Hi guys! I sat USMLE
Step 1 on December 4th, 2018 and decided to write a brief report
about my preparation and exam experience.
Background
Year of graduation:
2017
Exams given (and
passed): USMLE Step 2 CK (in 08/2017) and USMLE Step 2 CS (in 11/2017). Yes, I
sat USMLE Step 2 before Step 1 due
to the fact that I could prepare for Step 2 CK/CS alongside my final medical
school exams in 2017.
I am from Europe and English is not my mother tongue.
As I already sat USMLE
Step 2 CK and CS, it was finally time for me to sit USMLE Step 1 in order to
qualify for ECMFG certification. Due to the fact that I started working already
in a busy setting (high-volume trauma surgery), I was extremely time and resource
constrained. I did not opt for a
high score, a pass was enough for me as I already matched into a competitive
residency in my home country and merely sat the USMLEs in order to keep the
opportunity to go for fellowship training in the US later on.
Preparation
Dedicated study
period: 4 (5) weeks.
Due to heavy workload,
I did not prepare at all for Step 1 before the dedicated study period. Actually,
I didn’t even open First Aid before my dedicated study period began. My
dedicated study period started end of October. In the first week, I started
with “the basics”: microbiology, immunology, biochemistry etc. It was very tough for me, as the basic science
portion of medical school was almost 6 or 7 years ago for me! The second week I
was on night shift so I did not have a lot of time to prepare. In said week, I
mostly studied the subjects which were “easier” for me (gastroenterology,
dermatology, musculoskeletal/rheumatology etc.) and barely did any UWorld
questions. The last 3 weeks were very intense studying (12-14 hours a day),
basically spent on the rest of the topics. I made it a priority to revise every subject at least once,
even if it just was very briefly. Basically I would read a chapter (20-25 pages
or so a day) in FA every day, followed by 2-3 blocks of 40 questions on UWorld.
I managed to finish all 2500 or so UWorld questions in 4 weeks and I got 69%
correct. Unfortunately I did not have the time to do UWSA 1 or 2 or the
official USMLE questions. Having already sat USMLE Step 2 CK surely helped.
Resources used: UWorld and First Aid, nothing else. I strongly believe one can achieve a
decently high score (up to 245 or so, in my humble opinion) with those two
resources alone. I personally think it is a mistake to study with 10 different
resources, focusing on two or three resources is key.
Exam day
I was very tired and
unfocused on exam day, unfortunately, as I slept very badly the night before. I
arrived at the test center approximately 30 minutes before and got settled in.
The first two blocks
were quite hard. I took my first break after two blocks, then did another two
blocks, followed by a longer lunch break. In the afternoon I took a break after
every block. The questions were quite hard and after the exam I was 99% sure I
failed.
Score report
Score release: January
2nd 2019: 236. I couldn’t
trust my eyes and was so happy and relieved!
Tips and tricks
·
My personal opinion: limit yourself to 2 or 3 resources only (unless you
are aiming at a score of > 245, then
you might want to add some more resources). First Aid and UWorld are a must!
·
Revise!
·
If you are like me and like to study with mnemonics, learn all the
mnemonics of First Aid by heart. They are great!
·
I am far from a genius, and this report is not to show off how much of a
badass I am, but to prove an important point: It is possible to achieve a very
decent score with only a short dedicated study period and limited preparation
resources. Step 1 not only tests material that you learned by heart, but also how you apply physiological principles
to questions, which brings me to my next important remark:
·
Do NOT go into this exam without
having a strong grip on physiology!!! Physiology, especially cardiovascular/pulmonary physiology is key.
Thankfully I seem to still remember quite a bit of physiology from my pre-med
times which definitely helped me a lot!
·
You will encounter very hard questions during your exam. Keep your cool
and don’t freak out! You will do fine!
Try to get a good night’s sleep the night
before.
No comments:
Post a Comment