The Comprehensive 2008 USMLE Plans, Aspirations, and Experiences Thread

[DwyaneWade]

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Hello everyone, I thought it would be kind of cool to start an official thread to document our journey towards USMLE Step 1 2008. At first we could just post a few things about ourselves and our goals for the exam and our careers, and then it would just open season. It would great to look back on this in June or even in future years and see where we went and what changed in our perspectives.

I'll start:

Hobbies: Basketball, Reading, Shooting and Making Movies, Tennis
Step 1 Score Goal: 250+ would make me happy, 260+ would just overfeed my ego ;-)
Why?: Because I have no idea what I want to do and I want a score that is competitive in any specialty.
Fields: Though about pretty much everything but right now (in no order), Peds, Ped Cardio, Ped Neuro, Neurosurgery, ENT
In-Class Scores: Top tenth of class
How I plan to study: I don't plan to start crash-studying until early March but right now these are the books I am trying to read with my classes:

First Aid 2006
BRS Physiology
BRS Pathology
Robbins Path
Clinical Micro

It hasn't been to successful thus far so I will have some reviewing ahead of me

Other Goals for Last Year of Freedom?: To dunk, to bench >200 lbs, to make a movie and submit it to a festival, to decide on a top 5 specialties

Etc. This is the place for the rants. It bothers me that people pick specialties based on pay and lifestyle (e.g. derm, optho, rads) and I don't understand why. I feel that people work hard and want to live a good life, hey that's cool. I even think to myself sometimes that I might want to do something cushier and be comfortable. But it still bothers me and I can't explain why, whenver someone smart in class starts talking about how much they want to do derm, etc. Am I just hypocritical?

-DWade

 

[DOme2009]

what if a smart person likes derm? or ophtho? are they to blame for liking a specialty that happens to be a bit more lenient in terms of lifestyle? i agree with you that lifestyle shouldn't be the main deciding factor in choosing a specialty - it's sad when the anesthesiologist spends more time looking over the curtain that at their monitors. but i find myself in that same predicament - i love surgery so much but it leaves me so physically and mentally drained at the end of the day that i can barely shower and eat dinner before i collapse in exhaustion. and the thought of working hours like that for 5 years during residency is more than a little bit scary. i guess i just need a little bit more time to figure things out - 2 months into 3rd year is a little bit early to start laying claims to a specialty.

 

[acpl]

z

 

[ibavraham]

Hobbies: Movies, movies, movies, movies!
Step 1 Goal: As high as possible, baby!
Why? I am at a foreign school because I didn't take the MCAT seriously enough.
Fields: Don't have many options but a decent residency program in OB/GYN or Internal Medicine would be a dream for a foreign medical student. Let's hope I can get it.
How I Plan To Study: Find the best advice I can from you good folks on the board and go.

FA 2006
BRS Physiology
What else should I get?

Other Goals for Last Year of Freedom?:Watch as many movies as possible!

 

[DwyaneWade]

what if a smart person likes derm? or ophtho? are they to blame for liking a specialty that happens to be a bit more lenient in terms of lifestyle? i agree with you that lifestyle shouldn't be the main deciding factor in choosing a specialty - it's sad when the anesthesiologist spends more time looking over the curtain that at their monitors. but i find myself in that same predicament - i love surgery so much but it leaves me so physically and mentally drained at the end of the day that i can barely shower and eat dinner before i collapse in exhaustion. and the thought of working hours like that for 5 years during residency is more than a little bit scary. i guess i just need a little bit more time to figure things out - 2 months into 3rd year is a little bit early to start laying claims to a specialty.

See that's my point. Part of me thinks that lifestyle SHOULDN'T be the main decider and then the other part of me feels that "Hey, people work hard, it's their choice and they want to have a good life, that's cool". I am kind of split in the middle right now and I can't really understand why I am divided over this issue.

I mean, sometimes I feel that after all this hard work I would like to make a good amount of money and work 9-5 everyday and then other times I get angry at myself and say that would be such a waste and that I should do life-saving surgery.

 

[DwyaneWade]

Hobbies: Traveling, doing random crazy things
Step 1 Score Goal: 260+
Why?: I am a gunner.
Fields: Radonc, derm
How I plan to study: I don't plan to start "crash-studying" until late Februrary (doing tons of questions), but I am currently doing some first year review using:

First Aid 2006
BRS Physiology
Kaplan Physio
HY Anatomy
Clinical Micro
Kaplan Q-book (minus path)


Resources I will use during the year:
First Aid
HY Neuroanatomy
HY Mol. Bio (Review during winter break)
Kaplan Biochem (Review during winter break)
RR Goljan (Primary path source...Robbins for reference)
Robbins Q book
Kaplan Q book (path)


Other Goals for Last Year of Freedom?: Get some research done, half marathon.

Etc. I like golfing and an easy life under the sun.


Now you been introduced.

What's up? What kind of research are you up to? I have 2 projects pending but I am still waiting for funds to come in to my PI. That's a pretty ambitious list of books, but I wouldn't classify you as a "gunner" unless you openly stab people like me in the back 😀. There's nothing wrong with working hard to get what you want.

Hobbies: Movies, movies, movies, movies!
Step 1 Goal: As high as possible, baby!
Why? I am at a foreign school because I didn't take the MCAT seriously enough.
Fields: Don't have many options but a decent residency program in OB/GYN or Internal Medicine would be a dream for a foreign medical student. Let's hope I can get it.
How I Plan To Study: Find the best advice I can from you good folks on the board and go.

FA 2006
BRS Physiology
What else should I get?

Other Goals for Last Year of Freedom?:Watch as many movies as possible!

Hi! I would recommend something for pathology but what do I know? I am in the same boat as you.