Step 1 from scratch.

[Drinox]

Hello everyone, I need some advice regarding studying for the step 1.

I'm a student who made it through by cramming on the last day and forgetting everything in a couple of days. What's worse is that I used review books and took advantage of a weak examination system by doing questions that repeated in the actual exam by going through almost every past paper I could find.

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

If so, is there a good method of doing text books along side KLN? Lecture videos seem inaccessible due to lack of revision value, plus I'm not into listening much.

I need a quality learning phase before I set into the review phase I think, but I can't find anyone who has been in my situation.

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[link2swim06]

Hello everyone, I need some advice regarding studying for the step 1.

I'm a student who made it through by cramming on the last day and forgetting everything in a couple of days. What's worse is that I used review books and took advantage of a weak examination system by doing questions that repeated in the actual exam by going through almost every past paper I could find.

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

If so, is there a good method of doing text books along side KLN? Lecture videos seem inaccessible due to lack of revision value, plus I'm not into listening much.

I need a quality learning phase before I set into the review phase I think, but I can't find anyone who has been in my situation.

Sounds like we have a similar study style. My advice is memorize first aid first, then do uworld. If you have time go through pathoma.

Avoid too many resources...I felt like I was trying to study from scratch too...this is impossible to do if you have more than the 3 above resources.

 

[xenophila]

did u go to a US Med school?

yea use uworld, FA, and pathoma. nothing else is needed.

 

[medman88]

Hello everyone, I need some advice regarding studying for the step 1.

I'm a student who made it through by cramming on the last day and forgetting everything in a couple of days. What's worse is that I used review books and took advantage of a weak examination system by doing questions that repeated in the actual exam by going through almost every past paper I could find.

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

If so, is there a good method of doing text books along side KLN? Lecture videos seem inaccessible due to lack of revision value, plus I'm not into listening much.

I need a quality learning phase before I set into the review phase I think, but I can't find anyone who has been in my situation.

I would actually disagree in some aspect with the above posters. If I were you I would use pathoma and Uworld first, when u finish pathoma, start FA. Maybe learn pharm and micro along the way. But FA is just a bunch of facts, it sticks way better if you have some background.

 

[uNiq1]

Hello everyone, I need some advice regarding studying for the step 1.

I'm a student who made it through by cramming on the last day and forgetting everything in a couple of days. What's worse is that I used review books and took advantage of a weak examination system by doing questions that repeated in the actual exam by going through almost every past paper I could find.

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

If so, is there a good method of doing text books along side KLN? Lecture videos seem inaccessible due to lack of revision value, plus I'm not into listening much.

I need a quality learning phase before I set into the review phase I think, but I can't find anyone who has been in my situation.

You sound just like me.
Here's the truth you don't wanna hear. You studied last minute = never put the info long term memory. The fact that you passed/got through means that you have half a brain and probably have the ability to understand things but not memorize them. Here's my suggestion.

Watch the KLN videos for a section and then after you watch the section only read notes for it if you are particularly weak in that subject. If something doesn't make sense in the notes replay that part of the video. Do this till you finish a subject. Shouldn't take too long since you can play most of the lectures at 1.5 even 2x speed depending on who it is.

After you complete a whole subject example biochem. Read the corresponding FA section for it. Again if something doesn't make sense just go back and play that part. You should have an idea for where it was because you just watched the videos (PS using the notes will help you locate the video because they are in the same order).
When reading FA try to recall the important stuff said in the video and only memorize one/two points per section NOT everything. Example Fatty acid synthesis just memorize the RLE enzyme and maybe the name of the dz and its most characteristic finding. Don't go crazy with all the details.

Now that you have a framework go do uworld. I do it untimed mode (non tutor). After the block go through the questions see what you got wrong/guessed on. Read the topic + explanation. YOUR NOT DONE. Now go back and read the whole FA section for that topic and recall those basic 1/2 facts you memorized. Add 1/2 more facts to that.

Rinse and repeat. This way you keep building and revising your knowledge. After you get through the uworld questions for a subject see how you feel. If you still feel a little weak watch the KLN videos again (no notes this time) at an even faster speed example 2x and just make sure you understand everything. You can follow along in your FA and this time you should be able to recall most if not all the details. Absorb yourself into each subject for a 3-4 days and when you come out of it you'll have a pretty good idea of whats going on.

