In USMLE step1, there are more than 60% scores from Pathology.
So in order to get high score in USMLE step1, you need to intensively study Pathology.
Here are recommended books for study USMLE step1 Pathology Part:
1. Goljan's Rapid Review Patholgy: the most important pathology book for USMLE step1 and you need to read it thoroughly. This is the first book you need to buy for your USMLE step1 preparation.
2.Goljan's audio for pathology;
3.BRS pathology: this book is easier to read than Goljan's rapid review. So it has been recommended by many students who have been taken USMLE step1.
4. Robin's pathology review: it is time consuming to finish this book. So only read it if you have time.
5.Kaplan Pathology lecture Notes: Many people say Kaplan lecture note pathology part is soso. You can read it but it is definitely not enough.
6.Kaplan Lecture video Pathology: It is highly recommended.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
关于USMLE的复习资料
USMLE的考试毕竟是资格考试，这样的考试总是有重点的，所以复习资料，复习方法很重要。
下面就是一个过来人经验之谈，本人觉得很有用。
下文转贴自www.mitbbs.com
发信人: faithjing (菲思静（津铭）), 信区: MedicalCareer标 题: [合集] 我是如何找考board资料的（网络资源个人心得）发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sun Nov 16 15:23:26 2008), 站内☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Sun Nov 9 22:34:39 2008) 提到:经常看到帖子大家讨论在哪里下载备考的资料，我是备考新手，找资料的过程走了很多弯路，所以把我如何找资料的心得分享一下。大家有更好的经验欢迎补充更正。『www.gigapedia.org』使用方法：首先免费注册并用注册帐号登录，选择item search之后在搜索框中输入要寻找的内容，找到之后选择links，再由各个链接连接到的网络硬盘中下载。最常见的是rapidshare。备注：有时候用firefox打开，不显示链接和相关介绍，用ie就没有问题。举例：Goljan Audio Lectures for the USMLE STEP 1 （要免费注册登录以后才能看到！！）搜索之后links的地址是http://gigapedia.org/v5/item:view_links?id=85816还曾经在这里找到过许多除kaplan notes以外的，可作为参考书使用的各科教材，比如Lippincott Illustrated Reviews_Biochemstry，BRS physiology等等。First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2008 (18th Edition) http://gigapedia.org/items/121080/first-aid-for-the-usmle-step-1-2008--18th-edition-在FA2009没有出来之前，可以先用2008的电子版本。复习的时候使用pdf文件的Ctrl+F的find功能，可以把同一个知识点在整本书中出现过的地方都过一遍，有助于建立知识点联系。『http://www.smso.net/forum/』使用方法：免费注册，登录后用search可以找到很多不错的资源。举例：Kaplan USMLE Step1 videoshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29608&highlight=kaplan+video Kaplan USMLE Step2-3 videoshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27198备注：video文件很大，大部分的链接都是连到rapidshare，它对免费用户限制每天流量，如果要下载全部视频的话，会需要购买流量成为premium用户，一个月的premium用户大约$10左右。我使用的comcast internet，速度大概是3天下完physiology一门的视频。看video实际上很花时间，下载这些视频也是个麻烦事。如果备考时间紧的话，每一门都看到不太可能。可以选择自己看书困难的科目针对性看video。『mitbbs 医学职业版』◎kaplan notes for step1转自shuioshuio (jennie)的帖子 http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t1/MedicalCareer/31221458_0_1.html 附件是种子。使用方法：安装迅雷下载软件或其他可以使用BT下载功能的软件，直接把种子拖到迅雷的窗口中即可。◎◎NBME转自Chi2010 (Chi2009)NBME1-4 questions and answershttp://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/54452NBME5 questionshttp://www.unknownspace.com/article/MedicalCareer/31188809_3.htmlhttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=47RX5DLJNBME5 answershttp://clipmarks.com/clipmark/CB42F591-B559-4207-A160-00D14A829005/NBME6 questionshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22871根据前人经验，答案总不会完全准确，所以即使有答案，也要切实保证每一题都弄明白！最后推荐digitaldoc的博客，信息量很大，很实用！举例：planning for 2009 match http://www.usmletomd.com/tips4match/2007/12/planning-for-2009-nrmp-residency-match.html☆─────────────────────────────────────☆walkerby (walkerby) 于 (Sun Nov 9 23:10:11 2008) 提到:Really helpful. Could you share me with your Goljan Audio? I tried to download it by myself, but failed. Thanks.☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Sun Nov 9 23:35:36 2008) 提到:要看到链接首先要用免费注册的帐号登录！！！如果使用gigapedia给出的链接，迅雷的下载常出来捣乱。所以只要有迅雷或者其他下载窗口跳出来，统统cancelwalkerby，你想下载goljan audio的话，操作步骤：点击给出的第一个link－－出现等待界面－－出现两个大钟，分别是free user和premium user－－点击free user－－出现still XX seconds－－等待直至出现download的图标，才可以下载。小trick：每次迅雷之类下载软件自动弹出窗口，如果文件属性（迅雷上标明的是所需磁盘空间）只有几k的话，肯定不是，直接cancel就可以了正常进入下一个界面了。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆daixue (麦地雪儿) 于 (Mon Nov 10 03:18:05 2008) 提到:谢谢，太有用了。。。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆Anne (day day up) 于 (Mon Nov 10 11:31:46 2008) 提到:网上有06-08版本的kaplan notes behavioral science, physiology, immunology吗？是不是都是04版的？☆─────────────────────────────────────☆tiger24 (eagle) 于 (Mon Nov 10 13:57:19 2008) 提到:i have the same question. i just start the behavioral science and it looks like 2004 edition. by the way, i got it from website. Could soneone give me the newest edition. thanks.【 在 Anne (day day up) 的大作中提到: 】: 网上有06-08版本的kaplan notes behavioral science, physiology, immunology吗？: 是不是都是04版的？☆─────────────────────────────────────☆qiancynt (step 2 努力ing) 于 (Mon Nov 10 13:57:24 2008) 提到:哪里可以下到step 2 CK 的NBME 1－4 的试题和答案？谢谢。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Mon Nov 10 19:34:48 2008) 提到:似乎不是每一门kaplan notes都有最新的pdf版本我没有做过对比，但我肯定会买最新的First Aid。回复qiancynt： 到http://www.smso.net/forum/找找看吧好像见到过NBME1－3（for CK）☆─────────────────────────────────────☆qiancynt (step 2 努力ing) 于 (Mon Nov 10 22:31:21 2008) 提到:多谢blulue！【 在 blulue (blulue) 的大作中提到: 】: 似乎不是每一门kaplan notes都有最新的pdf版本: 我没有做过对比，但我肯定会买最新的First Aid。: 回复qiancynt： 到http://www.smso.net/forum/找找看吧: 好像见到过NBME1－3（for CK）
下面就是一个过来人经验之谈，本人觉得很有用。
下文转贴自www.mitbbs.com
发信人: faithjing (菲思静（津铭）), 信区: MedicalCareer标 题: [合集] 我是如何找考board资料的（网络资源个人心得）发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sun Nov 16 15:23:26 2008), 站内☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Sun Nov 9 22:34:39 2008) 提到:经常看到帖子大家讨论在哪里下载备考的资料，我是备考新手，找资料的过程走了很多弯路，所以把我如何找资料的心得分享一下。大家有更好的经验欢迎补充更正。『www.gigapedia.org』使用方法：首先免费注册并用注册帐号登录，选择item search之后在搜索框中输入要寻找的内容，找到之后选择links，再由各个链接连接到的网络硬盘中下载。最常见的是rapidshare。备注：有时候用firefox打开，不显示链接和相关介绍，用ie就没有问题。举例：Goljan Audio Lectures for the USMLE STEP 1 （要免费注册登录以后才能看到！！）搜索之后links的地址是http://gigapedia.org/v5/item:view_links?id=85816还曾经在这里找到过许多除kaplan notes以外的，可作为参考书使用的各科教材，比如Lippincott Illustrated Reviews_Biochemstry，BRS physiology等等。First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2008 (18th Edition) http://gigapedia.org/items/121080/first-aid-for-the-usmle-step-1-2008--18th-edition-在FA2009没有出来之前，可以先用2008的电子版本。复习的时候使用pdf文件的Ctrl+F的find功能，可以把同一个知识点在整本书中出现过的地方都过一遍，有助于建立知识点联系。『http://www.smso.net/forum/』使用方法：免费注册，登录后用search可以找到很多不错的资源。举例：Kaplan USMLE Step1 videoshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29608&highlight=kaplan+video Kaplan USMLE Step2-3 videoshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27198备注：video文件很大，大部分的链接都是连到rapidshare，它对免费用户限制每天流量，如果要下载全部视频的话，会需要购买流量成为premium用户，一个月的premium用户大约$10左右。我使用的comcast internet，速度大概是3天下完physiology一门的视频。看video实际上很花时间，下载这些视频也是个麻烦事。如果备考时间紧的话，每一门都看到不太可能。可以选择自己看书困难的科目针对性看video。『mitbbs 医学职业版』◎kaplan notes for step1转自shuioshuio (jennie)的帖子 http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t1/MedicalCareer/31221458_0_1.html 附件是种子。使用方法：安装迅雷下载软件或其他可以使用BT下载功能的软件，直接把种子拖到迅雷的窗口中即可。◎◎NBME转自Chi2010 (Chi2009)NBME1-4 questions and answershttp://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/54452NBME5 questionshttp://www.unknownspace.com/article/MedicalCareer/31188809_3.htmlhttp://www.megaupload.com/?d=47RX5DLJNBME5 answershttp://clipmarks.com/clipmark/CB42F591-B559-4207-A160-00D14A829005/NBME6 questionshttp://www.smso.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22871根据前人经验，答案总不会完全准确，所以即使有答案，也要切实保证每一题都弄明白！最后推荐digitaldoc的博客，信息量很大，很实用！举例：planning for 2009 match http://www.usmletomd.com/tips4match/2007/12/planning-for-2009-nrmp-residency-match.html☆─────────────────────────────────────☆walkerby (walkerby) 于 (Sun Nov 9 23:10:11 2008) 提到:Really helpful. Could you share me with your Goljan Audio? I tried to download it by myself, but failed. Thanks.☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Sun Nov 9 23:35:36 2008) 提到:要看到链接首先要用免费注册的帐号登录！！！如果使用gigapedia给出的链接，迅雷的下载常出来捣乱。所以只要有迅雷或者其他下载窗口跳出来，统统cancelwalkerby，你想下载goljan audio的话，操作步骤：点击给出的第一个link－－出现等待界面－－出现两个大钟，分别是free user和premium user－－点击free user－－出现still XX seconds－－等待直至出现download的图标，才可以下载。小trick：每次迅雷之类下载软件自动弹出窗口，如果文件属性（迅雷上标明的是所需磁盘空间）只有几k的话，肯定不是，直接cancel就可以了正常进入下一个界面了。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆daixue (麦地雪儿) 于 (Mon Nov 10 03:18:05 2008) 提到:谢谢，太有用了。。。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆Anne (day day up) 于 (Mon Nov 10 11:31:46 2008) 提到:网上有06-08版本的kaplan notes behavioral science, physiology, immunology吗？是不是都是04版的？☆─────────────────────────────────────☆tiger24 (eagle) 于 (Mon Nov 10 13:57:19 2008) 提到:i have the same question. i just start the behavioral science and it looks like 2004 edition. by the way, i got it from website. Could soneone give me the newest edition. thanks.【 在 Anne (day day up) 的大作中提到: 】: 网上有06-08版本的kaplan notes behavioral science, physiology, immunology吗？: 是不是都是04版的？☆─────────────────────────────────────☆qiancynt (step 2 努力ing) 于 (Mon Nov 10 13:57:24 2008) 提到:哪里可以下到step 2 CK 的NBME 1－4 的试题和答案？谢谢。☆─────────────────────────────────────☆blulue (blulue) 于 (Mon Nov 10 19:34:48 2008) 提到:似乎不是每一门kaplan notes都有最新的pdf版本我没有做过对比，但我肯定会买最新的First Aid。回复qiancynt： 到http://www.smso.net/forum/找找看吧好像见到过NBME1－3（for CK）☆─────────────────────────────────────☆qiancynt (step 2 努力ing) 于 (Mon Nov 10 22:31:21 2008) 提到:多谢blulue！【 在 blulue (blulue) 的大作中提到: 】: 似乎不是每一门kaplan notes都有最新的pdf版本: 我没有做过对比，但我肯定会买最新的First Aid。: 回复qiancynt： 到http://www.smso.net/forum/找找看吧: 好像见到过NBME1－3（for CK）
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
USMLE STEP 1---shiniaopi's experience
这个周末刚刚考完, 想和大家分享一下备考过程中的一些经验和教训.
其实经验这个东西很有趣, 别人的经验再好, 也不能直接变成自己的, 路还是要一步一
步的走出来, 回头再看的时候, 才有成了自己的经验. 精华区中前辈们的考经各有精彩
之处, 我当初读的时候却不见得能品出好来, 备考近尾声时, 方心有戚戚焉. 于是一度
感慨自己走过的弯路, "我要是一开始就如何如何就好了", 后来想想, 只能笑自己的幼
稚. 小马过河, 一个我们小时候就听过无数遍的故事, 真正是包含了一个大哲理啊. 话
虽如此, 我自己于麦地得益甚多, 总是希望写下自己的一点感受, 如果能够帮到一个人
, 也不枉我这个最怕码字的懒人难得的一次勤快.
又扯远了, 人一老就变得啰嗦, 恕罪恕罪. 下面进入正题.
1. 备考时间的长短:
一句话, 因人而异. 听起来象废话, 但看看身边的人, 三个月到N年不等. 前几天有位
牛人发帖汇报经验, 三个月搞定第一步99, 引无数人惊叹, 牛人回了很平实的一句话,
"不是没怎么复习,而是高强度的复习". 我当时很是感慨, 高强度三个字看似平淡, 其
实后面有多少努力, 只有他(她)自己知道. 我自己在这一点上做得就非常差, 从打开
KAPLAN第一页书到考完试足足有17个月, 其中N个月完全不看书也有, 一天打鱼五天晒
网也有. 犹记得刚开始备考时的轻敌, 看到几位前辈都提到用时接近1000学时, 掐指一
算, 按照10小时/天X30天, 三个多月就完事了, 还真没把这个考试放在眼里. 大错特错
, 一旦开始复习, 发现自己完全不能做到这样的进度, 不现实的想法被全盘推翻, 及其
郁闷. 可笑的是到考完一算, 一共用了977学时, 感叹前辈们计算之精准之余, 也意识
到自己和牛人们的巨大差距, 汗颜. USMLE的考试涉及的知识量很大, 绝非一朝一夕之
功, 要做好长期艰苦奋战的准备. 因此, 如果你三个月还没有复习过半, 也不必懊恼,
毕竟牛人只是少数, 而学习时间并不是判断你是否ready的最好标准,效果才是最重要的.
但是, 一个巨大的但是, USMLE虽然涵盖面甚广, 也有相当的难度, 终究还是一个标准
化的考试. 因此也像所有的标准化考试一样有攻略, 就是相对短时间内的反复重复重点
内容. 人的记忆容量是有限的, 至少在前台运行的随时recall的记忆是非常有限的, 短
时间高强度的记忆对于考试最为重要, 这可能也是为何有人能仅凭借FA和UW得99的原因
. 但我相信, 他们对于FA和UW是真正吃透了, 而达到这种境界还是需要一定量的做题.
短期加强的效果是极其显著的, 在分数上能有大的提高, 也能够避免再而衰, 三而竭.
另外一个影响备考时间长短的重要因素是你自己所定的目标, 90? 95? 99? 还是一定要
超高分? 抑或是高分的同时还希望重新激活更新一下若干年前所学的医学知识? 这个目
标直接决定你的学习方法和学习进程. 成绩的提高过程就象氧离曲线一样, 最初难以看
到进步, 终于等来一个飞跃, 然后就又是平台期. 个人感觉95和99的差距并不大, 很可
能正在曲线的拐点附近, 但是想要再进一步提高很难, 投入产出比急剧降低, 何去何从
全看个人取舍了. 在这里容我向吃和碰同学脱帽致意, 滔滔江水一下.
