A lot of times, people presume that with my double 99, prepping for me was a breeze. That I did not go through the same problems every Old IMG went through in my own prep. Nothing was further from the truth.

When I was starting my prep, one of my biggest problem was . . . → Read More: Old IMG Have Not Studied for an Exam for a Long Time]]>

A lot of times, people presume that with my double 99, prepping for me was a breeze. That I did not go through the same problems every Old IMG went through in my own prep. Nothing was further from the truth.

When I was starting my prep, one of my biggest problem was that not only have I not sat for an exam for a long time, I have not done any kind of long term studying for some time already. It was very hard to get into studying mode and read for long hours.

I went thru a lot of false starts. Studying a few days to weeks, then sputtering to a stop. This went for about a year before things finally began to settle down into a routine. The fact I had to work at the same time did not help the situation. In the end I was able to get into focus and finished my prep.

Is there really a short cut to get back into studying mode? I don’t think so. You have to get back into the habit of studying for long hours before you can seriously prepare for the USMLE. And like all habits, it takes sometime before it becomes routine to you. It will probably be easier if you are in a group where all of you are older grads and in the same boat. That would keep you motivated.

I have been thinking of forming an old IMG club, where old IMG’s gather together weekly, keep each other motivated, swap experience, until they get to the point that they can study for long hours on their own. If you feel you want to join up, post your name in the comments section. If we get at least 10 people, I will set up a forum for Old IMG members to meet up.

Related Posts:

• Problem of the Old IMG – Relearning What Have Been Forgotten

• Am I too Old to Take the USMLE?

• Common Problems Faced by the Old IMG in USMLE Prep

• Advice for the Old IMG taking the USMLE

• Congratulations, Masuma. USMLE Step 1 Score 99/230

• The Key to Getting a 99 in the USMLE

I read Kaplan notes once, FA twice and doing Qbanks now. Is that enough for Step 1? A frequent question asked in forums and in my blog but misses the point entirely. It is never a question of how much effort you put into preparing for the USMLE that determines the final result . . . → Read More: Why You Need to Master the USMLE Step 1]]>

I read Kaplan notes once, FA twice and doing Qbanks now. Is that enough for Step 1? A frequent question asked in forums and in my blog but misses the point entirely. It is never a question of how much effort you put into preparing for the USMLE that determines the final result of your prep, but how well you have retained and are able to recall the information you have studied. Although a certain amount of effort is required in order to achieve this, how much time and effort you put in to achieve equivalent result depends on the skill and intelligence you put into your prep. It is not so much studying harder as studying smarter.

In the forums, you see a lot of people studying the same things in the same way and results range for high 99′s to failing. So something else must be at work to explain the variety of results achieve using what is essentially the same study plan. And that something is the level of mastery achieved by different people using the same plan. It has to do with the different methods people use to study the material. As some people have asked time and again. When you say you have revised the material 2 times, do you mean you have read the materials twice, or you have tried to memorize the material twice. And therein lies the difference in results.

For the purpose of the USMLE, what you cannot recall in a minute or so, you do not know.  It is not enough for you to have read Kaplan, or FA or whatever, but you should be able to recall what you have read. If you cannot answer a question, it is because:

1. you do not know the concept because you have not read it
2. you read the concept but you did not understand it
3. you read the concept and understood it but cannot recall it in the exam
4. you read the concept, understood it and can recall it in the exam given enough time, but of course since this is the USMLE, you never have enough time

In all 4 cases, you don’t get points as far as the USMLE is concerned.

Other reasons include,
1. you read it, understood it, can recall it in time, but the question is in clinical vignette format and you are poor in clinical vignettes
2. you read it, understood it, can recall it, but the question require more details than what you’ve actually read and understood, ie, it requires a higher level of mastery than you’ve prepped for
3. you read it, you thought you understood it, but actually you didn’t because you never tested your comprehension

In all these cases, you also don’t get points as far as the USMLE is concerned.

So you see, you could’ve studied and read all the right stuff, but you still don’t get points for them and you could still fail. So it’s not enough to study all the right things, you need to study the right way to insure that you covered all 7 situations stated above for everything you’ve read and studied. Studying the right stuff covers only situation number one.

Only by studying the right way, will you be able to achieve a level of mastery needed to do well in this exam. So the question arises what do you mean by mastering the concepts in the USMLE.

Well it means knowing enough details about the concepts tested so you know how to answer questions that require you to know that level of details. People who think Kaplan or Rapid Review are too detailed will probably not do well in the exam, because in my book, both reviewers lack detail to get you to 99′s much less high 99′s.

Next , you need to know those details at such a level that you can recall them in the limited time provided by the exam. And that is not easy. It requires studying a certain way to do that efficiently.

You need to study the materials in a certain way that insure you did your analysis during the review and not during the exam. There are methods of doing this which is emphasized in my course. The reason for doing the analysis during review rather than during the exam is that the exam is timed and the additional time you need to analyze the facts in order to answer the questions, may be what will cause you to fail or do badly in the exam. In contrast to the actual exam, you can do the analysis during the review where you have all the time in the world to do so. So the question, instead of requiring you to recall facts, analyze then answer, now only requires you to recall the analysis you did during the review, thus insuring faster recall, faster time to answer the question concerned and consequently higher scores.

Therefore it is not enough to have just read through the materials a couple of times. You need to master the USMLE in order to do well in the exam. There are study methods to help you do this consistently throughout your review. If you want to know more about How to Master the USMLE Step 1, Watch my 15 minute introductory video, How to Master the USMLE Step 1 – An Introduction

Related Posts:

• How to Master the USMLE Step 1 – an Introduction

• Why You Need Three Phases in USMLE Prep – I

• NBME Self Assessment Tests and USMLE Review

Be at Your Best on the Day of the USMLE Exam.

So what do you do on the day of the USMLE 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 USMLE examination, when you schedule the examination. It is a known fact that during review, people do reach a plateau and the best time to sit for the USMLE exam is just before or just after you reach your peak. Earlier or later than that can result in lower scores. During review, immediately after learning and memorizing your lessons, you start forgetting right away. 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 for the USMLE is around that long. That is why my USMLE Step 1 prep course is around 6 months long.

Stop Studying for the USMLE Exam at the Right Time

The next question you have to ask yourself is when do you actually stop studying? Some make the mistake of studying right up to the night before they sit for the USMLE exam while others start relaxingtwo weeks before their scheduled USMLE exam.

