2 months to go.... advice please

[londoc]

Dear All,

My background: I qualified and work in London, having finished med school 3 years ago.

I've set a date for step 1 at the end of May - giving me two months to study, alongside reasonably quiet work commitments (40 hours a week) so am aiming to get through 6-8 hrs/ week day, and full weekends.

Resources that I'm planning to use:

First Aid - plan to cover 4/5 times - memorising rather than just reading (as much as poss)

HY: Embry, Anat, Neuroat, Hist, also Cell and Mole bio (since this is such a long time ago for me)

Lipencott's pharm and bioch

BRS: Path, Phys, BehSci

Micro: currently Lange, but may get Ridicously easy

Otherwise:
Will do NMBE questions much nearer the time.

Q bank:
Without reading and just to get into the swing, have been doing occasional questions: currently 800 down with 50% ave. Not encouraging, but with no study, room for much improvement (I hope).

I'm loosely basing my study schedule on the 6 week residency info schedule. Will do that twice hopefully - once in 6 wks and again in 3.

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My questions were:

is this realistic - or too much info
am realistically aiming for firstly passing, and if I manage to work well ~90
any other key resources I'm missing
any other suggestions

Thank you for any feedback. Being in the UK, there is a paucity of decent information on the steps.

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[IlianaSedai]

Be encouraged-- in spite of the paucity of resources, I found that I was offered just as LITTLE while being at an American medical school! I had to come HERE to get all of my info!

The books you chose are good. Don't get "book envy" and start buying everything you can find that someone else recommended-- if you stick to what you've got, I think that is plenty and you'll do well. Lange's Microbiology text was recommended at my school too, but I chose not to buy it because of its length (in the last month, I plan to do my microbiology revision in 3-4 days-- no way I could finish that book in that amount of time, so I chose something else).

From your plans, you look to be well informed and at no significant disadvantage compared to current students who are taking Step I (aside from the years since you took your basic sciences). When you begin to study, it's possible you may find that you don't even need the entire two months. Everyone's Qbank average isn't very high in the beginning, but it gets better as you go. =)

Best wishes, a few years from now I may have to go the other way and take the PLAB. And it does not seem easy to find solid information about how to prepare for that either-- but eh, I'll worry about it later.

PS - Reading First Aid four or five times seems unnecessary to me -- I think I'll stop at three.

 

[shahroseamir]

your case seems just like mine. I am also planning to take the exam in may, i was also done with my med school three years back. I am also working full time plus last not the least this is my last semester in MPH epidemiology.
Even then i have paid the fee and schedule the exam for 29th May. But now i am too worried whether or not i can make it. Since it is too much...........
I think that the books that you had picked for the exam are the best. I will stick with them and try to go through them at least three times.
Be in touch, at least we can encourage each other.

By the way i am studying physiology right now and after one day i have an exam in biostatistics, which i have not yet started studying...................

take care
AMir

 

[londoc]

Thank you for your posts.
I have in fact pm'ed you both.