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student , HU ,Jordan
Target : >260
Score:265 all glory to Allah
Exam date : 8/28/2017
Performance :
Preparation time :10 months (14 months with 4 month break (finals,
minors, travels, depression episodes :p)
though….inside the exam I realized that my preparation bagan the day I
started medical school….believe me or not ,I had an epidemiology
question from first year’s economics slides :p .. butterfly effect applies
perfectly here :p
when to start dedicated study ?
4th year was perfect for me … there is an outstanding similarity
between step1 and forth year subjects …I studied the last20 days of the
year (finals ) ,some minors , couple of days before each OSCE and had
almost the same GPA as previous years!
important point :try not to skip a single day in the hospital training …
step1 is a basic science exam …but it’s based on clinical vignettes…. You
don’t have to STUDY 4th year subjects (that’s a step2 issue)….yet,you
have to LIVE them and to build a clinical SENSE out of the (I think same
applies for 5th year )
“it’s all about FA and UW “ FACT or MYTH ?
Although I used to say that as an advice to everyone around me during
my preparation, I apologize … turned out to be a myth :p
In my opinion , step1 is never about knowledge ,it’s all about
REASONING ….REASONING…REASONING …. Can’t stress that enough
Dealing with ideas you’ve never heard of is the most important part of
a high score
The resource that can induce your frustration and curiosity the most is
certainly the best… which would be a Q bank almost a 100% of the
times:p
Knowledge can play a role during basic years… when it is stepwise …
but during your dedicated study period, books are usually useless!
UW can be a great source if used smartly ,
FA? Well, it’s important to start FA early on as it makes an organized
study frame … but I can hardly remember a single question in the exam
where I had to remember what’s written in pageX chapterY in FA !
Best thing I did ? starting UW too early (even before FA!)
Molecular biology :
This was a really tough and high yield topic
I think the best approach is to try challenging yourself with as much
molecular biology questions as possible ... Uw , kaplan ,NBMEs , Rx ...
Then try to study the detailed explannation of each choice ...trying to
understand what's going on in the question writer mind
Also understanding the detailed genetics behind neoplasia section in
first aid is pretty helpful .... The mutations page in particular ... You
should look up for the detailed pathway downstream or upstream from
the corresponding mutation ... Not just the mutation itself ..
most of the questions in the exam were experimental in nature .. i
answered them by exclusion rather than knowledge ...
Anatomy :
Kaplan2014 (gold for neuro) + shelf notes + FA + uworld
The exam was from none of these ... yet it was doable .... i
remembered a lot of ideas from dr.raith second and third year lectures
.. i owe him a lot here
(p.s. i thought before the exam that i have forgotten every single word
i learnt from the slides of second and third year ... but the adrenaline
rush inside the exam was able to boost my memory in a way that i
couldn't believe ... all glory to god…. So just believe in your brain under
stress :p
Second read:
1/1/2017-1/6/2017 (lots of interruptions here)
Nothing new ... basically FA and UW review .... with annotations of FA
with UW ideas (key but time consuming) , also i did 2/3 of usmle RX
offline (useless )
2 important issues here :
1- Spaced repetition(google it) : the second read consisted of 2-3 reads
by this method ... which helped me alot memorizing FA word by word
2- use things that keep your mode up because much of your time will
be on FA which is so boring ... i tried DIT videos ..they were time
consuming and boring as well ... at the end loud music worked best
(special thanks to Witney Housten , Melhem Barakat ,Dalida and Zeyad
Rahbani here )
Third read :
FA ,kaplan Qbank (nice but not that important ) i would recommend it
over Rx as it has some new ideas
Mom<3 ... i know i could have never performed like that without your
prayers supporting me all through the way ... and i wouldn't be in
medical school in the first place without your kind hands holding the
pencil for me when i was too lazy to write the alphabet myself... i have
the best mom in the world .. thanks widoo
saga ... well, that is the most strange delema in my life :p ... i have no
idea what good things I did in my life that she is still tolerating me as
the worst friend of her lifetime .... thank you so much Saga .. i couldn't
be there without you supporting me day by day by different scientific,
emotional , nutritional and logestic means ... sometimes I feel like you
desrve to be called Mama Saga
I love you more than words can describe
Heba and Marwa ... my year at the library wouldn't have been like that
without both of you ...
Heba ... the most kind and Deep heart of all times ... you and your
"maftool" tabarwers are so precious to me ….wish you a life that is as
pure as your heart <3
Marwa the person i have to talk to every time i decide to do a crazy
step in my life :p .. words cannot describe how beautiful you're inside
out
🤓My Bro ( khalood) ... you did a perfect job being jealous of me .. you
believed in me more than i did saying "٢٧٠ "كذابة من يوم يومك بكرة بتجيبي
every time i said that i am late or i will do bad
I'm perfectly in love with all your perfect imperfections khaloody
Lamees the study partner of NBMEs and last month disasters ... i wish i
have known you for longer Lamees ...one of the kindest and most
clever people i've ever met
4th clinical group (Saga , heba , ebtehal , haifa , mohammad , abd ,
ashraf and ahmad ) thanks for tolerating my anxious mode the whole
year ... it have been a great year with you all
Good luck