askdoc-usmle

I would like to congratulate Pouya for successfully passing the USMLE Step 1 Exam with a score of 92/222 which he took last December 1, 2009.  He is part of the April, 2009 batch of enrollees in my prep course for Step 1. He is currently continuing his medical studies and will be sitting for Step 2 CK in a year or 2 after he graduates. We wish him an even higher score in that endeavor

For those who want to find out more. He has written his exam and prep experience in my forum at http://forums.askdoc-usmle.com.  The rest of the April batch is scheduled to take their exam in the first 2 months of the new year.

Askdoc

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010!!!

If you are planning or thinking about joining the November Batch of Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course, you need to know that the first live online lecture for the course is on November 4, 2009. As you may well be aware, the last day of registration is on November 15, 2009. So if for whatever reason, you will be enrolling after November 4, or you are not sure you will be joining November class, you cannot miss the first live online lecture in November 4 as it is probably the most important of the 6 live online lecture on the course. Although the topic “Introduction to the course” may sound simple, the lecture forms the basis for the whole course. It is the blueprint that will help you maximize your score. In fact, some people will probably entitle the lecture as ” How to get a 99 in USMLE Step 1“. Of course, since I don’t believe everyone can get a 99, I won’t use that title since it won’t apply to everyone. However, the lecture will point out how you can achieve the maximum score you can get by proper preparation and avoiding the pitfalls in reviewing that so many people commit. So if you have the potential to get a 99, then this lectures will help you get that 99. Of course this lecture is only part I, there are 5 other lectures as follows;

• Lecture 2 – How to Review Pathology
• Lecture 3 – Scheduling your Prep
• Lecture 4 – How to Review Microbiology/Immunology and Pharmacology
• Lecture 5 – How to Review Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Behavioral Sciences
• Lecture 6 – Test Preparation Strategy – How to Improve you test-taking skills

However, the first lecture serves as the foundation of the other 5 so you should not miss it if you plan to join the course. Therefore, if you do plan to join the course or are thinking about it, please inform me ahead, so I can give you access to the actual lecture site and instruct you on how to join the live online lecture. As most positions are reserved for those already enrolled. I can only accommodate a maximum of 5 more people aside from those already enrolled.

Askdoc

I would like to congratulate Logik15 for passing the USMLE Step 1 recently with a score of 92/221. He is the first member of the February batch to report back with his scores. I wish him well in his future endeavours

I am still awaiting the results of two other members of the February batch who have taken the exam and will post the results once they are out.

It’s been over a year since I first published “NBME Self-assessment Tests and USMLE Review.” Little did I know it will become the most popular of my post with over 14,000 pageviews in the past year. Since that time a lot of things have changed, hence this update.

If you have not read the previous two posts on this topic, please do so as I will not be repeating what I have said there in this post. You can access Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

How well does NBME predict your USMLE Score?

That has been the number one question asked of me since I wrote about this topic. My answer is still the same. Fairly well. Although correlation is never 100% more like 70 to 80%. However, certain development in the past few years have made the assessment tests less reliable for some people. Continue reading »

I would like to announce that I’ll be accepting applications for the September Class of Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course which will start on September 1, 2009 and end on March 3, 2010. This is the 5^th batch of enrollees for this course.  Please click on this link to go to the Home Page for the Prep Course.  You can also apply for the November Class if you want, too.

I would like to congratulate Marlene for successfully passing the USMLE Step 1 with a score of 88/213 which she took last March 27, 2009.  She is part of the first batch of enrollees in my prep course for USMLE Step 1 which started last September, 2008.  For those who were visiting the blog since last August, you will recall her ardently arguing for a position in the course. Well she finally made it.

When Marlene first came to me, I was actually taken aback. She graduated way back in 1997. Failed Step 1 multiple times even after taking courses. Could I really help her pass it this time? As we all “know”, OLD grad + Multiple failures = basket case.  However, the purpose of setting up this course was to help those who need the help most and she would certainly qualify.  She promised me that she will study hard if I will help her pass the USMLE. Well, I guessed we kept both ends of our deal.

