Hello everyone
I'll start with exam day and then talk about my study experience. keeping in mind that I graduated many years ago (international student) and had to study for part 1 from scratch not remembering most things. (I WILL NOT SHARE ANY SPECIFIC Questions, it's against the rules).
On exam day depending on the exam location even though your exam might be on 8am, you might have to wait more than 30 minutes to get admitted because of large number of test takers. you'll feel very very nervous and that's OK. just be prepared mentally to wait.
it's normal to feel like you can't remember many things before the exam. don't worry it'll all come back to you.
the exam room was not very cold so I suggest wearing something thin and bring a jacket just in case.
the exam is 400 question. 2 sections of 200 divide by 30 min break. However, after every 100 you must submit the questions and cannot go back to them. you get 15 min optional break in the middle of each section. you can do anything you want during the breaks (review, eat, etc..)
The exam WAS NOT HARD. I read a lot that the exam is much harder than ASDA question or that dental decks are not enough anymore. it is all NOT TRUE. the exam was as hard as the last few released ASDA questions (M,N) and had MANY repeats. some were exactly the same while others were rephrased. At the same time it was not easy. you need to UNDERSTAND the concepts not just memorize random facts (when reading anything you don't understand look it up online). there will be few question that are very confusing but those were very few.
You will see testlet questions at the end of section 1 and beginning of section 2 (less than a 100 qs total), meaning they give you details & history of a patient and ask you 5-10 questions about it. I have to say those were the hardest part of the exam but still very doable. overall I was very comfortable during the exam and walked out feeling good. the main point I wanted to make was that most of the exam was from ASDA released question + dental decks /or first aid. if you study those two well you should be able to make it. keeping in mind that the questions are randomized and you may receive harder question but still the majority should be covered by studying from those 2 sources.
Breakdown by section: dental anatomy questions were the easiest and most straightforward. if you study the decks and ASDA it should be enough. anatomy was mostly simple direct stuff from the decks with very few complex ones. biochemistry/physiology was also not hard, many were direct while some required thinking but still not impossible to get (usmle videos/youtube helped alot in this regard). micro/patho was probably the most challenging, most were direct questions but others were detailed and required great knowledge about a disease or a microorganism. all in all mostly easy stuff with some hard ones in between.
Next is study experience. I studied for 3.5 months but that was without weekend and I took many days off. study time was between 6-8 hours on average and then 9-11 hours on the last week. I started by watching usmle videos 2010 (green background) as a way to remember the basics since I have graduated many years ago. along side the videos I read first aid part 1 once. then I started studying for real from dental decks 2014. I studied it 3 times in total which took the majority of time then I studied ASDA released question (from G to N) once marking the questions that was hard to understand and restudying just those a second time (this was a very important part since you will see repeats). final week consisted of a quick decks review plus the questions I marked from ASDA.
General advice
-You will forget things. when I was studying for the exam. I would finish anatomy and start something else but when I come back especially at first I felt like I forgot most stuff. that is NORMAL. don't freak out it's a big exam and you'll feel like you can't remember things, even right until the moment when you take the exam. and then everything will come back. so DON'T WORRY.
-Don't study from too many sources. you'll confuse yourself and feel bad because you have a ton to finish. just stick to ONE source plus the ASDA questions (either first aid or dental deck). if you are paranoid like me then you can add missing stuff to dental deck from first aid or vice versa (depending on what your main source is), this will make sure that you cover everything.
-Never leave any subject. cover everything because you never know what you might get. I didn't get any questions below head & neck stuff but others do. so study everything.
-There are many mistake in decks & first aid. you will not catch them at first but as you study you'll start to notice (especially if you look up things online). another helpful thing is that if you study dental decks, after you finish it a couple of times go read first aid once then you'll be able to cross reference and find the mistakes. vice versa if you're read first aid.
-Take some time off. you will get bored and tired so it's necessary to take breaks. watch a movie or go out with friends and family. you'll study better after a little time off.
-DON'T LISTEN to people telling you it's very hard. it is not and you can easily pass if you study for it.
Specific advice about studying each section
Dental anatomy: focus on tooth morphology, eruption and shedding time. Specific calcification time & shape of root chamber (both are summarized in simple table in first aid). also focus on working and non working movement and make sure you can visualize it in your head. no need for special techniques or tricks it's very simple if you know the basics (YouTube can help).
Anatomy: focus on nerves (especially CNV,CNVII,CNX+ sympathetic and para systems) and arteries, muscles (origin, insertion, function), bone(types of bone, growth fracture). another thing is look at a lot of pictures and videos so you can visualize the location of bones and other structures in space.
Biochem/Phys: know everything about the basic reactions (TCA cycle, glycolysis, etc...), you'll probably get general questions and specific ones about steps so while you don't need to memorize every step you have to know the important ones. amino acids and proteins are also high yield (the decks are better in this regard compared to first aid). as for physio you have to understand everything (usmle videos helped me the most), once you do it will make all other subject (specifically biochem and patho) much easier to understand.
Micro/patho: for micro I say focus on the bacteria and viruses in the decks, 90% of stuff will be about it. also fungi, make sure you read every word in deck or FA about fungi. as for patho you'll always get questions about tumors so study those well. for the rest of the systems you might get question about anything so it's better not to leave any system unstudied.
.....That's all for now, if you have questions let me know. also don't ask me about other study materials aside from the ones mentioned above since I don't know anything about it.