What’s wrong with studying up to the last minute? Well to illustrate, imagine a marathon runner who the day before the marathon decides to do a marathon to see if he can win the marathon. The USMLE is an exhausting exam that will test your staminato the limit. Anyone who has taken the USMLE exam can tell you that their brains felt like mush and refuses to function properly in the last 2 blocks of the USMLE exam. I know, mine did. Therefore, it makes sense to rest as much as possible the day before the examination to regenerate your energy for the battle ahead. In fact I recommend to stop studying 2 days before the actual day of your USMLE examination.

Now if resting is good, why shouldn’t I rest 1 or two weeks before my scheduled USMLE exam. Again, let’s use a sports example to answer this question. Professional boxers usually arrive a week or 2 before the bout to the venue where the bout will be held. By this time they’ve already finished their training. Any boxer, who has not finished training for the bout by that time is bound to lose the fight. And yet instead of painting the town red, they spend their time in the gym, practicing and sparring. The reason is so that they can maintain focus on the bout itself. Losing focus this late may mean losing the bout. The same holds true with preparing for the USMLE. The problem most old grad have is to start their USMLE review. They usually go through lots of false starts before their review start going smoothly. The main reason is that it’s been too long since they’ve studied and there are lots of things going on in their life that its hard to focus on the prep. Getting distracted and losing focus too early before the exam can cause you to perform at less than peak condition in the actual USMLE examination. You need to block off everything until you’ve finished the exam.

What to Do 1 to 2 Weeks Before the Actual USMLE Exam.

So what should you be doing 1 to 2 weeks before the actual examination? Well definitely you should have finished the heavy lifting and not studying anything new. The reason is that your mind will tend to remember better the most recent things you have studied and if that is low yield new stuff (presuming you studied the higher yield stuff first), that is what you will remember better and unfortunately has less chances of appearing in the exam. Therefore the best thing to do at this point is try to cover the highest yield stuff. If you are in my course, you would be enrolled in the High Yield Fast Facts (HYFF) Course, a compilation of the highest yield test materials in electronic flashcard format. If you are reviewing on your own, you can use the Rapid Review section of First Aid at the back of the book. However, it is in table format which is less effective than in flashcard format. This way you remember the highest yield information best when you sit for the exam. (Did I mention that someone who got a 99/256 use my HYFF course two weeks before the exam? see here!)

What to Do the Last 2 Days Before the USMLE Exam

Another important thing to consider is how far you lived from the Prometric Center where you will be taking your USMLE exam. The exam is a high stress event. If you have to drive through traffic and you are 2 hours away, the stress can be tremendous. Worse, traffic may be unpredictable and you may get there late. In my case, I lived about 1 hour by car from the Prometric exam site. The route I have to travel is notorious for unpredictable traffic that could last for 2 to 3 hours. So instead of increasing my own stress. I booked myself into a hotel about 10 minute walk from the site the night before. I could take a cab (parking is also terrible) and be there in about 3 minutes including traffic light change. US$100, the price of one night in the hotel is small compared to the $800++ exam fees, $1000++ for books, qbanks, NBME, etc. and 7 months of prep time I had already invested so far. Cab fare is $5 plus tip.

You can spend the last 2 days before the examination on anything to relax you. I watched a movie before my exam. A comedy, Ice Age 2. Then on the night before the exam, the most important thing is to get a good night’s rest. That involves a regular meal, not too heavy. Maybe a nice warm bath. Sleep early so you can wake up early. But do not take tranquilizers as that can cause you not to be in peak form the next day. Make sure everything you need is prepared beforehand. (Clothes, food, water, medicine, ID, Exam permit, etc.) Preparing it early in the morning just increases your stress level. In fact if you can prepare everything 2 days before so much the better.

Remember, stress is additive. The USMLE examination itself is an extremely stressful event. Any other worries on the same day just adds to the stress. So prepare everything at least 2 to 3 days beforehand so that your only worry is the examination itself on that crucial day.

What to Do on the Day of USMLE Exam Itself

Now a few things to remember on the day of the examination itself. The most important is to never leave a question blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer. The USMLE is an MCQ exam and one answer is always correct. An unanswered question is a sure wrong, while a question answered even with a guess is a possible right. And just one additional right answer may mean the difference between a 74 and 75 or a 98 and 99. As sports great Wayne Gretzky said, “ You miss 100% of the shot you do not take.”

So what’s a method to make sure you do this. Well, you should allocate around 10 seconds per question to randomly pick the answer once your time runs out. At the two minute warning, it means you can randomly answer at least 12 questions. So if you have less than that to answer then you can start randomly answering the q’s that you have not finished. For example at the 2 minute warning, you have six questions unanswered. Continue answering as before, but at the one minute mark, just randomly guess an answer on the remaining unanswered questions.

Now for pacing in the actual examination. The best pacing schedule makes use of a couple of facts. One, you are more alert in the early morning than in the afternoon when the exam will have taken it’s toll. Therefore it makes sense to schedule more blocks before lunch. So for USMLE Step 1,  4, 3 would be good. For USMLE Step 2, no choice but 4, 4. Now you are sleepiest after lunch, because of the act of digestion, therefore schedule only 1 block after lunch then have a break afterward. Never take more than 2 blocks before you take a break with some food or sugared drink. Your sugar level starts falling after 2 hours (physiology of fasting) and sugar is the main fuel for your brain.

So best to schedule 2 blocks, 15 minute break, 2 blocks then 25 minute lunch, then 1 block, 10 minute break, then last 2 blocks.(or 3 blocks if Step 2) You can take a break between the last 2 blocks if you feel you need it. Notice that the total break is 50 minutes. Reason is that the actual break will usually be longer than the time you scheduled it. Just logging in and out of the room will take 1.5 to 2 minutes. The rest room is usually two doors out (both the exam center in my home country and the one in San Francisco where I took Step 3 have the same layout. So I presume all Prometric centers have the same general layout) So you have to walk. If you just need a short break between blocks, just sit on your cubicle and rest for a minute or two before starting the next block. As I said logging in and out is a time waster.

Everyone knows the usefulness of keeping a large amount of high yield information in your head just before the actual examination. This can help a lot in boosting your score up in the last few days before the actual examination. Although I am never an advocate for last minute cramming for an examination . . . → Read More: High Yield Fast Facts for the USMLE]]>

Everyone knows the usefulness of keeping a large amount of high yield information in your head just before the actual examination. This can help a lot in boosting your score up in the last few days before the actual examination. Although I am never an advocate for last minute cramming for an examination like the USMLE, the benefits of having a large number of high yield facts in your immediate memory is something no one can ignore. The reason is that unless the information is in your immediate memory, chances are it will take some time for you to recall that information and in the context of timed examination like the USMLE, that can make or break you.