如果非要我给这段备考加上一个时限, 个人感觉, 能有条件全职复习(8-10小时/天)心
无旁骛且自律性强的同志们, 平均需要4-6个月达到95以上的水平. 纯属个人拙见, 具
体到每个人身上, 平均值没意义.
2. 学习方法的选择:
看书? 还是, 做题? 我们显然比哈王子幸运的多, 可以两样都要. 多数人是先看一遍
notes, 再做题库, 再看FA. 我身边的朋友们都是做题派, 七本书草草一翻, 大概知道
去哪里能找到问题的答案了, 就直奔题库, 外加FA. 经过很多人的实践, 发现这的确是
一个节省时间的办法. USMLE的题库是有限的, 考点是重复的, 大量做题给予你一种灵
感, 即pattern recognition, 使你在不能够清晰地理出全部的推理过程时也能感到题
目想考哪一点, 自然能选对答案. 即使做错了, 回去再有针对性地看书, 也要比单纯的
背书记得牢靠. 因此大部分人选择这种方法. 靠看书不行吗? 当然行, 如果你的知识水
平到了就行. 记得一位coalminer前辈毕业十六年后重披战袍, 看过一遍notes和video
后NBME就达到590. 为什么? "年龄大也有年龄大的优势---阅历丰富。复习中感觉免疫
、分子生物学、组肧和病理不看书也能把题做对。原因是在工作中已经把很多知识点都
掌握了"(见http://www.mitbbs.com/bbsann2/scitech.faq/MedicalCareer/USMLE/4/1 /M.1245454180_2.Z0/coalMiner%3A+250+99+01+2009+++++++++++++). 所以说, 做题只是一种帮助你快速review大量知识点的辅助方法, 如果知识本身已经学得透彻, 不怕它们变着花样的考.
自己学还是参加学习小组? 我对于自己刚开始备考的时候没有意识到结伴学习的促进作
用一直感到很遗憾. 窃以为, 最初看书的阶段很枯燥, 学习小组能够督促进度, 互答疑
惑, 对于我这种懒人帮助很大. 中后期需要大量做题时, 基本还是要靠自己, 结伴学习
毕竟速度要慢的多, 投入过多精力有时反而影响了自己的进展.
3. 备考材料的选择:
老实讲, 现有的第一步的材料真是非常全面了, 已经涵盖了95%以上的考试内容, 基本
上大家对于孰优孰劣都有共识. Most people use KAPLAN notes (except for
pathology) w/ or w/o video plus Rapid review for pathology for the first
round review, then FA plus UW and Kaplan Qbank for the practice and progress
, NBME or UW for self-assessment. 精华区中ericusa对于各科材料的优缺点有详尽
介绍, 我受益匪浅, 强烈推荐. (见http://www.mitbbs.com/bbsann2/scitech.faq/MedicalCareer/USMLE/4/1 /M.1214743406.10/ericusa%2C+06+2008++++++++++++++++++++++). 下面只讲一点个人的看法, 老调重谈, 还是因人而异. 我真烦, 是不是?
举例说KAPLAN的video, 众说不一, 我自己是喜欢听人讲得, 似乎我的听觉通路比视觉
通路短上一半, 效率要高上一倍, 听到耳朵里面很容易就进到脑子里去, 坐在那里翻书
一会儿就想去看小说. 我的好友正好相反, 听着听着就走神, 看起书来飞快. 所以在复
习早期自己要试验一下那种学习方式效率更高, 不要一成不变, 找到适合自己的方法才
是最好的. 如果可能的话, 强烈建议听KAPLANvideo中的行为, 药理, 解剖中四肢的部
分. 行为医学的Daugherty是神人一枚, 经过他的手足并用外加丰富面部表情的讲解,
Behavioral 变成看电影. 药理的Raymon风格有点像狗样, 各科之间的整合信手拈来,
适合放在稍后一点听. 解剖中最爱考的上下肢部分, Seiden的讲解简明扼要, 配上在自
己身上的示范, 一遍足以. 另外, 免疫和生化的书是KAPLAN系列中写得最好的, 可以直
接看书(膜拜一下Dr. Hansen, 把生化这魔鬼学科驯服了), 但我还是爱听video, 感觉
一边听一边看对理解Notes有很大帮助. 生理video是KAPLAN系列中相当差的一部分, 之
所以没有沦为最烂是因为有病理部分垫底. 伊拉克那位同志的节奏太慢, 用1.5倍速听
单个单词又听不清了, 搞得我很郁闷, 只好去看书. 生理书写得还不错, 就是有些部分
有点太纯生理, 只推荐看心血管和内分泌. BRS的生理简单扼要, 重点突出, 强烈推荐,
尤其是肾脏和酸碱平衡的部分, 比KAPLAN好很多.
病理方面, RRP和狗样的audio也是象Notes和video一样互补, RRP的书全面, 涵盖极广,
彩图多, 但逻辑性差, 基本上是一条条的facts, 配合上audio的串讲加深促进理解,
病理就完全搞定了. 这两样最好双管齐下, 俺王老五没啥可说的, 只能振臂高呼"狗样
万岁"! 吃透狗样讲的内容, 估计就上90了.
微生物有时间的话可以读一下CMMRS, 与临床结合较紧密, 一些知识比KAPLAN新, 最主
要是写得诙谐幽默, 插图趣味性极强, 对于微生物这种需要大量强化记忆的科目帮助很
大, 我经常做题的时候在脑海中浮现CMMRS里那充满童趣的画图. 复习累了的时候, 就
把它当小说看吧. 每个章节后面的表格总结各个病原体的特点, 一目了然.
分子生物学方面似乎近来分量加重, 当然班上很多同志平时的工作就是和分子打交道,
自然不怕. 如果和我一样分子盲的, 可以翻翻Dudek的96版HY, 简明扼要, 考前花上半
天翻一遍足够应付考试了.
最后说一下红宝书(FA)和蓝宝书(Kaplan MedEssential). FA 是班上绝大多数人用的,
的确是备考圣书. 但它的缺点也很突出, 比如连贯性差, 对比性差, 基本上是考点的随
意堆砌, 所以早期看经常不知所云, 自然也记不牢靠, 只有做过题目之后才能深刻体会
其书提示考点是如此直白. 我有时甚至有一种感觉, 好像FA team就是把几个题库和搜
及来的真题信息用自己的话写出来(以免遭官司), 再简单分类, 就装订成书了. FA的弱
点还体现在一些科目如解剖涵盖的太少, 生化的图表不太好, 分子生物学基本没有, 神
经解剖内容严重不足等等. 但FA的微生物和免疫部分相当不错, 复习重点即各器官系统
的病理药理也很强, 仍然是不可或缺的宝书. KME的内容较多, 有一部分是low yield,
但是生化, 分子生物, 神解以及各器官系统的解剖生理部分写得较好, 多用图表和对比
, 不用对照题库直接看也能够理解得很好. 两本书对照着看, 事半功倍.
4. 题库
我和usmle前辈一样, 三个题库都做了, 觉得各有各的用处, 重要程度当然是UW>Qbank>
Rx. UW解题思路复杂, 极耗脑力, 更接近考试中的难题, 很多题的插图, 解释和总结极
好, 重要考点反复加强, 重点突出, 搞明白了受益无穷. 但是UW偏科比较厉害, 病理和
病生理cover的比较好, 药理过深过细了, 解剖和行为严重不足, 分子生物学基本没有.
对于何时开始UW意见不一, 我自己是用它作为学习工具, 第一遍书差病理还没过完时
就开始了, 按照系统, 每完成一个系统的RRP和audio做同系统的题并添加笔记到FA. 这
样做有利有弊, 好处在于直接适应正确的解题思路, 早期提高较快, 同时能大概扫过FA
相关内容. 弊端在于最初的进展奇慢, 每天只能做一套, 而且因为功夫还不到, 不能完
全体会到题目的好处, 主要是在忙于学习新的知识点. 时隔三个月, 我临考前再次做UW
时才真正体会到UW的精辟. 新的Qbank还不错, 每一道题都有提示考点在KME或FA哪一页
, 方便查找. 解剖, 微生物和分子生物都well presented, 可以用来为UW查缺补漏, 我
考试中遇到一道大体解剖题就从Qbank中得到提示. 另外Qbank中有多媒体题, 可以习惯
一下. 缺点在于不象真题的思路, 解释也不太好, 因此做Qbank的时候不要太纠结, 明
白题目的考点就达到目的了. 做Rx纯属是因为自己讨厌读FA, 无论如何看不下去, 而Rx
基本上就是考FA. 事后看还是个英明的举动, 完成了四分之三的题, 帮助我记住很多FA
中的重要内容. 后两个题库我是用来练习做题耐力的, 从只能连续做两套题到一口气四
套再到每隔一天七套, 做题速度和耐力都有很大提高. NBME我是网上做的, 但是计划得
不好, 基本集中在考前一个多月, 没有达到检测复习进程的作用. 然而从和伙伴们的热
烈讨论中学到不少, 也巩固了很多重要的知识点. 在此要感谢和我一起学习讨论的同志
们, blulue, lihong, jiayan, haini, victor, kevin, atlanta, sundream etc, 漏
了哪位请多包涵. 其实所有的题库都不如NBME, 我考试的题目基本上就是相同的路数,
说UW比Qbank象真题啊什麽的那都是相对论, 和NBME比, 离着真题十万八千里吧.
具体取舍, NBME和UW必做, Qbank能把分数再稍微提高一点, 有能力自己读FA的, Rx就
可以省了.
5. 考试本身
我的运气不错, 没有太多偏题难题, 题目分布也还算平均. 没有象一些同志们遇到很多
解剖或者分子生物. 简单汇报一下吧, 行为医学的精神病学部分基本没考, 行为准则部
分倒是不象考经里讲得那样只需要common sense, 颇有几道关于医生如何处理与保险公
司或者其它practitioner group关系的问题, 完全不知道, 也就不恼了. 大体解剖考的
不如想象中的多, 但有一些很偏, 五个选项中三个从没见过, 闭着眼睛选一个吧. 神解
考了一些, 示意图, 血管造影图, MRI或者大体标本都有, 但是都很浅显. 毕竟这是给
医学生的考试, 不是考神经内科住院医的. 生化没怎末考, 分子生物主要是考第二信使
, 翻来覆去的, 考得我都烦了. 微生物考得出乎意料的多, 也有一些较偏的题, 看来还
是要重视, 我当初还总嫌弃Qbank的微生物题太多, 现在也不抱怨了. 病理还是大头,
但是远远达不到以前说的比例. 药理我就不记得考了, 很可能是出了一些不用过脑子的
题, 总之是既不多, 也不难, 和UW的风格相去甚远. 记得自己休息上厕所时心里还在嘀
咕, 这考试和UW, Qbank, Rx都不象啊, 合着我这好几千道题, 那多的银子都没用在刀
刃上啊.
6. 总结
要认定自己想要达到的目标, 看前人的考经, 制定相应的初步计划, 但是在复习渐进的
过程中要敢于变化, 按照复习效果随时调整自己的学习方法, 才能够在最短的时间里达
到最优成绩. 这话听着容易做起来难, 对我来说最难的是抵制一切诱惑, 每天坚持, 俺
从小到大没这麽认真学习过, 幸好医学是俺的真爱, 才能坚持下来.
唐了这麽多, 自己都惊诧了, 我是写文章比生孩子还困难的人, 这恐怕是我过去10年中
除了论文写得最长的一篇东西, 用来纪念一下自己的USMLE漫漫长征第一步. 最后用备
考过程中看过的晋江网络小说中的一句话来结束吧, "任何人, 任何事都可能对不起你,
你自己付出的努力不会对不起你".
完了.
---文章转载自http://www.mitbbs.ca/article_t/MedicalCareer/31287217.html
其实经验这个东西很有趣, 别人的经验再好, 也不能直接变成自己的, 路还是要一步一
步的走出来, 回头再看的时候, 才有成了自己的经验. 精华区中前辈们的考经各有精彩
之处, 我当初读的时候却不见得能品出好来, 备考近尾声时, 方心有戚戚焉. 于是一度
感慨自己走过的弯路, "我要是一开始就如何如何就好了", 后来想想, 只能笑自己的幼
稚. 小马过河, 一个我们小时候就听过无数遍的故事, 真正是包含了一个大哲理啊. 话
虽如此, 我自己于麦地得益甚多, 总是希望写下自己的一点感受, 如果能够帮到一个人
, 也不枉我这个最怕码字的懒人难得的一次勤快.
又扯远了, 人一老就变得啰嗦, 恕罪恕罪. 下面进入正题.
1. 备考时间的长短:
一句话, 因人而异. 听起来象废话, 但看看身边的人, 三个月到N年不等. 前几天有位
牛人发帖汇报经验, 三个月搞定第一步99, 引无数人惊叹, 牛人回了很平实的一句话,
"不是没怎么复习,而是高强度的复习". 我当时很是感慨, 高强度三个字看似平淡, 其
实后面有多少努力, 只有他(她)自己知道. 我自己在这一点上做得就非常差, 从打开
KAPLAN第一页书到考完试足足有17个月, 其中N个月完全不看书也有, 一天打鱼五天晒
网也有. 犹记得刚开始备考时的轻敌, 看到几位前辈都提到用时接近1000学时, 掐指一
算, 按照10小时/天X30天, 三个多月就完事了, 还真没把这个考试放在眼里. 大错特错
, 一旦开始复习, 发现自己完全不能做到这样的进度, 不现实的想法被全盘推翻, 及其
郁闷. 可笑的是到考完一算, 一共用了977学时, 感叹前辈们计算之精准之余, 也意识
到自己和牛人们的巨大差距, 汗颜. USMLE的考试涉及的知识量很大, 绝非一朝一夕之
功, 要做好长期艰苦奋战的准备. 因此, 如果你三个月还没有复习过半, 也不必懊恼,
毕竟牛人只是少数, 而学习时间并不是判断你是否ready的最好标准,效果才是最重要的.
但是, 一个巨大的但是, USMLE虽然涵盖面甚广, 也有相当的难度, 终究还是一个标准
化的考试. 因此也像所有的标准化考试一样有攻略, 就是相对短时间内的反复重复重点
内容. 人的记忆容量是有限的, 至少在前台运行的随时recall的记忆是非常有限的, 短
时间高强度的记忆对于考试最为重要, 这可能也是为何有人能仅凭借FA和UW得99的原因
. 但我相信, 他们对于FA和UW是真正吃透了, 而达到这种境界还是需要一定量的做题.
短期加强的效果是极其显著的, 在分数上能有大的提高, 也能够避免再而衰, 三而竭.
另外一个影响备考时间长短的重要因素是你自己所定的目标, 90? 95? 99? 还是一定要
超高分? 抑或是高分的同时还希望重新激活更新一下若干年前所学的医学知识? 这个目
标直接决定你的学习方法和学习进程. 成绩的提高过程就象氧离曲线一样, 最初难以看
到进步, 终于等来一个飞跃, 然后就又是平台期. 个人感觉95和99的差距并不大, 很可
能正在曲线的拐点附近, 但是想要再进一步提高很难, 投入产出比急剧降低, 何去何从
全看个人取舍了. 在这里容我向吃和碰同学脱帽致意, 滔滔江水一下.
如果非要我给这段备考加上一个时限, 个人感觉, 能有条件全职复习(8-10小时/天)心
无旁骛且自律性强的同志们, 平均需要4-6个月达到95以上的水平. 纯属个人拙见, 具
体到每个人身上, 平均值没意义.
2. 学习方法的选择:
看书? 还是, 做题? 我们显然比哈王子幸运的多, 可以两样都要. 多数人是先看一遍
notes, 再做题库, 再看FA. 我身边的朋友们都是做题派, 七本书草草一翻, 大概知道
去哪里能找到问题的答案了, 就直奔题库, 外加FA. 经过很多人的实践, 发现这的确是
一个节省时间的办法. USMLE的题库是有限的, 考点是重复的, 大量做题给予你一种灵
感, 即pattern recognition, 使你在不能够清晰地理出全部的推理过程时也能感到题
目想考哪一点, 自然能选对答案. 即使做错了, 回去再有针对性地看书, 也要比单纯的
背书记得牢靠. 因此大部分人选择这种方法. 靠看书不行吗? 当然行, 如果你的知识水
平到了就行. 记得一位coalminer前辈毕业十六年后重披战袍, 看过一遍notes和video
后NBME就达到590. 为什么? "年龄大也有年龄大的优势---阅历丰富。复习中感觉免疫
、分子生物学、组肧和病理不看书也能把题做对。原因是在工作中已经把很多知识点都
掌握了"(见http://www.mitbbs.com/bbsann2/scitech.faq/MedicalCareer/USMLE/4/1 /M.1245454180_2.Z0/coalMiner%3A+250+99+01+2009+++++++++++++). 所以说, 做题只是一种帮助你快速review大量知识点的辅助方法, 如果知识本身已经学得透彻, 不怕它们变着花样的考.
