Step I prep for older students?

[LUCPM]

Hi,

I'm an older medical student (in early 40s) who may be lacking stamina and mental acuity to cram last several weeks for Step I prep. I'm looking for general advice how to better prepare for Step I during 2nd year and a little bit ahead of time, although general advice here seems to be "wait until last few weeks."

I am not good at cramming and I consider myself a slow learner - I usually take time to get a bit picture, try to understand the concepts, and sometimes spend too much time on little things that aren't even relevant to class exams. Despite all these, I usually do well in classes as a result of excessive study hours day in and day out.

I know I have to be more efficient with time but I haven't been able to find any time to study for boards during the first couple of months of my 2nd year. People have told me to do well in classes but I'm not sure how much this is really going to help given my situation. My memory alse seems to be deteriorating, as I find myself forgetting almost everything after each exam.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Transposony]

Hi,

I'm an older medical student (in early 40s) who may be lacking stamina and mental acuity to cram last several weeks for Step I prep. I'm looking for general advice how to better prepare for Step I during 2nd year and a little bit ahead of time, although general advice here seems to be "wait until last few weeks."

I am not good at cramming and I consider myself a slow learner - I usually take time to get a bit picture, try to understand the concepts, and sometimes spend too much time on little things that aren't even relevant to class exams. Despite all these, I usually do well in classes as a result of excessive study hours day in and day out.

I know I have to be more efficient with time but I haven't been able to find any time to study for boards during the first couple of months of my 2nd year. People have told me to do well in classes but I'm not sure how much this is really going to help given my situation. My memory also seems to be deteriorating, as I find myself forgetting almost everything after each exam.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

As you said it yourself "I try to understand the concepts". This test is concept based, so you are golden as it suits your learning style.
The days of cramming during last few days and doing well on USMLE are over.
And if you have enough "fire in your belly" stamina, memory and mental acuity will follow.

 

[Jamiu22]

As you said it yourself "I try to understand the concepts". This test is concept based, so you are golden as it suits your learning style.
The days of cramming during last few days and doing well on USMLE are over.
And if you have enough "fire in your belly" stamina, memory and mental acuity will follow.

I concur!!!

Also, if you can't gun it for 6-8wks straight studying for exam.... extend your study period out - e.g. I essentially started studying in Dec/Jan prior to my exam... so by the time it was april, I was already hitting my peak.. and I never studied more than 6 hours/per day... I went over my key materials multiple times....and that seems to be beneficial for an exam like the step.