Here Are Tips From My Friends Who Got Respective Scores of 97, 90, and 91... Enjoy!
Success of the exam is made up of 3 components, studies according to Dr. Daugherty show how students score is comprised of these components.
Knowledge base is 60-70%
Test Strategy is 25-30%
Personal is 5-10%
These are the variables that individually make up the score, for most people Personal can have no effect and thus be 0%, examples of personal can be financial, family, or what not.
Study method is the most important, and the trick is to maintain a perfect balance. Methods my vary depending on the person, but again according to Dr. Daugherty, his analysis shows that for majority of test takers
Study method
Highlight – select what your going to learn, the most important points
Repetition – set the material into memory ( 2 to 3 times)
Recall – create a mental index, do something with the material that will reinforce the information, ex write an outline, make a game, compare and contrast, make a chart
Practice- Put information into use, Questions will not replace studying, but rather it will lead you back to more studying. Its better to make those mistakes now then on the exam.
The mental process of studying. We are used to memorization and understanding and that’s what got us threw med school. But in order to take on the exam, we need take it to the level of innovation. Use Memorization, Understanding and also Innovation.
What is the point of know everything about COPD, the exam doesn’t demonstrate that you know everything, its multiple choice. If it were essay then we can demonstrate everything we know. So Innovate.
By that I mean, know the key differences between COPD and Obstruvtive, or Nephrotic and Nephritic. The only way you instill items into memory is when you know how to pick it out. Ex. If I ask you what are the Tx for Asthma, we can easily name 6 drugs, and they are all right. But each one has a specific reason to be used, so which is one is the best, why do we use it, why not the other one, what about if the pt has a different conditions, so then we use another drug.
By know the keys, we have setup a systematic method of now knowing, understanding and recalling all the dif types of tx. You may argue why not just know everything about each drug, granted you will be able to differentiate, but is it using your time wisely, answer is no. But by knowing what makes each one stand out in comparison to the other, on the exam you will be able to Identify the correct answer.
Of course nothing replaces your base knowledge, it’s a given, and at this point you have established it. Now Innovate and start the smart study, and things will stand out in your mind, not be blended away. We have our base knowledge, but can we recall all on the exam day, this is why we are doing the smart study, to be able to recall it.
Our minds are built in a way to remember, by constant repetition. Our brain will say, I see Joe everyday, so you will remember. But if you see tom once, later on you will vaquely remember him and not know him as well as you know Joe. You know joe like his coffee black, at lunch he only
eats salads, and when he is sad he doesn’t look you in the eye. You know this because you see him everyday at work.
Another example: don’t know everything about one virus, know the differences about all the viruses, and you will know how to identify which one the exam question is asking about. By understanding them, you wont have to memorize, because it will stick in your head and you can reason threw.
Lets talk about test taking strategy, you have only about 1 min 20 sec to answer a question. Read the question right the first time, read it in a good pace, and understand what your just read after every sentence. You should be able pull out the imp points at the end of a sentence. Now half way threw you probably already know the pt in the question has Diabetes, that’s the first step, don’t jump the gun, finish off the entire question because you have to this the second level. What is the disease pathology, or tx, or whatever. By the time your done reading it you know exactly what they want, and you should have an answer in your head.
Look at this way…let me read a question to you…48 year old male with history of hypertension and smoking (think what do clues above raise in your head), Now move on the next part, Pt presents with chest pain (okay so now what does that make you think of)..and so forth. You are intelligently processing the question, and developing your answer.
Now look for your answer, okay so its not there, look for the best answer, k you don’t know…then do process of elimination.
Now that we have established these keys, lets more forward and talk about you and where you stand now.
You have gone threw the material plenty of times, the best thing to do now is to know where you stand. Where are you weak, and where are you strong. You need to spend time on what your weak, and statistically it’s the subjects you don’t like. Statisically you have a better success rate at raising the levels of what your weak in, and bringing them up to your strong levels, vs. spending time on your strong subj and raising them up only by a little bit. Your better off having all your subjects up together across the board.
Assuming you have gone threw your books now, take a diagnostic exam and lets analyze.
What your weak in you want to spend time in, so start your day like this
Review your list of Pharm drugs, Micro, or whatever rapid review points you need memorize like general principles, neuro, or immuno.