For those who want to find out more. She has written her exam and prep experience in my forum at http://forums.askdoc-usmle.com. The prep course is set up to help you raise your scores. By how much, depends on how hard you are willing to study. 

Askdoc

*Note: Enrollment for September Classes have started. Please go to this link

I would like to announce that I’ll be accepting applications for the June Batch of Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course which will start on June 1, 2009 and end on November 30, 2009. This is the 4^th batch of enrollees for this course and again due to experiences with the previous batches, changes are being implemented to the program for this batch.

As you may well be aware, the first batch started last September, 2008. No fees were collected, however, the applicants were required to have failed Step 1 at least once. Tong, the first to take the exam from that batch has passed with a score of 97/232. The second, Marlene just passed with an 88/213. Most of you may know Marlene. She was the one who was ardently negotiating a position in the prep course on this blog last July to August when I first announced the course. Well she finally made it. You can read more about their exam experience here.

The February batch is mostly on schedule to take their exams in June and July, except for two who have requested to be move the June batch and one who is MIA. So a total of 4 will be taking their exams soon. Continue reading »

I wrote part of this post in answer to questions from my readers and students. After 2 emails and one answer to comments, I have decided to elaborate and write in more detail as a post that I will share with everyone.

 So what do you do on the day of the examination? The day you sit for the USMLE is the culmination of months of preparation. It may seem unfair that no matter how well your performance were in those countless q banks and test simulation, the only performance that really counts is the one you do on exam day. Therefore, it makes sense to maximize your chances of performing well for that date.

 Your preparation should begin way before the date of your examination, when you schedule the examination. It is a known fact that during review, people do reach a plateau and the best time to take the exam is just before or just after you reach your peak. Earlier or later than that can result in lower scores. When you review, immediately after learning and memorizing your lessons, you immediately start forgetting. Normally, the amount of medical concepts you are memorizing and retaining is growing faster than you are forgetting them. However, there comes a time when you reach your peak and eventually plateaus. Afterwards you will go into decline and forget more than you are learning. Most people go into plateau in about 6 to 8 months, therefore the ideal review time is around that long. That is why my prep course is around 6 months long. Continue reading »

*Enrollments for June Classes already started and will be open for the whole of May, 2009. If you are interested in enrolling please click on this link.  Thank You

Hello everyone, I will now be accepting applications for the April batch of Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course which will start April 1, 2009 and end on September 30, 2009. This is the third batch of enrollees for this prep course. As you may well be aware, the first batch started last September, 2008. No fees were collected, however, the applicants were required to have failed Step 1 at least once. The first to take the exam from that batch has passed with a score of 97/232. You can read more about him here.

The second batch started on January 26, 2009 and currently with 7 members. They paid a fee of $100 but this time around, everyone was accepted but on a first come, first served basis. Currently 4 are doing very well and 3 are doing poorly, not in terms of scores but in terms of progress. You need to be committed to finishing the course, and in order to do that you need to show up. Therefore some modification to the programs need to be done which I’ll discuss later.

Due to my experience with the first and second batch, I believe I have to describe the course in more detail including expectations and the amount of work needed so there is no misunderstanding.

1. The course covers USMLE Step 1 which is seven subjects all in all. The course is 6 months long. Therefore telling me that you do not have enough time to finish 1 subject in 4 to 6 weeks means you won’t have time to finish the course period. Therefore please be ready to invest the time needed to do the course. Nothing less than 4 to 6 hours a day at least 5 to 6 days a week is needed. If you are unable to commit this time, then this course will not help you.

2. The reason you would want in on this course is that it will teach you how to prep for the USMLE in the proper way. Therefore you must be prepared to follow instructions. You would be surprised at how many people insists on following their own methods of studying rather than those outlined in the course. If you will not follow the course’s review methodology, why bother enrolling? Continue reading »