|
Askdoc-USMLE Prep Courses
|
By askdoc, on March 27th, 2010%
People have been badgering me for sometime now on writing more about how to prep for Step 2 CK. Some even wants me to start a Step 2 CK prep course. However, due to time constraints and the Step 1 Prep Course, it has not come to pass.
Lately there had been too many people asking questions about their Step 2 CK preparation and problems they are encountering. Although I still don’t have time to write a full article on it, I have decided to tackle the 4 most common reason that people do poorly in the Step 2 CK. I am also reposting an article about “What to do for Step 2 CK” an older post that needs some rewriting but is still relevant
1. Not Studying Enough Detail. The most common mistake people make in studying for Step 2 CK is not studying enough detail. You see so many reviewers in the market that purport you can ace the exam by studying the little material it contains. That is a lot of bull. Medicine is a very broad subject and Step 2 CK covers all the most common and even some rare cases.Those little reviewer just does not give you enough detail to do well in this exam. An exception is Kaplan Notes. Very good detail. However, you need to know 85% of it in order to know enough to pass. Higher if you want a higher score. And that is impossible to do unless you do a minimum of 3 revisions. I will discuss the various study materials you can use in another post.
Continue reading Most Common Mistakes in Step 2 CK Prep
By askdoc, on March 27th, 2010%
*note: I wrote this way back in 2007 and posted it in prep4usmle. I am reposting it here because many people have been asking about how to prep for Step 2 CK and I am busy to write one. Although this may need a rewrite, it will do until I actually finish and post a new article.
The purpose of this post is to help people prepare for Step 2 CK. I purposefully did not title this as ‘How to get a 99 in Step 2 CK’ even though I got one using these preparation techniques. The reason is that it takes more than knowing how to prepare to get a 99. How much sacrifice and effort you put into your preparation is most important.
Some of you may already know me, from my post on how to prepare for step 1. I posted it in answer to a question on ‘What to Do’ in Step 1, and it’s purpose is to guide people in how to prepare for step 1 rather than how to get a 99 even though, again, I got one using those prep techniques. I’m posting a link to that thread:
For those who don’t. I am an Old IMG from the Philippines. Graduated way back in 1989 at the top medical college in my country. I took Step 1 last April 24, 2006 and got a 99/256. Took Step 2 CK last November 20, 2006 and got 99/258. Back in late 2004, when I started this journey and like most of you dreaming of 99′s, whenever, I see someone posting that they got 99′s, 2 things always pop up in my mind, wishing that it was me and wondering how it’s done. And always, when I read what they write about how they did it, it talks of what books they read, what lecture they listened to and what QBanks they used. Of course, the problem was, everybody seems to be doing the same things and most of them are not getting 99′s and some are even failing. So the only conclusion I can make is the secret does not lie in the preparation materials rather in how you used the preparation materials. And since different people have different starting points and different capabilities, their preparations and the materials they used must be adjusted accordingly.
Someone once asked in this forum if the reason I know so much about USMLE is I had taken it before. The answer is no, this is the first time I am taking all Steps. The reason I seem to know a lot about it is that it has always in my nature to know as much as I can about any task set before me. I have never failed an exam in my life and even though USMLE is supposed to be really tough especially for old Grads, I’m not about to let this be my first time. So, I set out to discover as much as I can about the exam, analyzing it and planning out what I hoped was a coherent well thought out study plan taking into consideration my special situation (a very old graduate) and my own prep capabilities.
It is not enough to study hard, one has to study smart too. I believe that with proper prep and hard work, anyone can pass this exam, hence this “what to do”. It is also my belief that with proper prep and really hard work, most can get high 80′s and even 90′s. Someday I’ll probably write a post about how to get double 99′s but for now I’ll stick to proper preparation for Step 2 CK.
Continue reading What to Do in Step 2 CK
By askdoc, on August 2nd, 2009%
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
By askdoc, on March 13th, 2009%
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
By askdoc, on October 26th, 2008%
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
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 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 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 26th, 2008%
Today, we will talk more about the NBME self-assessment tests. We previously discussed what the NBME self-assessment tests are and how they impact your USMLE review. You can read the posts here. Now we will cover three important topics. When to use the NBME self-assessment tests, how to use the NBME self-assessment tests and how wise it is to use the USMLE World self-assessment tests instead.
Continue reading NBME Self-Assessment Tests and USMLE Review – 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 guarantee that if you study certain materials you will get a particular score. Continue reading 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 19th, 2008%
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.
Continue reading NBME Self Assessment Tests and 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
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?
“I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”
Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) NIV. All Rights Reserved.
(Psalm 119:93, NIV)
|
|
Recent Comments