自己学还是参加学习小组? 我对于自己刚开始备考的时候没有意识到结伴学习的促进作
用一直感到很遗憾. 窃以为, 最初看书的阶段很枯燥, 学习小组能够督促进度, 互答疑
惑, 对于我这种懒人帮助很大. 中后期需要大量做题时, 基本还是要靠自己, 结伴学习
毕竟速度要慢的多, 投入过多精力有时反而影响了自己的进展.
3. 备考材料的选择:
老实讲, 现有的第一步的材料真是非常全面了, 已经涵盖了95%以上的考试内容, 基本
上大家对于孰优孰劣都有共识. Most people use KAPLAN notes (except for
pathology) w/ or w/o video plus Rapid review for pathology for the first
round review, then FA plus UW and Kaplan Qbank for the practice and progress
, NBME or UW for self-assessment. 精华区中ericusa对于各科材料的优缺点有详尽
介绍, 我受益匪浅, 强烈推荐. (见http://www.mitbbs.com/bbsann2/scitech.faq/MedicalCareer/USMLE/4/1 /M.1214743406.10/ericusa%2C+06+2008++++++++++++++++++++++). 下面只讲一点个人的看法, 老调重谈, 还是因人而异. 我真烦, 是不是?
举例说KAPLAN的video, 众说不一, 我自己是喜欢听人讲得, 似乎我的听觉通路比视觉
通路短上一半, 效率要高上一倍, 听到耳朵里面很容易就进到脑子里去, 坐在那里翻书
一会儿就想去看小说. 我的好友正好相反, 听着听着就走神, 看起书来飞快. 所以在复
习早期自己要试验一下那种学习方式效率更高, 不要一成不变, 找到适合自己的方法才
是最好的. 如果可能的话, 强烈建议听KAPLANvideo中的行为, 药理, 解剖中四肢的部
分. 行为医学的Daugherty是神人一枚, 经过他的手足并用外加丰富面部表情的讲解,
Behavioral 变成看电影. 药理的Raymon风格有点像狗样, 各科之间的整合信手拈来,
适合放在稍后一点听. 解剖中最爱考的上下肢部分, Seiden的讲解简明扼要, 配上在自
己身上的示范, 一遍足以. 另外, 免疫和生化的书是KAPLAN系列中写得最好的, 可以直
接看书(膜拜一下Dr. Hansen, 把生化这魔鬼学科驯服了), 但我还是爱听video, 感觉
一边听一边看对理解Notes有很大帮助. 生理video是KAPLAN系列中相当差的一部分, 之
所以没有沦为最烂是因为有病理部分垫底. 伊拉克那位同志的节奏太慢, 用1.5倍速听
单个单词又听不清了, 搞得我很郁闷, 只好去看书. 生理书写得还不错, 就是有些部分
有点太纯生理, 只推荐看心血管和内分泌. BRS的生理简单扼要, 重点突出, 强烈推荐,
尤其是肾脏和酸碱平衡的部分, 比KAPLAN好很多.
病理方面, RRP和狗样的audio也是象Notes和video一样互补, RRP的书全面, 涵盖极广,
彩图多, 但逻辑性差, 基本上是一条条的facts, 配合上audio的串讲加深促进理解,
病理就完全搞定了. 这两样最好双管齐下, 俺王老五没啥可说的, 只能振臂高呼"狗样
万岁"! 吃透狗样讲的内容, 估计就上90了.
微生物有时间的话可以读一下CMMRS, 与临床结合较紧密, 一些知识比KAPLAN新, 最主
要是写得诙谐幽默, 插图趣味性极强, 对于微生物这种需要大量强化记忆的科目帮助很
大, 我经常做题的时候在脑海中浮现CMMRS里那充满童趣的画图. 复习累了的时候, 就
把它当小说看吧. 每个章节后面的表格总结各个病原体的特点, 一目了然.
分子生物学方面似乎近来分量加重, 当然班上很多同志平时的工作就是和分子打交道,
自然不怕. 如果和我一样分子盲的, 可以翻翻Dudek的96版HY, 简明扼要, 考前花上半
天翻一遍足够应付考试了.
最后说一下红宝书(FA)和蓝宝书(Kaplan MedEssential). FA 是班上绝大多数人用的,
的确是备考圣书. 但它的缺点也很突出, 比如连贯性差, 对比性差, 基本上是考点的随
意堆砌, 所以早期看经常不知所云, 自然也记不牢靠, 只有做过题目之后才能深刻体会
其书提示考点是如此直白. 我有时甚至有一种感觉, 好像FA team就是把几个题库和搜
及来的真题信息用自己的话写出来(以免遭官司), 再简单分类, 就装订成书了. FA的弱
点还体现在一些科目如解剖涵盖的太少, 生化的图表不太好, 分子生物学基本没有, 神
经解剖内容严重不足等等. 但FA的微生物和免疫部分相当不错, 复习重点即各器官系统
的病理药理也很强, 仍然是不可或缺的宝书. KME的内容较多, 有一部分是low yield,
但是生化, 分子生物, 神解以及各器官系统的解剖生理部分写得较好, 多用图表和对比
, 不用对照题库直接看也能够理解得很好. 两本书对照着看, 事半功倍.
4. 题库
我和usmle前辈一样, 三个题库都做了, 觉得各有各的用处, 重要程度当然是UW>Qbank>
Rx. UW解题思路复杂, 极耗脑力, 更接近考试中的难题, 很多题的插图, 解释和总结极
好, 重要考点反复加强, 重点突出, 搞明白了受益无穷. 但是UW偏科比较厉害, 病理和
病生理cover的比较好, 药理过深过细了, 解剖和行为严重不足, 分子生物学基本没有.
对于何时开始UW意见不一, 我自己是用它作为学习工具, 第一遍书差病理还没过完时
就开始了, 按照系统, 每完成一个系统的RRP和audio做同系统的题并添加笔记到FA. 这
样做有利有弊, 好处在于直接适应正确的解题思路, 早期提高较快, 同时能大概扫过FA
相关内容. 弊端在于最初的进展奇慢, 每天只能做一套, 而且因为功夫还不到, 不能完
全体会到题目的好处, 主要是在忙于学习新的知识点. 时隔三个月, 我临考前再次做UW
时才真正体会到UW的精辟. 新的Qbank还不错, 每一道题都有提示考点在KME或FA哪一页
, 方便查找. 解剖, 微生物和分子生物都well presented, 可以用来为UW查缺补漏, 我
考试中遇到一道大体解剖题就从Qbank中得到提示. 另外Qbank中有多媒体题, 可以习惯
一下. 缺点在于不象真题的思路, 解释也不太好, 因此做Qbank的时候不要太纠结, 明
白题目的考点就达到目的了. 做Rx纯属是因为自己讨厌读FA, 无论如何看不下去, 而Rx
基本上就是考FA. 事后看还是个英明的举动, 完成了四分之三的题, 帮助我记住很多FA
中的重要内容. 后两个题库我是用来练习做题耐力的, 从只能连续做两套题到一口气四
套再到每隔一天七套, 做题速度和耐力都有很大提高. NBME我是网上做的, 但是计划得
不好, 基本集中在考前一个多月, 没有达到检测复习进程的作用. 然而从和伙伴们的热
烈讨论中学到不少, 也巩固了很多重要的知识点. 在此要感谢和我一起学习讨论的同志
们, blulue, lihong, jiayan, haini, victor, kevin, atlanta, sundream etc, 漏
了哪位请多包涵. 其实所有的题库都不如NBME, 我考试的题目基本上就是相同的路数,
说UW比Qbank象真题啊什麽的那都是相对论, 和NBME比, 离着真题十万八千里吧.
具体取舍, NBME和UW必做, Qbank能把分数再稍微提高一点, 有能力自己读FA的, Rx就
可以省了.
5. 考试本身
我的运气不错, 没有太多偏题难题, 题目分布也还算平均. 没有象一些同志们遇到很多
解剖或者分子生物. 简单汇报一下吧, 行为医学的精神病学部分基本没考, 行为准则部
分倒是不象考经里讲得那样只需要common sense, 颇有几道关于医生如何处理与保险公
司或者其它practitioner group关系的问题, 完全不知道, 也就不恼了. 大体解剖考的
不如想象中的多, 但有一些很偏, 五个选项中三个从没见过, 闭着眼睛选一个吧. 神解
考了一些, 示意图, 血管造影图, MRI或者大体标本都有, 但是都很浅显. 毕竟这是给
医学生的考试, 不是考神经内科住院医的. 生化没怎末考, 分子生物主要是考第二信使
, 翻来覆去的, 考得我都烦了. 微生物考得出乎意料的多, 也有一些较偏的题, 看来还
是要重视, 我当初还总嫌弃Qbank的微生物题太多, 现在也不抱怨了. 病理还是大头,
但是远远达不到以前说的比例. 药理我就不记得考了, 很可能是出了一些不用过脑子的
题, 总之是既不多, 也不难, 和UW的风格相去甚远. 记得自己休息上厕所时心里还在嘀
咕, 这考试和UW, Qbank, Rx都不象啊, 合着我这好几千道题, 那多的银子都没用在刀
刃上啊.
6. 总结
要认定自己想要达到的目标, 看前人的考经, 制定相应的初步计划, 但是在复习渐进的
过程中要敢于变化, 按照复习效果随时调整自己的学习方法, 才能够在最短的时间里达
到最优成绩. 这话听着容易做起来难, 对我来说最难的是抵制一切诱惑, 每天坚持, 俺
从小到大没这麽认真学习过, 幸好医学是俺的真爱, 才能坚持下来.
唐了这麽多, 自己都惊诧了, 我是写文章比生孩子还困难的人, 这恐怕是我过去10年中
除了论文写得最长的一篇东西, 用来纪念一下自己的USMLE漫漫长征第一步. 最后用备
考过程中看过的晋江网络小说中的一句话来结束吧, "任何人, 任何事都可能对不起你,
你自己付出的努力不会对不起你".
完了.
---文章转载自http://www.mitbbs.ca/article_t/MedicalCareer/31287217.html
Monday, September 14, 2009
USMLE报名和准备
听听别人的经验之谈总有收获。以下转贴自：
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/MedicalCareer/31289629.html
报名大概的流程是：1. http://www.faimer.org/resources/imed.html 查看的的学校和时间是不是在此列。2. http://www.ecfmg.org 认真阅读 Information Booklet 该手册是报名认真级考试路线的金标准。任何道听途说都可能会产生偏差。3. 大致流程仅供参考（非EMSWP学校，已毕业者）：在ECFMG上注册+买单，报名后产生186表寄到学校签字盖章，期间自己把学位证复印+翻译件寄回ECFMG，ECFMG 186表后，会把你的学位证+其他资料寄到学校认证，学校再+你的成绩单寄回ECFMG。你的学历认证就完成。PASS step 1 & 2 你就可以拿到ECFMG的certification，参加住院医师Match。4. 计划好你的总线路，报名认证快则3月多则近一年，尤其是对国内医学院接受ECFMG邮件不太放心的朋友，最好预先找人盯着医学院那一边。5. 如果有不明白事情，在大家提问之前，请不要忘记精华里面常常有最佳答案。而且那里更有前辈们的精华或教训，是我们后辈们的闪亮的灯塔。#为什么要考版：请看本版开国大老、精神教父---刀伯的博客：http://www.mitbbs.com/pc/index.php?id=dokknife#怎样复习考试：请看元老落花大姐的博客：http://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog.php?blogID=1926#学位证翻译注意的细节：如果学位不是英文或学校翻译，翻译必须是翻译公司并且是American Translators Association成员https://www.atanet.org/ #学校出具的英文材料尤其注意核对名字last name 与 first name.#邮寄应注意的细节：1. 寄信人不是医学院的问题？很多医学院并不直接寄送材料，而是要校友自己快递。国内的UPS、Fedex… 快递许多都是代理（尤其是非一级城市），国内小公司收件，香港出货，到ECFMG时快递信封上寄信人会变成成某某快递公司名字。所以不管用什么快递你一定要确认你的医学院名字+地址（并确认改地址和贵医学院在ECFMG名录上的地址吻合）是亲笔写在快递信封上（或贴到了快递信封上）。2. 材料装入快递信封之前，你要把你的材料用医学院信封密封（最好附上医院图章）3. 如果不能确认快递公司是否是代理公司，建议去正规邮局寄（中国邮政的大门应该好辨认，千万不要去了中国银行 …… ^_^……当ECFMG看到，寄信人和地址都是贵医学院（内又有贵医学院的封口信封）只要你的校长签字吻合，相信你的报名就没有问题啦。#附上：两个精华资料网站：http://googlelover.net/index.phphttp://www.medicalstudent.com/Flashcardhttp://www.flashcardexchange.com/2 USMLE Forums by English http://www.prep4usmle.com/http://www.usmleforum.com/细节决定命运，祝大家报名, 考试, match, 执业, 一帆风顺!
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/MedicalCareer/31289629.html
报名大概的流程是：1. http://www.faimer.org/resources/imed.html 查看的的学校和时间是不是在此列。2. http://www.ecfmg.org 认真阅读 Information Booklet 该手册是报名认真级考试路线的金标准。任何道听途说都可能会产生偏差。3. 大致流程仅供参考（非EMSWP学校，已毕业者）：在ECFMG上注册+买单，报名后产生186表寄到学校签字盖章，期间自己把学位证复印+翻译件寄回ECFMG，ECFMG 186表后，会把你的学位证+其他资料寄到学校认证，学校再+你的成绩单寄回ECFMG。你的学历认证就完成。PASS step 1 & 2 你就可以拿到ECFMG的certification，参加住院医师Match。4. 计划好你的总线路，报名认证快则3月多则近一年，尤其是对国内医学院接受ECFMG邮件不太放心的朋友，最好预先找人盯着医学院那一边。5. 如果有不明白事情，在大家提问之前，请不要忘记精华里面常常有最佳答案。而且那里更有前辈们的精华或教训，是我们后辈们的闪亮的灯塔。#为什么要考版：请看本版开国大老、精神教父---刀伯的博客：http://www.mitbbs.com/pc/index.php?id=dokknife#怎样复习考试：请看元老落花大姐的博客：http://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog.php?blogID=1926#学位证翻译注意的细节：如果学位不是英文或学校翻译，翻译必须是翻译公司并且是American Translators Association成员https://www.atanet.org/ #学校出具的英文材料尤其注意核对名字last name 与 first name.#邮寄应注意的细节：1. 寄信人不是医学院的问题？很多医学院并不直接寄送材料，而是要校友自己快递。国内的UPS、Fedex… 快递许多都是代理（尤其是非一级城市），国内小公司收件，香港出货，到ECFMG时快递信封上寄信人会变成成某某快递公司名字。所以不管用什么快递你一定要确认你的医学院名字+地址（并确认改地址和贵医学院在ECFMG名录上的地址吻合）是亲笔写在快递信封上（或贴到了快递信封上）。2. 材料装入快递信封之前，你要把你的材料用医学院信封密封（最好附上医院图章）3. 如果不能确认快递公司是否是代理公司，建议去正规邮局寄（中国邮政的大门应该好辨认，千万不要去了中国银行 …… ^_^……当ECFMG看到，寄信人和地址都是贵医学院（内又有贵医学院的封口信封）只要你的校长签字吻合，相信你的报名就没有问题啦。#附上：两个精华资料网站：http://googlelover.net/index.phphttp://www.medicalstudent.com/Flashcardhttp://www.flashcardexchange.com/2 USMLE Forums by English http://www.prep4usmle.com/http://www.usmleforum.com/细节决定命运，祝大家报名, 考试, match, 执业, 一帆风顺!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Be confident---for USMLE step1
Here are some advice from a girl who got 99% in USMLE step1.
