nothing else.
4.NBMES.
I only did nbme 16,18,19 online ,all the rest offline. I kept on doing nbmes every now and then to see where i stood, i dont remember all the dates but they were in months" intervals except in last month , due to interruptions of final year prep + exam and laziness in studies ,I scored similar in a number of nbmes untill after final year was over. nbmes questions are very important, some of these questions are in the actual exam while many has similar concepts tested on the actual exam.Use nbmes as assessment and learning tool both.
I only did nbme 16,18,19 online ,all the rest offline. I kept on doing nbmes every now and then to see where i stood, i dont remember all the dates but they were in months" intervals except in last month , due to interruptions of final year prep + exam and laziness in studies ,I scored similar in a number of nbmes untill after final year was over. nbmes questions are very important, some of these questions are in the actual exam while many has similar concepts tested on the actual exam.Use nbmes as assessment and learning tool both.
MY STEP 1 EXAM.
Exam was far more difficult than any other nbme or uw assessment i had taken or any other exam. My other collaegues who also appeared in the same time frame would know how tough the exam was probably because new questions were added to the question pool. I had 280 items on my exam.And around 30 mcqs were straight forward, most of the questions had graphs and pictures .My exam was heavily based on pathophysiology mechanisms in which the problem was that two options seemed correct and molecular biochemistry(biology) genes,resistance mechanisms, newer techniques applications.
In sequence, There were about 5 questions in every block of which you would have no idea about it. 5-7 questions were direct, and the rest were all concept based indirect questions asked in various formats that required how good your preparation was.I was lucky in the part that i got easy questions from BS which was my weakest part that improved my score. I made 6-7 easy mistakes which i checked after exam because they were bothering me (Reason: overthinking over a simple question ending up in confusion... Solution: Do Revision, thats the single best solution to avoid easy mistakes and save time on exam)
Exam was far more difficult than any other nbme or uw assessment i had taken or any other exam. My other collaegues who also appeared in the same time frame would know how tough the exam was probably because new questions were added to the question pool. I had 280 items on my exam.And around 30 mcqs were straight forward, most of the questions had graphs and pictures .My exam was heavily based on pathophysiology mechanisms in which the problem was that two options seemed correct and molecular biochemistry(biology) genes,resistance mechanisms, newer techniques applications.
In sequence, There were about 5 questions in every block of which you would have no idea about it. 5-7 questions were direct, and the rest were all concept based indirect questions asked in various formats that required how good your preparation was.I was lucky in the part that i got easy questions from BS which was my weakest part that improved my score. I made 6-7 easy mistakes which i checked after exam because they were bothering me (Reason: overthinking over a simple question ending up in confusion... Solution: Do Revision, thats the single best solution to avoid easy mistakes and save time on exam)
HOW MY EXAM PATTERN WAS.
every block had 1-3 questions from BS
6-8 questions from biostats overall
around 12 radioimaging scans including 2-4 Brain MRIs,1 Abdominal Aorta branches MRA,plenty of chest xays
2 audios of heart sounds
1 ecg
2-3 gross brainstem cross sections
15-20 questions from general pathology section
1 question was from dentistry, (that was really an annoying one)
plenty of pictures and graphs,lab values
around 5-7 questions were from final year course as well.
there were only 3-4 questions purely from kaplan and 3-4 purely from pathoma.
nerves and muscles supplied by them were frequently tested anatomy questions
8-10 questions came from nbme, some direct , some indirect but similar concept.most were new questions difficult than nbme and uw.
MY MISTAKES.
1.Wasting most of my quality time and stamina on kaplan which was low yield
2.Not doing first aid more.
3.My time management for studies affecting my final year scores.
