DEVASTATED!!! FAILED step one by 18 pts, please help!!!

[omfs44]

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Hi there, I took step one in july and got my score back, i failed by 18 pts! I thought i did ok after the exam, don't know what happened! My circumstance is quite different from a regular medical student. I'm an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident. Graduated from dental school last year in june, finished my intern year in omfs on june 30th this year. Started to study on july 1st and took the exam on july 30th. I only used FA and qbank (completed about 80% of the Qs...averaging about 50-55%). Basically it was tought for me because i didn't have the first two years of medical school background and i've been out of the studying mode for couple years now. And dental school didn't really teach me much about pathology, it was my first time seeing alot of the pathology stuff. Anyways, im given one more chance to take the exam in mid-november....this gives me about 10 wks to study. I really need help as far as how to go about study for this exam and what books should i concentrate on? I have the Kaplan books, is it worth my time to read all of them? What about the BRS? All i need is to pass to exam, i don't care if i get 182.....if i don't pass this time, i'll be out of the program for good. If i pass, ill start 3rd yr medschool in Jan. (this is a MD integrated program). PLEASE HELP!!!! i appreciate it!!! Anyone???

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

don't panic. you must be smart enough to pass if you could get into an OMFS program. 10 weeks is alot of time. focus on the highest yield topics, i.e. pathology, microbio, etc. don't overwhelm yourself with buying a ton of more books, all the info you need to pass will be in first aid and brs path. keep on cramming and do additional questions from other resources. i don't know what your schedule is like currently, but you should focus all your time on this test. i'd also talk to your OMFS program director, see if you can move your schedule around, etc. if necessary. they dont' want to see you ejected either, it'll make the program look bad.

good luck

 

[omfs44]

Thank you for your advice nuclearrabbit. Yeah, i don't have to work or anything for the next 10 wks. So it is going to be full time studying. Do you know anything about the goljan books? i heard alot of good stuff about it....im going to study starting this weekend. Just want to gather all the books i need before I start. To me, this isn't a test anymore...this is a war!

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

make sure you don't go nuts buying a bunch of books. you are better going off reviewing a selected low number of high yield books...(if i were you just FA and BRS path and a micro/immuno text), and then do a focused attack on the subjects you feel the weakest on. don't forget to do a ton of questions, there are a number of resources out there besides qbank. try webpath. it's free too. i recommend changing question sources frequently too.

 

[ys]

I would highly recommend BRS for physiology and pathology. The patho book is kind of lengthy, so you might want to hit the higher yield chapters first. FA for pharmacology is excellent.

 

[cjbrown5]

http://www.falconreviews.com/

Consider it - Heard good things about it.

 

[TigerPath05]

Hello,
I am sorry to hear about your situation. I used the Kaplan Books & really liked them. I also used First Aid and BRS Pathology & Physiology. I did QBank, but since you have already done this, maybe you can try the usmleworld site for step 1 questions. I agree with the above posters in saying NOT to go out and buy a ton of books. Instead, just focus on the ones you have. Go over and over First Aid - know this book. I have a few friends who used the Step-Up book in addition to the above books - they liked that one. Anyway, good luck, you definitely have time now to focus on everything.

 

[Yogi Bear]

Hi there, I took step one in july and got my score back, i failed by 18 pts! I thought i did ok after the exam, don't know what happened! My circumstance is quite different from a regular medical student. I'm an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident. Graduated from dental school last year in june, finished my intern year in omfs on june 30th this year. Started to study on july 1st and took the exam on july 30th. I only used FA and qbank (completed about 80% of the Qs...averaging about 50-55%). Basically it was tought for me because i didn't have the first two years of medical school background and i've been out of the studying mode for couple years now. And dental school didn't really teach me much about pathology, it was my first time seeing alot of the pathology stuff. Anyways, im given one more chance to take the exam in mid-november....this gives me about 10 wks to study. I really need help as far as how to go about study for this exam and what books should i concentrate on? I have the Kaplan books, is it worth my time to read all of them? What about the BRS? All i need is to pass to exam, i don't care if i get 182.....if i don't pass this time, i'll be out of the program for good. If i pass, ill start 3rd yr medschool in Jan. (this is a MD integrated program). PLEASE HELP!!!! i appreciate it!!! Anyone???

that really sucks! so u didn't take the 2nd yer of med school? that's what the oral surgery students at my school have to do....i.e. we had like 2 DDS join our 2nd year class and taking all of the 2nd year courses like path, neuro, physical diagnosis, pharm, etc. the only thing that they're missing out on is anatomy, physio, micro, biochem, histo.

let us know how u're doing in a couple of months! btw, do u get to study full time for the 2 months or do u also have to take classes?

for a review of path, i'd suggest try this website: http://www-medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html and do all of the questions, if u haven't already.