50 questions and review
Spend time reading, and analyzing your weak subject, recall and put it into practice.
Review what you just covered
Start your general review of all other subjects in a systematic manner ( my example is the first aid from page 1 to 50, then tom 51 to 100 and so forth)
50 questions and review
review the material you covered today
review your list of things to memorize (see above)
get full 8hrs of sleep so your brain and can register the days work.
Next day start over.
By doing so we maintain and a good spread, and balance between study and questions.
Ultimately the process of passing the exam is like this
Study then questions---40% score
Study then questions---50% score
Study then questions---60% score
And so forth till your ready to take the exam.
By the time your have done this a few times, you will have seen all the material over and over (practice and repitition), you will have reviewed your material ( recall, lol some people like me have to keep rewriting outlines to recall, some make a song), and you will have studied your material (esp your weak subjects.
NOW KEEP THIS CYCLE GOING TILL YOU REACH YOUR SATISFACTORY SCORE.
I promise you that doing this for 3 months str8 12 hrs a day will make you pass with flying colors.
In this entire cycle over and over and over, you have improved your knowledge base, you have improved your test taking methods.
You have now become a machine that lives and breaths the exam. Its no longer painful, (remember in the beginning how slow you were going), its fast and simple. You know everything, nothing is new to you, but now you can recall it and apply it.
This is a road map to success.
Remember to also discuss 2 or 3 times a week, because you need someone to tell you don’t know what your talking about and that your weak in a certain area, sitting at home alone you may think you know everything there is to know…no one is there to hammer out a subject and argue with you.
And Remember, the challenge and the goal, be dedicated to it, nothing can come in the way of it.
The exam prep is a huge balancing act. Questions are very very very important. So you need to be doing it all the time and everyday. I understand in that in the begining its hard to get the ball rolling. So i suggest that you start with kaplan qbank, and end with USMLE world.
q bank is good because it will go hand in hand with your kaplan step 1 books.
So start your first pass of reading the step 1 books..you want to do a couple of subjects and then start the hardcore questions. so in the begining as day 1 start doing 20 questions of q book a day ( you can do random or subject based). This is just to get you used to the questions and question style..gets in you gear.
after you finish about 3 subjects of the kaplan books...start with qbank..and make sure you do 50 questions a day no matter what. This will go to reinforce what ever you have read in kaplan. in the begining we all start off at low scores but you build it up and you see it and it motivates you. Have a notebook for wrong questions...right the question and the answer explanation..you will never get this question or anything related wrong...so long as you review that notebook once a week for 30 to 45mins.
Eventually you can build up to 100 questions a day...50 inthe morning and 50 at night.
No matter what you need to read your kaplan books atleast 2 times front to back.. and have completed your qbank at least 2 times. And you have prolly filled your first aid with notes. and have finished golgian.
Take an NBME to see where you stand...and structure you plan off that...you worked on building up your knowledge base...now work on rapid review to recall it all.
Now you will start USMLE world and 3 time reading your kaplan books. But your gonna do it more smarter..for instane dont bother with micro and immno...do it out of the first aid , its all you need...if your really really weak then do the kaplan. Same with pharm..its pure memorization of every drug, se, and moa from teh first aid.( thats all you need)
cont doing at least 100 questions a day...start with 50 in the morning, then work on a subject for the next few hours, take break, study a little more, or memoze your pharm or micro, study some more of your subject , then read your first aid (because you want to review other subjects, and not forget it..while your time on your subjects in the morning). and do 50 more and go to bed.
After your 3 time...and pherhaps finishing USMLE world and golgian again take your nbme and see where you stand....
now you want to start doing rapid reviews out of your first aid..you must read it over and over front to back...if your weak in a certian subkect..then spend some time on it with golgian or kaplanbook..i which ever works best depending on the subject. (use ur nbme as an indicator to where you stand. and continure doing your questions.
by the time your done...you will be a machine reviewing easily 4 subjects in a day on clockwork. take your nbme...revew for 2 more weeks and say bissmillah and take teh exam.
innshallh you will do great...make sure you pray everyday, eat healthy and get some physical activity. I usually took longer breaks on friday after juma to relax a lil.
this is what worked for me..so this is all i can tell you....i did make notes as i was studying and the end i was able to study from my notes and the first aid only.
take care salaamz
Success of the exam is made up of 3 components, studies according to Dr. Daugherty show how students score is comprised of these components.
