I would like to congratulate Goat99 for passing the USMLE Step 1 recently with a score of 91/219 which she took last April. Goat99 is a member of the June 2009 batch of Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course. We wish her well as she prepares for the challenges of USMLE Step 2 CK. If you . . . → Read More: Congratulations Goat99! USMLE Step 1 Score 91/219
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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 Continue reading Why You Need to Master the USMLE Step 1 I would like to announce that you do not have to enroll in the full course to listen to Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course Live Lectures. You can now choose to attend the Live Lectures only for US$ 200. If you decide to enroll in the full course within the next 2 months, you are entitled to a credit of US$100 from the price of the full course. What is Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Live Lectures? Unlike other courses, my live lectures concentrate on teaching you how to study for the USMLE Step 1, rather than what to study. It is composed of 6 1.5 hour lectures, presented live over the web. The lectures includes the following:
Hello Everyone, this is actually my first time to try posting videos in my blog. So please excuse the effort if the quality is not too good. Hope to get better at doing this in the future. A lot of people think that all they need to do in order to do well in the USMLE Step . . . → Read More: How to Master the USMLE Step 1 – an Introduction 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 NBME Self-assessment Tests and USMLE Review – An Update  40 comments  Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, USMLE Step 3  correlation, nbme, nbme assessment tests, nbme self assessment, NBME self assessment tests, predictability, predictor, score, self assessment tests, step 1, step 2, usmle, usmle scores, USMLE Step 1 Self Assessment, USMLE Step 2CK Self Assessment, usmle world, USMLE World Self Assessment 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 5th batch of enrollees for this course. Please click on this link to go to the Home Page for . . . → Read More: September Class – Accepting Applications for USMLE Step 1 Prep Course *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 4th 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 June Class – Accepting Applications for Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course 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 What to Do on the Day of the USMLE Exam 3 comments Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, USMLE Step 3 accuracy, Bank, best time, forum, good chance, high yield, last minute, maxim, nbme, Q Banks, reason, score, Step, step 2, step 2 CK, Step 2 CK. USMLE step3, step 3, study, test takers, usmle, USMLE Step 1, usmle step2 CK *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 April Class – Accepting Applications for Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course I would like to congratulate Tong for successfully passing the USMLE Step 1 Exam with a score of 97/232 which he took last January 27, 2009. He is part of the first batch of enrollees in my prep course for Step 1 which started last September, 2008. He is currently preparing for his Step 2 CK . . . → Read More: Congratulations, Tong! USMLE Step 1 97/232 *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 I would like to announce that I am now ready to receive applications for Askdoc’s USMLE Step 1 Prep Course which will start on January 19, 2009 and end on July 19, 2009. However, before submitting your application, please be sure you are really committed to finishing the course, since there really is limited space available. Due to my experience with the first 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.
Note: This was initially published in 6 parts and was then consolidated into a downloadable ebook. Why create a study plan? This is probably the question foremost in the mind of anyone who ever thought of tackling the USMLE. I remember when I was starting out, how this pre-occupied me a lot. Although studying for the USMLE is a big endeavor, studying how to study for the USMLE is no mean feat either. Just like an architect or engineer needs to plan out how to build a building before actually building it, we need to plan out how to prepare for the USMLE before we even begin studying. Now some people can just jump right into reviewing and 3 to 5 months later take the exam and come out with a 99. I’m not one of those and so are I believe majority of those taking the USMLE. Some will start by applying and scheduling an exam 5 months later, only to find out that they’re not ready. So they extend their period of eligibility and still they’re not ready. Some will take the exam and fail or score so low that it amounts to the same thing. Some will forfeit the application fees and reapply later. Of those who do, some wind up getting good scores because they’ve learned their lesson and did better preparation this time, while for others the results are going to be poor because they did not change anything they’ve done before. Proper planning is crucial for proper preparation Continue reading How to Create a Study Plan for the USMLE 34 comments Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, USMLE Step 3 AMGs, clinical vignettes, Flashcards, high scores, important concepts, knowledge acquisition, Medicine, Microbiology, pharmacology, poor performance, Q Banks, step 2 CK, study aids, textbook, usmle questions, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CS, usmle step 2 cs prep, usmle step2 CK, visual resources We will now continue with Part II of our series on “Answering USMLE Type Questions”. In Part I we discussed the 3 most common problems people have with USMLE type Questions. In part II we will discuss various strategies to correct these weak points. There are strategies you implement during the preparation phase and other strategies you do during the exam itself. However, the strategies during preparation is more effective than those you employ during the examination and therefore it makes sense to fix these problems before the actual examination day. The main challenge in clinical vignettes is to be able to diagnose the case as fast as possible. As a medical student, the way we learned clinical cases starts with a diagnosis, say Myocardial Infarction. Then we study the signs and symptoms that accompany myocardial infarction followed by laboratory tests that suggest or confirm the diagnosis. Lastly we study therapeutic interventions. That is how clinical vignettes are presented in Underground Clinical Vignettes, which is fine for medical students having their first taste of medical cases. Unfortunately for most people who are ready to take the USMLE, they’ve already gone through that process and will probably need only a short review and it will still not help them with diagnosing clinical vignettes. The reason is that clinical vignettes are presented the other way around with signs and symptoms as clues while you come up with the diagnosis. Continue reading Answering USMLE Type Questions – Part II 2 comments Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1 buzzwords, clinical case, clinical rounds, clinical vignettes, competence, differential diagnosis, differentials, Flashcards, high yield, key words, medical students, Outline, pattern, review, signs and symptoms, step 1, step 2, step 2 CK, step 3, study, underground clinical vignettes, usmle I wrote this initially in response to someone who was really having a hard time answering tough USMLE type question. Most of the time, when people think their problem is answering tough USMLE type question. the reality is that they have a KA (Knowledge Acquisition) problem. In other words, they did not do their review properly and their problem is primarily with insufficient knowledge base rather than difficulty with USMLE type questions. Therefore, I always make it a point to test their knowledge base first. This is usually done by testing them using straightforward questions that test knowledge and recall without the common tricks that accompany USMLE type questions. Now as you may know, I have an online prep site at http://prep.askdoc-usmle.com. The prep site contains all the courses available to course participants of my USMLE Step 1 prep course. There is a demo prep course for Review of Pathology which features the first chapter out of 25 total chapters of Review of Pathology. It covers cell pathology. The online quiz is a straightforward quiz which directly tests recall and does not use USMLE type question. Do well there and it proves you do not have a knowledge base problem. Continue reading Answering USMLE Type Questions – Part I 21 comments Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1 Bank, cell pathology, course participants, demo, examination, good chance, hard time, information, insufficient knowledge, knowledge acquisition, knowledge base, nbme, Q Banks, quiz, reason, review, risk, score, Step, step 1, step 2, straightforward questions, study, test knowledge, tough questions, type question, type questions, usmle, USMLE Step 1 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 12 comments Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, USMLE Step 3 blog, Blueprints, Immunology, kaplan, Levinson, Medicine, Microbiology, nbme self assessment, note, Q Banks, readiness, score, self assessment tests, Step, step 2 CK, step 3, usmle prep, usmle preparation, usmle step, USMLE Step 1
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