No video
USMLE Dedicated Study: How I Improved My Step 1 Score by 21 Points (238 to 259)
Рет қаралды 21,579
Күн бұрынAt my medical school, we were given 7 weeks of dedicated study time for USMLE Step 1. I had originally planned to take 5 weeks to study and 2 weeks for vacation. My original plan did not work out though. I ended up studying for nearly the full 7 weeks and only took 4 days off before starting 3rd year. Had I been a little more prepared and deliberate in my pre-dedicated study period, I think I would have been able to have my cake and eat it too. Although, USMLE is a terrible cake. Maybe I should have said I would be able to swallow the poison that is USMLE Step 1 and then immediately detox by going on vacation. But as this didn't happen, I will talk about how my actual dedicated study period panned out.
I began by trying to get through every Anki deck that I had made. Each deck correlated with a FirstAid section. So, I had a biochem deck, a cardiology deck, a neurology and special senses deck, etc. I decided to start by studying material that I was weakest in: MSK and Heme/Onc. I thought I could easily do both deck in one day. WRONG! It took me nearly 3 days of studying to get through each deck. I then thought I could do a first pass of every FirstAid section and then begin reviewing. WRONG AGAIN! I ended up not remembering material I had studied the day previous. It was after those 4 days of trial and error that I came up with the following plan.
Daily Schedule:
6:00-7:45 am: Wake up and learn new Anki decks until 7:45
8:00-10:00 am: Do one UWorld 40 question block and review. Start at 8:00 am because that is when I will begin my actually USMLE exam.
10:15 am - 1:15 pm: Continue to learn as much new Anki deck material as possible
1:30-4:00 pm: Start reviewing old Anki cards as scheduled
4:00-4:30 pm: Work out
4:30-10:00 pm: Continue to review as much old material as possible. If finished, start learning new material.
10:00-11:00 pm: Shower and get ready for bed (meditation, talking with family, reading a book, etc. Absolutely no electronics!)
Weekly Schedule:
Every day is the same except:
Friday: I took a practice exam on Friday. Those mornings I did not review material. I wanted all my energy for the exam.
Sunday: Weekly reflection in the morning. This involved review my old tests to see if there was an area that I was struggling in, reviewing Anki deck progress, and calculating remaining UWorld questions.
Day before schedule:
6:00 am-4:00 pm - Review Anki Decks
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out with any questions: medicine4muggles@gmail.com
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I apologize for not making this clearer in this video. But the Anki decks that I was studying were ones that I had made using the content from FirstAid
@MA-es7ni 4 жыл бұрын
Could you upload this Anki deck to help us in studying?
@De-Zay 2 жыл бұрын
The USMLE test is really frustrating, I can't believe I failed again after studying so much🥺🥺😓😭😭
@angelarodri1421 2 жыл бұрын
I used some Kaplan, and took some much time in my online classes still my step 1 result came back failed
@aphonsopablo3305 2 жыл бұрын
USMLE exams won't bother you or be a problem if you work with someone like Mrs Catherina Moore ... She's God sent, she saved me from taking the test for the 6th time
@florencegilbert9528 2 жыл бұрын
It's not about watching videos here on KZfaq and wasting your time on materials and reviews that won't help, I was ignorant doing so till I got recommended to Mrs Catherina Moore, some how watching videos helped me too because without watching them i wouldn't have known about Mrs Catherina
@aliotojennifer1145 2 жыл бұрын
Wow Mrs Catherina Moore has really made name for herself
@GrantCardoneyt 2 жыл бұрын
@Jason Gilbert You can get her through wtapp ① ② ④ ⓪ ⑥ ⑤ ⓪ ③ ② ⑥ ⑥
@menekse3194 3 жыл бұрын
thank you so much Dr. Muggle
@Ines_Ella 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for being honest and down to earth when it comes to sharing your experience .
@ROADTORESIDENCY 4 жыл бұрын
Hey Dylan, regards from India. I'm on a similar road. Will be watching out for your videos! 🧡
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
ROAD TO RESIDENCY Just subscribed to your channel as well!
@minamelka860 4 жыл бұрын
thank you for ur quick reponse....and ur honest...ur hard working young man....
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I appreciate the kind words!
@jebastinlevesque9824 3 жыл бұрын
Great Video! And you really got me with the 1st part😂👊🏾
@medbae 4 жыл бұрын
This is probably the most useful video I’ve actually watched about planning etc. thank you so much for sharing. I’m definitely going to email you because I really do need help at the moment.
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I am glad it was helpful. I have been busy with rotations. But I will get to your email today!
@MedKeys. 2 ай бұрын
Thank you
@jack2140 4 жыл бұрын
Holy fuark dude, were you on supplements of any sort? I can only do 12 hour study days MAX.
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Hahaha. Just Yerba mate man.
@wasabiman82 4 жыл бұрын
So you didn’t really read first aid during this dedicated period? Did you use Sketchy or Pathoma? It sounds like just uworld and anki were your main focus.
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I apologize. I did not make that super clear in this video. But I memorized FirstAid through flash cards that I made through Anki. I used Sketchy for microbiology and antibiotics. I then used an Anki deck to memorize those. I only used pathoma when I felt like FirstAid didn't explain it well.
@mohammedhayajneh6182 3 жыл бұрын
Hey Dylan... Could you upload your Anki deck to help us in studying?
