The NBME self assessment test is another of those tools that I feel is responsible for the increasingly high scores in the USMLE. It is a great tool that allows the test-taker to assess his or her readiness for the exam. To a certain extent, if used properly, it is also a useful tool for the examinee to target a certain score, even 99’s and achieve it.
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
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
“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.
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:
*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,
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.
Note: I wrote this sometime ago to help out somebody who was having difficulty in her review. It was posted in prep4usmle. It illustrates the use of the concept of Master, Know and familiar in preparing for the USMLE.
This part is especially for gigiMD.
Just like any diagnostic exam, our quick and dirty evaluation has its share of false positives.
While most people who have a KA, KR or TP problem really have a KA, KR or TP problem. A minority have a mixed problem, combination KA,KR or KA, KR, TP problem. They often evaluate themselves to having a KR or TP problem and so missed out that they also have a partial KA problem.
Note: I wrote and posted this sometime ago in prep4usmle.com. Since it is impossible to know everything there is to know about Medicine, one should prioritize what medical concepts should be retained. Another post talks about how this can be implemented.
Thanks for reading my post and your kind comments. To continue.
As we all know, Medicine is a very broad subject, so broad that we are divided into specialties. However, for the purpose of the board we are required to know a little of everything. So for the purpose of the board, What you need to know is divided into 3 parts.
We talked about the importance of Clinical Vignettes in reviewing for the USMLE. You can review the post here. Now we will discuss how to train yourself to diagnose cases based on clinical vignettes. Continue reading »
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:51, ESV)
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"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (John 6:51, ESV)
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