Modeselektor's No-Nonsense template to getting a good score

[Modeselektor]

Breaks during phase 1 mean take a f.ucking break. Do some Rx and get out. I liked booze, pizza, movies. Please note the last two days of phase 1 don't even have Rx written. GO OUT and come back ready to rip the throat out of some qbanks.

In phase 2, A day, wake up and get to your qbank. Once your 8 blocks are over get the h.ell out of the house.

Modified Phase I for those concerned about getting it done. Hey, no prob, you just have to start a bit earlier and do the following until you know the book well enough to get through 50 pages a day. Once you gone through it twice at this pace get started on Phase II if you are 2-3 months out.

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[Modeselektor]

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48213486/4) FA Stuff to Know Dead Cold.apkg

That right there is an anki file of the things you should know DEAD COLD. Get through it in the first month and then revise the due stuff everyday until your test date. Some/Most of it is misspelt, and I'll be making it easier to understand. I'll update this link when it's better so hold off on downloading it for a bit if you're particular about spelling. Otherwise all the facts are there.

 

[Modeselektor]

It's updated. Have at it.

If you do everything in that JPEG and anki file, you have everything you need to score upwards of 250. It basically depends then on how much of those things you've retained and are able to apply, and your speed and precision of such.

There's nothing magical about step 1 and you can reason out almost all of the questions using proper application of FA knowledge. It's way better to be a master of FA than a student of 5 books. Keep it simple, know the fundamentals inside out and learn to apply them in off-axis ways.

Know 10000 things by knowing 1 thing as Miyamoto Musashi said.

 

[voicesinmyhead]

woa thanks man!
i'm trying to figure out how many cards are there in total? anki says 1000+?

 

[Mad Jack]

And this was the day MS became a true legend of SDN. I'll just be over here gawking at his ascendance.

 

[Modeselektor]

woa thanks man!
i'm trying to figure out how many cards are there in total? anki says 1000+?

1116. But they're seriously all 1 liners. Feel free to add your own into this. Suggestions include milestones and CD markers. I'll be adding them in myself eventually.

And this was the day MS became a true legend of SDN. I'll just be over here gawking at his ascendance.

thanks, but the only original thing I contributed in this is the 8 hour Qbank session. I used a variety of guides, read a lot of blog posts, picked the same things they all had in common and laid out a schedule that I could follow myself. I then followed it, and gave it to some others. After a few runs I threw out what was garbage and modified it to be as efficient as I could. Truth is, I'm just in it to settle some nerves and take as much guesswork out as possible so students can pay attention in their classes instead of opening up Goljan's unrapid extended edition of pathology and gently sobbing into their scrubs. At this point I would like to publicly challenge goljan to an arm-wrestle with the terms being that should I win he must in fact change the name of his book to: Goljan's unrapid extended edition of pathology .

 

[Apoplexy__]

At this point I would like to publicly challenge goljan to an arm-wrestle with the terms being that should I win he must in fact change the name of his book to: Goljan's unrapid extended edition of pathology .

 

[Brain Bucket]

Nicely done! You kids best be breaking 250 after this.

Sent from my phone. No, I wont tell you which one.

 

[Prince090]

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48213486/4) FA Stuff to Know Dead Cold.apkg

That right there is an anki file of the things you should know DEAD COLD. Get through it in the first month and then revise the due stuff everyday until your test date. Some/Most of it is misspelt, and I'll be making it easier to understand. I'll update this link when it's better so hold off on downloading it for a bit if you're particular about spelling. Otherwise all the facts are there.

Can anyone tell me how to open it on IPAD ? Tried dropbox , izip and file reader but all failed.

 

[Modeselektor]

Can anyone tell me how to open it on IPAD ? Tried dropbox , izip and file reader but all failed.

Run it on your computer. http://ankisrs.net/index.html. Install the program and then open the file with it. It will import the cards.

 

[Prince090]

Run it on your computer. http://ankisrs.net/index.html. Install the program and then open the file with it. It will import the cards.

Thanks.

 

[redblue]

Thank you! Over what time period would you recommend using the plan? Starting in January for a June test date?

 

[Modeselektor]

Thank you! Over what time period would you recommend using the plan? Starting in January for a June test date?

How long it takes depends on how many qbanks you wish to use.