Most reviewers acknowledge these facts. First Aid for Step 1 has its Rapid Review section. Levinson and Jawetz has its “Brief summaries of Medically Important Organisms. and Trevor and Katzung’s Pharmacology Review has it’s “Key Words for Key Drugs”. All to be reviewed just a few days before going into the examination.

Remember, these are not substitute for intensive focused review of the materials. They are intended to help you keep very high yield stuff in immediate memory to help you score higher just before the exam day itself. Otherwise each of the above reviewers would not have bothered with other parts of their books, right?

Although, they’ve provided these tables and list, question still remains how to efficiently memorize this list and put them in your head. Some would read through them repeatedly. Some would use their hands to cover one side and try to remember what’s on the other side. The more industrious ones will write flashcards with them. The group review people will take turns with one person reciting out loud one side, while the rest try to recall what’s written on the other side.

Actually the best way to memorize and practice recall of large amounts of unrelated information is through the use of flashcards. It associates certain words with certain concepts or so-called “word-associations”. The problem with most available flashcards is that they try to put as many concepts in one card as possible, thus making it hard for word-associations to work. For example when studying microbes using flashcards, each microbe card should only contain one fact, using multiple cards to store multiple facts. For example, microbe-drug of choice, microbe-disease, microbe-pathogenetic mechanism combinations rather than microbe – disease, drug of choice, pathogenetic mechanisms in one card, which although more efficient way to produce flashcards, is a less efficient way to memorize through word-associations.

Now, one of the most effective ways of using flashcards to learn large amounts of unrelated infomration is the Leitner system. You can google it or click on this link to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashcard to read up on it.

Flashcards are sorted into 2 to 4 groups. For example, in a 3 group stack, the first group is the hard group, the second the medium group and the third the easy group. Everytime you guess a card right it is sent to the easier group. If you get it wrong you send it to back to the harder group. You should spend more time in the harder group as you know them less. The result is more efficient method of studying taking less time with better results.

You can of course start making flashcards with the Rapid Review section of First Aid and the other books mentioned above and divide them into groups. Or you could take the easy way and enroll in the High Yield Fast Facts Course in my prep site http://prep.askdoc-usmle.com. It’s free for 14 days for anyone enrolling by October 19, 2008 PT.

It currently contains the equivalent of Rapid Review section of First Aid with over 100 additional high yield items (550 total). It also contains a 150 item Diseases and Syndrome section that lists all  diseases and syndromes and their description. The 400 item Buzzwords section, contain descriptions of buzzwords. As you may already realize, the USMLE Step 1 do not use Buzzwords. Instead it uses actual description of for example Reed-Sternberg cells. Therefore, even if you know the buzzwords, you may not know the description. An additional 250 items will be added to the buzzword section in the next couple of days.

Still under construction is the bugs and drugs section which will cover, microbes and drug of choice as well as other concepts in microbiology. Additional sections in pharmacology covering, mechanisms, side effects, etc. will also be included in the near future. A section on medical images will also be set up. So flash cards with say an ECG tracing, an xray or a skin lesion will be listed and you should try to identify the image. This usually uses a 4 group system rather than the 3 group system used in the course.

My main difficulty with medical images is that it takes so long to find them. There are a lot of medical images available in the net, but most of them are copyrighted. About only 1 in 10 is available as public domain, creative commons or GNU license that allows free use of the image with attribution. Therefore, it will actually take a long time for me to finish this unless I get help.

Therefore, I would like to ask my readers to help search for images. Help me help you do better in the USMLE. Every 2 medical images you provide me with that I use for the prepsite, I will give you 1 point. Each point can be exchanged for 2 weeks free access to the High Yield Fast Facts course.
( in the future to other courses) You must provide a link to an image that is not copyrighted, or if copyrighted that you have arranged with the copyright author for free use in the course. Credit is given for the first person to submit the image, and submitting an image previously submitted by others will not be counted.

You can post the image links or any submission in the comments section of this post. And the date and time of submission will act as the basis for deciding first submissions for credit. This will be the basis for all future courses I am offering including the 6 month moderated prep course. You earn credits by contributing time, materials or money and you use credits to avail of services, including acceptance to the prep courses, one-on-one chat sessions, one-on-one tutoring which I will be offering in the near future. I think if you want to take, you should also give. If you want people to help you, you should also try to help others. That is the only way to make things equitable. You either pay it forward or pay it afterwards.

Related Posts:

• Answering USMLE Type Questions – Part II

• What to Do on the Day of the USMLE Exam

• NBME Self-Assessment Tests and USMLE Review – Part II

• How to Master the USMLE Step 1 – an Introduction

• High Yield Fast Facts: So what can you do with US$ 5?

So what can you do with US$ 5?

This started out as a reply to a question asked by dr patel on my blog on how to evaluate one’s readiness for the USMLE and avoid making the mistake of taking the examination and failing it. However, it got a little bit too long, so I have decided to rewrite it into . . . → Read More: Guide to Self-Evaluation in USMLE Prep]]>

This started out as a reply to a question asked by dr patel on my blog on how to evaluate one’s readiness for the USMLE and avoid making the mistake of taking the examination and failing it. However, it got a little bit too long, so I have decided to rewrite it into an article.

Failure to properly evaluate one’s readiness for the examination and one’s progress during the whole USMLE preparation process may be one of the most crucial reason not only for failing the USMLE but also for failure to achieve a less than stellar score.

Proper self-evaluation involves not only how to do the evaluation, using the right tool to measure the right parameter but also when to do the measuring to insure maximal effectiveness. Most failures in self-evaluation can be divided into these 2 broad categories.

Whenever, we mention evaluation, most people think of the NBME self-assessment tests primarily or the online q Banks like UW and Kaplan. These are very useful assessment and evaluation tools, but they are not the only ones and not necessarily applicable in all situations. Used the right way, they are extremely effective, but the propensity of most people to use them in all kinds of situation is not necessarily a good idea. The right tool used for the right situation is very effective. Using the right tool for the wrong situations makes it less effective.

You see people using NBME to evaluate themselves at various stages of their review rather than at the end, to gauge their final readiness for the USMLE is an example of an expensive misuse of a great tool. I wonder what you would think of your anatomy professor if after finishing upper extremities, he uses the USMLE Step 1 to test how well you are doing so far. Ridiculous and yet that is what most people are actually doing during their prep.

