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I have taken step 1 without any success few times. I have put in the time and have taken some private help but my practice test scores are not showing results. I have taken uw and kaplan. I am really frustated and don't want to talk about it with friends ..... so I decided to ask here.
Could someone advise me on how to handle the situation. Please feel free to ask me any other questions.
This is my last time taking this exam, so I really need to pass it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
It's hard to give concrete advice on how to approach Step 1 because you don't mention what you've done before. It sounds like you've had a difficult time with Step 1, and the one thing you should be conscious of is to NOT let yourself get into a panic cycle over this test. Take each day one day at a time!
The one piece of advice I've given all of my friends as they've started med school is to find what works and stick with it. On the other hand, if something DOESN'T work - don't hesitate to throw it out! Now might be a good time to sit down and evaluate your study methods for your past attempts at Step 1. Make a list of how you studied and spend some time considering whether those were good investments of your time.
I have a friend who is in a similar situation to you regarding Step 1, and I'll give you the same list I gave him. If you are struggling I think it's REALLY important to find a few good sources and stick to them. For me those would be:
First Aid (especially for pharm)
Goljan Rapid Review Pathology
High Yield Cell and Molecular Biology (1st edition, much shorter than the 2nd edition!!)
Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple OR Microcards
BRS Physiology
High Yield Neuroanatomy
BRS or High Yield Behavioral Science
USMLEWorld
I used USMLEWorld throughout my studying - I did about 100 questions/day and reviewed the answers carefully. I highlighted everything I got wrong in a unique color in First Aid (I used green) and made notes. I did try to keep my notes concise, though, as FA is supposed to be a high yield book.
I would make flashcards based on the pharm in First Aid (including the adverse effects - VERY IMPORTANT!) and go through those a few times a week. I did this while studying and it took me about an hour even when I was upstairs with my family and half-heartedly watching TV. It shouldn't take you more than a day to make the flashcards and another day to review the principles of pharmacology. The rest is just pounding those drugs into your brain!
My next source would by High Yield Cell and Molecular. Spend 2-3 days with the book. Cross-reference with another book (Lippincott Biochem was helpful) if needed.
The next subject to tackle is neuroanatomy. My test was very neuro-heavy. I'm not particularly in love with HY Neuro as a source, but it was the best one I could find (BRS Neuro is just TOOO much). Don't forget to study the Neurophysiology chapter in BRS too! Neuro should take 4 days or so.
Now it's time for the big stuff. Goljan paired with BRS Physio. This is how I went through it - I read the chapter in BRS Physio, did the questions, and moved on to Rapid Review right away. This is a project - allow at least a week!
At some point when you are nearing your test you will want to spend a few days on Micro. I did - 2.5 days on bacteria, 1 day on viruses, another day on fungi and protozoa. I ignored helminths and there were none on my Step 1 - although this was not the case for everyone I know.
I saved behavioral for a day or two when I was feeling BLAH. I like BRS better than HY for this, but it might depend on time and how comfortable you are with behavioral.
My last few days before the test were fairly high yield. I spent a lot of time with First Aid - pounding in the random facts that I have since forgotten. I had a good framework for the information from my previous studying. I always kept FA open and on the pertinent section while I was studying, so nothing in it looked new during that week. I spent the day before the test doing a quick run-down of micro in the morning and pharm in the afternoon. I used UWorld and made a test of every behavioral question available (50 or so) and did them all, reading the explanations carefully as I tend to be easily tricked by behavioral questions.
I hope this helps. My timelines are only meant as guidelines - you will have to adjust them to your strengths and weaknesses. My other suggestion is to use the NBME Self Assessments once or twice throughout your studying. The score is helpful, but even more so are the breakdowns of strengths and weaknesses it gives you. I used those to guide my studying after I took one of the NBMEs.
I hope this helps - don't hesitate to post any questions as they come up (they won't show up with your name, so don't worry - we'll erase that before we post your question).