Askdoc-USMLE Prep Courses
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By askdoc, on October 7th, 2008%
We now come to Part III of our discussion on “Preparing for the Step 2 CS” In Part I, we discussed how to prepare for the medical interview part of the clinical encounter. In Part II, we discussed the physical examination part of the clinical encounter. We will now tackle the social aspects of the clinical encounter which is usually called bedside manners.
We can further divide the social aspects of the clinical encounter into two. Those that you do in every clinical encounter and those that you do in specific situations. We will start with the first one.
So what are the things you do in every clinical encounter?
Continue reading Preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CS – Part III
By askdoc, on September 29th, 2008%
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.
Continue reading Guide to Self-Evaluation in USMLE Prep
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
By askdoc, on May 29th, 2008%
“Study the High yield stuff”. “Don’t bother with that because it’s low yield”. When I was just starting my review, these are the most common advice I get from “experts” in forums and books about reviewing for the USMLE. The question is how good is this advice. Continue reading High Yield Concepts and the USMLE.
By askdoc, on May 16th, 2008%
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 which is posted here and Part 2 is this post on how to increase our reading speed . You can access the original post in prep4usmle here.
Now we go to speed reading.
The main reason that we read so slowly is the way reading was taught to us when we were younger. The two main reasons is:
- We tend to read word for word.
- We tend to subvocalize when we read.
Continue reading How to increase your Reading speed.
By askdoc, on May 15th, 2008%
*Note: I wrote this a while back in prep4usmle.com. You can access the original article here.
I’ve used this framework for analyzing my weak points throughout my review.
We can divide our whole preparation into 3 parts,
Continue reading KA, KR and TP.
By askdoc, on May 14th, 2008%
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.
Continue reading How We learn.
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
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