From January 4th to March 14th of 2007, I wrote about the process of preparing for and taking the USMLE Step 1. This is a list of topics that I have covered so far in the order in which they should be read.
I have cobbled together the best of my advice into a 6-week guide for the Boards. Expand or contract according to your whim. – updated 3/27/07
Corrections/Suggestions: First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (2007)
- General Topics
- Know Your Enemy
- Statement of Goals
- How Early Should I Start?
- Choosing Review Books
- Why You Don’t Need a Kaplan Course
- Setting a Schedule
- What Did You Do Each Day?
- Which QBank is the Best?
- Handling the Volume
- Taking a Break
- Medical Student’s Law
- Desperation, In a Rut
- Antiarrhythmials
- What Brings You Here Today?
- Operation: Urgent Knowledge
- The Unexpected Suck of the Last Week
- Subject Specific
- What Are They Teaching Me? (Behavioral)
- Biostatistics
- Learning from Mistakes (Recap of Biostats, Behav, Biochem, Path, Pharm and Micro)
- Cardiovascular System
- After the Exam
- Post Coitus
- Dopamine
- WOO HOO! (my score)
- Embarrassment of Riches (my transfer to the US)
- Post Coitus
- Errors in Review Books
February 5, 2007 at 2:07 am
[...] USMLE Step 1 [...]
February 5, 2007 at 2:19 am
[...] USMLE Step 1 [...]
February 5, 2007 at 2:25 am
[...] USMLE Step 1 [...]
February 5, 2007 at 2:27 am
[...] USMLE Step 1 [...]
April 5, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Hey Topher:
Cool website. I found the link at the bottom of the USMLE guide you wrote that I just got done reading. The advice you gave, I think, will be very helpful to those following us. Just wanted to say whats up and nice work on this site.
April 15, 2007 at 5:44 pm
hi topher,
i find your web site very interesting and useful,because i have to take my exam before sept. 07 and i didnt know where to start…….but i have a question,related to your schedule……you studied from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm,reviewing the material for the step and i was wondering when did you start doing the UW qbank,for how long (1mo or more),and how much time do your spend reviewing the answers that doesn’t interrupt studiyng schedule?
April 16, 2007 at 3:49 am
I didn’t sleep much. 8:30-5:30pm were half days, but towards the end those grew to 8:30-9pm. I would come home and relax for an hour before doing questions until 1 or 2am. I went through all the UW questions for a section, marked the interesting ones that taught me something new or had a good table, and then went through them again, copying the material into my FA binder. Burnout potential was high, so I had to take three or four days completely off while I was preparing. It worked out though, and I’d probably do it over again. Thank god I only have to do it once though.
April 18, 2007 at 4:12 am
Hi Topher…
your webiste is SO informative! I have your errors in first aid page open in front of me as I’m stuying… :-)
I had a quick question for you (sorry to be a complete stranger asking for advice, but you seem to have an incredible handle on the material and USMLE prep in general…). I’m taking step 1 in 5 weeks, and I’m about 5 days into my studying… I’m working my rear end off here, but I can’t seem to retain anything! I’ll spend days going over pathways, bacteria, drugs, etc etc… but then when I go to do questions all I get is “I know I learned this, but I can’t remember what the answer is…” It’s one thing to understand the concepts, but God help me, I can’t seem to keep all these lists of things in my head for very long…
Did you have this experience? Does it just get easier as time goes on? I feel like I’m on such a tight schedule, I can’t spend extra time reviewing things when I need to learn something new… but I can’t imagine remembering all of this come test day…
May 28, 2007 at 12:54 am
Hi Topher. Great site. Thanks for doing this. I have a question. You mentioned that BRS Physio was weak or lacking in a few areas. Besides the Cardiovascular site of R. E. Klabunde, what other weak areas are there in BRS Physio, and what sources do you recommend to supplement it? Thanks for your time, and congratulations on your high score. Doug
July 24, 2007 at 8:36 am
Whatever happens–DO NOT DISCONTINUE YOUR BLOGS, either here at RWT or at Student Doctor.net…you GUIDE the rest of us in the FMG world soooooooooo well, and are funny, and RE-energize us when we get unmotivated, or have to deal with our non-American style of teaching here in Prague….please, please, please keep journalling….our sanity, and our student-debt loads and time is critically challenged, so we need you man. You will be one hell of a doctor—please “bring us on board” with you, so that we can always “put things in persepctive” and make sense out of things, being disciplined and flexible along the way (boards, residency, state licensure). If you change blog accounts…please tell us!
January 9, 2008 at 1:46 am
Hi Topher,ur words are really great and motivating,esp when we are losing our minds!!!! Its good to know there are people out here that go through what we do
April 14, 2008 at 5:03 am
[...] Rumors Were True [...]
May 2, 2008 at 1:54 am
hey,
i read the you did usmle world! did u like it? I am doing horribly on it and i am wondering how that will reflect my step score
June 21, 2008 at 2:04 pm
[...] medical student blogger that i have come to really enjoy over the years. he is infamous for his USMLE Step 1 study guide and is a bit of a Cinderella story because he (worked his butt off and) managed to transfer from a [...]
July 9, 2008 at 9:45 pm
[...] is a link to a St. George grad who made 99% and gave a step by step breakdown of his study method. USMLE Step 1 the rumors were true So far the best advice I have received was to study accordingly and then take an NBME self [...]
October 24, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Hi webmaster!
November 13, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Is this guide useful for IMG, I´m a medical doctor from Coombia South America, and I´m preparing for the USMLE STEP 1, but the preparation course with Kaplan costs US3000.
thanks
February 4, 2009 at 11:41 am
I don’t suppose you have a suggested schedule for someone who is working 9-5 m-f?? I am similar to you in that I don’t learn by listening, just have to read and make notes.
If you took 6/52 to prepare studying 8-10 hrs a day, I would have to multiply that by 3 in order to be prepared for the exam if working full time as well. So it looks like 18-20 weeks. ):
April 11, 2009 at 10:29 am
[...] believe Topher called this “the unexpected suck of the last [...]
April 12, 2009 at 2:57 am
Don’t take Kaplan. I worked super hard to save the 3200 dollars to pay for the course at the Kaplan center — all they do is show the videos and the worst part is that in the physiology section, the person in the videos just read exactly what’s in the book — I could have done that at home for free. Its a waste of money. Save your money to buy good books for the board — that’s what I am saving up right now after that huge loss with Kaplan.
May 3, 2009 at 1:21 pm
[...] follow a modified version of Topher’s suggested scheduled based on First Aid. my online calendar will be updated with a theoretical plan and modified to fit [...]