03-01-2005, 06:19 AM
Hi there,
As I promised last night, I'm posting my exam experience, trying to be as concise as I can, not to lose my entire message at the end. I'll be writing more, sometime this evening.
First of all,I want to thank to all of the readers of this forum who have encouraged me since last summer, when I discovered this forum by chance, after I failed my step 1 exam, missing it by six points ( 176 ).
Secondly, I'd like to thank to those who have responded to my previous message : " took my exam today ". I'll be trying to answer your questions.
Thirdly, I want to congratulate Jimmy for passing his exam with a great score.
I consider my exam to have been pretty difficult, yet doable. I made many silly mistakes, of course. If I had to reproach something to myself, I would certainly reproach the fact that I did not emphasize properly the physiology which was pretty much tested on my exam. And if I fail my exam, I will fail only due to physiology and I will never forgive myself.
Pharmacology, anatomy, microbiology and immunology , pathophysiology were heavily tested . Not biochemistry, molecular boiology and pathology to my surprize, although I had lots of questions from them but not as many as I expected. Behavioral sciences , statistics and epidemiology were tested, too even with graphs in epidemiology .
I did not encountered any of the questions from the USMLE sample test ( 150), nor both NBME assessment tests ,to my desperation so I wasted my time and money ,buying the latter ones in both standard and paced-mode. I did not buy and do any kaplan Qbank this time. In exchange, I did Goljan's rapid review, some questions from kaplan Qbook ( not too many ) as well as kaplan Physiology QBank, which I lost at the end of last year without finished them, missing 80 questions and without reading all the explanations, missing 200. I made a great mistake for not buying the physiology questions again at the beginning of this year and losing time with biochemistry : two whole weeks, studying it from Lippincot. But this is the way it is.
Two or three graphs from physiology to my surprize, in exchange, lot of tabels and a few drafts. Graphs from pharmacology, including pharmakocinetics, epidemiology, virusology. Plenty of microscopic and gross images. Also an excess of brain sections, nervous and abdominal CTs, MRIs. Drafts as well.
The nervous system was heavily tested : both CNS, ANS , pathology, pharmacology, anatomy, even embriology.
I felt that USMLE wants to find out from candidats if they really understand what occurs at the celular and molecular level, physiologically and also pathologically, beyond classical clinical vignettes. Lots of mechanisms of actions in drugs and the underlying mechanisms of the diseases, disorders. Not more than 60 % clinical vignettes on my exam !
By the way, I had plenty of genetics, including a kariotype.
For those who are to take their exam in two weeks, my advice is to stick to what they have already studied, not to learn new material, to do questions only a week and no more, to start doing the final review.
I did not listen to all Goljan's lectures, just to half of them, being run out of time; I think they are very usefull, not only in pathology but also in pathophysiology. I don't think that Goljan's high yields 100 pages are a salvation for step 1 exam, but they are very useful. FA is not enough at all to pass step 1 exam, without a solid background but it's a very good guide in preparation and the final review.
This is all I can tell you for the time being. If somebody wants to raise me some questions, I'll be glad to answer them tonight.
matoka
As I promised last night, I'm posting my exam experience, trying to be as concise as I can, not to lose my entire message at the end. I'll be writing more, sometime this evening.
First of all,I want to thank to all of the readers of this forum who have encouraged me since last summer, when I discovered this forum by chance, after I failed my step 1 exam, missing it by six points ( 176 ).
Secondly, I'd like to thank to those who have responded to my previous message : " took my exam today ". I'll be trying to answer your questions.
Thirdly, I want to congratulate Jimmy for passing his exam with a great score.
I consider my exam to have been pretty difficult, yet doable. I made many silly mistakes, of course. If I had to reproach something to myself, I would certainly reproach the fact that I did not emphasize properly the physiology which was pretty much tested on my exam. And if I fail my exam, I will fail only due to physiology and I will never forgive myself.
Pharmacology, anatomy, microbiology and immunology , pathophysiology were heavily tested . Not biochemistry, molecular boiology and pathology to my surprize, although I had lots of questions from them but not as many as I expected. Behavioral sciences , statistics and epidemiology were tested, too even with graphs in epidemiology .
I did not encountered any of the questions from the USMLE sample test ( 150), nor both NBME assessment tests ,to my desperation so I wasted my time and money ,buying the latter ones in both standard and paced-mode. I did not buy and do any kaplan Qbank this time. In exchange, I did Goljan's rapid review, some questions from kaplan Qbook ( not too many ) as well as kaplan Physiology QBank, which I lost at the end of last year without finished them, missing 80 questions and without reading all the explanations, missing 200. I made a great mistake for not buying the physiology questions again at the beginning of this year and losing time with biochemistry : two whole weeks, studying it from Lippincot. But this is the way it is.
Two or three graphs from physiology to my surprize, in exchange, lot of tabels and a few drafts. Graphs from pharmacology, including pharmakocinetics, epidemiology, virusology. Plenty of microscopic and gross images. Also an excess of brain sections, nervous and abdominal CTs, MRIs. Drafts as well.
The nervous system was heavily tested : both CNS, ANS , pathology, pharmacology, anatomy, even embriology.
I felt that USMLE wants to find out from candidats if they really understand what occurs at the celular and molecular level, physiologically and also pathologically, beyond classical clinical vignettes. Lots of mechanisms of actions in drugs and the underlying mechanisms of the diseases, disorders. Not more than 60 % clinical vignettes on my exam !
By the way, I had plenty of genetics, including a kariotype.
For those who are to take their exam in two weeks, my advice is to stick to what they have already studied, not to learn new material, to do questions only a week and no more, to start doing the final review.
I did not listen to all Goljan's lectures, just to half of them, being run out of time; I think they are very usefull, not only in pathology but also in pathophysiology. I don't think that Goljan's high yields 100 pages are a salvation for step 1 exam, but they are very useful. FA is not enough at all to pass step 1 exam, without a solid background but it's a very good guide in preparation and the final review.
This is all I can tell you for the time being. If somebody wants to raise me some questions, I'll be glad to answer them tonight.
matoka