07-23-2004, 11:00 AM
WASEEM
Exam experience
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Posted by ed from IP 67.173.69.42 on July 23, 2004 at 07:37:51:
First of all I would like to thank all of you who post here anything. This forum was tremendous help for me and I?m really grateful for all things that you guys let me to learn from you.
Some of you could remember me-I was an active member of this forum and 2 weeks before exam I decided to withdrawn to my den for final revision. I didn?t write anything right after exam and today I know it was good decision. Let me tell you why. I read many exam experiences after which I just wanted to drop the study or postpone my exam date. They gave me nothing but fear and uncertainty. I believe that guys who posted them didn?t want to scary anybody- today I know that they post what they feel. I didn?t want to write anything like that and want not to scare anybody. And from the other side I wasn?t able to say that it was piece of cake and only I was so stupid to mess it up.
After exam my feeling were REALLY bad .I?m a kind of guy who in most cases know how he did- and after this exam I didn?t know- what was equal for me with failure. Tough.
Here is the difference between step1 and step2- I think most people don?t have any idea how they did and this uncertainty makes them feel as if they fail. After step 1 I had pretty clear mind- I should pass- the point was the score. After step2- I had no idea = failure.
Probably my thinking was not unusual and that?s why many people write not encouraging experiences. In this long phrases I want to say- don?t judge your performance after step2.I will risk the statement- worse you feel right after- better you did.
For me it was TOTALLY different exam then step1. In my opinion much harder- but this is just me probably- I had only 1 year clinical experience. But the most important thing- it was DOABLE. The problem is that in step 1 you have clear stuff to learn- if you know it- you pass with no problems. In step 2 there are no borders ? you could be asked about anything and it?s much more important to know High Yield stuff here (and from this point of view Kaplan notes are excellent).
When I?m thinking about it now- I believe that your background is very important. I had many step1- like- Q but in clinical scenario, so in my opinion passed step 1 is huge advantage. Mainly form pathophysiology , pharm, neuroanatomy. Please look at it in FA if not deeper.
About books- I used Kaplan notes as a main source. And I believe it?s enough if you know it well ( I did 3 revisions) , passed step1 and has not so bad backgrounds ?what often means you are not very old graduate and remember some books stuff-mechanism of diseases for example). I know that there are people who fail with this notes only -but I?m an example that you can do pretty well with them .So this is the point- backgrounds.
In the last week I used Crush step2 (3 rd reading) ? works for me like FA for step1.I have last edition FA for step2- very good but to big for me for last review. I used it as ref. also- didn?t read form cover to cover .But if you like FA more then Crush - go ahead- it?s good book if you start reading it early.
I used CMDT as ref. only. I tried to read DM from it but wasn?t able to finish the chapter. Call me looser
Another important thing is doing Q?s. I know one person who passed with score 84 using only Q?s. I personally prefer mix - notes+ Q?s. I used Q bank by Kaplan, Q book, Kaplan CD, NMS, Mock exam by Brochet and CSSAA. Didn?t use USMLEWORLD but heard it?s good.
I was doing ONLY timed Q?s - exactly as on exam Don?t waste your time doing it other way- in this exam the time is the king- if you are not liked by the king you can?t do much even if you are very wise. And remember one thing- NOBODY can answer EVERY Q- even you no matter how wise you are .So when you read strange Q and had no idea what they are talking about- mark it and GO AHEAD
Exam experience
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Forum 2 ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by ed from IP 67.173.69.42 on July 23, 2004 at 07:37:51:
First of all I would like to thank all of you who post here anything. This forum was tremendous help for me and I?m really grateful for all things that you guys let me to learn from you.
Some of you could remember me-I was an active member of this forum and 2 weeks before exam I decided to withdrawn to my den for final revision. I didn?t write anything right after exam and today I know it was good decision. Let me tell you why. I read many exam experiences after which I just wanted to drop the study or postpone my exam date. They gave me nothing but fear and uncertainty. I believe that guys who posted them didn?t want to scary anybody- today I know that they post what they feel. I didn?t want to write anything like that and want not to scare anybody. And from the other side I wasn?t able to say that it was piece of cake and only I was so stupid to mess it up.
After exam my feeling were REALLY bad .I?m a kind of guy who in most cases know how he did- and after this exam I didn?t know- what was equal for me with failure. Tough.
Here is the difference between step1 and step2- I think most people don?t have any idea how they did and this uncertainty makes them feel as if they fail. After step 1 I had pretty clear mind- I should pass- the point was the score. After step2- I had no idea = failure.
Probably my thinking was not unusual and that?s why many people write not encouraging experiences. In this long phrases I want to say- don?t judge your performance after step2.I will risk the statement- worse you feel right after- better you did.
For me it was TOTALLY different exam then step1. In my opinion much harder- but this is just me probably- I had only 1 year clinical experience. But the most important thing- it was DOABLE. The problem is that in step 1 you have clear stuff to learn- if you know it- you pass with no problems. In step 2 there are no borders ? you could be asked about anything and it?s much more important to know High Yield stuff here (and from this point of view Kaplan notes are excellent).
When I?m thinking about it now- I believe that your background is very important. I had many step1- like- Q but in clinical scenario, so in my opinion passed step 1 is huge advantage. Mainly form pathophysiology , pharm, neuroanatomy. Please look at it in FA if not deeper.
About books- I used Kaplan notes as a main source. And I believe it?s enough if you know it well ( I did 3 revisions) , passed step1 and has not so bad backgrounds ?what often means you are not very old graduate and remember some books stuff-mechanism of diseases for example). I know that there are people who fail with this notes only -but I?m an example that you can do pretty well with them .So this is the point- backgrounds.
In the last week I used Crush step2 (3 rd reading) ? works for me like FA for step1.I have last edition FA for step2- very good but to big for me for last review. I used it as ref. also- didn?t read form cover to cover .But if you like FA more then Crush - go ahead- it?s good book if you start reading it early.
I used CMDT as ref. only. I tried to read DM from it but wasn?t able to finish the chapter. Call me looser
Another important thing is doing Q?s. I know one person who passed with score 84 using only Q?s. I personally prefer mix - notes+ Q?s. I used Q bank by Kaplan, Q book, Kaplan CD, NMS, Mock exam by Brochet and CSSAA. Didn?t use USMLEWORLD but heard it?s good.
I was doing ONLY timed Q?s - exactly as on exam Don?t waste your time doing it other way- in this exam the time is the king- if you are not liked by the king you can?t do much even if you are very wise. And remember one thing- NOBODY can answer EVERY Q- even you no matter how wise you are .So when you read strange Q and had no idea what they are talking about- mark it and GO AHEAD