USMLE 2 - THREE Steps to Guaranteeing a Score Above 220

USMLE 2 - THREE Steps to Guaranteeing a Score Above 220

It is becoming tougher and more competitive as the years pass bye to get into a residency program you desire, let along any residency program. For this reason, it's important to approach each and every one of the USMLE exams as if it was the make-or-break exam in your career.
It isn't enough to just browse through a review book, do a couple hundred questions from a question bank, or try to squeak through from what you learned while working on the wards. Achieving a great score is done with precise planning and targeted preparation, targeting the high-yield information and learning every single nugget about it that you can. So how do we find out what is really the high-yield information? Here is how...
1. Select the right study/prep guide
As you know if you are a medical student, there are some review books that only cover the bare essentials and are very superficial in nature, and on the opposite spectrum there are those that are so long that they come in a series of books. It is ideal that you select a guide that is somewhere in between these two choices. An ideal study guide is one that covers every single high-yield and medium-yield topic, as these will be tested on your exam. From these clues, you can dig a bit deeper and properly learn the details about all the high-yield information, as the USMLE exams will never ask a simple straight-forward question, rather they'll ask you something that is secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary, all the while still being related to that high-yield topic. Ideally, if you can find a study guide that does this step for you, you are way ahead of the game.
2. Do at least ONE FULL question bank
Ideally, you would do a full question bank after having gone through your study guide and adding more in-depth information to it. From here, you should take good quality notes from the qbank information and insert them into the appropriate places in your study guide. Not only will this add to your knowledge of the highest yield topics, but it will give you a different twist on these topics. This altered method of thinking about topics is one of the greatest benefits of doing the question banks. Once you have been through the whole qbank, you will have a top-notch preparation guide.
3. Try to get through your study guide a minimum of TWO times
You've taken the time to go through and add more information to your study guide, you've worked hard to implement the extra information from your qbank, now is the time to fully commit all of the material to memory. Ideally, you would read through each chapter at least 2-3 times, followed by a full once-through of the whole book. These are the minimum steps you should take to ensure you will be able to tackle each question on the USMLE exam without hesitation.

USMLE Step 2

The Best Way to Study USMLE Course - Part 1

The Best Way to Study USMLE Course - Part 1

Admission procedure for USMLE
It is the dream of every Medical Graduate, whether from the U.S., Canada or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) from different parts of the globe, to get through the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) to become eligible for selection to the Residency Program and practice medicine in the U.S.A.
The first thing to do before proceeding with USMLE is to collect information regarding admission details, eligibility requirements and such other information from USMLE and Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates(ECFMG)'s websites.
Once you have collected information from organizations like USMLE and ECFMG, the next step will be to find out relevant study materials like books, coaching institutes, which are offering excellent coaching and guidance through online, class room based or home study method. You will also have to find out which are the institutes offering Residency programs as per your credentials and is there any possibility of getting externship facility and letters of recommendations.
It is not that easy to get into the Residency Program, especially for the IMGs, because of limited availability of seats for IMGs. One has to go through various hurdles like passing the Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) and Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) for Residency Match and finally the Step 3 in order to get a license to practice medicine in U.S.A.
On an average about 37000 candidates participate in the exam annually for about 25000 Residency positions, of this about 8000 are IMGs. Approximately 75% of the available seats are cornered by US Seniors and a small portion by the U.S. resident IMGs. Out of about 8000 plus IMGs appearing for the exam, only 40-42% of them get selected for the Residency.
That means there is fierce competition for available seats and only the very best and those who have excellent communication, clinical and patient management skills get through to the USMLE Residency Program.

USMLE Step 1

 

USMLE Step 1 Exam - 7 Tips For A Top USMLE Score

Studying for the USMLE Step 1 exam is serious business, and we are now in a time where there are more applicants than there are available residency positions, so there is absolutely no room for error in preparing for it thoroughly. It's true, there are almost twice as many people applying for residency today than there are available positions, so students should no longer be striving to simply "pass" the exam and go into a primary care field, because even the simplest residency programs to get into are now extremely competitive.
Because of the increasing difficulty in attaining a residency and the direct relationship between getting interviews and a good Step 1 score, I am going to share seven tips that I believe can help anybody do well on the USMLE exam, even if you are not a strong test-taker.
My seven tips for an outstanding Step 1 score are:
#1 - Start thinking USMLE from day 1 of med school
Get into the mindset from day 1 that you are preparing for the boards, because the sooner you set your mind for it's preparation the sooner you will start to absorb the appropriate material.
#2 - Class time = USMLE prep time
Pay close attention throughout your courses and pay extra attention to anything that your professors say is "high-yield", because they have been there already and they know what is likely to be on the exam. Take notes and develop your own process for marking the high-yield stuff that comes up in your classes.
#3 - Give the USMLE 1 hour every week from the start
If you are taking the right steps and making notes consistently for the Step 1 then you should have an ever-growing set of USMLE notes. Every week, take only 1 hour and sit and study your USMLE-specific notes, which will help you to absorb the high-yield information over time and this will ultimately help you best prepare.
#4 - Combine your class notes with your study guide notes
Something I didn't do but I wish I had done was get a USMLE Step 1 study guide from day 1 and bring it to all my classes. I had friends who did this and it helped them tremendously, and the only thing you need to do is jot down class information that comes up that is discussed in your study guide. This helps you to add more depth to the high-yield topics mentioned in the study guide and this ultimately gives you an even better study guide in the long-run.
#5 - Do a question bank from day 1
Starting a question bank from the beginning of your med school days is a great way to learn how to take standardized exam questions as well as a great way to help you prepare for your classes. Be sure to work through the qbanks slowly and take great notes along the way, as these will come in handy closer to your Step 1 exam date.
#6 - Create 3 sets of notes for the USMLE
Studying simply from a pre-written study guide is a fast way to a mediocre score, so instead of that you want to create 3 sets of study notes for your USMLE prep. First, you need to create notes straight from your classes which are your most in-depth set of study notes, secondly you need a set of notes mentioned in #4 which is more high-yield in nature, and third you need a thorough set of notes taken from your question bank. These three are a killer combination and will help you do very well on your exam.
#7 - Treat your USMLE preparation like a job
This test is tough, so approach it as if it was a job, giving it plenty of dedicated attention. When you are done with your 1st and 2nd year courses, create a schedule for studying and stick to it firmly, as you need to study intensely and consistently for a few weeks in order to get a top score.

USMLE Step 123