The MRI may be one of the biggest breakthrough in medicine in recent years, but it is a tool with a specific function. Using it to measure blood glucose level is ridiculous. So use the right tool for the right situation. We’ll talk about that more later.

The second area where most people commit a big mistake in self-evaluation is when to take it. One of the primary reasons being the myth that only online q Banks will do as evaluation tools for the USMLE which is far from the truth. A myth perpetrated by a lot of posters in forums and of course encouraged by online q Bank providers for obvious reasons. Again as stated before, proper tools for proper situations will provide excellent results. But for other situations other tools are better.

Usually you have people studying for 3 or 4 months, reading the various subjects, Anatomy, Physiology, etc. for step 1 and Internal Medicine, etc for step 2 CK and step 3. Then they enroll in the online q Bank, the first time they will actually test what they have been able to retain in their readings for the past 4 months. Then shock when they are scoring 40 to 50% followed by panic since they realized that they have 2 months left before their scheduled exam and that after 4 months of efforts, they’ve only come so far. So they searched the forum looking for answers that tell them all is not lost and reject anything that says otherwise. Most of the time, they take the suggestion which they so want to be true, that by just doing q Banks for a month or so, they will raise their scores. Yeah, right probably by 5% or less so unless they are already scoring borderline scores, doing that will not help. Their only choice really is to restart their review, this time doing them the right way. Don’t get me wrong, doing q Banks can raise your scores. However, there seems to be a pattern. The higher your starting q Banks scores, the more help doing q Banks will be to raise your scores. Below a certain level, doing q Banks will not help. People just fail.

All of this could’ve been avoided if proper self-evaluation have been instituted right from the start of their prep process. Self-evaluation is important to insure that you are prepping the proper way and that your prep is effective. That is why I’ve always advocated that people should use Subject specific q Banks right from the start. They don’t have to be USMLE type questions, since the main objective is to see if you know the subject, not in how good you are at answering tough, USMLE type questions. You need to know the subject well, before you can answer the tougher questions. You need to learn basic arithmetic before you can answer algebra or trigonometry. In my prep course, the course participants have a quiz per chapter (comprehensive quiz with 30 to 65 questions per chapter) to insure they know the topic before moving to the next one. Any problem is solved on the spot. So they don’t have to wait until 4 months later to realize something is wrong with their prep and they have to do them all over again.

Even in medical school, everyone knows you should evaluate performance at regular intervals to insure that people are learning. Imagine if your dean tells you that due to the huge success this method of evaluation is among people prepping for the USMLE. They will now only give one evaluation examination at the end of 4^th year to test whether you will become an MD or not. That’s not very realistic is it and yet that  is what most people do when they prep for the USMLE.

So how do you go about doing your self-evaluation? In the beginning, when revising the subjects, you should be prepared to test yourself chapter by chapter to insure that you know your stuff before moving on. When you finished each subject. Test yourself using by subject q Books. You use online q Banks after you’ve finished your first round of review, both to assess how much you know and help raise your scores. Then just before the examination, you use NBME to confirm your actual readiness for the exam and if you are going for a certain score, whether you will make it or not.

For example you are preparing for Step 1. You can use Robbin’s Review of Pathology q Book as a chapter by chapter quiz for Pathology. It is important that the chapter quiz is comprehensive and not the short ones usually found in the end of Kaplan notes chapters or BRS Pathology chapters. For an example, you can go to my prep site at http://prep.askdoc-usmle.com. Log in and enroll into the Pathdemo program to access the quiz. Compare how comprehensive the Cell Pathology quiz is to the Cell Pathology Study Notes provided or even the Cell Pathology notes in Kaplan lecture notes. That is how comprehensive the chapter quiz should be. For Microbiology and Immunology, Levinson and Jawetz have a very good chapter by chapter quiz. My prep course will also develop its own as it is finished. For Pharmacology, Trevor and Katzung also have a comprehensive chapter by chapter quiz. For the other 4 subjects, there is no comprehensive chapter by chapter quiz q Book that exists, although, the Kaplan q Book which covers by the subject may be an adequate substitute.

For Step 2 CK and Step 3, no adequate chapter by chapter quiz exists. Harrisons q Book contains too many low yield stuff and may be more helpful for ABIM rather than Step 2 CK or Step 3. Good subject exams include the Kaplan Q Book and the Blueprints q books.

Although I have chapter by chapter quizzes in my prep courses, only Review of Pathology is available and will take 6 to 9 months to finish the rest. However, good commercial chapter by chapter quizzes are available for Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Pharmacology as stated above and I would suggest you make use of them right from the start of your review.

If anyone knows of other chapter by chapter q Books available, I would appreciate it if you can bring it to my attention, especially for the other subjects, so I can evaluate them and make recommendations.

Related Posts:

• Which NBME Self Assessment Form to Use for USMLE Step 1

• NBME Self-assessment Tests and USMLE Review – An Update

• Why You Need to Master the USMLE Step 1

• Most Common Mistakes in Step 2 CK Prep

• What to Do in Step 2 CK

• How to Master the USMLE Step 1 – an Introduction

I would like to announce that Askdoc’s Method of USMLE Review for Step 1 is now available at my prep forum at http://forums.askdoc-usmle.com. As I promised to some of you before, it contains more or less the same instructions available to the participants in my prep course. It includes suggested alternate reviewers . . . → Read More: Askdoc’s Method of USMLE Review for Step 1 now available]]>

I would like to announce that Askdoc’s Method of USMLE Review for Step 1 is now available at my prep forum at http://forums.askdoc-usmle.com. As I promised to some of you before, it contains more or less the same instructions available to the participants in my prep course. It includes suggested alternate reviewers and q Books you could use for your review. If you have any questions about the review methods, feel free to post your questions there.

The prep course participants are currently revising pathology so only the pathology review methods are outlined. Once they’ve reached the other subjects, probably around 1st week of October, instruction for the other subjects will be posted there too.

The prep forum is currently limited to Step 1 and Step 2 CS only as it will take time before I can write up enough materials to fill them. However, one feature it has which members may like is a Groups section where members can form themselves into groups and have a place where they can do their group discussion and learning in privacy. Only group members can enter and post in their forum. They could also limit visibility of the forum to their own group. Groups wanting to have their own forum section should sign up at Askdoc’s USMLE prep forum and submit the names of all group members and the name of their group (which will the name of their forum under the Groups forum) via personal message to me. Please include if you want to keep it invisible to the public. Your group is good for 30 days. You can extend it twice at 30 days each time for a total of 90 days by sending me a personal message before the 30 days expire.