The original post is from mitbbs by Swarmer:
Biochemistry: kaplan video+notes (2006-2007) 年轻的那个David Seastone讲的很
好，值得一听。分子生物学的内容是个老头讲的，遗传部分是另外一个老头，这两个人
的都可以不听。我每次听上10分钟就趴在桌子上睡着了，屡试不爽。
Microbiology: kaplan video+notes, Clinical microbiology made ridiculously
simple (3rd edition) 我先看的CMMRS，然后听kaplan video。CMMRS书写的 不错，有
很多好玩的图帮助记忆。缺点是字体太小排版太紧凑，看着不舒服。kaplan video那个
女老师讲的很好，建议先听她的免疫部分，然后再复习微生物。我是最后听的免疫，所
以看微生物的时候有些地方不明白。微生物部分kaplan video的顺序太乱，跟note对不
上，害得我不停地翻书找相关章节。我很喜欢note里关于病毒的那几个表，比FA里的更
条理更好记，我临上考场还拿来瞟了一眼，果然就考到了。还有一章是clinical
infectious diseases，有很多表，很有用。
Anatomy: kaplan video+notes. David Seiden讲的组胚部分一定要听，特别清楚，听
过之后都不用再看书了。讲解剖的那个老头子其实讲的内容不错，就是语速太太太快了
。基础好的同学可以不听，看看note就够了。
Behavioral science: kaplan video+notes. Video讲的很好玩，推荐听。不过就算是
听了，对做题的帮助也不是很大。我的成绩单里，只有这项是borderline performance
。真不知道究竟该怎么复习。
Physiology: kaplan video+notes. 两个老师都讲得很好，对于我这种毕业多年又不
干临床的人非常适用。我是听了生理之后，才找到了当年在学校的感觉，后面的复习才
开始觉得有兴趣有动力了。如果是fresh graduate，可能不用听。
Pathology: Goljan audio， Rapid review of pathology (2nd edition) 这是我要强
烈推荐的，Dr. Goljan现在是我的idol, 他讲的真是太好了，把所有的知识点都结合临
床串起来了。我开始还担心没有看病理的kaplan video 和note，会不会内容太少。事
实证明我的担心是多余的。我听完一遍audio之后，在没有看FA没有做任何题库的情况
下，nbme form1 的正确率是142/200，这足以说明Dr. Goljan讲的有多好了。Rapid
review 我是在听第二遍的时候对照着看的，风格跟audio一致，比audio的内容稍多，
图都不错。买了书的同学，可以到网站去注册，然后有些练习题可以做。可惜我当时没
注意，不知道这些题怎么样，做过的同学可以说说。
Pharmacology: kaplan video+notes. 讲课的老师是法国人，口音挺重，但是讲得非
常好，很值得听。药理是我大学里成绩最低的一门，所以一直很害怕，觉得没希望学好
了。没想到这个老师讲的很透彻，我听得比当年用中文听得都懂。一旦明白了药物作用
机理，绝大部分的副作用和相互作用就可以推导出来了。我的成绩单里药理竟然是
higher performance的，这真是出乎我的意料。
到3/8/09，我把所有科目都看了一遍。
3/9/09 NBME form 1 142/200
然后花一个星期看了FA第一遍，觉得很枯燥，很不喜欢。
3/16/09 NBME form2 143/200，看来FA对我没有很大帮助。
3/17/09-3/29/09开始做usmle world qbank，完成21个block, 但是看解释只看了14个
。正确率在42%-70%间游荡。我做题时效率还是蛮高的，而且每次都是timed, mixed,
一天做7个block，然后用3-4天把解释看完。开始听Goljan audio第二遍，看Rapid
review of pathology。
3/30/09 CD 38/40/45 正确率82%
3/31/09-5/10/09继续做usmle world qbank，最后总的正确率59%。我比较懒，看完了
解释没做笔记也没截屏，现在挺后悔的，有些问题想再看看也不可能了。做题同时听完
Goljan audio第二遍，看完Rapid review of pathology。这期间因为帮老公写东西，
自己找工作面试，和参加老刀会用掉一个多星期时间。虽然没拿到工作offer，我在老
刀会上可是受益匪浅，这个时间花得很值。
从老刀会回来，是考前最后一个星期，也是我效率最高的时候。FA看了半遍，挑着那些
自认为比较弱的章节看的。这次我才觉出FA的好处来，因为刚做完题，看到FA上的一句
话能想起好几道相关的题目，一点也不象第一遍那么枯燥了。可惜时间有限，没来得及
看完第二遍。Goljan audio又听了半遍，本想听完第三遍的，结果只听到胃肠部分。
Goljan 的high yield 100页看了解剖和微生物，没觉得很high yield，好像都没考到
。Uw qbank把药理和行为医学mark的题做了一遍，发现正确率在80% 以上，也就没再看
别的科目。还做了下面这些模拟题：
5/11/09 NBME form 3 160/200 NBME form 4 164/200
5/13/09 NBME form 5 163/200 NBME form 6 158/200
5/15/09 UW self assessment 1 620/244 self assessment 2 记不清了，好像是236。
5/18/09 考试，考场经历我以前的帖子里写过了。
6/10/09 成绩 242/99。这个成绩跟uw的自测题1 非常非常地接近。
如果能重新来过，我想我会先去找个part time job，然后剩余的时间看书。我觉得人
的大脑suppose是要handle multiple tasks的，全职复习的效果太差，还是有点其他事
情做调剂效率更高。像我看免疫那部分，一天就看完了，可是之后就玩了一个星期，什
么都没看。这样算下来，跟每天看书2小时是一样的。所以工作的同学也不用担心时间
问题，如果你能保证一天3个小时应该足够了。不过考前最好能全职做题一个月，在短
期内强化记忆，并且训练做题的强度和速度。
我没有study partner， 但是版上精华区里所有的考经我都仔细读过了，多谢前辈们分
享成功的经验，也希望我的复习过程对后来人有所启发。这个考试真的不像我们想象的
那么难，kaplan + Goljan + FA + UW + NBME forms就行了，如果这些材料都复习两遍
的话肯定能考99了，大家要有信心。
The original post is from mitbbs by Swarmer:
Biochemistry: kaplan video+notes (2006-2007) 年轻的那个David Seastone讲的很
好，值得一听。分子生物学的内容是个老头讲的，遗传部分是另外一个老头，这两个人
的都可以不听。我每次听上10分钟就趴在桌子上睡着了，屡试不爽。
Microbiology: kaplan video+notes, Clinical microbiology made ridiculously
simple (3rd edition) 我先看的CMMRS，然后听kaplan video。CMMRS书写的 不错，有
很多好玩的图帮助记忆。缺点是字体太小排版太紧凑，看着不舒服。kaplan video那个
女老师讲的很好，建议先听她的免疫部分，然后再复习微生物。我是最后听的免疫，所
以看微生物的时候有些地方不明白。微生物部分kaplan video的顺序太乱，跟note对不
上，害得我不停地翻书找相关章节。我很喜欢note里关于病毒的那几个表，比FA里的更
条理更好记，我临上考场还拿来瞟了一眼，果然就考到了。还有一章是clinical
infectious diseases，有很多表，很有用。
Anatomy: kaplan video+notes. David Seiden讲的组胚部分一定要听，特别清楚，听
过之后都不用再看书了。讲解剖的那个老头子其实讲的内容不错，就是语速太太太快了
。基础好的同学可以不听，看看note就够了。
Behavioral science: kaplan video+notes. Video讲的很好玩，推荐听。不过就算是
听了，对做题的帮助也不是很大。我的成绩单里，只有这项是borderline performance
。真不知道究竟该怎么复习。
Physiology: kaplan video+notes. 两个老师都讲得很好，对于我这种毕业多年又不
干临床的人非常适用。我是听了生理之后，才找到了当年在学校的感觉，后面的复习才
开始觉得有兴趣有动力了。如果是fresh graduate，可能不用听。
Pathology: Goljan audio， Rapid review of pathology (2nd edition) 这是我要强
烈推荐的，Dr. Goljan现在是我的idol, 他讲的真是太好了，把所有的知识点都结合临
床串起来了。我开始还担心没有看病理的kaplan video 和note，会不会内容太少。事
实证明我的担心是多余的。我听完一遍audio之后，在没有看FA没有做任何题库的情况
下，nbme form1 的正确率是142/200，这足以说明Dr. Goljan讲的有多好了。Rapid
review 我是在听第二遍的时候对照着看的，风格跟audio一致，比audio的内容稍多，
图都不错。买了书的同学，可以到网站去注册，然后有些练习题可以做。可惜我当时没
注意，不知道这些题怎么样，做过的同学可以说说。
Pharmacology: kaplan video+notes. 讲课的老师是法国人，口音挺重，但是讲得非
常好，很值得听。药理是我大学里成绩最低的一门，所以一直很害怕，觉得没希望学好
了。没想到这个老师讲的很透彻，我听得比当年用中文听得都懂。一旦明白了药物作用
机理，绝大部分的副作用和相互作用就可以推导出来了。我的成绩单里药理竟然是
higher performance的，这真是出乎我的意料。
到3/8/09，我把所有科目都看了一遍。
3/9/09 NBME form 1 142/200
然后花一个星期看了FA第一遍，觉得很枯燥，很不喜欢。
3/16/09 NBME form2 143/200，看来FA对我没有很大帮助。
3/17/09-3/29/09开始做usmle world qbank，完成21个block, 但是看解释只看了14个
。正确率在42%-70%间游荡。我做题时效率还是蛮高的，而且每次都是timed, mixed,
一天做7个block，然后用3-4天把解释看完。开始听Goljan audio第二遍，看Rapid
review of pathology。
3/30/09 CD 38/40/45 正确率82%
3/31/09-5/10/09继续做usmle world qbank，最后总的正确率59%。我比较懒，看完了
解释没做笔记也没截屏，现在挺后悔的，有些问题想再看看也不可能了。做题同时听完
Goljan audio第二遍，看完Rapid review of pathology。这期间因为帮老公写东西，
自己找工作面试，和参加老刀会用掉一个多星期时间。虽然没拿到工作offer，我在老
刀会上可是受益匪浅，这个时间花得很值。
从老刀会回来，是考前最后一个星期，也是我效率最高的时候。FA看了半遍，挑着那些
自认为比较弱的章节看的。这次我才觉出FA的好处来，因为刚做完题，看到FA上的一句
话能想起好几道相关的题目，一点也不象第一遍那么枯燥了。可惜时间有限，没来得及
看完第二遍。Goljan audio又听了半遍，本想听完第三遍的，结果只听到胃肠部分。
Goljan 的high yield 100页看了解剖和微生物，没觉得很high yield，好像都没考到
。Uw qbank把药理和行为医学mark的题做了一遍，发现正确率在80% 以上，也就没再看
别的科目。还做了下面这些模拟题：
5/11/09 NBME form 3 160/200 NBME form 4 164/200
5/13/09 NBME form 5 163/200 NBME form 6 158/200
5/15/09 UW self assessment 1 620/244 self assessment 2 记不清了，好像是236。
5/18/09 考试，考场经历我以前的帖子里写过了。
6/10/09 成绩 242/99。这个成绩跟uw的自测题1 非常非常地接近。
如果能重新来过，我想我会先去找个part time job，然后剩余的时间看书。我觉得人
的大脑suppose是要handle multiple tasks的，全职复习的效果太差，还是有点其他事
情做调剂效率更高。像我看免疫那部分，一天就看完了，可是之后就玩了一个星期，什
么都没看。这样算下来，跟每天看书2小时是一样的。所以工作的同学也不用担心时间
问题，如果你能保证一天3个小时应该足够了。不过考前最好能全职做题一个月，在短
期内强化记忆，并且训练做题的强度和速度。
我没有study partner， 但是版上精华区里所有的考经我都仔细读过了，多谢前辈们分
享成功的经验，也希望我的复习过程对后来人有所启发。这个考试真的不像我们想象的
那么难，kaplan + Goljan + FA + UW + NBME forms就行了，如果这些材料都复习两遍
的话肯定能考99了，大家要有信心。
Saturday, March 28, 2009
How to prepare for Pathology subject in USMLE step1
Pathology is the most important subject in the USMLE step1. Somebody told me that more than 60% questions in USMLE step1 are related to pathology. So we should spend most time to study pathology from the very beginning of the preparation to the end.
Highly recommended books for USMLE step1 pathology subject:
Rapid Review: pathology
BRS pathology
First Aid
Goljan Audio and Notes
Kaplan note pathology
Pathology questions:
Pathophysiology for the boards and wards: Diagnosis and therapy 75 quesitons
Lippincotts review of pathology:illustrated interactive Q&A 1100 questions
Robbins and cotran review of pathology 1000questions
Underground clinical vignettes pathophysiology I, II, III 60 questions
pretest pathophysiology 500 questions
pretest pathology 500 questions
Appleton & lange review: general pathology 850 questions
pathology: review for USMLE step1 524 questions
It is always boring to read review books only. So I plan to do a lot of questions when I read review books. I can know the key points in each chapter. No matter how hard we study, we can not know everything. I told myself always focus on the key points. I can make my own flashcard based on my reading and quesiton solving. Hopeful it will help my preparation for the pathology part.
Highly recommended books for USMLE step1 pathology subject:
Rapid Review: pathology
BRS pathology
First Aid
Goljan Audio and Notes
Kaplan note pathology
Pathology questions:
Pathophysiology for the boards and wards: Diagnosis and therapy 75 quesitons
Lippincotts review of pathology:illustrated interactive Q&A 1100 questions
Robbins and cotran review of pathology 1000questions
Underground clinical vignettes pathophysiology I, II, III 60 questions
pretest pathophysiology 500 questions
pretest pathology 500 questions
Appleton & lange review: general pathology 850 questions
pathology: review for USMLE step1 524 questions
It is always boring to read review books only. So I plan to do a lot of questions when I read review books. I can know the key points in each chapter. No matter how hard we study, we can not know everything. I told myself always focus on the key points. I can make my own flashcard based on my reading and quesiton solving. Hopeful it will help my preparation for the pathology part.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Confidence is the first thing i need
The following advice is from http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/31304/
Hey Docs,
All the best to you for your Step 1.
You know what? If you want a 99 it is possible. Just follow these simple intructions:
First of all, decide that you want a 99. I mean if you decide that you want a 95 you will get a 90, so aim for 99 and nothing less.
You are only limited by what you think. If I told you that you could never fail what would you do? Do not get frustrated easily, life has just started for you, take one step at a time and enjoy it. You have great intelligence and education and a great life in the US. How many of your countrymen can get such an opportunity?
Here is what i would do: I would sit down first for 2 hours, shut down my cell phone, and take a notepad and a pen and start answering the following questions with full honesty and sincerity:
Answer these questions, not orally, but write them down on paper. You can do this even in chinese, but your pen should not stop for half and hour, just keep on writing. Then, read it out loud. Go to the beach and stand in front of the sea and say it out loud. Read it everyday after you wake up and before you go to bed. It should permeate into your system.
Now you will start feeling more confident. You should now start studying hard.
First start by reading the first 50 pages of kaplan Q Book where they have shown you how to prepare for the test and how to answer the questions.
There is a key to studying medicine. Before opening any book, answer this question: Why am i reading this stuff? For whom am I reading this text book? What is your answer? "It is for my patients." Any single line of the book can save the patients life. So then you will get highly motivated to learn each and every line of text book.
What has to be done?
Last 3 weeks, don't just solve questions, but read all the material again.
Take B complex pills everyday......or else you will get wenickes enceph
Days before exam, solve the Kaplan Simulated and the USMLE Sample CD about 3 weeks before the exam.
Then 2-3 days for each subject. Just read Kaplan LN and nothing else, be confident, if you have read it before you are going to know the answer.
Take notes of all those things of Kaplan that you think that you cannot remember e.g. drug interactions with Cyt P450 in pharmac, side effects of lithium, etc. and write them in the diary.
Last 3 days, read no new material, just read those notes that you took and diary, also you might read certain topics that have to be memorized e.g. patho hemat, cns, kidney pharmac antiarryhythmics, anticancer, rhuematoid arthritis, behavioral sleep and stats, micro virus,etc. Do a rapid revision of those things.
2 days before exam, do USMLE Sample CD again, see photos of harrison and first aid, read diary.
