Hello, I need your experienced advice to help me prepare studying.......

[Knicks]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to seriously start preparing to take the step 1 within a 2-3 (maybe 4) months.

I need some expert, experienced advice/help on planning it out.

Let me start off by saying that my basic sciences isn't all too strong due to the teaching (or lack thereof) from my school. But I am very sure of myself that I can still prepare well enough on my own to take the Step 1.

Here are the study materials I have, are the enough/ok?:

-2002 Kaplan books with their DVDs

-First Aid 2006 book

-First Aid Cases/Questions book

-BRS books

-CMDT

Will these suffice? If I study 8-9 hours a day for they next 2.5-3 months, would that be enough time? If so, how should I schedule a study plan?

And is the fact that my Kaplan books are from 2002 a big deal? I mean, is there a huge difference from the current ones?

Any constructive help/advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

I'm starting to freak out because some of my other classmates have been studying for months, and I am just starting to seriously start studying.


Much thanx in advance

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[BillyWitchDoctr]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to seriously start preparing to take the step 1 within a 2-3 (maybe 4) months.

I need some expert, experienced advice/help on planning it out.

Let me start off by saying that my basic sciences isn't all too strong due to the teaching (or lack thereof) from my school. But I am very sure of myself that I can still prepare well enough on my own to take the Step 1.

Here are the study materials I have, are the enough/ok?:

-2002 Kaplan books with their DVDs

-First Aid 2006 book

-First Aid Cases/Questions book

-BRS books

-CMDT

Will these suffice? If I study 8-9 hours a day for they next 2.5-3 months, would that be enough time? If so, how should I schedule a study plan?

And is the fact that my Kaplan books are from 2002 a big deal? I mean, is there a huge difference from the current ones?

Any constructive help/advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

I'm starting to freak out because some of my other classmates have been studying for months, and I am just starting to seriously start studying.


Much thanx in advance

2-4 months is plenty of time. It looks like you have plenty of books. On mistake I made was trying to use too many books. If you don't have one, I would recommend a question bank like usmleworld or kaplan qbank.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Which BRS books? Some of them aren't that great.

I see no role for CMDT in Step 1 prep, except perhaps as an occasional resource for looking things up.

 

[DOme2009]

i would recommend compiling info from books that cover similar material into a single book that you plan to study from (ppl use FA for this since it does have some room to write notes in at the bottoms of pages and in the margins if you write small). this reduces the number of books you have to study from and helps reinforce what you read.

 

[Knicks]

Thanx for the input guys.

The BRS books I have are:

-physiology (which is a good book)
-pathology
-Micro/Immuno
-behavioral science
-nueroanatomy (hate it)
-pharmacology

I also have Lippincott's Pharmacology and Biochemistry.

Also, I have a question about doing questions:

Should I be doing them AFTER I do my first study round, or WHILE I'm studying.

Thanx.

 

[BillyWitchDoctr]

Thanx for the input guys.

The BRS books I have are:

-physiology (which is a good book)
-pathology
-Micro/Immuno
-behavioral science
-nueroanatomy (hate it)
-pharmacology

I also have Lippincott's Pharmacology and Biochemistry.

Also, I have a question about doing questions:

Should I be doing them AFTER I do my first study round, or WHILE I'm studying.

Thanx.

You may want to browse other series like High-Yield. I thought BRS was great for physiology & pathology but was too detailed for Step 1 on anatomy.

 

[Knicks]

The only High Yield book I have is for Immunology.

What are good [review] books for Neuroanatomy and embrology? I can't stand these two topics.

Any other general advice?

Thanx

 

[viostorm]

Read the 2007 USMLE Experiences thread, everyone's materials and study plan is detailed in that thread.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Thanx for the input guys.

The BRS books I have are:

-physiology (which is a good book)
-pathology
-Micro/Immuno
-behavioral science
-nueroanatomy (hate it)
-pharmacology

I also have Lippincott's Pharmacology and Biochemistry.

Also, I have a question about doing questions:

Should I be doing them AFTER I do my first study round, or WHILE I'm studying.

Thanx.

Sell BRS Micro/Immuno, Neuroanatomy, and Pharmacology, and Lippincott Pharmacology immediately. Buy High Yield Neuroanatomy and Cell&Molecular Biology (old editions). Do questions whenever you like.

 

[NaturalInstinct]

which edition?
...and for both??

 

[TheEleventhReel]

which edition?
...and for both??

The newest edition of HY neuro (it's 2-3 yrs old) and the 1999 edition of HY cell/molec. If you want a pretty good biochem source, I'd try RR Biochem (2nd edition). It's well written (much better than BRS, IMO) and it has a nice chapter on Cell/Molec and molecular techniques.

 

[NaturalInstinct]

Thanks!