USMLE Sucker's Step 1 Journal

[Step1Sucker]

Hi There.

So I'll try to keep this short. My name is Sucker and I'm a 3rd year DO student at one of the older schools in the midwest. I took COMLEX in June and got 460's. The day before I was supposed to take the USMLE, I had a family emergency that required me to get on an emergency flight across the country that night, and had to cancel.

I tried to reschedule for 2 weeks later. My practice tests went from 228 to 206 in that span, so I cancelled and lost my validation.

This is me starting over. 3rd year isn't the best time to study for step, but I'm doing it anyway. This is going to be my daily journal. I will use it to keep on track, keep me honest, and to help and assist any and all of you.

So stop in every once in awhile and see what's going on. I'm going to update this log with what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and why I'm doing it. Looking forward to meeting y'all.

-Sucka

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[Step1Sucker]

Ok, so I wanted to be sure I could actually post a thread as a new user before I got into the details.

So like I said, 3rd year DO student. When I was preparing for step last spring, I was 100% focused on USMLE. My goals for comlex were to just pass. I didn't see any situation where I would be using that comlex score anyway, so I didn't put much into it. I greatly regret this now. I was certain I wanted family or peds. I want nothing to do with that now. I'm going to either be doing EM or something with surgery (GS or OB). I need a solid step for this. My goal is 240's, and I am confident I can hit that with hard work. I intend to sit for step the first week of December. The key to this plan is flexibility. My current EM rotation could have me working a 9 hour shift, or the 14 hour monster I completed on tuesday. Some days I won't be able to do what I need to do. I'll catch up on other days.

In the time I studied, I built up a solid foundation, so my methods for test prep now will be pretty unconventional to the common UFAP ways. I've seen FA and Pathoma probably 3x each. I'm not a book person anyway, I'll read a chapter and have it locked down only to forget 90% within 24 hours.

SO what am I doing to prep then? Uworld and Sketchy.

I am doing timed random blocks of Uworld, and making anki cards off of the topics I need to lock down. I am also chugging along with sketchy every day. I will try to squeeze in an NBME every week or so. I'm about to take NBME 1 (found it online, obviously, I don't think you can buy these anymore).

Of note, I completed roughly 80% of Uworld when I prepped in May. For this reason, my % correct is irrelevant. I don't care how many I get right. I hope I get a lot wrong. Each time I get something wrong it's an opportunity to lock down another key piece of information that I didn't know. This is the key to a strong score.

With that said I've completed about 500 questions and am sitting in the middle 60's percent wise. I normally score between 68-75%, but every once in a while will tank a block (50% or lower, it's happened twice). There are definite holes in my knowledge base, and I'm going to attack them over the course of the next few weeks. This is another key to a strong score.

So I'm going to go unwind for a little bit before starting NBME 1. Just hoping to pass it for now. Ask any questions you want, my goal here is to be completely transparent. Ask me what I would have done differently 2nd year. Ask my what sucks about 3rd year. Ask me who is going to win the Super Bowl. Whatever.

See you around,
-Sucka

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

bump. How'd you end up doing?

 

[trs88]

Hopefully he did okay. His last log in was October of 2016.