Day before exam, just have fun and relax. Go for a haircut, go for a massage on the head, its so relaxing! Dont sleep in the afternoon or else you will not be able to sleep at night, do some physical activity like going for a walk, and relax with friends, watch a movie.
The morning of the day before the exam, read Kaplan Q Book 1st 50 pages where they have described the ways to answer question in the usmle.....................dont read anything on last day before exam.
Just check your orange card and passport.
Night before the exam, when you go to bed, visualise yourself at prometric and giving the exam, you are doing so great and fantastic and you know all the answers all the time...............wow that is the greatest exam of my life..................... read something that inspires you before you go to bed, ....................so that you go to sleep with positive thoughts in your mind............. the next morning awake refreshed and happy and ready to give the exam...........take 3-4 bottles of tang or vital z with you for energy. take some jelly sandwich so that you get lot of sugars, remember your brain needs glucose as sole source of energy.
Have a breakfast and take 2 tablets of vitamin B complex because you need them more today and take apples in breakfast.................one apple can stimulate you more that one cup of tea or coffee can. those of you who have a habit of drinking tea or coffee can take them to prometric as well...............
again check the orange card and passport..................................
now take the blessings of your God and conquer the exam
In the center, just take deep breaths
go to toilet before the test begins............
wash your face with water and wash your eyes and feel fresh
once you go inside the test terminal dont immediately start.............
take some deep breathes.
take the earplug and put them in your ear.
take the marker pad and then write on the pad............I am going to do
the very best. Come on You can and You will do it
surely................Nothing in this whole world can now stop
me..........Unleash my powers and awaken the giant within
...........................
now you are confident........................
then start the tutorial....................
you cant skip it but just keep on pressing the next button until it gets
over and then you will be asked your CIN no. Just type it and the exam
starts.
Read carefully and start exam. Dont worry..............
Just take the exam like you are playing a video game or computer
game,..........no big deal just routine game.......................
most important ENJOY the exam,
after the block gets over just write on the pad. Great Job Doctor, keep up
the tempo, keep up the good work , 1 block over successfully..........
DO the 1st two blocks simultaneiously without breaks.
after two blocks take a break, wash your face and eyes to prevent eye strain
and fatigue, drink some tang. and start the third block.....
after your 4th or 5th block take a meal.................dont eat too
heavy,................
and you are like 70% done.
just give the blocks and after each block write something good about
yourself...........
i used the marker pad just for that..............
This willl be the best exam that you have ever given in your
life................
Ok Folks Enjoy your life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
You already have the VISA POWER now you only need extra mileage on your
score........
if you need any help i would be glad to be of assistance
best of luck to all
i m sure everyone will do great......anyone and everyone can get a 99 because we are doctors...
Sharvil
Hey Docs,
All the best to you for your Step 1.
You know what? If you want a 99 it is possible. Just follow these simple intructions:
First of all, decide that you want a 99. I mean if you decide that you want a 95 you will get a 90, so aim for 99 and nothing less.
You are only limited by what you think. If I told you that you could never fail what would you do? Do not get frustrated easily, life has just started for you, take one step at a time and enjoy it. You have great intelligence and education and a great life in the US. How many of your countrymen can get such an opportunity?
Here is what i would do: I would sit down first for 2 hours, shut down my cell phone, and take a notepad and a pen and start answering the following questions with full honesty and sincerity:
- What do i want? (if you are honest here you would say i want a 99 because anything less than that would be a lie).
- How would i feel when i have achieved my target? (think of yourself holding your USMLE Step 1 score sheet with a 99 and you giving your friends a great party and celebrating)
- What is preventing you from getting to your goal? How long would it take for you to reach your target?
- What are the resourses that you have that will help you reach your target?
- Do you have any role models who have got similar results?
- Describe your ideal day. What is your timetable and plan for achieving your target?
Answer these questions, not orally, but write them down on paper. You can do this even in chinese, but your pen should not stop for half and hour, just keep on writing. Then, read it out loud. Go to the beach and stand in front of the sea and say it out loud. Read it everyday after you wake up and before you go to bed. It should permeate into your system.
Now you will start feeling more confident. You should now start studying hard.
First start by reading the first 50 pages of kaplan Q Book where they have shown you how to prepare for the test and how to answer the questions.
There is a key to studying medicine. Before opening any book, answer this question: Why am i reading this stuff? For whom am I reading this text book? What is your answer? "It is for my patients." Any single line of the book can save the patients life. So then you will get highly motivated to learn each and every line of text book.
What has to be done?
- Kaplan LN for: Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Immunology, Behavioral Science
- Compass Anatomy/High Yield Anatomy/High Yield Neuronanatomy/High Yield Embryo/High Yield Histology
- BRS Behavioral Science
- BRS Physiology - Just the Neurophysiology.
- Goljan Patho - Very good, if you cant read it just solve questions from it.
- Kaplan Q Book and Bank
- USMLE Sample CD
- Hematology Slides from Harrison's Textbook of Internal Medicine
- Color Plates from First Aid
- Questions from Goljan patho full test
- Questions from goljan 5 star pathology
Last 3 weeks, don't just solve questions, but read all the material again.
Take B complex pills everyday......or else you will get wenickes enceph
Days before exam, solve the Kaplan Simulated and the USMLE Sample CD about 3 weeks before the exam.
Then 2-3 days for each subject. Just read Kaplan LN and nothing else, be confident, if you have read it before you are going to know the answer.
Take notes of all those things of Kaplan that you think that you cannot remember e.g. drug interactions with Cyt P450 in pharmac, side effects of lithium, etc. and write them in the diary.
Last 3 days, read no new material, just read those notes that you took and diary, also you might read certain topics that have to be memorized e.g. patho hemat, cns, kidney pharmac antiarryhythmics, anticancer, rhuematoid arthritis, behavioral sleep and stats, micro virus,etc. Do a rapid revision of those things.
2 days before exam, do USMLE Sample CD again, see photos of harrison and first aid, read diary.
Day before exam, just have fun and relax. Go for a haircut, go for a massage on the head, its so relaxing! Dont sleep in the afternoon or else you will not be able to sleep at night, do some physical activity like going for a walk, and relax with friends, watch a movie.
The morning of the day before the exam, read Kaplan Q Book 1st 50 pages where they have described the ways to answer question in the usmle.....................dont read anything on last day before exam.
Just check your orange card and passport.
Night before the exam, when you go to bed, visualise yourself at prometric and giving the exam, you are doing so great and fantastic and you know all the answers all the time...............wow that is the greatest exam of my life..................... read something that inspires you before you go to bed, ....................so that you go to sleep with positive thoughts in your mind............. the next morning awake refreshed and happy and ready to give the exam...........take 3-4 bottles of tang or vital z with you for energy. take some jelly sandwich so that you get lot of sugars, remember your brain needs glucose as sole source of energy.
Have a breakfast and take 2 tablets of vitamin B complex because you need them more today and take apples in breakfast.................one apple can stimulate you more that one cup of tea or coffee can. those of you who have a habit of drinking tea or coffee can take them to prometric as well...............
again check the orange card and passport..................................
now take the blessings of your God and conquer the exam
In the center, just take deep breaths
go to toilet before the test begins............
wash your face with water and wash your eyes and feel fresh
once you go inside the test terminal dont immediately start.............
take some deep breathes.
take the earplug and put them in your ear.
take the marker pad and then write on the pad............I am going to do
the very best. Come on You can and You will do it
surely................Nothing in this whole world can now stop
me..........Unleash my powers and awaken the giant within
...........................
now you are confident........................
then start the tutorial....................
you cant skip it but just keep on pressing the next button until it gets
over and then you will be asked your CIN no. Just type it and the exam
starts.
Read carefully and start exam. Dont worry..............
Just take the exam like you are playing a video game or computer
game,..........no big deal just routine game.......................
most important ENJOY the exam,
after the block gets over just write on the pad. Great Job Doctor, keep up
the tempo, keep up the good work , 1 block over successfully..........
DO the 1st two blocks simultaneiously without breaks.
after two blocks take a break, wash your face and eyes to prevent eye strain
and fatigue, drink some tang. and start the third block.....
after your 4th or 5th block take a meal.................dont eat too
heavy,................
and you are like 70% done.
just give the blocks and after each block write something good about
yourself...........
i used the marker pad just for that..............
This willl be the best exam that you have ever given in your
life................
Ok Folks Enjoy your life,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
You already have the VISA POWER now you only need extra mileage on your
score........
if you need any help i would be glad to be of assistance
best of luck to all
i m sure everyone will do great......anyone and everyone can get a 99 because we are doctors...
Sharvil
Some great advice I found for preparing USMLE step1
These advice is cited from http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/thread/82908/
Received my score on 1/21/2009.
Initial goal: 250+
Total prep time: 1000 hours.
IMG at an Australian medical school (UQ); MCAT=38
NBME 1: 258 (9 months out)
NBME 2: 261 (2 months out)
NBME 6: 262 (25 days out)
UW 1: 265+ (15 days out)
NBME 3: 265+ (8 days out)
NBME 4: 265+ (6 days out)
UW 2: 265+ (4 days out)
NBME 5: 265+ (2 days out)
USMLE CD: 96% (1 day out)
I did over 10000 USMLE-style practice exam questions in the following order:
USMLERx: 94%
Kaplan Qbank: 91%
First Aid Q&A step 1: 93%
UW: 88% (Random, unused, first time through)
Plus NBME + UW exams + USMLE CD + RR Goljan...
Prep material:
FA of course!! I read it cover-to-cover 3 times. However, I tend to cross-reference it when I read other books and I frequently consulted it during second year during PBL. I also annotated notes in FA when I did UW, so I was very familar with the content of this book. For every diagram/table/metabolic pathway in FA, I made sure that they were familiar to the point that I was able to to reproduce them from memory.
Anatomy: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, USMLE Road Map Anatomy, HY Neuroanatomy.
Behavioural science: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep.
Biochemistry: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep.
Cell biology: HY Cell and molecular biology.
Microbiology: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, Micro Made Ridiculously Simple, MicroCards.
Immunology: Kaplan notes & FA.
Pharmacology: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, HY Pharm, Pharmacology Flash Cards (Brenner).
Physiology: Kaplan notes, BRS Physiology.
Pathology: BRS Pathology, Goljan audio, Goljan notes.
Preparation timeline:
Probably quite atypical compared to most US medical students. I initially intended to sit the exam at the beginning of third year, so I spent a month studying after second year was over. At the end of the month, I didn't feel quite ready and decided to postpone my exam till the end of third year, thinking that I would have plenty of time to study during the clinical rotations. Wrong. I only had some time during my rural rotation and psychiatry rotation to study for USMLE, but could only manage to do 1-2hr/day on weekdays and up to 8hr/day on weekends. At the end of third year, I spent a month studying hardcore again, and finally took the exam on the 26th of December. The Australian school year runs from January to November, by the way.
During second year - Read BRS Pathology and pretty much memorized the book. I love pathology so it wasn't really a daunting task for me. I also started listening to Goljan audios in first year and I was really glad that I started early. I finished Goljan audios at least three times, but I always felt that I learned something new each time.
December 2007 - Finished reading Kaplan notes (all subjects except Path) and Goljan notes for Path. 8-10hr/day. (300hr)
Jan - Nov 2008 - On and off. I did NBME1 in March and got 258(720) and was pretty happy that reading Kaplan notes paid off. However, I had only about 4 months during this time (rural and psych) where I could fit USMLE studying into my schedule, but could only manage to study about 25 hours a week. During this time, I read the supplementary material (HY, Road Map, flash cards), listened to Kaplan webprep while commuting, and did the majority of the practice questions. (400hr)
December 2008 - Did most of the NBMEs and UW assessment exams in this month. Completed UW question bank for the second time. Spent the last week just memorizing FA and doing practice questions. 8-10hr/day. (300hr)
Exam on 2008/12/26:
I started the exam at 8:30 and finished at 4:00 with 20 minutes of break time to spare. On average, I spent 45 minutes in each block and took a 20-minute break after each block (except the first block). During each break, I would drink 300mL of oolong tea or green tea to keep me awake, eat half a sandwich, go to the washroom, and wash my face so I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the next block. I thought the strategy worked quite well for me.
I thought the exam was quite a bit harder than NBME but easier than UW. It was probably comparable to UW self-assessment exams in terms of difficulty. I marked 6-7 questions each block. I thought 85% of the questions was straight-forward, 10% was tricky, and 5% was difficult.
Pathology: Not surprisingly the bulk of the exam. Around 70% of the questions were patholgy questions or required pathology integration. I thought UW covered these sorts of questions really well, so there weren't really any surprises for me. I only had around 5 questions that came with pictures of gross pathology specimens.
Anatomy/neuroanatomy: 15 questions. Most of them involved intepretation of X-rays/CT/MRIs, nothing too obscure. I even had brain CT and angiograms for structure identification. Make sure you know the brain stem and cranial nerves well.
Behavioral science: 20 questions. Half were biostatistics, and the other half were the typical "what would be the best action/response in this scenario" type of questions. I thought just reading FA or Kaplan notes was not really sufficient to answer these sorts of questions. I had almost no questions that came out of the psychiatry section in FA, except a few psychotropic medications and a question on defense mechanisms.
Biochemistry/Cell bio/Molecular bio: Geez, I noticed the trend of increasing proportions of cell biology questions in the NBME, but I never expected this many on my exam. I probably had 50 questions that fell into this category (Biochem/Cell bio). I was glad that I flipped through HY Cell and Molecular biology just a few days before the exam, because it probably helped me answer 5 questions correctly. The different kinds of receptors and intracellular signalling pathways are extremely high-yield. For metabolism, know the key regulatory enzymes and global control of metabolic processes (i.e. insulin vs glucagon's effects).
Pharmacology: Around 25 questions. Piece of cake compared to UW. I thought FA covers pharmacology in sufficient details. As usual, emphasis was placed on autonomic pharmacology and cardiovascular medications. I had quite a few questions on pharmacodynamics too.
Microbiology: 30 questions. Make sure you know the various bacterial exotoxins and their mechanisms of action. Quite a few questions involved TB and HIV. Even West Nile virus appeared on my exam.
Physiology: 30 questions. Most involved the up/down arrows and graph interpretation. Endocrine questions are high-yield too.
I walked out of the testing centre feeling quite confident I did pretty well. I was certain I broke 260, but wasn't too sure if I was able to get 270+. Got the score last Wedneday, 276/99! I didn't even know it was possible! Needless to say, I was ecstatic!!
============================
I've compiled a Q&A from the emails and PMs I've received since last Wednesday. I'd like to thank those who emailed or PMed me and also their permission to post their questions up. I hope this answers more questions regarding my exam preparation.
Learning Resources:
Q: What edition of Kaplan notes did you use, and did you use the accompanying videos?
A: I used Kaplan notes 2004 edition. I was running out of time toward the end of my preparation so I didn't use the videos.
Q: Did the Kaplan webprep audios make a big difference where the lecture notes are concerned?
A: I wouldn't say the webprep audios were essential, but they certainly helped solidify many important concepts, especially for biochem and pharm. If time is a factor for your preparation, I would suggest doing the webprep audios only after you finish reading the lecture notes.
Q: First Aid – how much does it cover?
A: FA covered about 80% of the material on my exam, so I would definitely recommend using it as the primary resource the week before the exam. I went over the rapid review section at the end of FA the night before the exam date, and I found it quite helpful as a last-minute review.
Q: Do you think the lecture notes for biochem are okay to use without the videos?
A: I think the lecture notes for biochem are adequate to be used on its own; I didn't use Kaplan videos so couldn't comment on them. However, I would highly recommend listening to webprep for biochem. Dr. Raymon is just simply amazing; he does an excellent job integrating pathology, pharm, and biochem. However, it is still of utmost importance to memorize all the tables/diagrams/metabolic pathways in the biochem section of FA. I think it really ties the information together nicely toward the end of the preparation.
Q: For Pharmacology, do you think studying FA is enough?
A: I think FA is enough for Pharm, provided that you know the mechanisms of the drugs well. I found it quite difficult to memorize the list of clinical uses and side effects without having a solid understanding of the mechanisms, so I chose to do Kaplan notes before tackling FA, and it certainly made those things easier to memorize.
