The real question should be, how prepared do you want to be? Most students assume preparing for the USMLE Step 1 Exam begins and ends with books, review courses, QBanks and an NBME self assessment. Students often overlook a valuable piece of the puzzle: experience. Continue reading
Here are some practical tips that will help your performance on USMLE Step 1 test day. Continue reading
I would recommend an extension of 3- 4 weeks before sitting for the exam. Your NBME performance indicates that there is some foundational work you still need to do before taking your actual exam. However, that work may be in just a few key areas that were difficult for you or not covered well in your curriculum. Continue reading
In this blog post, I have created a comparison chart of the mean Step 1 scores by specialty reported by students in the 2009 NRMP match as compared to the 2011 match. Continue reading
While you are still concentrating on your medical school curriculum, annotate your comprehensive review book, such as First Aid, as you go through your course. Take an NBME practice exam 2-3 months prior to your intensive study period to establish a baseline and determine your weak areas. There are several ways to use the DIT Part 1 Questions and Video Answers that begin arriving to your dashboard in January and continue through May. These questions are open-ended questions that are focus on high yield topics for Step 1.
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Biochemistry for Step 1 is always one of those subjects that students are unsure about and not quite certain how to approach. Some students report getting very few biochemistry questions on their exam and others find their exam very heavily weighted with biochemistry, so it is an area that students have to master since there is no guarantee which type of exam they will get.
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The United States Medical Licensing Board has announced that there will be new items added to the Step 2 CK examination as early as August 3, 2011. These new items’ formats will assess an examinee's ability to appropriately interpret information presented both in the form of a research abstract and a pharmaceutical advertisement.
Students should be prepared to be able to analyze a pharmaceutical advertisement and answer multiple choice questions about the following areas as related to the pharmaceutical covered in the ad:
a) Biostastistics/epidemiology
b) Pharmacology/therapeutics
c) Development and approval of drugs and dietary supplements
d) Medical ethics
e) Decisions about individual patient care
In addition, students will be asked to interpret a clinical or experimental research abstract and answer questions related to:
a) Biostatistics/epidemiology
b) Use of diagnostic studies
c) Pharmacology/therapeutics
d) Decisions about patient care
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What's your question?:
I am a recent IMG who is planning on giving Step 1 around the first week of July. I have completed my CS exam so far and passed. I plan to give my Step 2 CK immediately after completing Step 1 hopefully by the end of AUG. My question is: Is it beneficial to apply for the Match with a pending Step 2 CK score or wait until I am fully ECFMG certified? Do you have a study schedule for Step 2 CK, one that can be completed within 2 months? Thanks for your help.
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It is so easy to slip into making negative statements when preparing for boards. As our earlier article discussed, this type of thinking and talking can actually result in poorer self-esteem and reduce performance. Affirmations, and generally turning negative thinking into positive thoughts, can become self-fulfilling prophecies and motivate you to greater heights. Here are some examples of negative things we think and say to and about ourselves during board preparation, as well as some suggestions for turning those thoughts around to work for you instead of against you.
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In response to student requests, I have listed some music for inspiration and motivation during board preparation. Whether you listen to them while you are preparing or while you are taking break and want some motivation through music, they are there to get you going. They range from oldies to current and from ethereal to rap. I included links to YouTube to all that had existing links. Enjoy.
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