This is my step 1 experience. Real deal: 256

Hello.
This is my step 1 experience.
Real deal: 256
NBME16: 238 - 4 months before exam
UWSA 1: 264 - 3 days before exam
UWSA 2: 244 - 3 days before exam
NBME18: 247 - 2 days before exam
Free 120 sample: 89% night of exam

Exam done on June 10th, results July 10th.
Preparation time: 11 months

I'm a second year internal medicine resident; I am from Jordan and graduated in 2016.

The exam level was easy-mid; most of the questions were from FA. UW also covered almost every concept.
The questions were very similar to those in NBME18 and Free120. I thought they were easier than UW questions, however question stems were relatively long.

Preparation:
11 months - average of 5 hours per day (I have a full time job)
Last 10 days I managed to do 10 hours per day.
I started with FA which took me about 6 months. Some subjects were difficult and required more time than others (e.g: biochemistry and genetics)
After that I did UWorld one run (timed, random) and got 81% correct - took me a about 4 months.

-FA is very condensed and almost reviews every high-yield piece of information.
-But my great teacher was UW, and that was especially true in genetics and biochemistry, and histology. I annotated stuff on FA.
Annotation was a pain in the neck initially, then it got easier. I taught myself how to start taking important notes from UW questions once I lay an eye on them, I.e I memorized and wrote notes at the same time.
At the beginning I couldn't do more than 10 questions per day, then it got better towards 40-50 per day.

-Then I tried to review FA second time. I planned to do it in 3 weeks, but I got delayed and I had only 13 days left before the exam.
This is one of the falls that happened during my preparation. As I realized that I needed more time to go over the entire book, I started reviewing the areas I felt were filled with details that can be easily missed (e.g biochemistry and genetics, second messenger stuff, oncology and hematology, cytotoxic meds, immunology).

I used this group as a support system and benefited a lot from people's experiences. Thank you so much, much appreciated.

Comments

COMPLETE HISTOLOGY POINTS (FROM FINAL GUIDE SERIES)

-You need to do all the Histology past-paper questions (2009-2016) and these points only along with the diagrams from your practical copy and you are done. . -These points are extremely important to cover the 6-7 mcqs from the histology portion that you normally skip . - CHAPTERS FROM LAIQ HUSSAIN INCLUDED : CHAPTER = 12,16,18,19,20,21,22,23. (MOST IMPORTANT 18,19,20,21). Do read or memorize these important points assembled chapter wise. (ENOUGH FOR ATTEMTPING THE PROFF UHS EXAM). CHAPTER 12 : .Old type of cortex is known as ‘’allocortex’’ .New cortex is called ‘’neocortex’’ .In the internal pyramidal layer of primary motor area giant pyramidal cells, called Betz cells are found. . There are six layers of cerebral cortex : 1) Molecular layer 2) External Granular layer 3) External pyramidal layer 4) Internal Granular area 5) Internal Pyrimidal layer 6) Multiform layer .The cerebellum consists of two hemispheres and a central vermis. .Cerebellar ...

MY Step 2 CK Experience 284 Medhat Farwati

Dear (future) Doctors, I am Medhat Farwati, a Syrian graduate from Aleppo University, Faculty of Medicine. Hereby I share with you my experience with Step 2 CK. 1. Score: 284 2. Self-assessments: UWSA 1: 273 (2 months out) UWSA 2: 276 ( 1 week out) NBME 7: 277 (1 week out) NBME 8: 280 (3 days out) 3. Preparation time: After I was done with Step 1, I moved to the US as a postdoctoral research fellow. As such, I realized it is going to be challenging to navigate my research du ties, US rotations, Step 2 CS exam, and Step 2 CK preparation. Collectively, the actual preparation time for CK was 12 months with an average studying time ranging from 4 hours a day for the first 10 months to 8 hours a day for the last 2 months prior to my exam. 4. Materials used: UW Step 2 CK (x3) UW Step 3 (x2) Kaplan Q bank (x1) Internal Medicine Essentials Q bank De Virgilio (surgery textbook) Up to date and Medscape Google, YouTube, and Siri 😊 UW Step 2: Your baseline. Most people preparing for CK rega...

Step 1- 255

Hello everyone, I didn’t get an extraordinary score or break any records, but I did relatively well in very little time. So, I am doing this write up because most people spend 9+ months prepping getting their 260+, have fully matured Anki decks or have a high baseline. To most of you out there without a year of planning ahead, trust me, it can be done. 70% of STEP1 is properly reading and reasoning with a few basic points of HIGH YIELD™ knowledge. It’s all about mindset. I used a minimalistic and barebones approach and basically crammed for my step 1 exam in 4 weeks. I DID “0”, ZERO memorizing. Use this guide as an idea of what can be done in very little time, if you have more time to play with then all the more power to you! Firstly, I’m an average to below average student. Crammed couple days before 90% of my school exams. Never used First Aid. My Pre-dedicated Baseline: Our school makes us take a CBSE, my correlated step 1 score was 200ish. Like 100 questions MAX complet...

USMLE Made Easy

Search This Blog