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
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*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 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. Continue reading High Yield Fast Facts for the USMLE 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 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 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 Articles, 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, risk, standard operating procedure, Step, usmle, USMLE Step 2 CS 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 Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, 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 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 . . . → Read More: Askdoc’s Method of USMLE Review for Step 1 now available 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. 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 Articles, Study Methods, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2CK, USMLE Step 3 audio, Bank, buzzwords, capacity, concise explanations, examination, Flashcards, hard time, 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 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. 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
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