Small private groups are handy for discussing Step 1 concepts and even Step 2 CS cases.

Related Posts:

• Is First Aid Alone Enough For USMLE Step 1 Review?

• How to Score 99′s in the USMLE

• Advice for the Old IMG taking the USMLE

• Why You Need to Master the USMLE Step 1

• Other Announcements on AskDoc Prep Course

Back in 2004 when I was just starting my preparation for the USMLE, my greatest fear was in failing this examination. My status as an old graduate made failing a stark reality for me. Every person I asked told me that as an old graduate I have no chance. The most encouraging response . . . → Read More: Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course open for Applicants]]>

Back in 2004 when I was just starting my preparation for the USMLE, my greatest fear was in failing this examination. My status as an old graduate made failing a stark reality for me. Every person I asked told me that as an old graduate I have no chance. The most encouraging response I got was, “maybe you’ll pass, but it’s impossible to match with really low scores.” When I went to forums, I hear horror stories of people failing which frightened me even more. Then once in a while, when I read of people celebrating and crowing about their 99′s, I secretly wished that that was me. Even my own family thought it was impossible for me to make it. It got so bad, it took me over a year to get around to seriously preparing for it.

Now 4 years later, with a double 99 in my belt, I feel bad whenever, I read about people failing the examination. If I can make it, they should be able to make it, too. 2 years ago I wrote an advise to someone who had failed already thrice and was plaintively asking people “What to do”. I’m happy she eventually passed her exam with an 82. Since that time, I am happy to note that a lot of people have passed and raised their scores and even got 99′s using that advise. A couple of them had the opportunity to catch me between Steps and was couched by me through emails to raise their scores with varying results. However, since that time, hundreds of people still failed. Some had read my advise but were doing exactly opposite of what I had written. Others, I found out did not understand how to implement what I had written.

As I wrote recently in my post “Milestone”, I learned that for some people, you just need to show them how to study and they can do so on their own with excellent results. These are the people helped most by my blog and posts in the forums. Then there are people who need to have study tools and taught how to use them. So recently, I’ve tried to analyze the different study tools and tried to teach people to use them, writing mostly in my blog. I’m also trying to build one through the USMLE Wiki Project. Then, there are those who needs couching in order to get anywhere with their review. Their only choice seem to be expensive prep courses whether “live” or not that are essentially cookie cutter courses made for the average reviewee. However, if these people are really average, they should’ve been able to pass the USMLE already. They need special couching. It is for this group of people that I am starting this course

I would like to announce that I would be starting a free USMLE Step 1 Prep course starting hopefully on September 1, 2008., which is to last from 3 to 6 months. It will of course be called Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep course. I will be accepting initially 6 participants to this program. The main criteria for acceptance being that you have failed the Step 1 at least once in the past 2 years. Only if less than 6 applicants have failed Step 1 will I consider applicants who have not failed Step 1. The main reason for this is that they need help the most and also to prove to others that with proper preparation, anyone who is able to finish medical school and pass their countries’ medical board should be able to pass the USMLE.

If you are interested in applying for the course, you will need to submit the following information:

Your Name:
Your preferred nickname or callsign
Year of Graduation
Country of Medical School:
Country of Origin
Country currently residing (ie. where you will be reviewing)
Sex (only so I don’t make a mistake of addressing you wrongly)
Age: (only if you want to, however, I may have to make adjustment to how to couch you depending on whether you are older or younger, so if you don’t want to state actual age, give me an idea more or less)
Year Step 1 Taken (if more than once then indicate all years)
Step 1 Scores (if more than once indicate all scores)
Have you taken Step 2 CK (if yes indicate year and scores)

Please submit scanned image of of your Step 1 Scores (all if taken multiple times). Try to make the files small by using JPEG compression. (I have limited mailbox size) You may cover your USMLE number and street address, but I need your name to match what you submitted, exam dates and country as proof you failed the examination. You will also be asked to submit your perfomance profile at the back of your score report but only if you are accepted as a participant in the prep course

Please submit them to this email address: applications@askdoc-usmle.com.

Do not email anything else to this email address as you will not receive any reply.

If you are going to this year’s match, please be aware that the earliest I expect any participant to take Step 1 is December with January to February being more likely. So plan accordingly.

Other Terms and conditions you must agree to is as follows:

1. commit to finish the program in the appointed time,
2. willing to purchase, borrow and/or acquire one way or the other the study materials needed for the review. although study material provided by me will be free
3. willing to follow the prescribed schedule and course materials. You can supplement but not subtract from them.
4. will follow instruction and be able to follow all meeting schedule including chat sessions that may be implemented weekly or even more frequently
5. active participation in discussions of medical concepts and practice questions, etc.
6. set a goal of 85 or higher and will not register for the actual examination until advised by me of their readiness
7. will not duplicate and/or sell or distribute study materials developed by me for the sessions
8. will not provide access to any website used for preparation to individuals not in the program by providing them your user name and password, or allowing them access through your account
9.should also have not applied for the next examination schedule yet or are willing to drop it if it conflicts with 3 to 6 month review schedule,ie. September-February.
10. should not have any ongoing family or personal problem that can affect their ability to follow the review schedule as prescribed.

…and any other conditions that may be implemented as necessary to insure that the prep session go properly and be successful.

Although this program have been conducted in part before informally, this is the first time I will be doing this formally. As such, I expect, it will not go smoothly. There will be startup pains and missteps. Nevertheless, although previous participants have used this system to raise their scores, some even getting 99′s some have not reported back and the possibility that they actually failed the exam could not be discounted.

Therefore, although I will try my best to help you pass this exam, I think you know that I can’t guarantee that you will pass for the simple reason that only you can guarantee that you’ll pass this exam since only you can do the studying needed to pass this exam. All I can do is guide you and help you.

The deadline for submission of your application is August 10, 11.59 pm EDT Sunday. Names of those accepted will be announced subsequently.

Whether or not there will be future prep courses will depend on how this first one turns out. Certain parts of this prep course will be made available to others so that they may be able to see how the participants have progressed in their review. However, some portions of the prep site will only be available to participants.

All discussions and teaching session will be held at the forums: http://forums.askdoc-usmle.com. Quizzes and other study tools will be available at http://prep.askdoc-usmle.com. Both sites are of course still empty and closed although the necessary software to run the sites has been setup. phpBB3 for forums and Moodle (an educational program) for prep website.