Most important point now is to move forward but in exactly 1 week take out some time to read through the FA section that you did again and lookup/watch the video part that you forgot to cement the knowledge. If you don't do this you will forget it again. If you do it will transfer to long term memory and you will be able to hold onto it much better.

Sorry for the long explanation but this is what I wish I knew back when I started.

 

[linkin06]

try and put in 12+ hours a day. i know it sounds awful, but it has to be done. i would go 50 minutes phone off, gmail off, then 10 minutes mess around on iphone, etc. repeat as often as you can, hopefully up to 12-13 hours in a day.

i also felt like i didn't do too well in learning stuff first two years. use goljan path to figure out WHY things are how they are listed in first aid. first aid just is a list of facts in outline form. i am not a memorizer. i need to know the explanation. the explanation is what sticks for me, and that explanation comes from goljan path. (mostly -- there are stuff you just have to cold memorize like micro, pharm, biochem pathways)

 

[Drinox]

Unfortunately I'm an IMG and adding to that my University didn't teach basic sciences in a very clinically orientated manner.

I can't really jump to FA because my background knowledge is just plain abysmal. To my advantage however, I am totally free and have the time and will power for a hard core study regiment.

Today was my first day, and I just couldn't manage to do the normal video followed by lecture note method but rather would go over the notes and then watch the video at 1.5x to review.

My core concern remains the same however:

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

I guess I asked it wrong though, what I meant is that are those (KLN+Videos) good enough for the initial learning phase? FA+Qbanks+etc will surely follow as unanimously advised.

 

[alternatego]

you should get Pathoma

 

[tundri]

My core concern remains the same however:

Are Kaplan Lecture notes along with videos good enough to score high? (240+) Or will I have to dig deep into my text books?

I guess I asked it wrong though, what I meant is that are those (KLN+Videos) good enough for the initial learning phase? FA+Qbanks+etc will surely follow as unanimously advised.

Scoring 240+ is not a matter of what resources you use. Not everyone using Kaplan will score above 240. Many people using all possible resources out there won't score that high, and some may even fail.

If your question can be interpreted as: "Is kaplan enough for the "brightest" kids to score 240+?", then the answer is yes.

Keep in mind, however, that we all think and take tests differently. People hate to admit it, but there are people that are smarter than others. If you're in the first group, then go ahead and use kaplan.

By far, I think Kaplan is the best source for IMG. This is coming from someone (me) who was reluctant to even give Kaplan a try because of the many people that say "there are better resources out there". It may be true, but kaplan is enough and it is great. And no, you don't have to dig into textbooks. All you need is there. I wasted valuable time reading textbooks "to know more" and I found out I had wasted my time when I started to do Kaplan. Complement kaplan with Pathoma, RR goljan and you're golden.

IMO, DIT and similar reviews that read FA to me, suck. After your comprehensive reading, grab FA and try to make sense out of it and stick with it.

 

[Drinox]

What do you think the real difference is between a student who scores a 210 and one who scores a 270?

I consider myself able to do better than I did in med school, and I want to score really high. Advice/tips? I'm hell bent on opening my text books after going through Askdoc's blog (It's actually one of the best USMLE blogs I've found, if anyone knows any other good ones please do tell me):

Aiming for 99′s is much, much more difficult. You need to cover not only the high yield stuff and master them, you need to cover a lot of low yield stuff, plus you cannot have a weak subject. Since you need to make sure you score high in all sections of the examination, having a weak point in a subject can cause you points you need to reach 99 or high 99. In fact the higher the 99 you are aiming for, the more you cannot afford any weak point. Whereas, you can afford to cover major subjects only if you are aiming for above average scores, eg. mastering only Pathology, Microbiology and Pharmacology in Step 1 or Internal Medicine in Step 2 CK and Step 3 while just skimming through the rest. You have to master almost all subjects if you are going for 99′s. Kaplan notes is not enough for 99′s in Step 1 even with UW q Bank or Kaplan q Bank, your chance for a 99 is low to average. You need at least Goljan or Robbin’s Basic Pathology for Pathology, Jawetz and Levinson’s Microbiology and Immunolgy as supplement to increase your chances of a 99. For Step 2CK, Kaplan notes, mastered at 95 to 100% + UW q Bank at 80 to 90% is minimum if you want a good chance of getting a 99. In Step 3, doing well in the MCQ section is not enough, you need to do well in CCS section too as it is 25% of your score.