I'll start with exam day and then talk about my study experience. keeping in mind that I graduated many years ago (international student) and had to study for part 1 from scratch not remembering most things. (I WILL NOT SHARE ANY SPECIFIC Questions, it's against the rules).
On exam day depending on the exam location even though your exam might be on 8am, you might have to wait more than 30 minutes to get admitted because of large number of test takers. you'll feel very very nervous and that's OK. just be prepared mentally to wait.
it's normal to feel like you can't remember many things before the exam. don't worry it'll all come back to you.
the exam room was not very cold so I suggest wearing something thin and bring a jacket just in case.
the exam is 400 question. 2 sections of 200 divide by 30 min break. However, after every 100 you must submit the questions and cannot go back to them. you get 15 min optional break in the middle of each section. you can do anything you want during the breaks (review, eat, etc..)
The exam WAS NOT HARD. I read a lot that the exam is much harder than ASDA question or that dental decks are not enough anymore. it is all NOT TRUE. the exam was as hard as the last few released ASDA questions (M,N) and had MANY repeats. some were exactly the same while others were rephrased. At the same time it was not easy. you need to UNDERSTAND the concepts not just memorize random facts (when reading anything you don't understand look it up online). there will be few question that are very confusing but those were very few.
You will see testlet questions at the end of section 1 and beginning of section 2 (less than a 100 qs total), meaning they give you details & history of a patient and ask you 5-10 questions about it. I have to say those were the hardest part of the exam but still very doable. overall I was very comfortable during the exam and walked out feeling good. the main point I wanted to make was that most of the exam was from ASDA released question + dental decks /or first aid. if you study those two well you should be able to make it. keeping in mind that the questions are randomized and you may receive harder question but still the majority should be covered by studying from those 2 sources.
Breakdown by section: dental anatomy questions were the easiest and most straightforward. if you study the decks and ASDA it should be enough. anatomy was mostly simple direct stuff from the decks with very few complex ones. biochemistry/physiology was also not hard, many were direct while some required thinking but still not impossible to get (usmle videos/youtube helped alot in this regard). micro/patho was probably the most challenging, most were direct questions but others were detailed and required great knowledge about a disease or a microorganism. all in all mostly easy stuff with some hard ones in between.
Next is study experience. I studied for 3.5 months but that was without weekend and I took many days off. study time was between 6-8 hours on average and then 9-11 hours on the last week. I started by watching usmle videos 2010 (green background) as a way to remember the basics since I have graduated many years ago. along side the videos I read first aid part 1 once. then I started studying for real from dental decks 2014. I studied it 3 times in total which took the majority of time then I studied ASDA released question (from G to N) once marking the questions that was hard to understand and restudying just those a second time (this was a very important part since you will see repeats). final week consisted of a quick decks review plus the questions I marked from ASDA.
General advice
-You will forget things. when I was studying for the exam. I would finish anatomy and start something else but when I come back especially at first I felt like I forgot most stuff. that is NORMAL. don't freak out it's a big exam and you'll feel like you can't remember things, even right until the moment when you take the exam. and then everything will come back. so DON'T WORRY.
-Don't study from too many sources. you'll confuse yourself and feel bad because you have a ton to finish. just stick to ONE source plus the ASDA questions (either first aid or dental deck). if you are paranoid like me then you can add missing stuff to dental deck from first aid or vice versa (depending on what your main source is), this will make sure that you cover everything.
-Never leave any subject. cover everything because you never know what you might get. I didn't get any questions below head & neck stuff but others do. so study everything.
-There are many mistake in decks & first aid. you will not catch them at first but as you study you'll start to notice (especially if you look up things online). another helpful thing is that if you study dental decks, after you finish it a couple of times go read first aid once then you'll be able to cross reference and find the mistakes. vice versa if you're read first aid.
-Take some time off. you will get bored and tired so it's necessary to take breaks. watch a movie or go out with friends and family. you'll study better after a little time off.
-DON'T LISTEN to people telling you it's very hard. it is not and you can easily pass if you study for it.
Specific advice about studying each section
Dental anatomy: focus on tooth morphology, eruption and shedding time. Specific calcification time & shape of root chamber (both are summarized in simple table in first aid). also focus on working and non working movement and make sure you can visualize it in your head. no need for special techniques or tricks it's very simple if you know the basics (YouTube can help).
Anatomy: focus on nerves (especially CNV,CNVII,CNX+ sympathetic and para systems) and arteries, muscles (origin, insertion, function), bone(types of bone, growth fracture). another thing is look at a lot of pictures and videos so you can visualize the location of bones and other structures in space.
Biochem/Phys: know everything about the basic reactions (TCA cycle, glycolysis, etc...), you'll probably get general questions and specific ones about steps so while you don't need to memorize every step you have to know the important ones. amino acids and proteins are also high yield (the decks are better in this regard compared to first aid). as for physio you have to understand everything (usmle videos helped me the most), once you do it will make all other subject (specifically biochem and patho) much easier to understand.
Micro/patho: for micro I say focus on the bacteria and viruses in the decks, 90% of stuff will be about it. also fungi, make sure you read every word in deck or FA about fungi. as for patho you'll always get questions about tumors so study those well. for the rest of the systems you might get question about anything so it's better not to leave any system unstudied.
.....That's all for now, if you have questions let me know. also don't ask me about other study materials aside from the ones mentioned above since I don't know anything about it.
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