IMG needs advice in preparing for Step1

[MaxMoonMD]

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Hello everyone,

I hope it is not inappropriate for me to start a new thread solely for my purpose.
I read through many topics on this forum concerning Step1 Experiences (2006/2007 Experience threads), preparations, advice on materials etc. and I´m very thankful for the information provided by all of you people.

Well, I´m a medical student in Germany, entering the 9th Semester (out of 12) in October.
I applied for the Step1 Exam in the October-December Period, planning to take it in the first week of October.

So, starting tomorrow with my preparation, I got roughly 9 Weeks till Step1.
This may seem too much for some of you people, but don´t forget that I need a bit more time to get the feeling for the english language regarding presentation of the study material, and some courses like Biochemistry, Anatomy lie two years behind.

I printed the study guide provided by Taus http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=108020&page=2
, which basically divides the preparation time into three run-throughs.
While consolidating study sources into First Aid in the first run through, you use your annotations along with RR Pathology, HY Molec and USMLEWORLD to go to a second and third run-through, putting more and more weigh at the end into Question-sources and memorization.
The last two weeks are reserved for a "final crunch", also provided by Taus (thanks a lot by the way!) 👍

Ok, maybe you people can give me some feedback on my study plan and offer some advice if you think it needs some changes.

For the first-run through (annotating stuff into First Aid) I´m planning to spend 4 Weeks and do the following:

First Week:
Biochemistry (Kaplan Lecture Notes)
Some people mentioned in this forum that First Aid is enough, and although I believe those people I need a bit time to freshen up my knowledge.
It seems that reading the whole book is way too much, so I will read mainly the parts about the cell and molecular stuff, also Vitamins and Hormones.
I will compare whats written in First Aid and maybe clarify stuff by looking into Kaplan.
What do you think? Advice on high yield topics or stuff that I can skip?
Pathology and Physiology (RR Pathology 2nd Ed. and BRS Physiology 4th)
I already read the General Pathology chapters, so I will begin with Vascular disorders, planning to read the whole book during the 4 weeks.
I also want to read the important chapters in BRS Physiology, especially the Chapters in Endocrinology, Respiratory and Renal, which seem to be high yield acording to experiences from test takers in this forum.

Second Week:
Microbiology (CMMRS, 4th Ed.)
Well, I´m not sure how to approach this one.
Bacteria, Antimicrobiotic-therapy seem to be high-yield.
But that´s like ~300 pg. in the book, too much for a week I think.
I will compare it to the stuff in First Aid, but do you have some advice on stuff is a must-read and topics I can skip?
I had Microbiology 1 year ago and at least concerning bacteria knew a lot.
Well, but I also forgot a lot.
Pathology and Physiology (1 Ch. a day)

Third Week:
Immunology (Chapters in Kaplan Microbiology):
Not sure if I have to read the whole ~200 pg.
Any suggestions?

Cell/Molec. Biology (HY 1. Edition)
Going to read the whole book.

Also Pathology (1 Ch. a day)

Fourth Week:
Behavioral (First Aid, Kaplan)
I don´t know what kind of questions are waiting for me, so I have no clue how much commitment this subject needs (maybe more for an IMG?)

Neuroanatomy (HY Neuroanatomy)
High yield are cerebral arterys territories, cranial nerves, Images.
Any suggestions which chapters are important, less important?

Anatomy, Pharmacology, Embryology (First Aid)
I just hope that combining Questions with First Aid will be enough for these subjects.

Question Banks:
I will start with Robbins Review of Pathology, Kaplan QBook and Webpath.
After I completed them I will subscribe to USMLEWORLD (2 months).

And before I forget, I will listen to the corresponding Goljan Audio.

Wow, I must admit that this post is much longer than originally planned, but I hope that maybe some people can give me some feedback on my first 4 Weeks of studying.

As an IMG it would be helpful to be at least slightly above average (which does not mean I do not want to get as many points as possible), though I´m not planning to go into a highly competitive field.

Thanks for your time, and I´m sorry if my english is a at some points hard to understand.

 

[ayanjoe]

well you only have three months to study for the test and you are also:
1- an IMG
2- will be doing clinical rotations during your prep time.
I wonder if you can pull it through doing all these things together. If your rotations are only 6 hours per day, you may be able to do it .... but if it's more than 6 h per day ... well you will need some extra time for that !
and whatever you study for Behavioral sciences you will do bad or avergae since all IMG do bad in Beh.Sci as mentioned in the FA.
Good Luck !

 

[MaxMoonMD]

Hi Ayanjoe,

thanks for your reply.

I will not be doing any clinical rotations during semester break, because I did most of them already so I could concentrate on Step1 preparation.

Otherwise it would be pretty tough I guess.

Thanks for the 👍