Not sure what to do with a month left and Uworld completed

[Redpancreas]

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Hey everyone,

It's kind of surreal right now but everyone else started clerkships and I'm sitting here with a 44 days left to study for USMLE Step 1. My last NBME was a little above the national average and my goal is a 240 (that's all I need and I'm not that far off, but I want a buffer I suppose). I initially delayed because my NBME average was about 220.

At this point, I've gone through Uworld and I'm not sure what to do. Questions kept me occupied, and now I guess I'm doing Uworld again but I'm burning out. With 44 days, I don't have the time to use the Brosephelon deck which was my initial plan if I delayed. It's just so frustrating because most of the stuff is stuff I know, but the gaps feel really elusive. Will doing the UWSAs help with ID'ing that?

Should I just sit and memorize First Aid? When I do that, I feel like it's not really high yield because I know a lot of it, but then other times, I'll come to a whole new thing I never realized, or in Uworld I'll see a question I never really understood the first time.

I guess I haven't touched Pathoma in a while so I could be doing that, but it just feels too passive and when I'll forget it the next day. My plan currently is to take 30 days to finish Uworld again while trying to memorize FA concurrently and then spend the next two weeks uber-cramming, but I just feel like I could be doing something more efficient. Does anyone have any ideas.

Some problems I'm running into are:

-I forget Uworld information fast and they won't let me print out pages by page # so I can re-review my notes.

-I just can't read First Aid without getting distracted.

-Pathoma feels too passive and it doesn't really stick.


I know some of ya'll on here warned me the burnout was real so hope this doesn't sound too annoying. Also, I realize this is a good situation to be in, but I just want some diverse input/ideas on what to try now.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Since you are a 44 days away, your time would best be spent doing questions a majority of the time. It may be too late to add new resources to your study arsenal (UWORLD, FA, Pathoma should be fine). Sitting down to "just read" all of FA would be a waste of time at this point.

Here is what I would do if I were you:

Before resetting UWORLD, make a list of your weakest topics and review your lowest ones (3-5 should be good). Review your weak sections by reading Pathoma and the corresponding sections of FA.

Start UWORLD again. For every question you get wrong, review the topic in FA and highlight/write in the essential information that led to you missing the question. Put a little tape-flag thing on the page as well for easy access. At the end of each week, review all the flagged pages and remove the flags. Also look at your 3 weakest sections in UWORLD and review their sections in Pathoma & FA.

I would take a practice NBME/UWSA every 7-10 days and then 1 week before your exam.

If you are REALLY struggling in one topic (i.e. micro, pharmacology) You could possible to supplement with some Lange/Lippincott Flashcards, but you know your time better than I, and doing questions and reviewing mistakes would be better than doing this.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Redpancreas]

Since you are a 44 days away, your time would best be spent doing questions a majority of the time. It may be too late to add new resources to your study arsenal (UWORLD, FA, Pathoma should be fine). Sitting down to "just read" all of FA would be a waste of time at this point.

Here is what I would do if I were you:

Before resetting UWORLD, make a list of your weakest topics and review your lowest ones (3-5 should be good). Review your weak sections by reading Pathoma and the corresponding sections of FA.

Start UWORLD again. For every question you get wrong, review the topic in FA and highlight/write in the essential information that led to you missing the question. Put a little tape-flag thing on the page as well for easy access. At the end of each week, review all the flagged pages and remove the flags. Also look at your 3 weakest sections in UWORLD and review their sections in Pathoma & FA.

I would take a practice NBME/UWSA every 7-10 days and then 1 week before your exam.

If you are REALLY struggling in one topic (i.e. micro, pharmacology) You could possible to supplement with some Lange/Lippincott Flashcards, but you know your time better than I, and doing questions and reviewing mistakes would be better than doing this.

Best of luck to you!

Amazing response. The part about the ID'ing weaknesses using Uworld was obvious and I can't believe I never thought of it.

 

[masaraksh]

What was your uworld cumulative %???

 

[Redpancreas]

What was your uworld cumulative %???

Not sure about cumulative but low 70th percentile first pass (mixed bag conditions), 87th percentile with 300 questions completed 2nd pass. Goal = 240 and I'm out!

 

[moisne]

How have you not attempted to memorize FA?

Anyways ^^^ is right. Do UW and find reference in FA for each one you missed and write any additional info in. Watch pathoma and do the same. Watch sketchy micro (I swear by those videos - I never went to class even).

Good luck. Since you are ahead of schedule take 2 half days off during the week. Prevents burn out.


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