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How long was your dedicated study period?

My dedicated Step 1 studying was from May 2020 to August 2020. I decided to take the exam before I started IMF because I knew that I would not be able to fully focus on studying while completing IMF. I also did not want to drag out my study period because I knew that the longer I waited, the harder it would be for me to retain the information. This is not the case for everyone, so it is important to figure out how much time you will need to prepare for the exam. 

What resources did you use?

UWorld: I completed at least 40 questions minimum each day. I would review each question in detail and take notes. I did not use the timed option because I do not usually have a problem with completing questions on time. But, it is a good idea to know how long it takes you to answer questions. There may be certain questions that take 30 seconds compared to another that may take 2 minutes. Time management is extremely important for this exam so I would highly recommend timing yourself while completing question sets (even if you have a separate timer outside of the UWorld option). 

First Aid For USMLE Step 1: I decided to start reading the book from the beginning instead of choosing specific sections. Although I did jot down notes in the book itself, I took notes on a separate piece of paper for high yield topics because it helped me understand and retain the information more. Once I was done reviewing through the entire book, I did go back and do a brief skim through. There are multiple questions on the exam that are straight out of this book. These are easy points if you remember what was written in the book. 

Sketchy Micro: I have talked about Sketchy in a different post and how great it is for visual learning. After watching it a couple times, the image was embedded into my brain. This was such a great and fun way to learn. What I love most about Sketchy is that I did not have to sit at my desk and read. I was able to watch these videos while eating or cooking. And it may sound silly to think that you could memorize all these microorganisms from short videos, but it really does work. You will automatically start linking the question to a video in order to find the correct answer. 

Pathoma: Pathoma was an amazing resource for studying pathology. Dr. Sattar does a great job in taking all the high-yield concepts and making them into concise chapters. I watched the videos while taking notes in the textbook itself. I was able to go through all the videos twice. If you are someone who uses Pathoma throughout basic sciences, it will be even easier for you to run through these videos. 

What did your schedule look like?

What are your thoughts on pushing back the exam date?

Although Step 1 is a big deal and a stressful exam, the more afraid you are of taking it, the worse it will feel. If you are scoring near your target score and performing well on NBME practice exams, pushing the exam back is not a good idea. Yes, it is good to have an adequate amount of time to study for it but too much time is also not a good thing. Eventually, you get to a point when you are simply skimming over the material instead of actually learning from it. And then, you will also start to forget some of the information. This is not what we want. 

What are your thoughts on the new pass or fail method?

I know many of my peers were disappointed in the new pass/fail scoring method because our score is the only thing that helps us stick out as IMG students. But personally, I think this is a good change in the system. It is unfair to think that you cannot be in a certain specialty because of one 3-digit score. That is ridiculous in my opinion. I understand that we need to know our material very well in order to be successful and save lives as doctors. But, a 3-digit score should not be the determining factor for what type of doctor we can be. There is so much more to us than a score. I am hoping this scoring method will open more doors for us and allow us to express what we are capable of doing as future doctors. 

Overall thoughts on Step 1

In the end, Step 1 is just another exam. Yes, it holds a little more weight to it than other exams, but it is still just that. One exam. We cannot let one exam make us fear for our future and what may become. I like to think that you can still achieve your end goal no matter how many obstacles you may come across. Step 1 was an obstacle for me. I will be honest, I did not score near my target score. It is not the worst score but it’s not the best either. I know that there are plenty of students with the same score as me. I am told that the competition will be much more difficult with such a mediocre score. But to me, it makes no difference. Because in the end, we’re all different. I may be compared to someone via a 3-digit score, but I also have my own qualities that make me different from others. We all have a unique personality that makes us who we are. It’s our personality, our dedication, our motivation, our hard work that will make us great future doctors. Not a 3-digit score.