Step 3 passed.. -

[ArchivalUser]

Chante'des

Dear Rob, Thank you so much for your prompt reply to my message. I would like to thank you for all the wonderful comments that you suggested. By the way, I did my residency in OB/Gyn so I got very little internal medicine experience. I scored high in Ob/Gyn and urinary on the exam but of course that does not help since that is a primary care exam. I will definitely talk to a family practice physician here in the area where I live and see if I can shadow him a couple of days of the week and in addition, I will go to the local hospital here and see If I can work in the ER to get some experience. I will let you know how that goes. I think that you have helped me to identify my problem which is I did not do enough questions. I never had a separate book of questions and I think I will enroll in that Kaplan Question Bank (1000 questions), but what I am going to do different is I will read both the Swanson's 2x plus Crush step 3 2x plus go over my kaplan notes from the live lecture courses and then do the kaplan Q bank. I am going to aim for end of August or September. How does this sound to you. Also, do you think I should go and isolate myself from my family (this includes my 7 yr.old daughter, mother and sister) or should I stay here at home. I am not sure if I can put in the hours I need to if I stay in the area with my family. I am really desperate right now because in about 4 months I will have exhausted all of the money I have in my bank account. Also, I have already applied for New York State licensure and have job opportunities and people who are interested in hiring me. Please let me know what you think since your comments and opinions are very valuable to me. I pray that you continue to prosper and I know you that you will for reaching out to hurting people who are going through this experience and helping them. Have a good day and hope to hear from you soon.

[ArchivalUser]

fmg

hi,
Rob, thank you so much, wish keep on helping who needs.
gl

[ArchivalUser]

Rob A

Chante'des,

Yes, since you are an ObGyn resident, you will need to focus on internal med (especially office-based), emergency med, surgery and peds, in approximate descending order.
There is NO substitute for clinical experience, and yes, you must get some. Try to work with practitioners who are used to having doctors or med students around and who are willing to teach and 'push' you.

I don't think you should completely isolate yourself from your family. It will be stressful for your child and unpleasant for YOU. And it will make you associate studying with loneliness and pain!

August or September are reasonable targets. Make a study plan and have an idea what you are going to cover and for how long. Don't just start reading up on random things that you find challenging.

Get 1000 Qs if you like, but only if you are able to get through them. For my entire Step 3 revision, I did 400 practice MCQs, 450 max. I simply did not have the time or patience to do more. I was working full time.

All the best

[ArchivalUser]

Chante'des

Rob, thank you so much for your prompt response. The advice and information that you have given me is so valuable and I am very grateful. I would like to know where you got the 400 practice MCQ's from (what source or book), because I am not sure if I should purchase the Kaplan Q bank (1000 questions) because just as you stated, I am not sure if I am going to get through them or not. I had them a year ago, but I did not get a chance to do them and probably only did 200 or so. Now, one of my very good friend who is an internist has given me the option of studying at her home in her basement which is a complete apartment. She says that I could study there all day long without any interruption but she lives 2 hrs from me (in the same state but in a different city). She really recommends this for me. I was thinking that maybe I could embark upon this since I need to get focused and serious. I would have to travel but I was thinking that I could come home and see my daughter on the weekends. My daughter will be getting out of school on June 15th. Do you think this is okay since I could possibly get the aid of my friend who practices internal medicine daily? Also, I enrolled in the USMLE world for the 76 Case stimulation scenarios and I am wondering how do I go about using them. Should I be studying these now and incorporate them into my regular study or should I go over them near the end. I spoke to a spokesperson from USMLE world (he called me ) and he said I should memorize them and practice them with the software by downloading them. Now, thats a lot to remember. What are you feelings on this. Rob, please excuse me but I am very anxious right now and afraid. This exam has really devastated me and I am trying to regroup after so many attempts. However, I have to fight for this since this is my life and I have come this far. Its just very discouraging. I am happy that you passed and have this behind me. I pray for the day to come when I will have it behind me. Please give me your feedback on what you think. You will you be starting your residency in July, right? Thanks so much for everything and please let me know what you think.