Again, I hope this project is successful and I can help more people achieve their dream of a medical career in the US.

note: Marlene, sara, sara9999 and others, hi. you can now start applying.

Related Posts:

• Is First Aid Alone Enough For USMLE Step 1 Review?

• How to Score 99′s in the USMLE

• Advice for the Old IMG taking the USMLE

• Why You Need to Master the USMLE Step 1

• Other Announcements on AskDoc Prep Course

Today I’ll not talk about the USMLE but something else. Although I set up my blog on March 23, 2008, My first real post on the USMLE was posted exactly 4 months ago on March 28, 2008. So in a sense we are celebrating my fourth month as blogger and I’ll start by . . . → Read More: Milestone]]>

Today I’ll not talk about the USMLE but something else. Although I set up my blog on March 23, 2008, My first real post on the USMLE was posted exactly 4 months ago on March 28, 2008. So in a sense we are celebrating my fourth month as blogger and I’ll start by posting the different milestones my blog have reached.

After 4 months (as of July 27, 2008)

Total posts: 30
Number of pageviews: 7,046 – 4,439 in July alone
Number of Visitors: 2,290 – 1,528 in July alone
Number of Countries: 87 from 812 cities
Top 5 countries: United States: 1, 548; Canada: 122; India:117; Philippines:86; Pakistan: 48
Number of downloads of my ebook “How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE”: 524
Alexa top rank for all websites: 3 month average rank: 2,852.091 (8,600,000 6 weeks ago)
1 week average rank: 751,712

All in all not bad for a blog that’s just celebrating its 4th month. And I have to thank you my audience for this success. Of course, I would also like to thank prep4usmle, usmleforum, prep4md, usmlemd, mdin2009 and southerndoc for their support. Now if I could only get people to click on my adsense ads, my life would be complete.

After all this what have I learned. Well, First it is not easy to run a website, even something as simple as a blog. So kudos to those who’ve paved the way. Whereas before, I just plow through forums and blogs, now I take the time to click on those ads to show my support, although I still tend to forget sometimes . Second, no matter how careful and logical you are in writing, there are still people who don’t believe you. If they fail, then they come back, ready to listen. But I guess those who pass with low scores never realize that they’ve missed the opportunity to score higher. You never miss what you never had. Third, that although for some people it is enough to teach them how to study and they can go on to review on their own, not everyone can do it. Some people need to have study tools given to them and taught how to use them. Some will need close couching in order to get any review done. So there will always be a need for reviewers and review schools.

So what’s in store for the future for Askdoc. Well, I’ll continue writing my blog to help people achieve their dream and pass the USMLE. There’s still a lot to write about. Different people have different skills and different needs. Some have poor memory, others have excellent ones. Some read slowly, some read quite fast. Some are better informed about the USMLE, some aren’t. I strive to write solutions for different situations for different people.

I’ve already started the USMLE Wiki Project at http://usmlewiki.org. It will be officially announced in my blog once I’ve finished writing the pathology section. It will be equivalent to the Kaplan Lecture Notes plus additional information needed for people who want to go for 90++ or even 99′s. Although printable, it will be easier to use it online as there will be built in links to different sections of the Wiki. For example, related topics in Nutritional Pathology will be linked to Nutrition section of biochemistry in one click. You can be reading cardiovascular pathology and cardiovascular anatomy, physiology and pharmacology will be one click away. It will also contain hundreds of high yield photographs eventually organized in two ways. In appropriate sections of the Wiki and as a collection of high-yield images with captions you can review exclusively. As always, you can go to appropriate sections of the Wiki discussing the image concerned in one click. Once Step 2 CK is finished, there’ll be appropriate links to Step 1 topics needed in step 2, for example menstrual physiology in OB. You may or not use the link, but it’ll be there for quick review if you chose to do so.

As I’ve noted, there are people who seem to need couching in order to make it through this exam and it seems their only alternative is to spend thousands of dollars in review courses that are made for the average examinee and not tailormade to their particular needs. My take is, if they are the average examinee, they should’ve no problem passing this exam. They need special couching. So I am starting, hopefully by September, a prep course for USMLE Step 1 online. It will be free initially but due to limited resources, both time and financial in my case will be limited to 6 positions. I will be developing study materials for the course that would concentrate on increasing retention and recall of information which seems to be the biggest problem of this group of examinees. However, since probably the only way for me to keep this prep course going let alone expanding it is additional financial resource, I may have to charge for it eventually. Look for the official announcement hopefully by the end of this week, latest next week.

So that’s how it is 4 months into Askdoc’s USMLE Blog. Hope you all pass and with a good score. Happy prepping.

Related Posts:

• High Yield Fast Facts for the USMLE

• Guide to Self-Evaluation in USMLE Prep

• Problem of the Old IMG – Relearning What Have Been Forgotten

• Can I get a 99 in the USMLE?

I would like to announce that I’ve compiled my series of posts on “How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE” into an eBook in PDF format. I’ve also included the last 4 posts and completed the series. It is downloadable from this site. This ebook is released under a Creative Commons . . . → Read More: How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE – Download Page]]>

I would like to announce that I’ve compiled my series of posts on “How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE” into an eBook in PDF format. I’ve also included the last 4 posts and completed the series. It is downloadable from this site. This ebook is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 unported license.

You may distribute this ebook under the following conditions:

1. That the work will be preserved as is and you will not edit, alter or build on this work.
2. That you will properly attribute this work to its authors, askdoc.
3. That you will not use this work for commercial purpose.

Download the file by clicking this link: How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE

If you have a blog or a website, feel free to use my links so you do not use your own bandwidth. The link is http://downloads.we-r-ebooks.com/study-plan.zip

If you want to email this ebook to a friend, you can either email the ebook itself or the link.

Thank you for your patience. I will continue to write about the USMLE and hopefully help more people achieve their dreams of becoming US physicians.

Related Posts:

• Common Problems Faced by the Old IMG in USMLE Prep

• Which NBME Self Assessment Form to Use for USMLE Step 1

• What to Do in Step 2 CK

• What to Do on the Day of the USMLE Exam

Note: This article was originally written and posted by me on prep4usmle.com. It talks about how to increase our ability to acquire knowledge. Part 1 is on How we learn and Part 2 is on how to increase our reading speed which is posted here. You can access the original post in . . . → Read More: How We learn.]]>  

Note: This article was originally written and posted by me on prep4usmle.com. It talks about how to increase our ability to acquire knowledge. Part 1 is on How we learn and Part 2 is on how to increase our reading speed which is posted here. You can access the original post in prep4usmle here.

