Usmle World - an initial review

[webgenius]

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Hello everyone,

I've started UW 6 days ago, did 500+ Qs already.
Random, unused, timed.

Each block took 1 hour to do, 5 hours to review.
I don't plan on do it again so I take my time on each block.

Performance 84%

The something I noticed about UW is that you really can almost solve more than 95% of it just from FA, 4% from the skills you learn in your journey of preparation).

If I reviewed FA cover to cover in a week then started UW my performance would be 99% lol.

I was skeptical before about people saying FA is enough, but now in retrograde I can really see it's more than enough.

The thing is FA is just a bare bone, by itself and by you not remembering anything from basic science it's not enough, you have to add muscles and skin, these added information are for one purpose only ---> to explain what's already in FA, when you do that then you got yourself the ultimate step 1 resource.
That's why there is no single best book in step 1, everyone has to create its own.

I even think that UW correlates with FA better than usmlerx lol.

In the end everything you annotate, and every extra explanation you write in FA has been already written in your brain.

The Qs I got wrong in UW was like (Lesion to what hypothalamic nucleus leads to anorexia), last time I read FA was 4 weeks ago so guess what? I will definitely confuse lateral from ventromedial.
also I got many pharma wrong (pure memorization problem, where I knew the type of drug they're talking about but I just couldn't remember the name).

I also get some Qs wrong due to misreading.

The Qs I get wrong due to new concepts are very rare!

So to cut it to the point what ever sources you use to explain FA (Goljan rapid review, pathoma, BRS, usmleRx, Firecracker ...) it doesn't matter, in the end you're building a frame or a theme in your brain, you're making a new mindset where you can answer based on judgement not just pure memorization.

That's why it's so important to review FA in the last week before your exam.
Believe me you will score a lot of Qs right just by doing that.

Screw the obscure molecular biology Qs or the anatomy ones!!!
Don't read anything before you exam other than FA.

For each molecular Q you get right for reading High yield molecular biology in the last week you will probably lose 3 easy recall Qs you just can't seem to remember because your last read was more than two weeks.

Step 1 material is big already, don't overwhelm yourself with too many resources in the end ---> you will lose more than you gain.
There is no human brain that can retain many books in the short term memory, it's just one book, make it FA.

I was planning on reading Goljan rapid review 4th ed after UW, but guess what now? I won't!!

I will stick to FA after UW and keep on reviewing it in the last 2 weeks before my exam (Late November).

One of my friends (Step1 265, step 2 269) did goljan in the last two weeks before his exam and he told me that he regret it, his exact words were: "Goljan is great, but I could have scored 270+ if it weren't for the easy recall Qs I got wrong for not reading FA instead of Goljan".

I used to explain FA the following resources:
Usmlerx (Great, helps you to recognize how diseases present, my entire way of studying changed after finishing it).
Firecracker (Amazing, with many imp explanations, I read it like a book didn't use it the way it was created to be used by).
Pathoma.

KLNs were useless.
You don't need tons of dense info to ace step 1.
You need a broad understanding to ace it.

These are just some of thoughts ---> their purpose is to help anyone out there who need them 😛

I didn't take the exam yet so ... nothing for granted ... I might be wrong ...

Good luck 😍

 

[COXblocker]

It's been about 4 months since I've taken the beast. Wandered onto this thread and thought I'd comment.

UW is the best resource hands down. I don't understand reviewing for 5 hours though. I know a lot people who spend something similar. What do you do? I take 30-45mis/block, and it takes MAX 2 hrs to review, usually around an hour. But my scores were similar to yours, 80-90%.

Anyway, I will echo that Rx, Pathoma, and Firecracker are awesome, but come game time, you don't need more than FA and UW. I also managed to read Golgan cover to cover in the mornings and do UW at night. I LOVED it. It gave full contextual explanations that when I reviewed UW again the few days before, I understood it deeper than the bullet points. Also, when I couldn't quite remember something when going through FA, I could find it in RR.

I was getting a bit burned out, but I wish I had spent some more time practicing multiple choice questions. I also had a bad test experience. My scores were climbing, maxed the last UW assessment and did 270 on the 2nd Kaplan Full Length. I'm still super happy with a 259. Step 2, you're next!

 

[Transposony]

Firecracker (Amazing, with many imp explanations, I read it like a book didn't use it the way it was created to be used by).:

So. Firecracker can be used like a book?
I was put off by it the way it is supposed to be used but now I might have another look.
Thanks

 

[webgenius]

It's been about 4 months since I've taken the beast. Wandered onto this thread and thought I'd comment.

UW is the best resource hands down. I don't understand reviewing for 5 hours though. I know a lot people who spend something similar. What do you do? I take 30-45mis/block, and it takes MAX 2 hrs to review, usually around an hour. But my scores were similar to yours, 80-90%.

Anyway, I will echo that Rx, Pathoma, and Firecracker are awesome, but come game time, you don't need more than FA and UW. I also managed to read Golgan cover to cover in the mornings and do UW at night. I LOVED it. It gave full contextual explanations that when I reviewed UW again the few days before, I understood it deeper than the bullet points. Also, when I couldn't quite remember something when going through FA, I could find it in RR.

I was getting a bit burned out, but I wish I had spent some more time practicing multiple choice questions. I also had a bad test experience. My scores were climbing, maxed the last UW assessment and did 270 on the 2nd Kaplan Full Length. I'm still super happy with a 259. Step 2, you're next!

Congratulation and I hope you do better in step 2 🙂

For an american student I think FA & UW combo is enough.
But I'm an IMG in a 6 year program and I'm currently in the 6th year, I used to cram during exams + 3 years away from basic science ---> I had no clue about any biochem or micro or other step 1 stuff so I needed Usmlerx and Firecracker and pathoma and I personally think there are all you need to review.

6 hours because I write (I have or I think I have ADD so the only way to focus is by writing) also I'm OC personality, + I mine-crafts sometimes during a block haha.

When you think about it UW is 2200 Qs so almost 2200 pages haha that's a huge book.

 

[webgenius]

So. Firecracker can be used like a book?
I was put off by it the way it is supposed to be used but now I might have another look.
Thanks

Yes, FC is basically FA + many imp explanations or they might present the concept in a different way, I found it extremely useful to fill in FA gaps, I mean just look at parasitology section and you will understand what I mean.

 

[Modeselektor]

I really have no clue what people do spending more than an hour reviewing a block.