Question for the IMGs

[ugm12]

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A question for the IMGs sitting (or who have sat) step 1:

Did you study from your own medical notes in preparation for step 1? Or did you 'start from scratch' essentially and buy the US recommended reading?

I understand that step 1 may be more detailed and focussed on minutiae, which might not be covered in the international med school curriculum. However learning from my own med school notes may be much more time efficient than starting again learning from entirely unseen resources. Thoughts?

 

[ugm12]

Just as I thought. Thank you for that. Although the core content may be much the same it makes sense to tailor my studying (and resources) to the actual exam.

 

[cellexp]

I do a little of both.

At first, I tried to read only the books that AMGs used and focused on but recognized that the course/ subject emphasis my medical school had was very different from the AM schools, which in turn also applied to their books. In terms of detail, I think my medical school did do a good job but certainly it was not in the same subjects the USMLE requires. Anyway, long story short, I ended up really frustrated with the AMG reading list. I decided to then create my own list and also looked to IMGs for their plans rather than AMGs. That has worked out better for me.

While I still use the review books I've picked for myself, I certainly will not hesitate to refer to some particularly great notes from medical school.

In the end, whatever helps you understand the concepts USMLE is focused on is the way to go.

Don't let other people's schedules and reading lists faze you. You know uniquely how you study and what your strengths and weaknesses are. So, use that advantage to your benefit.

 

[ugm12]

Cellexp that is extremely helpful. Thank you. I have already created my own reading list based on the methods of learning that work for me. Pathology was particularly well taught at my medical school, as the entire pre-clinical curriculum is run by pathologists. So following your advice I will still use those notes to supplement the AMG material for step 1.

Do you have any links or suggestions on where to look for past IMG plans for USMLE prep? Thanks again.

 

[OlgaW007]

I started from the scratch. Most of the books which I used to study in my medical school would not cover all USMLE required content. Even Kaplan does not cover everything. In UWorld I met so many questions which I did not see in any of my sources. So start fresh.
Good luck!

 

[Ven0m]

For me and my classmates, throw out all notes from med school and just start with the standard books like kaplan, goljan, pathoma, first aid, stuff like that.

If US students even use these books to prep for the Step, and their school is even tailored to practicing medicine in the US, think of what us IMGs are studying at international schools that aren't tailored to US practice standards. There are hella indians, pakistanis, africans, europeans, asians, etc each from their respective countries (and prepping for their own board exams). So we American IMGs just gotta start with the USMLE books

 

[AshNiffler]

A question for the IMGs sitting (or who have sat) step 1:

Did you study from your own medical notes in preparation for step 1? Or did you 'start from scratch' essentially and buy the US recommended reading?

I understand that step 1 may be more detailed and focussed on minutiae, which might not be covered in the international med school curriculum. However learning from my own med school notes may be much more time efficient than starting again learning from entirely unseen resources. Thoughts?

I go to a Med school in the Caribbean so it was roughly the same curriculum, during dedicated I didn't read any textbooks just qbanks, NBMEs and first aid.