We’ve discussed the concept of Mastery Know and Familiar in our Knowledge level and how this will impact our performance in the exam. Continuing our KA discussion, we will discuss 2 topics that is important in increasing our ability to acquire knowledge.

First we will discuss the difference between the way children and young adults learn versus the way adults (those in their late 20′s and beyond) learn. Most people acquire their learning methods while in elem. and high school and continue using the same methods even when they are no longer applicable without some modification.

Second, we will discuss speed reading. Increasing reading speeds 10 to 20 times faster may take years and is impractical for our purposes. However, increasing reading speed by 25, 50 maybe even 100% is achievable within a few weeks and just may be what most of us need to be able to acquire knowledge faster and go through questions faster and fare better in this examination.

When I was in Med School we had a subject called Pedagogy or the science of teaching or learning. It was one of the little 3, Pedagogy, research methods and management which most of my classmates look with disdain and did not take seriously because it is not “Medicine”. You see our school wanted us not just to be doctors but also educators, researchers and administrators. In my case, I was fascinated enough with the topics to go beyond what was taught and do my own research, even after graduation. I came upon a discipline called Andragogy, which is a subdiscipline under pedagogy. Pedagogy, root word “Pedia” concerns itself more with how children and younger people learn, while Andragogy root word “Andro” (for Androgens) meaning Man or Adult, concerns itself with how older people acquire knowledge.

To understand why children and adults learn differently, we have to go back to basic developmental neurophysiology. I have not found any book which effectively discusses this topic, however, what I know of it, I’ve gathered by reading various Journals mostly in Science and Scientific American. Some concepts may even be found in Guyton. I’ll present this in shortened form as a whole treatise may be a book by itself.

How do we learn and how does it get stored in our brains? One theory is that when we learn something new, a neural connection is formed between an axon and dendrite which represents that information. When the learning is repeated, the connection is strengthened and we tend to remember that information longer. Therefore, repeated reinforcement will lead to more permanent learning and that explains why we were taught our ABC’s by repeated reading. However, some believed that continued repetition increases the number of neural connection we create and that is the basis for stronger retention of the information. My own thinking is that it is a little bit of both.

From birth to about 10 years of age, our nervous system is an empty page with tremendous potential for learning. There is very little neural connections between axons and dendrites. As the child grows, neural connections are formed and with repetitive learning, neural connections are strengthened and duplicated. However, after the age of 10 or thereabouts, the neural growth pattern changes. Strong neural connections are strengthened further while weak connections are eliminated ruthlessly. This explains why children have the infinite capacity to learn but lacks mastery and tends to be clumsier, while adults lost this capacity to learn, but what they know, they can master to the fullest. This applies to all types of learning including mental, physical etc.

By the time we hit our 20′s the process of specialization is almost over. Most of us can still learn by just mere repetition, but usually slower and with more effort than those who are younger. This also explains the rather curious finding that Japanese children who never learned to speak another language until after 10 always have extreme difficulty with their l pronouncing them as r. This is because there is no l in Japanese.

Most people still try to learn new things by repetition, but keeps on wondering why they keep on having problems retaining them. This is because adults have lost the capacity to learn by pure repetition. What they already know they can strengthen their retention by repetition. What they do not know, they will have a hard time retaining by pure repetition. This becomes more so as they grow older.

So how do adults learn? By Association. Since Adults cannot form new neural connection, They have to utilize a previous neural connection to build a new one. This is helped a lot by the development of abstract reasoning ability in adults. This abiltiy helps to learn by association. After that, mastering is by just pure repetition

Children can learn unrelated information by pure repetition. When they learn a new information that links 2 previously unrelated information, they can just correlate and continue. This is akin to cementing a driveway. You can cement different parts of a driveway and connect them later.

Adults cannot learn unrelated information. They need to relate that information to something they already know before they can learn it. It is akin to constructing a building. If you have built the first floor, you cannot build the fifth floor until you have built the second, third and fourth floor first.

To Illustrate:

The biochemistry and genetics section in Kaplan Notes is great. Except that when I first read it, it looks greek to me (If you’re greek, it probably looks chinese to you!) Anyway, so I decided to use Lippincott instead. After finishing Lippincott, reading Kaplan was a revelation. There were many concepts you could not master with Lippincott alone, but without Lippincott, I could never learn the concepts in Kaplan Notes let alone master them.

I have a 1996 edition of NMS Genetics, which I read. About 90% didn’t show up in the exam and I knew this. However, I needed about 50% of the material in the book to understand the 10% that is tested in the boards. It also helped me understand the genetics section of Kaplan Notes better.

So what implication does it have on our learning process?

1. If you find yourself having a hard time retaining some information, it maybe because you are trying to memorize information unrelated to what you already know. The solution may be to consult a more basic text so the information could be more readily retained. After that mastery is by simple repetition.

2. At times, you might have to learn board-irrelevant information to understand concepts tested by the board. Do not hesitate to do so if you think that this is the case.

3. When like me, you are faced with a lot of new concepts that you do not know, do not start your study by trying to master or memorize anything. Start reading first to understand the concepts. If you hit the fifth floor in your reading, continue and by the time you finish, you’ve already found your second, third and fourth floor that the fifth floor becomes extremely understandable and masterable already.

4. This is also the reason why it is harder to increase mastery of a concept by doing q’s alone especially if the problem is KA. The information is isolated and may be unrelated to what you already know and therefore retention is harder without associating it with a whole concept.

5. It is easier to learn different interrelated concepts as a group rather than learning this individually. Although sometimes this is not the way it should be recalled. For example, it is easier learning drugs in groups and as I said previously by ‘mastering the prototype, knowing impt. derivatives and being familiar with the more obscure derivatives” But recalling them, esp. in relation to the exam requires you more often to do it on a per drug basis rather than by class, therefore a good recall tool is flashcards. The same can be said of Microbiology. Learn it using books, practice recall using flashcards.

If you discover or know some things based on this learning concept, feel free to give examples and share your experience to help others.

Related Posts:

• High Yield Concepts and the USMLE.

• How to increase your Reading speed.

• Concept of Mastery, Know and Familiar in USMLE content.

• Mastery, Know and Familiar applied to USMLE review.

Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part II By askdoc, on September 18th, 2008% We now come to Part II of our discussion on “Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS”.  In Part I, we discussed how to prepare for the medical interview part of the clinical encounter. We will now tackle the physical examination part of the clinical encounter, To answer the first question on a lot of people’s mind. No, you should not do the physical examination while conducting the medical interview. Not only is it rude, you miss the opportunity of building rapport with your “simulated patient”. A question your “patient” is asked is if they would want you to be their physician and depending on the source could be an additional 1 or 2 points for you. Continue reading Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part II Leave a comment   Study Methods, USMLE Step 2 CS   building rapport, clinical encounter, clinical history, complete physical examination, examination, gloves, medical history, medical interview, multitasking, note, paper and pen, Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part II, risk, standard operating procedure, Step, usmle, USMLE Step 2 CS   | Edit What to Study for the USMLE – Part IV By askdoc, on September 15th, 2008% We begin part 4 of our series on “What to Study for the USMLE”. In Part I, we discussed the need to choose our review material based on what we want to achieve in the exam. We also discussed the use of substituted judgment when we rely on reviewers to know what to review for the examination, and the need to make sure that these judgments are based on the same goals we have with regards to passing, scoring well or acing the exam. In part 2, we discussed that the score you want to achieve not only dictates the review materials you choose, but also how much of those review materials should be mastered and not just read through. In part 3 we talked about the various materials you used for review and the need to go back to textbooks for concepts you do not know, since you cannot review concepts you do not know. You have to learn them first and you need textbooks for that. In part 4, we will discuss the two types of text reviewers you should be using for your review and how to use the concept of different types of recalls with the reviewers to maximize the amount of material you can store in your head for the exam. Continue reading What to Study for the USMLE – Part IV 8 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   Blueprints, board, board examinations, examination, forum, Immunology, information, Jawetz, kaplan, Levinson, Medicine, Microbiology, multiple times, NMS, note, Outline, review, reviewers, score, Shelf, Step, step 1, step 2 CK, step 3, study, textbook, usmle, What to Study for the USMLE – Part IV   | Edit Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part I By askdoc, on August 28th, 2008% For the past few months, I’ve written articles that deal with all the different Steps except for Step 2 CS. So this will cover preparations for Step 2 CS. Like most IMGs, I felt really anxious preparing for the Step 2 Clinical Skills. This was primarily due to the novelty of the examination method. (simulated patients, etc.) Although, we had a type of clinical skill exam in training, we had actual patients which we examined rather than a simulated patient and what was graded was more on did we get the diagnosis and treatment right, rather than how we did the interview or physical examination. In other words, on the results rather than the process. Continue reading Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part I 5 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 2 CS   kaplan, preparation, Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part I, test preparation, usmle, usmle prep, usmle preparation, USMLE Step 2 CS, usmle step 2 cs prep, usmle world   | Edit What to Study for the USMLE – Part III By askdoc, on August 11th, 2008% We begin part 3 of our series on “What to Study for the USMLE”. For those just joining us, please refer to previous post here and here. Due to the sheer number of review materials available to examinees, we need to classify them in order to make it easier to choose and mix and match between them. Broadly, we can classify our study materials into three. First are reading materials, mainly books and other written study aids, eg. Flashcards, etc. Second are Question Banks, which by themselves are very important and crucial study materials. Lastly and increasingly gaining importance are audio and visual resources like lectures both audio and video. Continue reading What to Study for the USMLE – Part III 6 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   audio, Bank, buzzwords, capacity, concise explanations, examination, Flashcards, hard time, how, kaplan, maxim, memory, Outline, poor performance, Q Banks, question banks, review, reviewers, right solution, score, second time, Step, study, study aids, textbook, usmle, visual resources, what, What to Study for the USMLE – Part III   | Edit What to Study for the USMLE – Part II By askdoc, on July 18th, 2008%   We begin part 2 of our series on “What to Study for the USMLE”. For those just joining us, please refer to previous post here. Before we discuss the various criteria for selecting study materials for review, we need to clarify some concepts and discuss some limitations. First, there is no real . . . → Read More: What to Study for the USMLE – Part II 18 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   step 1, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, usmle, usmle prep, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK   | Edit Using Q Banks Effectively for USMLE Review – II By askdoc, on July 4th, 2008% We now come to the second part of our discussion of “Using Q Banks effectively for USMLE Review”. For those just joining us, please review the previous post here. Previously we talked about what Q Banks to use and when to use them for review. We will now talk about how to use Q banks as study tools and how to use them for review and assessment. Continue reading Using Q Banks Effectively for USMLE Review – II 12 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   Q bank, questions, step 1, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, Using Q Banks Effectively for USMLE Review – II, usmle, usmle prep, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK   | Edit What to Study for the USMLE – Part I By askdoc, on June 25th, 2008% This is a really big topic and would probably take at least a dozen posts maybe even two to finish. However, we have to begin somewhere. This is actually the most common question asked in forums. When people ask whether First Aid is enough, should I do Q Banks, do I need Goljan, etc. the question they are really asking is, what should I study for the USMLE. When they scour through exam experiences in forums, spend money on bootlegged CDs or DVDs or decide whether to use the extremely expensive UCV (you know its my pet peeve ), etc. what they really are concerned about what to study for the USMLE. Continue reading What to Study for the USMLE – Part I Leave a comment   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 2 CS, USMLE Step 3   exam prep, step 1, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, usmle, usmle prep, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK, What to Study for the USMLE – Part I   | Edit Using Q Banks effectively for USMLE Review By askdoc, on June 12th, 2008% Doing Q banks is now considered part and parcel of USMLE review. Any person still not using Q banks is taking a big chance of doing poorly in the examination. In fact I believe one of the biggest reason for the increasingly high scores among both AMGs and IMGs is due to the existence of superb Q Banks, primarily USMLE World and Kaplan. My double 99 in step 1 and Step 2 CK Continue reading Using Q Banks effectively for USMLE Review 11 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   step 1, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, Using Q Banks effectively for USMLE Review, usmle, usmle prep, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK   | Edit USMLE QBank vs. Kaplan QBank: Which one? By askdoc, on June 4th, 2008% Which one is better, UW or Kaplan? This is one of the most often asked questions I’ve encountered from people and the answer is as always not that straightforward. Each has its pros and cons and thereby is more useful in one situation than another. The best answer is Continue reading USMLE QBank vs. Kaplan QBank: Which one? 34 comments   Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3   step 1, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, usmle, usmle prep, USMLE QBank vs. Kaplan QBank: Which one?, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK   | Edit High Yield Concepts and the USMLE.