Knowledge base is 60-70%
Test Strategy is 25-30%
Personal is 5-10%
These are the variables that individually make up the score, for most people Personal can have no effect and thus be 0%, examples of personal can be financial, family, or what not.
Study method is the most important, and the trick is to maintain a perfect balance. Methods my vary depending on the person, but again according to Dr. Daugherty, his analysis shows that for majority of test takers
Study method
Highlight – select what your going to learn, the most important points
Repetition – set the material into memory ( 2 to 3 times)
Recall – create a mental index, do something with the material that will reinforce the information, ex write an outline, make a game, compare and contrast, make a chart
Practice- Put information into use, Questions will not replace studying, but rather it will lead you back to more studying. Its better to make those mistakes now then on the exam.
The mental process of studying. We are used to memorization and understanding and that’s what got us threw med school. But in order to take on the exam, we need take it to the level of innovation. Use Memorization, Understanding and also Innovation.
What is the point of know everything about COPD, the exam doesn’t demonstrate that you know everything, its multiple choice. If it were essay then we can demonstrate everything we know. So Innovate.
By that I mean, know the key differences between COPD and Obstruvtive, or Nephrotic and Nephritic. The only way you instill items into memory is when you know how to pick it out. Ex. If I ask you what are the Tx for Asthma, we can easily name 6 drugs, and they are all right. But each one has a specific reason to be used, so which is one is the best, why do we use it, why not the other one, what about if the pt has a different conditions, so then we use another drug.
By know the keys, we have setup a systematic method of now knowing, understanding and recalling all the dif types of tx. You may argue why not just know everything about each drug, granted you will be able to differentiate, but is it using your time wisely, answer is no. But by knowing what makes each one stand out in comparison to the other, on the exam you will be able to Identify the correct answer.
Of course nothing replaces your base knowledge, it’s a given, and at this point you have established it. Now Innovate and start the smart study, and things will stand out in your mind, not be blended away. We have our base knowledge, but can we recall all on the exam day, this is why we are doing the smart study, to be able to recall it.
Our minds are built in a way to remember, by constant repetition. Our brain will say, I see Joe everyday, so you will remember. But if you see tom once, later on you will vaquely remember him and not know him as well as you know Joe. You know joe like his coffee black, at lunch he only
eats salads, and when he is sad he doesn’t look you in the eye. You know this because you see him everyday at work.
Another example: don’t know everything about one virus, know the differences about all the viruses, and you will know how to identify which one the exam question is asking about. By understanding them, you wont have to memorize, because it will stick in your head and you can reason threw.
Lets talk about test taking strategy, you have only about 1 min 20 sec to answer a question. Read the question right the first time, read it in a good pace, and understand what your just read after every sentence. You should be able pull out the imp points at the end of a sentence. Now half way threw you probably already know the pt in the question has Diabetes, that’s the first step, don’t jump the gun, finish off the entire question because you have to this the second level. What is the disease pathology, or tx, or whatever. By the time your done reading it you know exactly what they want, and you should have an answer in your head.
Look at this way…let me read a question to you…48 year old male with history of hypertension and smoking (think what do clues above raise in your head), Now move on the next part, Pt presents with chest pain (okay so now what does that make you think of)..and so forth. You are intelligently processing the question, and developing your answer.
Now look for your answer, okay so its not there, look for the best answer, k you don’t know…then do process of elimination.
Now that we have established these keys, lets more forward and talk about you and where you stand now.
You have gone threw the material plenty of times, the best thing to do now is to know where you stand. Where are you weak, and where are you strong. You need to spend time on what your weak, and statistically it’s the subjects you don’t like. Statisically you have a better success rate at raising the levels of what your weak in, and bringing them up to your strong levels, vs. spending time on your strong subj and raising them up only by a little bit. Your better off having all your subjects up together across the board.
Assuming you have gone threw your books now, take a diagnostic exam and lets analyze.
What your weak in you want to spend time in, so start your day like this
Review your list of Pharm drugs, Micro, or whatever rapid review points you need memorize like general principles, neuro, or immuno.