Phase II will get you through 2760 questions a month.

1. If you use only usmlerx for subject-wise review during phase I, and then go directly into UWorld for phase II, it'll take 2 months total
2. You can basically add another month for each qbank you add.
3. If you decide to finish Rx during a phase II cycle as well as do Uworld the whole thing takes 3 months
4. If you decide to finish Rx, do KaplanQbank and Uworld it will take about 4 months.

If you start in January, my advice would be to go through phase I twice so you would begin questions in March (Rx), April (kap), May (Uworld) with your exam in June sometime.

 

[voicesinmyhead]

Last 2 weeks, do you think using the anki deck for revision is a good plan? how would i use it?

 

[Modeselektor]

The stuff in the anki deck is really important stuff that's in first aid so it shouldn't be all that new to you. Just get through it and do the due cards every day.

 

[voicesinmyhead]

gr8!
does anyone know of a free apple equivalent of anki , that can open apkg files?

 

[Modeselektor]

there's a tab for mac on the main site.

 

[danse]

I need some advice. I'm two weeks out from my test and have half of Rx and all of Kaplan left. I just did UWSA 1 and got a 220. I'm doing my second run through FA (first was back in January, and then I did nothing after) now.

Should the next two weeks consist of FA+Rx+UW incorrects, or should I do FA+Rx+Kaplan (medium and hard)? Or something else?

Thanks!

 

[Modeselektor]

I need some advice. I'm two weeks out from my test and have half of Rx and all of Kaplan left. I just did UWSA 1 and got a 220. I'm doing my second run through FA (first was back in January, and then I did nothing after) now.

Should the next two weeks consist of FA+Rx+UW incorrects, or should I do FA+Rx+Kaplan (medium and hard)? Or something else?

Thanks!

Do a FA + Rx +UW incorrects for 1 week, then drop Rx and do only FA + UWorld (previously answered correct + incorrect questions) for a few days into your 2nd week. Two days before your test start do 50-25% of your daily work, and the day before don't do anything except eat properly and practicing clearing your head.

 

[danse]

Do a FA + Rx +UW incorrects for 1 week, then drop Rx and do only FA + UWorld (previously answered correct + incorrect questions) for a few days into your 2nd week. Two days before your test start do 50-25% of your daily work, and the day before don't do anything except eat properly and practicing clearing your head.

Thanks so much!

 

[Modeselektor]

Thanks so much!

Try not to add any new material in that last week. Its more stress than its worth really.

 

[danse]

Try not to add any new material in that last week. Its more stress than its worth really.

Unfortunately a lot of FA is new material for me . Should have started sooner. I'll definitely be running through your deck while I'm on the move.

 

[Modeselektor]

Unfortunately a lot of FA is new material for me . Should have started sooner. I'll definitely be running through your deck while I'm on the move.

Drop Rx entirely. Do only Uworld and FA.

 

[gunslinga]

Thanks a lot for this Modeselektor. A question for you: Could you expound a bit on what one can do as a rising MS2 w/8months or so left. Would a light read of FA + ~15-20 Rx questions till Winter Break be okay to start things off? And then use Winter Break to burn through Rx + another FA pass? Thanks for the help bro/sis!

 

[Modeselektor]

Thanks a lot for this Modeselektor. A question for you: Could you expound a bit on what one can do as a rising MS2 w/8months or so left. Would a light read of FA + ~15-20 Rx questions till Winter Break be okay to start things off? And then use Winter Break to burn through Rx + another FA pass? Thanks for the help bro/sis!

Doing a light read of FA + ~15-20 Rx questions till winter break is a good strategy. You don't need to burn through Rx during winter break. This would cause you to peak well in advance of your test date. Getting a good read of FA, continuing daily questions, and spending time with friends/family is the best way to spend winter break. Hold off on destroying qbanks until about 3 months till your test date. Then use either the ABBBBBB Or ABBB½ABB schedules until dedicated prep time, at which point your would move into ABBB cycles.