 

[spicysoup55]

In the same boat here. I feel like I need to spend a lot of time actually learning the material but am having trouble figuring out the most efficient and effective way to do it. A few issues/questions that I have:

1) How much background knowledge is needed before using Uworld? Would you all suggest doing UWorld questions after doing each First Aid chapter or making a first pass of First Aid first before starting Uworld?

2) As you all know, First Aid is just an outline, and I sometimes have trouble understanding why or how the facts fit together. (Ex. condition A is caused by organisms B and C, and should be treated with drugs D and E...but why??) Is it worth trying to actually understand the content? Will UWorld go into more explanations?

3) Some of the posts above bring up Kaplan videos and how it is especially useful for IMG's. Do you think watching videos is better for people like me who need to learn the material rather than just studying First Aid and UWorld? Why do people say Kaplan videos are especially useful for IMGs?

4) How much dedicated study time do you all think I would need? I know I would need more than most people b/c I need to spend more time learning the material.

Thanks.

 

[DrPicard]

Drinox, I'm an IMG and in my country pretty much every graduate who attempts the USMLE is in the same boat as you ie they remember next to nothing of their basic sciences years.

The "formula" that works extremely well here is:

1. Kaplan lectures notes. These aren't very popular in the USA, but they're better than other review books at explaining things in a simple fashion.
2. Pathoma for pathology.
3. UWorld, usually twice. Not everyone does a second qbank, but if they do, its Kaplan. Rx sees next to no use here (but this isn't to say its a bad qbank).
4. First Aid.
5. That wayne university site for radiology and webpath/goljan slides/pathoma slides for histopathology.

The general method is to go over Kaplan once while watching the video lectures. Some watch all, others only watch areas that trouble them (I personally only watched pathoma and behav sciences). Regardless, if you're disciplined and can speed up the lectures to 1.5x or something, they shouldn't take long at all. Furthermore, don't make it a point to write down every single thing they say; their purpose is only to explain whats in your books. If, despite the videos you don't understand something, use the internet. Wikipedia, google, whatever. You won't really need textbooks.

After this people go over Kaplan again, this time reading the relevant FA section as well, followed by UWorld, all subject wise. Eg you go over Kaplan physio, then read all of FA physio, then do all of UWorlds physio questions, writing down whatever you feel is necessary.

Once all subjects have been finished in this manner, you move onto just memorizing FA and their UWorld notes, nothing else. This last push is interspersed with NBMEs and, for some people, another full attempt at UWorld. During this final 2 month period people manage going through FA at least 3+ times.

With this method, people here regularly score 250+, with a fair number of 260+ scores as well. And these are people who are clueless about basic sciences when they start out. People scoring under 240 are generally those who have cut corners. So just make sure you don't do that (like the guy a couple of weeks back talking about skipping mycology).

To summarize:

Kaplan + (select) videos --> Kaplan/FA/Uworld subject wise --> FA + Uworld + NBMEs till exam day

 

[tasar1898]

Havent taken the test yet but doing very well on world and assessments

 

[spicysoup55]

Drinox, I'm an IMG and in my country pretty much every graduate who attempts the USMLE is in the same boat as you ie they remember next to nothing of their basic sciences years.

The "formula" that works extremely well here is:

1. Kaplan lectures notes. These aren't very popular in the USA, but they're better than other review books at explaining things in a simple fashion.
2. Pathoma for pathology.
3. UWorld, usually twice. Not everyone does a second qbank, but if they do, its Kaplan. Rx sees next to no use here (but this isn't to say its a bad qbank).
4. First Aid.
5. That wayne university site for radiology and webpath/goljan slides/pathoma slides for histopathology.

The general method is to go over Kaplan once while watching the video lectures. Some watch all, others only watch areas that trouble them (I personally only watched pathoma and behav sciences). Regardless, if you're disciplined and can speed up the lectures to 1.5x or something, they shouldn't take long at all. Furthermore, don't make it a point to write down every single thing they say; their purpose is only to explain whats in your books. If, despite the videos you don't understand something, use the internet. Wikipedia, google, whatever. You won't really need textbooks.