4. Not being consistent with my studies, it could have saved me months.
5.Not enough revision of my course leading to simple mistakes on step 1.
every block had 1-3 questions from BS
6-8 questions from biostats overall
around 12 radioimaging scans including 2-4 Brain MRIs,1 Abdominal Aorta branches MRA,plenty of chest xays
2 audios of heart sounds
1 ecg
2-3 gross brainstem cross sections
15-20 questions from general pathology section
1 question was from dentistry, (that was really an annoying one)
plenty of pictures and graphs,lab values
around 5-7 questions were from final year course as well.
there were only 3-4 questions purely from kaplan and 3-4 purely from pathoma.
nerves and muscles supplied by them were frequently tested anatomy questions
8-10 questions came from nbme, some direct , some indirect but similar concept.most were new questions difficult than nbme and uw.
MY MISTAKES.
1.Wasting most of my quality time and stamina on kaplan which was low yield
2.Not doing first aid more.
3.My time management for studies affecting my final year scores.
4. Not being consistent with my studies, it could have saved me months.
5.Not enough revision of my course leading to simple mistakes on step 1.
MY ADVICE TO YOU
1.The exam is tough but doable, what you need to know is that the preparation is way more tougher than the actual exam, stay focused,consistent with your studies,put your main focus on fa and uw but do expect that exam can be different as was with me,take small breaks in between to freshen your mind but not too much as it will divert your mind from course, discuss the difficult concepts.
2.The more you revise and integrate, the better your score will be.
3. One other thing , contrary to popular belief, the step 1 exam had alot of facts based questions as well, its not just that you have or not have concepts that you depend on it to ace the exam , do memorize the facts.
4.I studied by myself but my i highly recommend that you have a study partner who have same goals and take guidance , it will save you months and better understand concepts and facts
5. Dont underestimate you own capabilities, you have a brain, USE IT!!!!
6. Finally,This is just an exam nothing less nothing more,take it as an exam,its not something that your life depends on it.(My 3 feelings after exam was over were 1. What just happened in there.2.I laughed at myself for wasting time.3. I need to fill my stomach). Dont worry about the scores or matching or money, whats important is that you gain the knowledge and learn something and use it for the betterment of people and not to abuse it.Earn money properly(HALAAL) even if its 10, and even if you are earning millions but through various means, you will never be satisfied with it and will know in your Heart that what you are doing is wrong and you have got only so much life left. Aceing the exam is not important Aceingyour life is important. And At the end of the day what matters is how you deal the patient, thats the whole essence of medicine.
If anyone has any querries or needs help you can ask me anytime i hope i made its reading worth your time.
1.The exam is tough but doable, what you need to know is that the preparation is way more tougher than the actual exam, stay focused,consistent with your studies,put your main focus on fa and uw but do expect that exam can be different as was with me,take small breaks in between to freshen your mind but not too much as it will divert your mind from course, discuss the difficult concepts.
2.The more you revise and integrate, the better your score will be.
3. One other thing , contrary to popular belief, the step 1 exam had alot of facts based questions as well, its not just that you have or not have concepts that you depend on it to ace the exam , do memorize the facts.
4.I studied by myself but my i highly recommend that you have a study partner who have same goals and take guidance , it will save you months and better understand concepts and facts
5. Dont underestimate you own capabilities, you have a brain, USE IT!!!!
6. Finally,This is just an exam nothing less nothing more,take it as an exam,its not something that your life depends on it.(My 3 feelings after exam was over were 1. What just happened in there.2.I laughed at myself for wasting time.3. I need to fill my stomach). Dont worry about the scores or matching or money, whats important is that you gain the knowledge and learn something and use it for the betterment of people and not to abuse it.Earn money properly(HALAAL) even if its 10, and even if you are earning millions but through various means, you will never be satisfied with it and will know in your Heart that what you are doing is wrong and you have got only so much life left. Aceing the exam is not important Aceingyour life is important. And At the end of the day what matters is how you deal the patient, thats the whole essence of medicine.
If anyone has any querries or needs help you can ask me anytime i hope i made its reading worth your time.
THANK YOU
ALL AND REMEMBER ME IN YOUR PRAYERS
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