@ddfelder2 4 жыл бұрын
Random, but how did you study for MCAT? Did you use anki decks for MCAT content review? (Sorry, newbie premed here...)
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Yes I did. I made the review book an anki deck and then studied those along with practice exams!
@bigdaddyazat1446 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the video. Did u get pre made anki decks or u did them on your own?
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I am glad you enjoyed it! I actually made all of my own anki decks.
@Aysk 4 жыл бұрын
Hi Dylan! Which Anki decks you use for anatomy?
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Hello! I actually made my own decks from the anatomy sections of FirstAid and studied those!
@ShaheerMannanButt 4 жыл бұрын
Could u kindly share your First Aid deck with us?
@jimmyas3466 2 жыл бұрын
Hi thank you for this video ! It means a lot .... I just saw viewed it ... My Question to you if y can help me please , do you recommend booking test before doing a first pass on UW q bank or after finishing it. Please share your thoughts ....
@rafaelulyssesdeazevedo2893 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing your experience! Question for you: I did not understand well how your reviews on Anki worked. When did you move to the next organ system on Anki (reviews)? Tks a lot
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
It was pretty variable for me. But what I would do is go through an entire organ system. This could take me a few days to do because I would only go through new material in the morning. In the afternoon, I would review old material, including what I had learned the day previous. I hope that makes a little more sense. If you have any other question, please feel free to reach out!
@rafaelulyssesdeazevedo2893 4 жыл бұрын
Muggle Doctor, Almost tks for the answer! It’s clear to me how you went through the news cards in the morning, although I still could not understand well how did you prioritize your reviews in the pm. I assume that at some point of your dedicated period, you had so many reviews from different organ systems to do and maybe you did not have enough time to review all of them on a daily basis. How did you manage this? Will try to use a similar schedule. Thank you very much for sharing it
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Rafael Ulysses de Azevedo you’re right in that some days I wasn’t able to finish the review of the old cards. I prioritized by the first going through the previous day’s material and then I usually started with the highest yield material (ie. cards, neuro, gi, etc.). Once I finished those higher yield systems I went on to the lower yield material. Hopefully that makes a little more sense. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
@rafaelulyssesdeazevedo2893 4 жыл бұрын
Muggle Doctor, Almost Awesome! Thank you very much!!!
@ameyabhardwaj 2 жыл бұрын
I am a second year student. And I want to start preparing for for step 1. Can you guide me how to start? I want to first strengthen my basics first. Do you think coaching is needed or videos/books/subscriptions are enough? Thank you. Would be huge help, doc!
@omarelmarsafy1313 2 жыл бұрын
Hello there ! How can i know that my plan works .......i did my first uworld test before completing first aid and gained 180.......ethics neuo card and others my weakness points ........i decided to study the educational objectives of the uworld to focus on them when reviewing again first aid .........did amboss and get 205 ......tried lecturio ..you know i know what they are asking about but i do not know the information itself like a question asking about adverse effect of exogenous EPO it was hypertension .....all my wrong question was not i did not understand but it was i do not know it .......i made two nbme offline during my study ...............now i decided to dedicate next two months in reviewing all educational objectives and reviewing first aid do nbme and uworld self assesment and get my exam
@hasanalatbee1993 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks.I have question your study Anki systemic or random?
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Ahmed Alatbee I studied by system. This is what I found worked for me to get a good foundation.
@hasanalatbee1993 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks appreciate your advice.
@muhammadsalmansabri6869 4 жыл бұрын
where to get anki from ? is it paid?
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Muhammad salman Sabri Anki is a flash card app that you can get on your computer and phone. apps.ankiweb.net
@muhammadsalmansabri6869 4 жыл бұрын
Muggle Doctor, Almost thanks alot
@deserteagle6704 3 жыл бұрын
I'm a bit confused. I've read that once you pass usmle, the scores remain for 7 years. How did you improved then? I will be an img, so if i get 240 in step 1 and 245 in step 2, will i be able to improve my marks by taking next time???
@yukinetakanashi3714 3 жыл бұрын
i think he's talking about his mock test scores. in the us, I believe they trust their mock test scores a lot since ppl get depressed over their mock test scores and all. if u do well in mock tests then u will prolly do well on the main test too. btw I'm an img too so take my words with a grain of salt.
@minamelka860 4 жыл бұрын
Hello Muggle Doctor....what is ur thought on nbme20...i heard is very difficult.....
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I thought it was the hardest NBME that I had taken. But it was brand new at that time so I really didn’t have anything to compare it to. It really wasn’t being talked about all that much either on reddit or other forums.
@Hasanfreemasyaf963 4 жыл бұрын
Heard 16 hours then quit the video
@travischilders9921 4 жыл бұрын
Lol!!
@vineethshetty1561 4 жыл бұрын
first one here :)
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
I hope you enjoyed the video!
@vineethshetty1561 4 жыл бұрын
@@muggledoctoralmost930 Definitely, I do enjoy watching your videos been here before you reached 100 Subs, Currently Even I'm preparing for step 1 as an IMG and your video is a go-to if I need any sort of motivation or information, You have achieved an impeccable score all because of your hard work. GREAT JOB!! :). KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!! Looking forward to more of your videos!!!!! GOODLUCK DOC :). STAY SAFE.
@muggledoctoralmost930 4 жыл бұрын
Thank you! You made my day! I am glad you have enjoyed the videos!