Q: Did you like the Pharmacology flash cards you used or were they too detailed?
A: I liked the flash cards, they are handy to carry around if you want to study them on the bus or during a boring lecture. It can also be conveniently used to quiz yourself, with the drug's generic name and trade name on one side, and the list of drug class, mechanism, clinical uses, side effects, route of metabolism on the other side. I don't think they are overly detailed.
Q: Despite reading Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple over again, I am still missing tons of micro questions. I dont feel like there is anyway to "master" these questions cause they often test trivia that while I know I read, I just cant recall on the spot. Although, I do think my main problem here is focusing too much on MRS and not on FA.
A: I agree with you that using FA to supplement MRS would be very helpful. It's a good idea to start with MRS in the beginning of your preparation, but toward the end, the tables in MRS and the charts in FA are the way to go. A heavy amount of rote memorization is required to master Microbiology, that's for sure. I would encourage you to focus on the classifications and lab algorithms first before you start memorizing the rest of the minutiae. (Remember: Big pictures first!) The gram positive and negative lab algorithms in FA are gold. Pay close attention to the bacterial exotoxins as well, because they frequently appear on the exam. Make sure you know these like the back of your hand. For virology, use the mnemoics in Kaplan notes to remember the DNA, +RNA, and -RNA viruses.
Q: You mentioned that kaplan and FA were not enough for behavioural and biostat questions. Any suggestion what shall I go for to cover that?
A: A lot of my friends liked HY behavioural and biostats a lot, but I have only read the first few chapters of HY BS so I can't really comment on them. I didn't like Kaplan and FA because they focused too much on the psychiatric disorders, and not so much on the "best response/action" scenario type of questions. The practice questions from UW and NBME are very good though, and I would recommend doing as many questions like those as you can, so you're familiar with the concepts. Sorry to confuse you, but for biostats, I think FA is quite sufficient, but make sure you are comfortable doing those calculations and drawing those 2x2 tables. Doing lots of biostats questions will definitely help solidify the concepts.
Q: How much do you get through a day and how do you retain that information? One of my problems is that I get through maybe 30 pages of Kaplan Biochem notes a day, and at the end of the day, while I retain the information, I find that I really didnt learn that much. Furthermore more, I tend to forget things as I go. When I do questions later on on the same subject, I forgot much of what I learned maybe 2 weeks ago.
A: Don't worry too much about having to retain everything in Kaplan notes, it's impossible and often unnecessary to try to remember some of the details. I think the primary purpose of reading Kaplan notes is to help you understand FA later on so you can memorize the facts in FA with better ease. What types of questions are you getting wrong, are they questions that require straight fact-recall or ones that require you to apply a concept? If it's the former, I wouldn't worry too much about Kaplan notes and would probably spend more time studying FA instead; for the latter, you do have to make sure you comprehend the info in Kaplan notes before moving on to FA.
Another thing I found helpful was to read the corresponding section in FA after finishing a subject in Kaplan notes. It helps solidify information right away.
Q: How many pages of FA and kaplan notes can you get through in a day?
A: I set goals to get through 100 to 120 pages of Kaplan notes every day, at the speed of 12-15 pages per hour. It depends on the subject too; anatomy and biochem were slower, whereas physiology and pharm were faster because I had done BRS physiology and Pharmacology flash cards already. I could read around 60 - 80 pages of FA in a day toward the end of the preparation, but when I first started, it was painfully slow. I could remember spending an entire day just studying the embryology section, which was only a few pages long but very memory-intensive. But once you start remembering the mnemonics and are familiar with the content, the speed goes up quite quickly.
Question banks:
Q: Did you do questions after each subject during your initial read, or did you skip questions altogether until after you completed your first read?
A: Thanks for raising this point as I probably didn't make it very clear in my post. I started doing questions after reading all of Kaplan notes, BRS path and phys, Goljan notes, and most HY books that I mentioned. The only book that I was still reading after I started doing questions was FA.
Q: When you say you did 10000 questions, do you include the book questions or any other questions?
A: I only counted the questions in USMLE format.
UW (2000) + Kaplan practice tests (2000) + Kaplan Q-bank (2000) + FA Q&A (1000) + USMLERx (did ~2000) + NBME 1-6 (1200) + UW self-assessment 1&2 (400) + Goljan RR Path questions (100) = 10700
I didn't count BRS questions or questions in Kaplan notes because they were not always in board format.
Q: Did you do robbins review of path? Was USMLERX useful?
A: I didn't do Robbins, and I wouldn't recommend it either. USMLERx was okay in terms of helping me memorize some details that I wouldn't have paid attention to in FA, because this Q-bank is basically based on the material in FA.
Q: Would you say that a particular question bank or all the 3 question banks that you did do cover all the usmle questions (=subject matter) that you were asked?
A: I would say UW was the most high-yield of them all. USMLERx and Kaplan Q-bank have been known to test minutiae that are not necessarily high-yield info. These 3 question banks combined definitely covered more than any one of them alone. As I mentioned in my post, only 5% of questions on my exam were things I had never encountered before, so doing tons of questions was certainly helpful for me.
Q: I am dedicating a solid 8 hours everyday to question banks (I time myself), but my scores are not improving. What can I do?
A: I would recommend going over the explanations in more detail, making sure you really understand what the question is asking. Don't skip the explanation for questions you answered correctly; you can learn a lot by reading about why the other choices are wrong. It can take a very long time when you first start doing it this way, but after a while, if you learn from your mistakes, you will not get the same type of question wrong again. When I first started doing questions, it often took me 40 minutes to do 50 questions, but an hour to read the explanations and annotate notes into FA. However, I learned a lot from the explanations in UW, probably just as much as the questions themselves. It's easy to feel frustrated when you first start, but with time, I'm sure your accuracy rate will improve. Good luck.
Q: I am quite frustrated with questions that test minutia details, e.g. "Which of the following can be found in bacterial endospores?" (Answer is dipicolinic acid) I had never seen anything like that and I had to flip through pubmed to get the answer. Are these questions worth remembering?
A: I'm not trying to discourage you here; although dipicolinic acid is probably a trivia type question, it was actually mentioned twice in FA, so I'd actually still remember it. Sometimes the strategy is to eliminate the other answer choices if you couldn't recognize the right answer. For example, if other choices are peptidoglycan and mycolic acid, you know they just can't be right.
Q: What did you annotate into first aid? Only qbank questions? I find some of the Micro Qbank questions extremely tedious and testing pHD like material. How can I tell if its important? Or is it all completely important?
A: I only annotate information that I consider "high-yield". As you do more questions, you'll soon know what types of questions tend to show up over and over again; these are the ones that are high-yield.
Take Micro for example, they often give you a clinical presentation of an infectious disease, then ask you for the most appropriate antibiotics. These require a two-step process (Presentation - Bug - Antibiotics), and are guaranteed to be on exam. If they want to be mean, they can ask you about the side effect of the most common antibiotics used. These questions require a three-step process (Presentation - Bug - Antibiotics - Side effects), and are less common than the type of questions above. Things that aid in the laboratory diagnosis or things that have to do with treatment (for example, HIV gene products and antiviral drugs that target these products) are also extremely high-yield. Ignore the weird trivia type of questions that have no clinical correlation.
I agree that Micro Qbank questions can sometimes be a bit annoying, but that doesn't mean the real exam is like that. I found that FA covers > 90% of the Micro questions on my exam, so make sure you know FA well and don't get too discouraged by the low-yield questions.
Q: About doing usmleworld 2X: did you find that helpful even though you already did the same questions once?
A: I did UW again one month apart. I don't think there's much benefit doing it again right after you finish it first time through, but a month gives you enough time to test if you really understand the materials tested, and not because you memorized the questions and answers. For me, the second time helped me increase my speed as I was more comfortable dealing with long question stems (but that could be an effect of having seen the questions before as well).
Q: When should I do UW again?
A: I would recommend doing UW again as close to the exam date as possible, while still giving yourself enough time to go over FA again and do the rest of the NBME forms. I went through UW the second time 3 weeks before my exam; I did 350 questions every day to simulate the exam length and build up my stamina. When I finished, I still had 2 weeks left to review the material that I mentioned above.
Q: When did you really start feeling comfortable with the material?
A: I probably started feeling comfortable with the material after I finished Kaplan notes and had done 2000+ questions. By that time, I knew my strengths and weaknesses and knew what to focus on in order to get the most out of the review process. For example, after doing some questions, I realized I had a lot of trouble with neuroanatomy, and so did HY neuroanatomy for 2 weeks, which seemed to effectively remedy the problem. Besides, as you do more questions, you soon realize the amount of information that FA actually covers. The questions also help you remember the material in FA more easily.
Q: Any advice on test-taking strategies?
A: One thing I found really useful from doing tons of questions is that on the real exam, I could often read the question stem and predict what type of question they were going to throw at me. I would also recommend coming up with your own answer in your head before you look at the answer choices; reading the other answer choices (distractors) before committing to a response can be confusing, especially when you're not very certain of your answer to start with. Of course, if you really have no idea what the question is getting at, reading the options first while using the process of elimination is often helpful.
Received my score on 1/21/2009.
Initial goal: 250+
Total prep time: 1000 hours.
IMG at an Australian medical school (UQ); MCAT=38
NBME 1: 258 (9 months out)
NBME 2: 261 (2 months out)
NBME 6: 262 (25 days out)
UW 1: 265+ (15 days out)
NBME 3: 265+ (8 days out)
NBME 4: 265+ (6 days out)
UW 2: 265+ (4 days out)
NBME 5: 265+ (2 days out)
USMLE CD: 96% (1 day out)
I did over 10000 USMLE-style practice exam questions in the following order:
USMLERx: 94%
Kaplan Qbank: 91%
First Aid Q&A step 1: 93%
UW: 88% (Random, unused, first time through)
Plus NBME + UW exams + USMLE CD + RR Goljan...
Prep material:
FA of course!! I read it cover-to-cover 3 times. However, I tend to cross-reference it when I read other books and I frequently consulted it during second year during PBL. I also annotated notes in FA when I did UW, so I was very familar with the content of this book. For every diagram/table/metabolic pathway in FA, I made sure that they were familiar to the point that I was able to to reproduce them from memory.
Anatomy: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, USMLE Road Map Anatomy, HY Neuroanatomy.
Behavioural science: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep.
Biochemistry: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep.
Cell biology: HY Cell and molecular biology.
Microbiology: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, Micro Made Ridiculously Simple, MicroCards.
Immunology: Kaplan notes & FA.
Pharmacology: Kaplan notes & Kaplan webprep, HY Pharm, Pharmacology Flash Cards (Brenner).
Physiology: Kaplan notes, BRS Physiology.
Pathology: BRS Pathology, Goljan audio, Goljan notes.
Preparation timeline:
Probably quite atypical compared to most US medical students. I initially intended to sit the exam at the beginning of third year, so I spent a month studying after second year was over. At the end of the month, I didn't feel quite ready and decided to postpone my exam till the end of third year, thinking that I would have plenty of time to study during the clinical rotations. Wrong. I only had some time during my rural rotation and psychiatry rotation to study for USMLE, but could only manage to do 1-2hr/day on weekdays and up to 8hr/day on weekends. At the end of third year, I spent a month studying hardcore again, and finally took the exam on the 26th of December. The Australian school year runs from January to November, by the way.
During second year - Read BRS Pathology and pretty much memorized the book. I love pathology so it wasn't really a daunting task for me. I also started listening to Goljan audios in first year and I was really glad that I started early. I finished Goljan audios at least three times, but I always felt that I learned something new each time.
December 2007 - Finished reading Kaplan notes (all subjects except Path) and Goljan notes for Path. 8-10hr/day. (300hr)
Jan - Nov 2008 - On and off. I did NBME1 in March and got 258(720) and was pretty happy that reading Kaplan notes paid off. However, I had only about 4 months during this time (rural and psych) where I could fit USMLE studying into my schedule, but could only manage to study about 25 hours a week. During this time, I read the supplementary material (HY, Road Map, flash cards), listened to Kaplan webprep while commuting, and did the majority of the practice questions. (400hr)
December 2008 - Did most of the NBMEs and UW assessment exams in this month. Completed UW question bank for the second time. Spent the last week just memorizing FA and doing practice questions. 8-10hr/day. (300hr)
Exam on 2008/12/26:
I started the exam at 8:30 and finished at 4:00 with 20 minutes of break time to spare. On average, I spent 45 minutes in each block and took a 20-minute break after each block (except the first block). During each break, I would drink 300mL of oolong tea or green tea to keep me awake, eat half a sandwich, go to the washroom, and wash my face so I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the next block. I thought the strategy worked quite well for me.
I thought the exam was quite a bit harder than NBME but easier than UW. It was probably comparable to UW self-assessment exams in terms of difficulty. I marked 6-7 questions each block. I thought 85% of the questions was straight-forward, 10% was tricky, and 5% was difficult.
Pathology: Not surprisingly the bulk of the exam. Around 70% of the questions were patholgy questions or required pathology integration. I thought UW covered these sorts of questions really well, so there weren't really any surprises for me. I only had around 5 questions that came with pictures of gross pathology specimens.
Anatomy/neuroanatomy: 15 questions. Most of them involved intepretation of X-rays/CT/MRIs, nothing too obscure. I even had brain CT and angiograms for structure identification. Make sure you know the brain stem and cranial nerves well.
Behavioral science: 20 questions. Half were biostatistics, and the other half were the typical "what would be the best action/response in this scenario" type of questions. I thought just reading FA or Kaplan notes was not really sufficient to answer these sorts of questions. I had almost no questions that came out of the psychiatry section in FA, except a few psychotropic medications and a question on defense mechanisms.
Biochemistry/Cell bio/Molecular bio: Geez, I noticed the trend of increasing proportions of cell biology questions in the NBME, but I never expected this many on my exam. I probably had 50 questions that fell into this category (Biochem/Cell bio). I was glad that I flipped through HY Cell and Molecular biology just a few days before the exam, because it probably helped me answer 5 questions correctly. The different kinds of receptors and intracellular signalling pathways are extremely high-yield. For metabolism, know the key regulatory enzymes and global control of metabolic processes (i.e. insulin vs glucagon's effects).
Pharmacology: Around 25 questions. Piece of cake compared to UW. I thought FA covers pharmacology in sufficient details. As usual, emphasis was placed on autonomic pharmacology and cardiovascular medications. I had quite a few questions on pharmacodynamics too.
Microbiology: 30 questions. Make sure you know the various bacterial exotoxins and their mechanisms of action. Quite a few questions involved TB and HIV. Even West Nile virus appeared on my exam.
Physiology: 30 questions. Most involved the up/down arrows and graph interpretation. Endocrine questions are high-yield too.
I walked out of the testing centre feeling quite confident I did pretty well. I was certain I broke 260, but wasn't too sure if I was able to get 270+. Got the score last Wedneday, 276/99! I didn't even know it was possible! Needless to say, I was ecstatic!!
============================
I've compiled a Q&A from the emails and PMs I've received since last Wednesday. I'd like to thank those who emailed or PMed me and also their permission to post their questions up. I hope this answers more questions regarding my exam preparation.
Learning Resources:
Q: What edition of Kaplan notes did you use, and did you use the accompanying videos?
A: I used Kaplan notes 2004 edition. I was running out of time toward the end of my preparation so I didn't use the videos.
Q: Did the Kaplan webprep audios make a big difference where the lecture notes are concerned?
A: I wouldn't say the webprep audios were essential, but they certainly helped solidify many important concepts, especially for biochem and pharm. If time is a factor for your preparation, I would suggest doing the webprep audios only after you finish reading the lecture notes.
Q: First Aid – how much does it cover?
A: FA covered about 80% of the material on my exam, so I would definitely recommend using it as the primary resource the week before the exam. I went over the rapid review section at the end of FA the night before the exam date, and I found it quite helpful as a last-minute review.
Q: Do you think the lecture notes for biochem are okay to use without the videos?
A: I think the lecture notes for biochem are adequate to be used on its own; I didn't use Kaplan videos so couldn't comment on them. However, I would highly recommend listening to webprep for biochem. Dr. Raymon is just simply amazing; he does an excellent job integrating pathology, pharm, and biochem. However, it is still of utmost importance to memorize all the tables/diagrams/metabolic pathways in the biochem section of FA. I think it really ties the information together nicely toward the end of the preparation.