 

[Modeselektor]

I just have a couple questions for you that I'm hoping you could help answer for me. First of all let me say that I'm going into my second year and have thus far covered anatomy, biochem, phys, and neuro. I did really well throughout first year and worked my ass off (I don't think I just crammed). However, at this point I seriously do not feel like I retained jack ****. I'm sure it shouldn't, but this makes me really nervous for boards so I'd like to start incorporating Step 1 studying into second year (at least a little bit). My plan is to still focus on class, but spend maybe an hour or two every other day or so to read FA and do corresponding questions in rx, along with pathoma once we start systems. I plan on having gone through all of FA (definitely not memorized) and all of rx by the time my dedicated prep starts. I will only have 5-6 weeks for dedicated.

First of all do you think it's normal to feel like you've forgotten everything? Secondly, since I will have gone through rx once already would it still be reasonable to do it again in the first two weeks (as in your template)? In my first year I did really well by going over previous lectures over and over... So I feel like the repetition will help, but obviously I don't know anything about board prep or the question banks. I have a really hard time learning from reading and flash cards because I can't get engaged and do best by writing things out. Finally, I was wondering if it would be beneficial to review M1 material in first aid and then do the rx questions (on anatomy, etc). I don't even know if rx is setup that way, but thought I'd ask. I'm not interested in anything very competitive and would be ecstatic with a 230. If you could help me out by answering these questions and by offering any other advice I'd greatly appreciate it.

First of all, it's entirely normal to feel as though you've forgotten everything and not retained jack ****. You may feel as if you haven't retained the memory, but trust me that when you go back to it, it will be far easier since you've gone through it all before.

5-6 weeks of dedicated prep time is good for a solid score.

So if I were you I would start working through FA and using Rx to test what you have covered so far. Its pretty cheap for a qbank. Try to get through FA as many times as you can until your dedicated prep time. Once you have covered FA twice and are within 3 months of step 1 go for the ABBBBBB or ABBB½ABB plan I have written, with a full A day on sunday or saturday, and the rest for reviewing FA, qbank blocks, and anything else you like. Once Rx is done you can go through it again, or use KaplanQbank. If you are not using KaplanQbank, at least go through the diagrams, pictures and radio in their anatomy book.

Once your dedicated prep time has begun go immediately into the four day ABBB Plan with uworld.

You will do well.

You mention that I should start the ABBBBBB plan three months from test date.. Is this something you think I should incorporate into my class work as well? Will that be feasible? I'll be done with second year at the end of April and plan on taking the test mid June since rotations start July 1st. I'm worried it would be too much to do the AB schedule along with my classes. So perhaps I should just keep reviewing FA and doing rx and then jump into the ABBBBBB pattern with UW once my six weeks of dedicated starts?

No prob. Don't do AB cycles during the school year.

Review FA and do Rx. As soon as your dedicated prep time starts, take 1-2 days off, and the next jump into the 4 day ABBB cycle.

 

[Apoplexy__]

Yo Modeselektor, how did you create the diagrams and images in the OP? Looks good.

 

[Modeselektor]

Yo Modeselektor, how did you create the diagrams and images in the OP? Looks good.

I used mspaint . I used google images to look for a 4 week calendar, copy-pasted it into mspaint and went from there.

 

[Transposony]

........................ learn to apply them in off-axis ways.

To say that easy for you.........

 

[Cokol]

Great job, Modeselektor, you rock! I had a follow-up question. How would you adjust your schedule if the dedicated prep time was shortened from 5-6 weeks to 30 days?

 

[Modeselektor]

Depends on how many months total you plan to spend.

 

[danse]

Hey Mode,

Thanks again for the deck. It definitely helped me remember a few things that showed up.

Any no-nonsense advice on the Step 2? The threads seem to have no real consensus, other than UWorld. The ones most commonly mentioned appear to be Secrets, SUTS2, SUTM, FA, MTB2/3, Kaplan, and the banks.

What's (in your opinion) the best way to get through Step 2? I'll have 2 1/2 weeks of dedicated after a little over two months of Ob/Gyn.

 

[Modeselektor]

The only true consensus is that every book sucks and UWorld is the best Qbank. I'm taking my step 2 in 10 days. The only book I've used is MTB2 and I disagree with a lot of it (and so does uworld sometimes). I've found that ob/gyn and surgery need a bit of a supplement from MTB3. The key for step 2 ck is UWorld. For step 2 I really don't like kaplan's qbank (too obscure) or UsmleRx (errata). It seems like everyone drops the ball when it comes to step 2.

