Why is Step 1 so important?

[Lexdiamondz]

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I always figured step1 > all other steps because it is the most difficult of the three. Your score is basically innate intelligence + effort, and both are needed for success in residency. A deficiency in one can be overcome by an excess in the other, but only to a certain extent.

Nah, you're giving this test way too much credit.

It's harder because it's the first USMLE exam we take. There's enough fund of knowledge overlap between Step 1, CK and 3 that you don't really need to study as hard, and the latter two are based on more practical applications of knowledge that you use on a regular basis. The test isn't any easier really, it's just that the stuff you need to know is more reinforced by day to day activities as a med student/intern.

 

[751866]

Nah, you're giving this test way too much credit.

It's harder because it's the first USMLE exam we take. There's enough fund of knowledge overlap between Step 1, CK and 3 that you don't really need to study as hard, and the latter two are based on more practical applications of knowledge that you use on a regular basis. The test isn't any easier really, it's just that the stuff you need to know is more reinforced by day to day activities as a med student/intern.

I personally can't comment since I haven't taken Step 2. I know people who did well on each Step who said they were all about the same in difficulty.

I see many people say Step 2 is easier because "your score goes up", but the problem with that logic is that you can't compare scaled scores across the different Step exams (Step 1 vs Step 2 vs Step 3). I'm pretty sure this is written explicitly in the "how to interpret my score" documents. People also seem to miss the point that a 250 on Step 2 is a much lower percentile than what it is on Step 1. The whole "your score should go up" idea is flawed for many reasons but I think it contributes to the idea that people say Step 1 is harder.

 

[ridethecliche]

I understand that, but to me it makes more logical sense that the condition that always starts out with the pathology in the distal location adjacent to the anal fissures would have an association with them instead of the condition which is more likely to start in small bowel or cecum. So you're just supporting my point that even with conceptual understandings, you still have to memorize details to differentiate the two diseases and answer a 50/50 correctly.

Edit: To clarify, I'm not saying anal fissures should be associated with UC. It's very clear they have a far higher association with Crohn's. I'm saying that it's a fact you have to memorize, not something you'd be able to conceptually reason through on a test.

Honestly, I've always just thought of it as skipping over the rectum since Crohns can skip regions. It's also the one associated with fistulas since UC doesn't go all the way through.

I mean vantage point is important you know. That detail now sticks out to you because it's weird and that's how some of this works.

I get what you're saying, but there's a bit of compare and contrast and a bit of...wait...that's weird.

 

[Nyctalopia]

Could you please provide the sources for the 10k+ questions. This strategy served me well in the MCAT and I plan on using it for step .

Never mind didn't read down far enough.


Could you share when you started doing questions ? How you ended up doing on the test and any other suggestions for tackling this from day one. Thanks !

+1

he/she said they scored around 270, and had completed about 5k Q's before dedicated, so over the course of M1 and M2 presumably, but I would love to hear more as well because I have done really well on exams using this strategy but didn't know how feasible this would be for step 1

I started doing questions alongside M2 classes about 6 months before I took Step 1. I started with USMLERx, then completed Kaplan, and finally hit UWorld during my dedicated period (10 weeks). I didn't study for Step 1 from day one so I probably wouldn't be the best person to answer that. If I had, however, I probably would have done Firecracker as answering questions is my single best method of studying, personally. I'm not sure how many more questions I would have answered correctly on my Step 1 had I done this though.

This strategy is definitely feasible for Step 1 as long as you give yourself plenty of time to complete questions consistently. Like I mentioned, it's not very different than students doing Step 1-related Anki or Firecracker daily during M2; it's just a significant time dedication alongside your regular classes.

Anki?

No, I didn't use Anki.

 

[Oh_Gee]

I started doing questions alongside M2 classes about 6 months before I took Step 1. I started with USMLERx, then completed Kaplan, and finally hit UWorld during my dedicated period (10 weeks). I didn't study for Step 1 from day one so I probably wouldn't be the best person to answer that. If I had, however, I probably would have done Firecracker as answering questions is my single best method of studying, personally. I'm not sure how many more questions I would have answered correctly on my Step 1 had I done this though.

This strategy is definitely feasible for Step 1 as long as you give yourself plenty of time to complete questions consistently. Like I mentioned, it's not very different than students doing Step 1-related Anki or Firecracker daily during M2; it's just a significant time dedication alongside your regular classes.



No, I didn't use Anki.

is kaplan worth it in addition to usmle RX?

 

[Nucleus Accumbens]

is kaplan worth it in addition to usmle RX?

Yes, if you have time. UW > RX > Kap


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