After this people go over Kaplan again, this time reading the relevant FA section as well, followed by UWorld, all subject wise. Eg you go over Kaplan physio, then read all of FA physio, then do all of UWorlds physio questions, writing down whatever you feel is necessary.

Once all subjects have been finished in this manner, you move onto just memorizing FA and their UWorld notes, nothing else. This last push is interspersed with NBMEs and, for some people, another full attempt at UWorld. During this final 2 month period people manage going through FA at least 3+ times.

With this method, people here regularly score 250+, with a fair number of 260+ scores as well. And these are people who are clueless about basic sciences when they start out. People scoring under 240 are generally those who have cut corners. So just make sure you don't do that (like the guy a couple of weeks back talking about skipping mycology).

To summarize:

Kaplan + (select) videos --> Kaplan/FA/Uworld subject wise --> FA + Uworld + NBMEs till exam day

This is helpful! Thank you very much. It seems like the Kaplan lecture notes are a more efficient way of studying than watching their videos. Do you think it would be ok if I only read the Kaplan notes and not watch the video?

How does the level of detail in Kaplan, Pathoma, FA, and UWorld explanations compare?

Throughout the whole process, how many hours of studying do you think is required? Just a rough estimate.

 

[mymembernames]

I'm in the same boat. Thanks for the helpful responses!

 

[DrPicard]

In general, if you feel you've understood just by reading the lecture notes, you can skip the video lectures. Any remaining holes will be taken care of by your qbanks. Essentially, this is what you're looking at when you're using Kaplan videos to prepare:

1. Biostats/behavioral sciences lectures: You absolutely MUST watch them. 100%. There is no wiggle room here. Their book is essentially incomplete without the lectures.
2. Pathoma lectures: The greatest benefit to be derived from these, in my opinion, is the explanation of all the histopath slides. But I would suggest you watch them in their entirety. He's a good teacher, precise with his explanations and articulate with his speech, which means watching even at 2x isn't hard. And pathology is probably the most important subject.
3. A lot of people also recommend watching all of biochemistry, as well as the ANS portion of pharmacology by default.
4. The rest of the lectures you should watch only if you find the book insufficient.
5. Some people watch all the video lectures by default.

I've personally watched behav sciences + pathoma. I haven't felt the need to watch anything else since I found the book sufficient. (To be honest I felt I could've skipped the pathoma lectures as well, outside of his slide explanations). The "default" combos here are either watch every lecture, or watch pathoma + behav sciences + biochem + ANS pharma. Lectures don't take long if you have what it takes to not keep getting distracted (on average 25 hours per subject; at 1.5x thats doable in 2-3 days easily).

Generally takes people 6-7 months of 7-8 hour (on book time) days to take the exam with 1-2 qbanks. The biggest variation is in the first reading, since at this point people are mostly taking it easy and not putting in a lot of hours. If you can control this and discipline yourself right from the start, 6-7 months is very doable.

Haven't done Uworld yet, but in general, the level of detail is greater in Kaplan and Pathoma then in FA. However, theres a lot of stuff thats in FA but not in either of those books. But reading Kaplan will allow you to understand whats in FA, thus making it easier to memorize and apply.

 

[DrPicard]

Havent taken the test yet but doing very well on world and assessments . Knew NOTHING about medicine before i started step 1 prep .. did kaplan / All videos / wikipedia/ web path and goljan RR and pathoma for pathology ( no kaplan)

In retrospect, which Kaplan videos could you have skipped? I've only watched behav sciences and pathoma, didn't really feel the need for any others. But I feel paranoid about this sometimes (a lot of people in my library watch all of them), plus I have some spare time nowadays and could probably watch some. Another friend of mine has decided to completely skip anatomy and micro; this seems reasonable enough to me. I'm personally thinking of watching biochem and pharma. What do you suggest?

 

[tasar1898]

-

 

[mymembernames]

.

 

[mymembernames]

Thanks for the responses!

 

[Daitong]

Drinox, I'm an IMG and in my country pretty much every graduate who attempts the USMLE is in the same boat as you ie they remember next to nothing of their basic sciences years.

The "formula" that works extremely well here is:

1. Kaplan lectures notes. These aren't very popular in the USA, but they're better than other review books at explaining things in a simple fashion.
2. Pathoma for pathology.
3. UWorld, usually twice. Not everyone does a second qbank, but if they do, its Kaplan. Rx sees next to no use here (but this isn't to say its a bad qbank).
4. First Aid.
5. That wayne university site for radiology and webpath/goljan slides/pathoma slides for histopathology.