So essentially all I'll do for step 2:
Uworld
MTB2 (all)
MTB3 (some stuff)

 

[danse]

The only true consensus is that every book sucks and UWorld is the best Qbank. I'm taking my step 2 in 10 days. The only book I've used is MTB2 and I disagree with a lot of it (and so does uworld sometimes). I've found that ob/gyn and surgery need a bit of a supplement from MTB3. The key for step 2 ck is UWorld. For step 2 I really don't like kaplan's qbank (too obscure) or UsmleRx (errata). It seems like everyone drops the ball when it comes to step 2.

So essentially all I'll do for step 2:
Uworld
MTB2 (all)
MTB3 (some stuff)

Thanks

This is, of course, with the assumption that one has studied hard during MS-3, or is it like Step 1 in that FA+banks+filler will get you a decent score?

Good luck on the test!

 

[deleted480308]

I will be using this next year...thanks

 

[Modeselektor]

Thanks

This is, of course, with the assumption that one has studied hard during MS-3, or is it like Step 1 in that FA+banks+filler will get you a decent score?

Good luck on the test!

Studying hard during MS-3 will mean even better scores or less effort required to prepare. The questions are generally more straightforward than step 1 questions. I can't really say much until I go through the exam myself, but it seems like step 1 in that knowing a book well, getting through a qbank and test-taking ability will get you a great score.

 

[danse]

Thanks again.

 

[Modeselektor]

Thanks again.

no probs

 

[pathologylover]

Intense.

 

[dyspareunia]

Killer thread!

Edit: So the 8months out mod says BBBBBB. When do you actually do qbanks? "B" days are just check days. I'm about 10.5 months from my test date (i.e. just started MS2 now) and I want to incorporate this into the school year.

I was planning to do Kaplan Qbank as a priority during school, then get through Rx during winter break.

 

[surfdoc29]

I know I'm kinda necroing a thread here, but it appears the picture of the schedule is broken. Any way of getting this now? Thanks.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thank you based Skeletor, you saved me piles of cash on prep materials.

 

[Modeselektor]

I know I'm kinda necroing a thread here, but it appears the picture of the schedule is broken. Any way of getting this now? Thanks.

 

[Modeselektor]

god damn it. I'll have it up tomorrow.

 

[Modeselektor]

 

[fancymylotus]

@Modeselektor youre ridiculous but good job on the planning.

 

[Modeselektor]

Killer thread!

Edit: So the 8months out mod says BBBBBB. When do you actually do qbanks? "B" days are just check days. I'm about 10.5 months from my test date (i.e. just started MS2 now) and I want to incorporate this into the school year.

I was planning to do Kaplan Qbank as a priority during school, then get through Rx during winter break.

BBBBBB is meant to highlight a point. You don't need to spend too much time doing questions. It's better to do them all in the last 3-4 months than spaced out over 8.

You are trying to learn to perform under pressure and fatigue. Practicing a block or two a day for an 8 block exam in the distant future is like practicing a bunch of 100m dashes to prep for a 5 km run.

 

[Modeselektor]

One more thing. Learn to taper down before your exam. Start deloading your study schedule until 2 days before your test day you are doing 25% of the workload you are used to and the day before you are doing 0-2% of your workload. You want to walk into this exam with a clear rested uncluttered brain. Not doing a damn thing the day before WILL allow you to perform even if you get crummy sleep.

Which brings me to another point. If you anticipate sleeping issues the day before your exam, use the A day to see what effect a chosen sleep aid taken the night before will have. Get the A day as close to your test situation you can. Take it at the same time. Eat what you would eat for breakfast. Eat the snacks you would pack. Wear ear plugs and headphones over the ear plugs. Wear sweatpants.

Make test day familiar and EASIER than your practice A days. It will benefit your retrieval and performance, as hokey as it sounds and as OCD as it is.

Use the Afternoon and evening after A day to call your family, SO and go out. Relieve that pressure and live a little. Drink. Fight someone. Whatever. You should be happy during this time. Don't make your prep period alcatraz. It doesn't have to be that way. Don't sacrifice unnecessarily only to burn out later, under perform and return to a bunch of pissed off alienated people. Use the whole schedule to the fullest. Study to the fullest, emulate test day to fullest and relax to the fullest. Everything is set in phase II for a reason.

 

[surfdoc29]

Epic. Thanks!

 

[Brahventus]

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