Help needed for preparing for step 1

[happening6]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi,
So based on my understanding to do exceptionally good on step 1 (250+), one would need 2 things:
1. have excellent knowledge and recall capability of basic science material and
2. good test taking skills.

I know knowledge can be acquired by constantly reviewing the material to make it stick to your brain, BUT how can i improve my test taking skills?

Feel free to point out if anything i said does not make any sense or is incorrect. Appreciate the reponse.

 

[shan564]

For what it's worth, I think that the USMLE people try their best to control for the "good test taking skills" factor.

Or maybe it's just because we tend to do so many practice questions.

I think "test taking skills" tends to be an umbrella term that's often overused and doesn't have a whole lot of meaning. Some people are faster than others and some people are smarter than others, but aside from that, I think it's largely just about being able to read the question and understand what they're trying to ask you. You could call that "test taking skills", but I think it's largely just a question of experience.

Getting into the examiner's head may require more practice for some people... but that's just like any other field. I have a friend who is instantly good at any sport that he learns, whereas I have to work hard to overcome my general lack of athleticism (I'd been playing tennis for years, but he was just as good as I was within a week or two of learning to play).

So, to answer your question, I think the biggest thing you can do is to do a lot of practice questions.


Also, knowledge and recall capacity are important, but the ability to analyze information and come to reasonable conclusions is just as important for the USMLE. Most people don't talk much about that factor because it's already been tested on the MCAT, so if you didn't have it, you probably wouldn't have gotten into med school. But it's important nonetheless.

 

[ipizzy]

I'm sure you're a pretty good test-taker already to have made it to medical school 😉. Aside from the obvious (read questions carefully, time management, do LOTS of practice questions, etc), some things that help me include the following:

1. After reading the question, attempt to come up with your own answer. Then, look for your answer amongst the answer choices. You should only rarely need to rely on the answer choices to figure out the intent or angle behind a question.

2. When doing practice tests, understand the reasons why people might pick the other/wrong answer choices. I think it's helpful to understand common pitfalls and tricks that people fall for so that you can consciously avoid doing the same.

3. Rather than memorizing, aim for understanding. You will not be able to memorize everything that can show up on the boards. If you understand principles you will be better equipped to handle situations you have not seen before.

 

[shan564]

2. When doing practice tests, understand the reasons why people might pick the other/wrong answer choices. I think it's helpful to understand common pitfalls and tricks that people fall for so that you can consciously avoid doing the same.

👍 Good advice. I do that too, but I hadn't really thought about it until just now. That's one thing I love about UWorld... unlike Kaplan, it also tells you the most frequent wrong answers.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

I'm sure you're a pretty good test-taker already to have made it to medical school 😉. Aside from the obvious (read questions carefully, time management, do LOTS of practice questions, etc), some things that help me include the following:

1. After reading the question, attempt to come up with your own answer. Then, look for your answer amongst the answer choices. You should only rarely need to rely on the answer choices to figure out the intent or angle behind a question.

I would add a little more. I think its pivotal to come up with a diagnosis after reading the stem. Also, you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECALL EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED. So how to tackle this? If you have no idea what the diagnosis is then do the following: Look at the answer choices and try to remember their typical presentations and then match those presentations to the signs and symptoms presented in the stem. If they do not match then eliminate the choice. Eventually you will be left with 1 or 2 answer choices. This technique "working backwards" is helpful because you can't remember/recall everything and will help you on a difficult questions. Recall might not be possible for various of reasons such as time pressure, not thinking clearly or its just not clicking.