How to ace the Boards
Med students get specific with Step 1 and Step 2 Tips
You start hearing about the Boards even before you get into medical school: the spine-wracking exams that measure your ability to practice medicine and ultimately determine if you will be licensed. Several of your colleagues were tracked down for their advice on how to ace USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge.
How to study for Step 1
Medical students take USMLE Step 1 their second year of medical school to progress towards final licensure. The exam assesses whether you understand and can apply important concepts of the sciences basic to the practice of medicine, with special emphasis on principles and mechanisms underlying health, disease, and modes of therapy. Step 1 ensures mastery of not only the sciences that provide a foundation for the safe and competent practice of medicine in the present, but also the scientific principles required for maintenance of competence through lifelong learning. USMLE Step 1 test covers anatomy, pathology, immunology, genetics, nutrition, pharmacology, microbiology, behavioral sciences and neurology.
Anna
This UMDNJ student said she began studying eight weeks before the boards, reviewing at least 200 questions a day, from eight to 12 hours a day.
Her must have books: Kaplan, NMS Review, First Aid
She would recommend the Kaplan videos , "but mainly for subjects that you are weak in."
Most effective study aids: Micro and pharm cards.Quick review but make sure you get one that is detailed, not just one question/one answer style.
Were you given any advice that didn't work for you?
"Yes! Take everything with a grain of salt. Try it and be willing to forget it. Usually the way you learn for 1st and 2nd year (assuming you have figured it out) is the same way you will study for the boards. However, rest assured if you have not found a style that works, you will by the end of this ordeal."
More advice:
"Pick a maximum of three or four different resources. In this case the more is not the merrier, more material just leads to aggravation and over-stimulation. Plan your study time and stick to it but if you experience the inevitable burn out...take a breather...go to the mall, whatever but get back ASAP. Eat healthy and incorporate a workout schedule. Study at least eight hours a day because that is how long your brain will be working on the test days. Relax the night before. I firmly believe that you can learn information in a short time frame, but the night before you do not want to panic."
Tasha
This student began studying in November, right after Thanksgiving, with a 50 question test every week for a couple of months. After a break, she picked up the pace in March, and the two weeks before the test was practicing 100 questions a day, striving for 20 hours a week for the last two months.
Must-have books
. The Kaplan books
. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
I also checked out a bunch of the "Underground Clinical Vignettes" books from the library. They're good to have to brush up and stay focused, especially the Pharmacology text, but they aren't worth paying for.
Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple is indispensable. I thought it was patronizing until I bought and read it, then I realized that it was the absolutely most clear, highest yield text on infectious disease that has probably ever been written. Other than that, go with what you know worked for class.
To video or not ? I would recommend the Kaplan videos very highly, especially combined with the live lectures.
Best advice: First Aid is overrated. It's a waste of time to use books like the "Board Simulator Series" that concentrate on the old style of non-clinically oriented questions.
Start to sudy a a slow pace, and use a question bank or text to gauge your progress. After start consistently scoring above 50%, you're safe, so start to work up to the score you want. Do not talk to other students taking the exam in the same cycle as you about their study habits, or their test scores! I have a friend who worked herself into a lather every time I saw her about this practice test score or that one, and yammered on about how four or five students from our school had failed the exam last year.
Then she'd mention that the score she was upset about was an 80% from the Kaplan QBank. This whipped her up into a frenzy and she choked on the test. It also enraged me, since she was scoring 15 percentage points higher than me, and was acting like it was the end of the world, when I thought I was doing well. Save yourself the agitation and save your friends the anguish, and keep the specifics of how long, where and what you are studying, and how well you're scoring to yourself.
Ricardo
This UMDNJ student began studying four to five weeks before the boards, reviewing 50-100 questions a day early on, and 200-300 a day closer to the exam. He studied from seven to eight hours a day.
Must-have Books:
. First Aid for Step 1
. Step-Up
. BRS Path
. USMLE Road Map: Gross Anatomy
. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
Most effective study aid: Doing lots of questions, making sure to read each wrong answer and understand why you missed it.