50 questions and review
Spend time reading, and analyzing your weak subject, recall and put it into practice.
Review what you just covered
Start your general review of all other subjects in a systematic manner ( my example is the first aid from page 1 to 50, then tom 51 to 100 and so forth)
50 questions and review
review the material you covered today
review your list of things to memorize (see above)
get full 8hrs of sleep so your brain and can register the days work.
Next day start over.
By doing so we maintain and a good spread, and balance between study and questions.
Ultimately the process of passing the exam is like this
Study then questions---40% score
Study then questions---50% score
Study then questions---60% score
And so forth till your ready to take the exam.
By the time your have done this a few times, you will have seen all the material over and over (practice and repitition), you will have reviewed your material ( recall, lol some people like me have to keep rewriting outlines to recall, some make a song), and you will have studied your material (esp your weak subjects.
NOW KEEP THIS CYCLE GOING TILL YOU REACH YOUR SATISFACTORY SCORE.
I promise you that doing this for 3 months str8 12 hrs a day will make you pass with flying colors.
In this entire cycle over and over and over, you have improved your knowledge base, you have improved your test taking methods.
You have now become a machine that lives and breaths the exam. Its no longer painful, (remember in the beginning how slow you were going), its fast and simple. You know everything, nothing is new to you, but now you can recall it and apply it.
This is a road map to success.
Remember to also discuss 2 or 3 times a week, because you need someone to tell you don’t know what your talking about and that your weak in a certain area, sitting at home alone you may think you know everything there is to know…no one is there to hammer out a subject and argue with you.
And Remember, the challenge and the goal, be dedicated to it, nothing can come in the way of it.
The exam prep is a huge balancing act. Questions are very very very important. So you need to be doing it all the time and everyday. I understand in that in the begining its hard to get the ball rolling. So i suggest that you start with kaplan qbank, and end with USMLE world.
q bank is good because it will go hand in hand with your kaplan step 1 books.
So start your first pass of reading the step 1 books..you want to do a couple of subjects and then start the hardcore questions. so in the begining as day 1 start doing 20 questions of q book a day ( you can do random or subject based). This is just to get you used to the questions and question style..gets in you gear.
after you finish about 3 subjects of the kaplan books...start with qbank..and make sure you do 50 questions a day no matter what. This will go to reinforce what ever you have read in kaplan. in the begining we all start off at low scores but you build it up and you see it and it motivates you. Have a notebook for wrong questions...right the question and the answer explanation..you will never get this question or anything related wrong...so long as you review that notebook once a week for 30 to 45mins.
Eventually you can build up to 100 questions a day...50 inthe morning and 50 at night.
No matter what you need to read your kaplan books atleast 2 times front to back.. and have completed your qbank at least 2 times. And you have prolly filled your first aid with notes. and have finished golgian.
Take an NBME to see where you stand...and structure you plan off that...you worked on building up your knowledge base...now work on rapid review to recall it all.
Now you will start USMLE world and 3 time reading your kaplan books. But your gonna do it more smarter..for instane dont bother with micro and immno...do it out of the first aid , its all you need...if your really really weak then do the kaplan. Same with pharm..its pure memorization of every drug, se, and moa from teh first aid.( thats all you need)
cont doing at least 100 questions a day...start with 50 in the morning, then work on a subject for the next few hours, take break, study a little more, or memoze your pharm or micro, study some more of your subject , then read your first aid (because you want to review other subjects, and not forget it..while your time on your subjects in the morning). and do 50 more and go to bed.
After your 3 time...and pherhaps finishing USMLE world and golgian again take your nbme and see where you stand....
now you want to start doing rapid reviews out of your first aid..you must read it over and over front to back...if your weak in a certian subkect..then spend some time on it with golgian or kaplanbook..i which ever works best depending on the subject. (use ur nbme as an indicator to where you stand. and continure doing your questions.
by the time your done...you will be a machine reviewing easily 4 subjects in a day on clockwork. take your nbme...revew for 2 more weeks and say bissmillah and take teh exam.
innshallh you will do great...make sure you pray everyday, eat healthy and get some physical activity. I usually took longer breaks on friday after juma to relax a lil.
this is what worked for me..so this is all i can tell you....i did make notes as i was studying and the end i was able to study from my notes and the first aid only.
take care salaamz
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