The general method is to go over Kaplan once while watching the video lectures. Some watch all, others only watch areas that trouble them (I personally only watched pathoma and behav sciences). Regardless, if you're disciplined and can speed up the lectures to 1.5x or something, they shouldn't take long at all. Furthermore, don't make it a point to write down every single thing they say; their purpose is only to explain whats in your books. If, despite the videos you don't understand something, use the internet. Wikipedia, google, whatever. You won't really need textbooks.

After this people go over Kaplan again, this time reading the relevant FA section as well, followed by UWorld, all subject wise. Eg you go over Kaplan physio, then read all of FA physio, then do all of UWorlds physio questions, writing down whatever you feel is necessary.

Once all subjects have been finished in this manner, you move onto just memorizing FA and their UWorld notes, nothing else. This last push is interspersed with NBMEs and, for some people, another full attempt at UWorld. During this final 2 month period people manage going through FA at least 3+ times.

With this method, people here regularly score 250+, with a fair number of 260+ scores as well. And these are people who are clueless about basic sciences when they start out. People scoring under 240 are generally those who have cut corners. So just make sure you don't do that (like the guy a couple of weeks back talking about skipping mycology).

To summarize:

Kaplan + (select) videos --> Kaplan/FA/Uworld subject wise --> FA + Uworld + NBMEs till exam day

Why is it that Kaplan is preferred over USMLERx?

 

[howdysang]

You sound just like me.
Here's the truth you don't wanna hear. You studied last minute = never put the info long term memory. The fact that you passed/got through means that you have half a brain and probably have the ability to understand things but not memorize them. Here's my suggestion.

Watch the KLN videos for a section and then after you watch the section only read notes for it if you are particularly weak in that subject. If something doesn't make sense in the notes replay that part of the video. Do this till you finish a subject. Shouldn't take too long since you can play most of the lectures at 1.5 even 2x speed depending on who it is.

After you complete a whole subject example biochem. Read the corresponding FA section for it. Again if something doesn't make sense just go back and play that part. You should have an idea for where it was because you just watched the videos (PS using the notes will help you locate the video because they are in the same order).
When reading FA try to recall the important stuff said in the video and only memorize one/two points per section NOT everything. Example Fatty acid synthesis just memorize the RLE enzyme and maybe the name of the dz and its most characteristic finding. Don't go crazy with all the details.

Now that you have a framework go do uworld. I do it untimed mode (non tutor). After the block go through the questions see what you got wrong/guessed on. Read the topic + explanation. YOUR NOT DONE. Now go back and read the whole FA section for that topic and recall those basic 1/2 facts you memorized. Add 1/2 more facts to that.

Rinse and repeat. This way you keep building and revising your knowledge. After you get through the uworld questions for a subject see how you feel. If you still feel a little weak watch the KLN videos again (no notes this time) at an even faster speed example 2x and just make sure you understand everything. You can follow along in your FA and this time you should be able to recall most if not all the details. Absorb yourself into each subject for a 3-4 days and when you come out of it you'll have a pretty good idea of whats going on.

Most important point now is to move forward but in exactly 1 week take out some time to read through the FA section that you did again and lookup/watch the video part that you forgot to cement the knowledge. If you don't do this you will forget it again. If you do it will transfer to long term memory and you will be able to hold onto it much better.

Sorry for the long explanation but this is what I wish I knew back when I started.

.

 

[allojay]

Why is it that Kaplan is preferred over USMLERx?

Are you referring to the Qbank? Because if so, I would personally disagree. I feel that Rx does a better job of instilling content in FA where as Kaplan has a lot of questions on low yield, specific minutiae. I would like to see what others think. I haven't taken the exam yet, but from my prep so far, thats what I've seen. I will say that Kaplan has a lot of great physic questions.

 

[DrPicard]

Kaplan is favored only in my country, probably because its been successfully used by students in conjunction with UWorld over the last 10 years, and nobody wants to be the first to make a change. Also, I've heard back then Rx did suck, and its only gotten better over the last few years.

The general consensus on this board is that Rx is superior, and that Kaplan should be the third qbank you do, if at all.

Bottom line is Uworld + one more qbank should be good enough, and you can throw in a third if you have the time.