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- Nov 3, 2000
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Hey y'all
So because I used this forum a ton when preparing for Step 1, and having just taken it 24 hours ago, here goese my take...of course you may take this all with a grain a salt
I took a month off to study full time, but this turned out to be less than 6 hours a day. I would say around 4 hours a day average, with it being close to 8-10 hours a day the last couple of days before the test (i'm a procrastinator by nature, crammer by choice)
The stuff I used
Q Bank: Did all questions in approx 2 weeks, and learned from the answers. did them all by discipline. I think the q's in QBank (I also took the practice full length) are really picky and test rote memorization rather than concepts. Although the topics were similar to what I had on the exam, lots of the q's on the actual exam were easier, in that it took actual thought rather than remembering random facts. The actual exam has a higher proportion of patient cases/vignettes than QBank. Also, the actual exam had q's where you had to know the mechanism of drugs rather than what it does (ie. cell signalling, competitive agonists, etc).
BRS Path and Physio: Read these and took notes on them around 6 weeks before the test..didn't remember a bit from them 2 weeks before the test
First Aid: The TOME for Step 1. Read this cover to cover, made mini notes of all of the pages for myself and memorized it! The majority of q's on the actual exam came from FA. If I had totally totally memorized it, I would have done much better.
NMS: Went through about 8 50Q tests and learned from the answers. The format of Step 1 is more similar to NMS than QBank IMO.
NBME: If you're only going to get q's from one source, THIS is it. Did the 150 Q's the day before the test, and shelled out the moola for the 2 Self Assessments. This is the best indicator of the level of difficulty/depth for the actual thing IMO.
AND of COURSE the MOST important thing....PAY attention during those basic science years of med school!!!
Another piece of advice: there's no way you can know every single thing on that exam. There was one question that I only knew because it was a random fact from a neuro class I took in undergrad?!?! So it's a luck of the draw. But if you concentrate on the high yield, you will do well (ie. First Aid, and knowing the background of the topics in first aid).
Hope it helps!!
So because I used this forum a ton when preparing for Step 1, and having just taken it 24 hours ago, here goese my take...of course you may take this all with a grain a salt
I took a month off to study full time, but this turned out to be less than 6 hours a day. I would say around 4 hours a day average, with it being close to 8-10 hours a day the last couple of days before the test (i'm a procrastinator by nature, crammer by choice)
The stuff I used
Q Bank: Did all questions in approx 2 weeks, and learned from the answers. did them all by discipline. I think the q's in QBank (I also took the practice full length) are really picky and test rote memorization rather than concepts. Although the topics were similar to what I had on the exam, lots of the q's on the actual exam were easier, in that it took actual thought rather than remembering random facts. The actual exam has a higher proportion of patient cases/vignettes than QBank. Also, the actual exam had q's where you had to know the mechanism of drugs rather than what it does (ie. cell signalling, competitive agonists, etc).
BRS Path and Physio: Read these and took notes on them around 6 weeks before the test..didn't remember a bit from them 2 weeks before the test
First Aid: The TOME for Step 1. Read this cover to cover, made mini notes of all of the pages for myself and memorized it! The majority of q's on the actual exam came from FA. If I had totally totally memorized it, I would have done much better.
NMS: Went through about 8 50Q tests and learned from the answers. The format of Step 1 is more similar to NMS than QBank IMO.
NBME: If you're only going to get q's from one source, THIS is it. Did the 150 Q's the day before the test, and shelled out the moola for the 2 Self Assessments. This is the best indicator of the level of difficulty/depth for the actual thing IMO.
AND of COURSE the MOST important thing....PAY attention during those basic science years of med school!!!
Another piece of advice: there's no way you can know every single thing on that exam. There was one question that I only knew because it was a random fact from a neuro class I took in undergrad?!?! So it's a luck of the draw. But if you concentrate on the high yield, you will do well (ie. First Aid, and knowing the background of the topics in first aid).
Hope it helps!!