Best advice: Start about a month before and just suck it up and study hard
with lots of practice questions for over eight hours a day until the exam.
Maria
This student at SUNY began studying five weeks before the exam, reviewing 100 to 150 questions about 12 hours a day. She plans to take Step 2 one year and three months after Step 1.
Must-have books:
. First Aid For the USMLE Step 1 (the best)
. BRS Pathology
. BRS Physiology
. Lippincott Biochemistry
. Kaplan online questions
To video or not? I only used the Kaplan videos for anatomy and found it useful. Other than that I would stick to questions and review books.
Best study aids: First Aid and Kaplan qbank
Miguel
This Ross University School of Medicine student began studying three to four months before the test, 250 to 300 questions per day including 50 to 70 questions of his own. He studied 12-13 hours a day, most of that at a library where he had minimal distractions. His own medical school notes were the fastest and most efficient way to begin reviewing.
Most effective study aids:
. BSS (Board Simulator Series questions) -lots of questions with varying difficulty
. First Aid - very effective and concise high yield facts, if you don't have every bit of information in this text, then you aren't ready for the boards.
. NMS Review-Great questions.difficult. used this text last for my question review.
. Pretest Series for Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology-500 questions for the essential information and precise, in-depth explanations.
To video or not? No, I did not use videos. However I used the Kaplan live lecture online.
Examples of advice he found quite funny:
"Study up until the night of the test, the information will remain in your short term memory"
"Study the First Aid for the Boards..this is all you need to study"
"Wait two weeks before the exam and then start to study.you'll be able to cram the information in."
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Advice you'd give?
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First, assess how you want to approach the exam, whether through self study, review course or group study.
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Compose a study schedule and stick to it.
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Decide what review text and question bank you will use, and don't deviate from this.
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Eat healthy, exercise and be sure to rest. Remember this is a marathon and you must train your mind and body to finish on time and qualify for the next round.
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Now is the time to be thankful for the OCD you think you may have. Be obsessive about your schedule, the time you rest and information you must cover.
Create a primary study location to avoid distractions. Turn the cell phone off and replicate the test center setting as close as possible.
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Be sure to communicate with your friends, family and loved ones the importance of this time. You need all the support available-it's no time for extra stress.
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If possible visit the testing center a week to two weeks before the test. If you don't like the setting, or if the area is too noisy or busy, you'll have time to change the testing center location. Be sure to have your plan of attack for the exam: will you pack a lunch, how many breaks will you take after each section, how will you relieve stress (perhaps bring your favorite jazz CD).
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Finally, be confident about your preparation. Know what you know well!!
Albert Chiang, M.D., UIC-Chicago, graduate of Class of 2004
"I wanted to try to match my two-digit score from Step 1 (99) for my own gratification, so I probably put in more effort than absolutely required. Here's what I did."
Review:
. Prescription for the Boards: USMLE Step 2
. Boards & Wards
. Crush Step 2
Questions:
. NMS Review for USMLE Step 2 (900q)
. Qbank: USMLE Step 2 (1200q)
Rotation schedule:
9/22-10/18 Medicine Sub-I @ WSVA (4w)
10/20-11/01 Radiology @ UIH (2w)
11/03-11/29 Time off to study and interview (14 interviews, 4w)
12/01-12/13 Literature & Medicine @ UIH (2w)
"I started studying 9/22 and I took Step 2 on 12/13. During my sub-I and rads, I went through Prescription twice, reading during down-time at work, in the evenings, on call, etc. During November, I started going through B&W and doing questions, amidst the interviews. Like Step 1, I recommend doing all of NMS and all of Qbank. NMS is split into five tests of 180 questions each; I did one test a day. For Qbank, I did 200 questions a day. I finished everything by the end of the month, and then spent the last couple weeks reviewing any notes I had made and going through Crush 2 or 3 times. In the end, it worked, and I did what I set out to do."
Have a story to share?
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