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Hi,
I'm a non-native English speaker studying in Europe. In the past years, there have been
several students attempting Step 1 at my university (mostly top of their class), but so far all
have failed.
I think the problem lies in our curriculum and not in the ability of my colleagues. We give less
importance to certain subjects (greater focus in clinical skills and knowledge, less in basic
science) and we enter directly from high-school into a 6year program, so we're probably
less mature intellectually. Also, IMO we don't give as much importance to analytical reasoning,
that is, they don't teach us to think.
I'm currently midway through my 3rd year, and to keep from procrastinating my
studying, I decided I'd take Step 1 in September 2014 (before I start my second
clinical year). Should I start watching US medschool lectures to reduce the offset in our
education? If so, which ones would best prepare me for Step 1 (my weakest areas are
anatomy, molecular biology, biochemistry and embryology)?
I was planning on doing this for ~10 months (weekends and vacations), then start
studying through more conventional means (UWorld, first-aid, high-yield books) 8
months before E-day.
I've been thinking about this since I've started medschool, but I've kept procrastinating and
second guessing myself: Is all the investment in time and $$$ worth it when there seems to be
so little chance for success? I'm hoping your advice helps me find a sound strategy that
will clear most of my doubts. I need to make a serious commitment towards my goal, but the
lack of local support and uncertainty is killing me.
I sometimes have little panic attacks when I think of the path ahead, but the reward is great 🙂
I'm a non-native English speaker studying in Europe. In the past years, there have been
several students attempting Step 1 at my university (mostly top of their class), but so far all
have failed.
I think the problem lies in our curriculum and not in the ability of my colleagues. We give less
importance to certain subjects (greater focus in clinical skills and knowledge, less in basic
science) and we enter directly from high-school into a 6year program, so we're probably
less mature intellectually. Also, IMO we don't give as much importance to analytical reasoning,
that is, they don't teach us to think.
I'm currently midway through my 3rd year, and to keep from procrastinating my
studying, I decided I'd take Step 1 in September 2014 (before I start my second
clinical year). Should I start watching US medschool lectures to reduce the offset in our
education? If so, which ones would best prepare me for Step 1 (my weakest areas are
anatomy, molecular biology, biochemistry and embryology)?
I was planning on doing this for ~10 months (weekends and vacations), then start
studying through more conventional means (UWorld, first-aid, high-yield books) 8
months before E-day.
I've been thinking about this since I've started medschool, but I've kept procrastinating and
second guessing myself: Is all the investment in time and $$$ worth it when there seems to be
so little chance for success? I'm hoping your advice helps me find a sound strategy that
will clear most of my doubts. I need to make a serious commitment towards my goal, but the
lack of local support and uncertainty is killing me.
I sometimes have little panic attacks when I think of the path ahead, but the reward is great 🙂
tl;dr:
test date: September 2014
Exam pass rate at my univ: 0%
When to start studying for exam?
Should I start watching online lectures from US univs? Which ones?
Strategy advice: 10m lectures, 8m UWorld, FA, HY, Goljan...
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