Q: For Pharmacology, do you think studying FA is enough?
A: I think FA is enough for Pharm, provided that you know the mechanisms of the drugs well. I found it quite difficult to memorize the list of clinical uses and side effects without having a solid understanding of the mechanisms, so I chose to do Kaplan notes before tackling FA, and it certainly made those things easier to memorize.
Q: Did you like the Pharmacology flash cards you used or were they too detailed?
A: I liked the flash cards, they are handy to carry around if you want to study them on the bus or during a boring lecture. It can also be conveniently used to quiz yourself, with the drug's generic name and trade name on one side, and the list of drug class, mechanism, clinical uses, side effects, route of metabolism on the other side. I don't think they are overly detailed.
Q: Despite reading Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple over again, I am still missing tons of micro questions. I dont feel like there is anyway to "master" these questions cause they often test trivia that while I know I read, I just cant recall on the spot. Although, I do think my main problem here is focusing too much on MRS and not on FA.
A: I agree with you that using FA to supplement MRS would be very helpful. It's a good idea to start with MRS in the beginning of your preparation, but toward the end, the tables in MRS and the charts in FA are the way to go. A heavy amount of rote memorization is required to master Microbiology, that's for sure. I would encourage you to focus on the classifications and lab algorithms first before you start memorizing the rest of the minutiae. (Remember: Big pictures first!) The gram positive and negative lab algorithms in FA are gold. Pay close attention to the bacterial exotoxins as well, because they frequently appear on the exam. Make sure you know these like the back of your hand. For virology, use the mnemoics in Kaplan notes to remember the DNA, +RNA, and -RNA viruses.
Q: You mentioned that kaplan and FA were not enough for behavioural and biostat questions. Any suggestion what shall I go for to cover that?
A: A lot of my friends liked HY behavioural and biostats a lot, but I have only read the first few chapters of HY BS so I can't really comment on them. I didn't like Kaplan and FA because they focused too much on the psychiatric disorders, and not so much on the "best response/action" scenario type of questions. The practice questions from UW and NBME are very good though, and I would recommend doing as many questions like those as you can, so you're familiar with the concepts. Sorry to confuse you, but for biostats, I think FA is quite sufficient, but make sure you are comfortable doing those calculations and drawing those 2x2 tables. Doing lots of biostats questions will definitely help solidify the concepts.
Q: How much do you get through a day and how do you retain that information? One of my problems is that I get through maybe 30 pages of Kaplan Biochem notes a day, and at the end of the day, while I retain the information, I find that I really didnt learn that much. Furthermore more, I tend to forget things as I go. When I do questions later on on the same subject, I forgot much of what I learned maybe 2 weeks ago.
A: Don't worry too much about having to retain everything in Kaplan notes, it's impossible and often unnecessary to try to remember some of the details. I think the primary purpose of reading Kaplan notes is to help you understand FA later on so you can memorize the facts in FA with better ease. What types of questions are you getting wrong, are they questions that require straight fact-recall or ones that require you to apply a concept? If it's the former, I wouldn't worry too much about Kaplan notes and would probably spend more time studying FA instead; for the latter, you do have to make sure you comprehend the info in Kaplan notes before moving on to FA.
Another thing I found helpful was to read the corresponding section in FA after finishing a subject in Kaplan notes. It helps solidify information right away.
Q: How many pages of FA and kaplan notes can you get through in a day?
A: I set goals to get through 100 to 120 pages of Kaplan notes every day, at the speed of 12-15 pages per hour. It depends on the subject too; anatomy and biochem were slower, whereas physiology and pharm were faster because I had done BRS physiology and Pharmacology flash cards already. I could read around 60 - 80 pages of FA in a day toward the end of the preparation, but when I first started, it was painfully slow. I could remember spending an entire day just studying the embryology section, which was only a few pages long but very memory-intensive. But once you start remembering the mnemonics and are familiar with the content, the speed goes up quite quickly.
Question banks:
Q: Did you do questions after each subject during your initial read, or did you skip questions altogether until after you completed your first read?
A: Thanks for raising this point as I probably didn't make it very clear in my post. I started doing questions after reading all of Kaplan notes, BRS path and phys, Goljan notes, and most HY books that I mentioned. The only book that I was still reading after I started doing questions was FA.
Q: When you say you did 10000 questions, do you include the book questions or any other questions?
A: I only counted the questions in USMLE format.
UW (2000) + Kaplan practice tests (2000) + Kaplan Q-bank (2000) + FA Q&A (1000) + USMLERx (did ~2000) + NBME 1-6 (1200) + UW self-assessment 1&2 (400) + Goljan RR Path questions (100) = 10700
I didn't count BRS questions or questions in Kaplan notes because they were not always in board format.
Q: Did you do robbins review of path? Was USMLERX useful?
A: I didn't do Robbins, and I wouldn't recommend it either. USMLERx was okay in terms of helping me memorize some details that I wouldn't have paid attention to in FA, because this Q-bank is basically based on the material in FA.
Q: Would you say that a particular question bank or all the 3 question banks that you did do cover all the usmle questions (=subject matter) that you were asked?
A: I would say UW was the most high-yield of them all. USMLERx and Kaplan Q-bank have been known to test minutiae that are not necessarily high-yield info. These 3 question banks combined definitely covered more than any one of them alone. As I mentioned in my post, only 5% of questions on my exam were things I had never encountered before, so doing tons of questions was certainly helpful for me.
Q: I am dedicating a solid 8 hours everyday to question banks (I time myself), but my scores are not improving. What can I do?
A: I would recommend going over the explanations in more detail, making sure you really understand what the question is asking. Don't skip the explanation for questions you answered correctly; you can learn a lot by reading about why the other choices are wrong. It can take a very long time when you first start doing it this way, but after a while, if you learn from your mistakes, you will not get the same type of question wrong again. When I first started doing questions, it often took me 40 minutes to do 50 questions, but an hour to read the explanations and annotate notes into FA. However, I learned a lot from the explanations in UW, probably just as much as the questions themselves. It's easy to feel frustrated when you first start, but with time, I'm sure your accuracy rate will improve. Good luck.
Q: I am quite frustrated with questions that test minutia details, e.g. "Which of the following can be found in bacterial endospores?" (Answer is dipicolinic acid) I had never seen anything like that and I had to flip through pubmed to get the answer. Are these questions worth remembering?
A: I'm not trying to discourage you here; although dipicolinic acid is probably a trivia type question, it was actually mentioned twice in FA, so I'd actually still remember it. Sometimes the strategy is to eliminate the other answer choices if you couldn't recognize the right answer. For example, if other choices are peptidoglycan and mycolic acid, you know they just can't be right.
Q: What did you annotate into first aid? Only qbank questions? I find some of the Micro Qbank questions extremely tedious and testing pHD like material. How can I tell if its important? Or is it all completely important?
A: I only annotate information that I consider "high-yield". As you do more questions, you'll soon know what types of questions tend to show up over and over again; these are the ones that are high-yield.
Take Micro for example, they often give you a clinical presentation of an infectious disease, then ask you for the most appropriate antibiotics. These require a two-step process (Presentation - Bug - Antibiotics), and are guaranteed to be on exam. If they want to be mean, they can ask you about the side effect of the most common antibiotics used. These questions require a three-step process (Presentation - Bug - Antibiotics - Side effects), and are less common than the type of questions above. Things that aid in the laboratory diagnosis or things that have to do with treatment (for example, HIV gene products and antiviral drugs that target these products) are also extremely high-yield. Ignore the weird trivia type of questions that have no clinical correlation.
I agree that Micro Qbank questions can sometimes be a bit annoying, but that doesn't mean the real exam is like that. I found that FA covers > 90% of the Micro questions on my exam, so make sure you know FA well and don't get too discouraged by the low-yield questions.
Q: About doing usmleworld 2X: did you find that helpful even though you already did the same questions once?
A: I did UW again one month apart. I don't think there's much benefit doing it again right after you finish it first time through, but a month gives you enough time to test if you really understand the materials tested, and not because you memorized the questions and answers. For me, the second time helped me increase my speed as I was more comfortable dealing with long question stems (but that could be an effect of having seen the questions before as well).
Q: When should I do UW again?
A: I would recommend doing UW again as close to the exam date as possible, while still giving yourself enough time to go over FA again and do the rest of the NBME forms. I went through UW the second time 3 weeks before my exam; I did 350 questions every day to simulate the exam length and build up my stamina. When I finished, I still had 2 weeks left to review the material that I mentioned above.
Q: When did you really start feeling comfortable with the material?
A: I probably started feeling comfortable with the material after I finished Kaplan notes and had done 2000+ questions. By that time, I knew my strengths and weaknesses and knew what to focus on in order to get the most out of the review process. For example, after doing some questions, I realized I had a lot of trouble with neuroanatomy, and so did HY neuroanatomy for 2 weeks, which seemed to effectively remedy the problem. Besides, as you do more questions, you soon realize the amount of information that FA actually covers. The questions also help you remember the material in FA more easily.
Q: Any advice on test-taking strategies?
A: One thing I found really useful from doing tons of questions is that on the real exam, I could often read the question stem and predict what type of question they were going to throw at me. I would also recommend coming up with your own answer in your head before you look at the answer choices; reading the other answer choices (distractors) before committing to a response can be confusing, especially when you're not very certain of your answer to start with. Of course, if you really have no idea what the question is getting at, reading the options first while using the process of elimination is often helpful.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Prepare USMLE step1 with a balanced life
I am inspired by a lot moms including the following one.
This story is cited from http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/MedicalCareer/31184094.html
I think she is right. We need a balanced life when we prepare USMLE. Otherwise it is going to be tougher, when we do residency.
Sorry, I can't type Chinese here. I got the OK score, not the dream 99. But
I'm happy.
Prepare time: 1 year (full time work with a two-year old boy, 2-3hr weekday,
no study on weekend, I gave weekends to my boy, took off 5 weeks before
test)
Score/date: 223/93 3/28/2008
UW: 6 months, 50-70%, average 60%
Books: Because I'm old graduate (>10year) I went over some text books for
better understanding and detail. Not just for the exam, I think that will
help me in future medical practice.
Katzung and Trevor's Pharmacology: Examination and Board Review: a lot of
detail. I like this book because it gives good physiology and phathology
background.
Lippincott's Illustrated reviews: Biochemistry Good book if you hate
biochemisty when you were in school. Good illustration for genetic disease.
Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease read once at the begining
with BRS pathology. Not neccessary for the test. But again for me, an old
graduate, it helped me to remember things with good background information
and gave me confidency somehow.
BRS and Goljan pathology: BRS 1time Goljan 2 times. I did the second time
along with UW, FA. I liked that combination.
Kplan notes: only for neuroanatomy, biostatistcs and behavior. As an old
graduate, I started with Kplan and found out it's so dry and boring to
remember. That's one reason I went to textbooks for pharmacolloy and
pathology and biochemistry.
Mirobiology: Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple: great book
Immunology: FA and UW. All things mentioned in FA I went to the chapters in
Janeway's 'Immunobiology'. Again, the textbook helped me to remember those
dry and boring test points.
NBME form1:490 (1month ago)
form4: 510(4days ago)
Lessons: Should do th FA+UW+Goljan combantion earlier. I only did that in
last 5 weeksand found myself a little short of time. But I didn't pospone
the test because I felt myself in deep anxiety, just wanted to end it soon.
Do NBME early and should downloaded them. The online paid one is good to
do the evaluation and let me where's the weak point. The downloaded should
be used to review. I got several exactly same questions during the real
test.
Feelings after test. UW is the must. Do every question and truly
understand what it ask. That's enough for the test. Sure you will get some
questions from nowhere. Oh, bother, stick the basic. For many moms doing
the test, don't give away all your life to the test. I thought that before
. And I figure out that if I cann't handle work, exam and family at same
time now I won't survive the residency year in the future. Spend time with
your family and your baby, keep good communication with your spouse. Even
if he is very surppotive, he still has his needs and thoughts. When you
are with your family, don't think your test. When my son was just one
year old, he can tell if I was concentrated on him or not. If my thoughts
went away or I wanted to read when he was playing, he would be whining
more and ask more time or even threw away whatever I was reading. If I was
truly involved in playing with him, he would actually be reasonalble and
need less time and both of us would be happy. I would be less stress and
have better efficiency in study. Don't ignor the brain power of a infant
or toddler. That little brain actually works.:) If you have an easy baby,
lucky you. That's not the case for me. That's why I gave all weekends to
him, took him to gymboree class, park, playground, zoo....Kid's happiness
is so simple and pure, why not let them have it when they can. I would say
that we can not compare the happiness of getting 99 in usmle with that in a
toddler's smile. For those who don't have kid, try to finish the test
before they come. Kid are amazing creatures. They give you endless love,
joy and WORKS.
Good luck for everyone! Thanks for everyone posted here. I've been silient
from the beginning. I got a lot of good information from here. I'm moving
to the step 2.
This story is cited from http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/MedicalCareer/31184094.html
I think she is right. We need a balanced life when we prepare USMLE. Otherwise it is going to be tougher, when we do residency.
Sorry, I can't type Chinese here. I got the OK score, not the dream 99. But
I'm happy.
Prepare time: 1 year (full time work with a two-year old boy, 2-3hr weekday,
no study on weekend, I gave weekends to my boy, took off 5 weeks before
test)
Score/date: 223/93 3/28/2008
UW: 6 months, 50-70%, average 60%
Books: Because I'm old graduate (>10year) I went over some text books for
better understanding and detail. Not just for the exam, I think that will
help me in future medical practice.
Katzung and Trevor's Pharmacology: Examination and Board Review: a lot of
detail. I like this book because it gives good physiology and phathology
background.
Lippincott's Illustrated reviews: Biochemistry Good book if you hate
biochemisty when you were in school. Good illustration for genetic disease.
Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease read once at the begining
with BRS pathology. Not neccessary for the test. But again for me, an old
graduate, it helped me to remember things with good background information
and gave me confidency somehow.
BRS and Goljan pathology: BRS 1time Goljan 2 times. I did the second time
along with UW, FA. I liked that combination.
Kplan notes: only for neuroanatomy, biostatistcs and behavior. As an old
graduate, I started with Kplan and found out it's so dry and boring to
remember. That's one reason I went to textbooks for pharmacolloy and
pathology and biochemistry.
Mirobiology: Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple: great book
Immunology: FA and UW. All things mentioned in FA I went to the chapters in
Janeway's 'Immunobiology'. Again, the textbook helped me to remember those
dry and boring test points.
NBME form1:490 (1month ago)
form4: 510(4days ago)
Lessons: Should do th FA+UW+Goljan combantion earlier. I only did that in
last 5 weeksand found myself a little short of time. But I didn't pospone
the test because I felt myself in deep anxiety, just wanted to end it soon.
Do NBME early and should downloaded them. The online paid one is good to
do the evaluation and let me where's the weak point. The downloaded should
be used to review. I got several exactly same questions during the real
test.
Feelings after test. UW is the must. Do every question and truly
understand what it ask. That's enough for the test. Sure you will get some
questions from nowhere. Oh, bother, stick the basic. For many moms doing
the test, don't give away all your life to the test. I thought that before
. And I figure out that if I cann't handle work, exam and family at same
time now I won't survive the residency year in the future. Spend time with
your family and your baby, keep good communication with your spouse. Even
if he is very surppotive, he still has his needs and thoughts. When you
are with your family, don't think your test. When my son was just one
year old, he can tell if I was concentrated on him or not. If my thoughts
went away or I wanted to read when he was playing, he would be whining
more and ask more time or even threw away whatever I was reading. If I was
truly involved in playing with him, he would actually be reasonalble and
need less time and both of us would be happy. I would be less stress and
have better efficiency in study. Don't ignor the brain power of a infant
or toddler. That little brain actually works.:) If you have an easy baby,
lucky you. That's not the case for me. That's why I gave all weekends to
him, took him to gymboree class, park, playground, zoo....Kid's happiness
is so simple and pure, why not let them have it when they can. I would say
that we can not compare the happiness of getting 99 in usmle with that in a
toddler's smile. For those who don't have kid, try to finish the test
before they come. Kid are amazing creatures. They give you endless love,
joy and WORKS.
Good luck for everyone! Thanks for everyone posted here. I've been silient
from the beginning. I got a lot of good information from here. I'm moving
to the step 2.