 

[SteadyEddy]

I know that you've probably heard this before...but don't get down. You're not the first person to fail, and unfortunately you're not going to be the last. I have just a few points:
1. You mentioned that you only used FA and Q-bank. That's a tough task. I would recommend going throught the Red BRS Path book TWICE! That book is the bible of path and will defiinitely get you on the right path.
2. Next I would pick 1 and only 1 book for each of the major subjects and get through it.
3. Lastly, retake the exam and kick some butt.

I wish you the best and know that yhou will knock step 1 out this time around

 

[apprentice]

a little blurb about path....

BRS path is golden. but it is still a review book..... so as you chug through the BRS if you have an outside resource, such as the abridged version of robbins (basic pathology by kumar, robbins et al....) to help fill in the blanks, it will help a lot.

since there are a lot of secondary and tertiary q's on step 1, getting the bigger picture might help.

Also pathophysio was HUGE. i realy liked the book "pathophysio for the wards" i forget who it is by.... you can ask around and people should know. if not, pm and i can dig it up.

good luck. you can totally do it!

 

[Back34]

Hi there, I took step one in july and got my score back, i failed by 18 pts! I thought i did ok after the exam, don't know what happened! My circumstance is quite different from a regular medical student. I'm an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident. Graduated from dental school last year in june, finished my intern year in omfs on june 30th this year. Started to study on july 1st and took the exam on july 30th. I only used FA and qbank (completed about 80% of the Qs...averaging about 50-55%). Basically it was tought for me because i didn't have the first two years of medical school background and i've been out of the studying mode for couple years now. And dental school didn't really teach me much about pathology, it was my first time seeing alot of the pathology stuff. Anyways, im given one more chance to take the exam in mid-november....this gives me about 10 wks to study. I really need help as far as how to go about study for this exam and what books should i concentrate on? I have the Kaplan books, is it worth my time to read all of them? What about the BRS? All i need is to pass to exam, i don't care if i get 182.....if i don't pass this time, i'll be out of the program for good. If i pass, ill start 3rd yr medschool in Jan. (this is a MD integrated program). PLEASE HELP!!!! i appreciate it!!! Anyone???

I would highly recommend taking a commercial review course. I only have experience with Kaplan (kaptest.com), but they were awesome for the mcat and step I (even though I didn't take full advantage of it). The fact that you don't have the first 2 years under your belt would justify the cost of the course. Check it out.

 

[omfs44]

Thank you very much for everyone's help and advices. Officially, I started to go to the library yesterday and that gives me exactly 10 wks to study FULL-TIME. Im starting BRS physio and physio textbook by costanza. I should be able to finish both books in about a week or so. I'll keep posting my progress regularly to see if anyone has anything to say. Sigh....back to studying! Thanks again everyone.

 

[njbmd]

Thank you very much for everyone's help and advices. Officially, I started to go to the library yesterday and that gives me exactly 10 wks to study FULL-TIME. Im starting BRS physio and physio textbook by costanza. I should be able to finish both books in about a week or so. I'll keep posting my progress regularly to see if anyone has anything to say. Sigh....back to studying! Thanks again everyone.

Hi there,
Before you invest one cent in any review books, figure out why you failed and remedy the situation. As you well know, none of the USMLE steps are tests of memorization but rather application of basic science so do lots and lots of practice questions. Kaplan's Q-Bank (which is on the computer) is a good starting place. If you use this resource, don't focus so much on your score as on why your wrong answers are wrong and why your right answers are right. Try to get a handle on the mechanisms of the questions and the mode of application.

If your fund of knowledge is poor, don't retake the test until you get that undercontrol. Again, you really need to know where you went wrong and get things fixed or you will be sitting in the same position. Good luck with your "damage control" and keep moving forward.

njbmd 🙂

 

[doc05]

don't forget to buy the robbins question book.