However, even if your goal is to only score in the 240-250, there is never a guarantee that with the appropriate amount of studying you will score in that range. Study hard for a few months, relax during the rest, and enjoy your life. If that’s your goal, I cannot stress the importance of working hard during those few months but also taking the rest of your time to enjoy life as a second year. You don’t have to drive yourself crazy for all of MS2. I can honestly say I think somewhere between a 240 and 250 is a very achievable goal given a few months of hard work. How would you feel if you suddenly discovered a passion for a very competitive specialty during MS3 but didn’t know beforehand and so you didn’t study as hard during Step 1? It doesn’t happen to every student but it happens to some every year. After that, think about your personal goals. Look at the Charting Outcomes for the Match results and see what median Step 1 scores are for those specialties. Do your research into what fields you believe you have a chance of being interested in. It is not impossible to score well on Step 1 with a modest amount of work. Here is the very first step of studying for Step 1.
You are truly on a several month-long journey to pursue knowledge. In fact it is your job to ask as many questions as possible and not be afraid of any repercussions or implications.
You don’t have to be judged for not knowing an answer. During these next several months you can ask any question you have and professors will be happy to answer them. Your entire life is in your control, and it is this way so that you can place yourself in optimum studying conditions for this exam. You can wake up when you want, you can exercise when you want, eat when you want. Not only that, you can pretty much decide your own schedule each and every day. Right now in MS2 you have a single job and that is to study for this test. In MS3 and MS4 and in residency, you’ll be pushed and pulled 10 different ways, keeping track of 20 patients, notes you haven’t written, putting together a presentation, etc. You have no other responsibilities except to study for this one test. Step 1 is truly the last time where you are given a very extended period of time to focus on a single thing. So many that by the time of my exam I would know there was nothing more I could have done to prepare myself.įor a moment, let’s appreciate the unique opportunity that is Step 1. At first I wondered, could this be changed at all? After hearing advice from upperclassmen about doing lots of practice questions, I sought to do as many practice questions as possible. I have also never been a gifted standardized test taker, but that was something I tried to change for Step 1.
I need the same information from multiple sources. I’m of normal intelligence but try to work as hard as I can. Know that I am not a student where concepts come naturally and facts linger for days in my mind. Here is where I’d like to give you the right frame of mind. Like how the SATs opened doors for colleges and the MCAT opened doors for medical school, Step 1 sounded like the last key to the last and most important door-residency. What I was hearing was that Step 1 might be the last opportunity in my life where doing well on an exam has a profound impact on my future. Advice from upperclassmen also says Step 2 is slightly less important and Step 3 even more so. You’ve heard it before a hundred times and you will hear it a hundred more times before MS3 begins.
#BUY USMLE PRACTICE TEST HOW TO#
As an MS3 now, I am here to offer my hand to the next class on how to study for USMLE Step 1. However, it definitely could have been helped with some wise words, advice, and encouragement from someone who was formerly in my shoes as an MS2. My journey was long, difficult, turbulent, but also challenging, rewarding, and undoubtedly one of the defining periods of my medical school career. Okay, that was a lie, everyone knows to start with First Aid, but it’s only one small but important piece of the puzzle. I have known the feeling of being told the importance of an exam and having absolutely no idea where to start. The reason I am writing this is because I have been in your shoes. The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Effective Study Plan
0 kommentar(er)