How to get Kaplan Qbank and Usmle world Qbank
文章来源:
http://www.gxfw.com/viewthread.php?tid=98796&extra=&page=4
考试复习资料可以在电驴上找到
http://lib.verycd.com/2007/01/01/0000133963.html
我和老婆都是湘雅98级的现在，在seattle正准备step one！
希望多多湘雅的同学走出来！
关于考试资料step one的王道是（个人看了大量前人经验，及阿三论坛後总结）：
Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid （一般要看4偏）
外加题库（总计4000+）
Kaplan Qbank+Usmel World Qbank
这样一般人，能step one 90左右，满足做为IMG去match才不会处于下风。
Step two同样。。。
关于Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid资料，Emule上全都有，你只要在下载安装emule后在搜索里面找就能找到。
另外，如果你经济有问题可以在ebay上买到阿三们刻录的DVD
一般包括Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid
题库（总计4000+）
Kaplan Qbank+Usmel World Qbank
D版的就不行了，自由老实买了（国内信用卡是可以用的）
http://www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/Ar ... E_step1_qbank1.html
http://www.usmleworld.com/step1QbankMain.asp
http://www.gxfw.com/viewthread.php?tid=98796&extra=&page=4
考试复习资料可以在电驴上找到
http://lib.verycd.com/2007/01/01/0000133963.html
我和老婆都是湘雅98级的现在，在seattle正准备step one！
希望多多湘雅的同学走出来！
关于考试资料step one的王道是（个人看了大量前人经验，及阿三论坛後总结）：
Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid （一般要看4偏）
外加题库（总计4000+）
Kaplan Qbank+Usmel World Qbank
这样一般人，能step one 90左右，满足做为IMG去match才不会处于下风。
Step two同样。。。
关于Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid资料，Emule上全都有，你只要在下载安装emule后在搜索里面找就能找到。
另外，如果你经济有问题可以在ebay上买到阿三们刻录的DVD
一般包括Kaplan Lecture notes + first Aid
题库（总计4000+）
Kaplan Qbank+Usmel World Qbank
D版的就不行了，自由老实买了（国内信用卡是可以用的）
http://www.kaptest.com/Kaplan/Ar ... E_step1_qbank1.html
http://www.usmleworld.com/step1QbankMain.asp
ECFMG for beginners
文摘引自:http://blog.wenxuecity.com/blogview.php?date=200902&postID=46360
新手入门第一课必读: |
| [打印] |
How to prepare USMLE step1--1
自己从医学院毕业也快十年了.虽然不学临床,但拿的的确是医学学士学位.
因为对现状不满,希望改变,所以才起了考BOARD的想法.生活不能按步就班,否则我也不会到这里.
有奋斗才有收获.目前,决心已定,顿觉心里豁然开朗.如果,只有一条路,就拼了.如果没有路,就自己走出一条路.
第一步先收集一些考试资料.看看自己在知识上离考试还有多远.
第二步要报名.确认的确可以考,心里踏实.
第三步要努力读书.贯彻到每一天,这样日子才不会痛苦.
下面是我收集来的别人的考试经验,我觉得很有价值,就收录了.
文章来源:http://www.gxfw.com/viewthread.php?tid=98796&extra=&page=4
做点贡献，我考医生执照用过的参考书(step 1) 2006-06-10 23:23:44
写在前面
在考试的时候，尤其是开始准备的时候，没有什么信息，所以走了不少弯路，买了不少没用的书，作了不少没用的题，花了不少宝贵的时间，所以想总结一下，为以后的同学们铺垫一下，也算我没有白白花了这些钱，呵呵。列的书目，是按照重要程度罗列的。
我建议同学们买当年最新版的First Aid，因为这本书的重要性太显著了。其他的书都是在ebay上拍的二手书，价钱便宜很多。
另外我不建议同学们去买刻在CD上的kaplan notes，或者网上所谓破译的qbank题库，看起来一点感觉也没有，不利于学习和记忆。这个钱是不能省的。
1. First Aid，这本书是USMLE考试的圣经，每个要去考试的同学，手头上都应该有一本。书里不光提供了考试的纲要重点（有些记忆方法真的是很实用），而且介绍 了整个考试的过程，细节非常详尽，甚至提到了考试当天吃东西的注意点，呵呵。仔细看一遍，对于后面的计划，安排都会有很大的帮助。考试前最后一到两周，可 以把这本书的知识点再浏览一遍。
2. Kaplan notes (Anatomy, Behavioral Science, Biochemistry, MicroBiolog/ Immunology, Pharmacology, Pathology,Physiology)，一共七本，一般买的时候会附送一本qbook，850个问题。这套书一般是外国学生的必备，覆盖了考试的基 本知识点，条理清晰，容易阅读。是kaplan上课的时候的教材，所以不公开出售，一般都是在ebay上买used books，很多是全新的翻印版，一般价格在450元左右。同学们如果看书比较爱护的话，还可以在考试以后再卖掉。
kaplan官方网站出售的一种四本一套的，好像叫做home study，内容简单一些，用的人不是很多，反响也不好，不推荐。
有了上面这套notes，其实已经很够了，单就这套书未必还能背下来呢。但是网上经常说只看kaplan不会超过85分，我心里很忐忑，所以又照着first aid后面的评级陆续购买了一些其他的书，大多数钱是冤枉花掉的，买个心安吧。
3. Qbank: 在Kaplan官方网站上定购，2000道左右的题目，从简到难各种层次都有，是step1最经典的练习题，建议在最后两道三个月做，然 后重复做一遍，考前一个星期，再把错的题目看一遍。不要因为作的时候分数不好而沮丧，这个题目和真正考题还是有区别的，只是用来巩固知识点的，不是用来模 拟测验的。
4. NBME: 这个是最接近真实成绩的模拟考试，网上可以购买，有两个form，考前一个月做一个，可以大致知道自己的实力，和我的真实成绩确实很接近。我没有胆量在考试前一个礼拜做，怕万一做得不好，呵呵。
5. Robbins Pathology： 1100个问题。我非常喜欢这本书，有质量很好的彩色插图，讲解也很精彩，有的时候很幽默。题目几乎覆盖了pathology所有的方面，还联系到了生 化，遗传，微生物等。在step1中，pathology的重要性非常突出，所以这本书对于提高成绩，全面知识，起到了很好的作用。就是非常耗时间，比实 际考试要求要高，好几次几乎放弃，呵呵。
6. WebPath: step1 非常注重考察对于图片的诊断能力，所以光看kaplan notes在这方面是有欠缺的，webpath是一个网站专门提供各种病理切片，包括一些正常解剖图片和微生物图片。
7.BRS pathology: Yes, pathology again! 病理是step 1的兵家重地，怎么样学习都不过分。kaplan的病理条理清晰，便于记忆，但是展开得不够，所以可以用比较罗索细节的BRS做一下补充，这本书的呼声很 高，其实我觉得没怎么好，所以只是用作back up.
8. Appleton @ Lange's Review: 1200个问题。这是我做的第一本练习集，错的一塌糊涂，呵呵，后来第二遍再做，还是错的很厉害，非常挫伤自尊心，对自己有信心的同 学，有时间的话不妨试试看。个人觉得这本书覆盖的知识点很细腻，一些容易被忽略的但是重要的东西，会被提醒到。
9. NMS, 这本书非常不推荐，主要是格式和正式考试完全不同，问的问题也很奇怪冷僻，做起来就是浪费时间，答案很啰嗦。但是配合本书的电脑考试软件还是不错的，大约 1000个问题。界面很舒服，题目也比较临床，灵活，我一般在吃早饭，午餐休息的时候，打开笔记本做一个block，感觉比较轻松。
10. Board simulator Series on CD-ROM： 和ＮＭＳ一样，纯粹作为放松联系，还是不错的。770个问题。
11. High Yield 系列： 因为First Aid评价很好，而且因为kaplan在Embryology上的讲解很松散，所以买了这一本，还翻过朋友的Gross Anatomy，很精简，读起来比较有成就感，插图比较粗糙。Embryology在真实考试中所占比例非常小，而且问到了，一般也答不上来，因为肯定要 忘记的，所以不用花很多功夫，只要在几种常见的先天畸形的演化上理解吃透就好了。这个系列其他的书，我觉得如果有了kaplan notes就没有必要买，如果没有notes，光看这个是肯定不够的。
12.Underground Clinical Vignettes: 这套书也是因为FA反复推荐，后来发现编者是同一个人，呵呵，过分。不是题目，是一个个案例，非常浅显，一般看过书以后都能知道，真实考试不会这么简单 的。我买了以后很后悔，全新的又再卖出去了，还赚了几块钱，嘻嘻。
13. REA: 一个朋友送的，所以看了看，非常落伍的题目，不推荐。
加起来的话，我大概一共做了5000道左右的习题。记得刚开始复习的时候，网上说做到8000以上的习题，95以上就没问题了。我自己的感觉是，习题不在量多，而是要记住，我情愿把一本书做两遍，也不愿意把两本书各作一遍。如果不能真正巩固知识，追求数量，是没有意义的。
补充
有朋友提到了Goljian notes，我有他的讲课mp3，在走路去学校，或者去买东西的时候，还有晚上睡觉前听。说实话，听的时候可能觉得很有意思，听过之后也就忘记了，就当作 补充，调剂可以，千万不要专门花时间去弄这个，看kaplan notes最重要。但是他有一套自我测试题，180道的，可以做做，还是不错的。
Good luck to everyone!
因为对现状不满,希望改变,所以才起了考BOARD的想法.生活不能按步就班,否则我也不会到这里.
有奋斗才有收获.目前,决心已定,顿觉心里豁然开朗.如果,只有一条路,就拼了.如果没有路,就自己走出一条路.
第一步先收集一些考试资料.看看自己在知识上离考试还有多远.
第二步要报名.确认的确可以考,心里踏实.
第三步要努力读书.贯彻到每一天,这样日子才不会痛苦.
下面是我收集来的别人的考试经验,我觉得很有价值,就收录了.
文章来源:http://www.gxfw.com/viewthread.php?tid=98796&extra=&page=4
做点贡献，我考医生执照用过的参考书(step 1) 2006-06-10 23:23:44
写在前面
在考试的时候，尤其是开始准备的时候，没有什么信息，所以走了不少弯路，买了不少没用的书，作了不少没用的题，花了不少宝贵的时间，所以想总结一下，为以后的同学们铺垫一下，也算我没有白白花了这些钱，呵呵。列的书目，是按照重要程度罗列的。
我建议同学们买当年最新版的First Aid，因为这本书的重要性太显著了。其他的书都是在ebay上拍的二手书，价钱便宜很多。
另外我不建议同学们去买刻在CD上的kaplan notes，或者网上所谓破译的qbank题库，看起来一点感觉也没有，不利于学习和记忆。这个钱是不能省的。
1. First Aid，这本书是USMLE考试的圣经，每个要去考试的同学，手头上都应该有一本。书里不光提供了考试的纲要重点（有些记忆方法真的是很实用），而且介绍 了整个考试的过程，细节非常详尽，甚至提到了考试当天吃东西的注意点，呵呵。仔细看一遍，对于后面的计划，安排都会有很大的帮助。考试前最后一到两周，可 以把这本书的知识点再浏览一遍。
2. Kaplan notes (Anatomy, Behavioral Science, Biochemistry, MicroBiolog/ Immunology, Pharmacology, Pathology,Physiology)，一共七本，一般买的时候会附送一本qbook，850个问题。这套书一般是外国学生的必备，覆盖了考试的基 本知识点，条理清晰，容易阅读。是kaplan上课的时候的教材，所以不公开出售，一般都是在ebay上买used books，很多是全新的翻印版，一般价格在450元左右。同学们如果看书比较爱护的话，还可以在考试以后再卖掉。
kaplan官方网站出售的一种四本一套的，好像叫做home study，内容简单一些，用的人不是很多，反响也不好，不推荐。
有了上面这套notes，其实已经很够了，单就这套书未必还能背下来呢。但是网上经常说只看kaplan不会超过85分，我心里很忐忑，所以又照着first aid后面的评级陆续购买了一些其他的书，大多数钱是冤枉花掉的，买个心安吧。
3. Qbank: 在Kaplan官方网站上定购，2000道左右的题目，从简到难各种层次都有，是step1最经典的练习题，建议在最后两道三个月做，然 后重复做一遍，考前一个星期，再把错的题目看一遍。不要因为作的时候分数不好而沮丧，这个题目和真正考题还是有区别的，只是用来巩固知识点的，不是用来模 拟测验的。
4. NBME: 这个是最接近真实成绩的模拟考试，网上可以购买，有两个form，考前一个月做一个，可以大致知道自己的实力，和我的真实成绩确实很接近。我没有胆量在考试前一个礼拜做，怕万一做得不好，呵呵。
5. Robbins Pathology： 1100个问题。我非常喜欢这本书，有质量很好的彩色插图，讲解也很精彩，有的时候很幽默。题目几乎覆盖了pathology所有的方面，还联系到了生 化，遗传，微生物等。在step1中，pathology的重要性非常突出，所以这本书对于提高成绩，全面知识，起到了很好的作用。就是非常耗时间，比实 际考试要求要高，好几次几乎放弃，呵呵。
6. WebPath: step1 非常注重考察对于图片的诊断能力，所以光看kaplan notes在这方面是有欠缺的，webpath是一个网站专门提供各种病理切片，包括一些正常解剖图片和微生物图片。
7.BRS pathology: Yes, pathology again! 病理是step 1的兵家重地，怎么样学习都不过分。kaplan的病理条理清晰，便于记忆，但是展开得不够，所以可以用比较罗索细节的BRS做一下补充，这本书的呼声很 高，其实我觉得没怎么好，所以只是用作back up.
8. Appleton @ Lange's Review: 1200个问题。这是我做的第一本练习集，错的一塌糊涂，呵呵，后来第二遍再做，还是错的很厉害，非常挫伤自尊心，对自己有信心的同 学，有时间的话不妨试试看。个人觉得这本书覆盖的知识点很细腻，一些容易被忽略的但是重要的东西，会被提醒到。
9. NMS, 这本书非常不推荐，主要是格式和正式考试完全不同，问的问题也很奇怪冷僻，做起来就是浪费时间，答案很啰嗦。但是配合本书的电脑考试软件还是不错的，大约 1000个问题。界面很舒服，题目也比较临床，灵活，我一般在吃早饭，午餐休息的时候，打开笔记本做一个block，感觉比较轻松。
10. Board simulator Series on CD-ROM： 和ＮＭＳ一样，纯粹作为放松联系，还是不错的。770个问题。
11. High Yield 系列： 因为First Aid评价很好，而且因为kaplan在Embryology上的讲解很松散，所以买了这一本，还翻过朋友的Gross Anatomy，很精简，读起来比较有成就感，插图比较粗糙。Embryology在真实考试中所占比例非常小，而且问到了，一般也答不上来，因为肯定要 忘记的，所以不用花很多功夫，只要在几种常见的先天畸形的演化上理解吃透就好了。这个系列其他的书，我觉得如果有了kaplan notes就没有必要买，如果没有notes，光看这个是肯定不够的。
12.Underground Clinical Vignettes: 这套书也是因为FA反复推荐，后来发现编者是同一个人，呵呵，过分。不是题目，是一个个案例，非常浅显，一般看过书以后都能知道，真实考试不会这么简单 的。我买了以后很后悔，全新的又再卖出去了，还赚了几块钱，嘻嘻。
13. REA: 一个朋友送的，所以看了看，非常落伍的题目，不推荐。
加起来的话，我大概一共做了5000道左右的习题。记得刚开始复习的时候，网上说做到8000以上的习题，95以上就没问题了。我自己的感觉是，习题不在量多，而是要记住，我情愿把一本书做两遍，也不愿意把两本书各作一遍。如果不能真正巩固知识，追求数量，是没有意义的。
补充
有朋友提到了Goljian notes，我有他的讲课mp3，在走路去学校，或者去买东西的时候，还有晚上睡觉前听。说实话，听的时候可能觉得很有意思，听过之后也就忘记了，就当作 补充，调剂可以，千万不要专门花时间去弄这个，看kaplan notes最重要。但是他有一套自我测试题，180道的，可以做做，还是不错的。
Good luck to everyone!
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