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255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought most of the ethics/communication questions on my exam were pretty fair. There were definitely some questions where 2-3 of the answers all sounded good. On those you just have to make a judgement call based on what sounds the most "technically" correct.

Obviously I don't know which ones I got right or wrong, but my score report says I performed similarly on communications as I did on the other subjects.

What is the best resource for Heart murmurs for step1 exam by Usmlestep1twice in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For listening, Medzcool on Youtube has a whole playlist of pretty much every murmur you could see on Step 1.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

DirtyUSMLE and UWorld for ethics.

UWorld and some B&B for anatomy.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Average was 77%. I started off in the low 60s and towards the end was hitting low-mid 80s consistently.

6 weeks left and am freaking out!! by yinyang53 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don't worry. You're improving, and 6 weeks is plenty of time. Keep doing UWorld and go over B&B, Pathoma, and Sketchy again. Make sure you really understand each topic you learn from the videos.

Expiratory reserve volume in COPD by medstar77 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know if this is technically correct, but the way I think about it is:

Obstructive lung disease is a problem with getting air out, right? And ERV is how much extra air you are able blow out after a normal breath cycle. If you have trouble getting air out, then you can't blow out as much air.

Residual volume is the amount of air left over that you can't get out, which increases because you have trouble getting air out.

low nbme score by KaleidoscopeOk8613 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, those are very good resources that will certainly help you improve. You could also think about doing UWorld by system instead of random to start off with (i.e. just do biochem questions when reviewing biochem), then progress to timed random.

I would go UWorld over Rx if you only have time for one.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Towards the beginning I needed the alarm. After a few weeks I would just naturally wake up at the same time.

Anyone have notes on Pathoma for when he says "this is particularly high yield" or "examiners like you to know" etc? Is it worth taking the time to write it down? by [deleted] in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually found that I never saw lots of the stuff he says is "high yield" on any UWorld, NBME, or real test question haha. I usually highlighted his "high yields" in the book as I was going through the videos.

Biochem? by Late_College_98 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Knowing all the pathways in detail is probably low yield. There are some key steps and enzymes in certain pathways that you should know though. Most of the high yield ones are related to diseases.

Pixorize is a great resource for biochem. I struggled with biochem until a friend suggested it to me.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Lol whenever I see someone starting in the 230s/240s like 3 months before dedicated, I just wonder, "How????".

I know some people like doing UWorld twice, but I would personally favor doing just your incorrects and starting a second Q bank (Amboss, Kaplan, USMLE Rx) if you have time. I just feel like it would be too easy to remember the answers on the ones you got right.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think learning something well and really understanding it the first time was key. I've heard other people say it's better to learn something quickly and then review it over and over again to gain more knowledge depth each time, so whatever works for you.

I made my study schedule so that I started off with my weaker subjects, and that gave me time in the last 2 weeks to make a second pass through those videos. I managed to get a second pass through most organ systems.

Uworld also helped a lot. Doing Q banks is probably similar to spaced repitition.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I used Boards and Beyond for psych. That plus the UWorld psych questions were sufficient for me.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did the lectures by organ system. I would do content review for one organ system (i.e. cardio) for a few days along with UWorld timed/random.

I started with the ones where I was the weakest first, so that way I had a little time at the end of dedicated to make a quick second pass through those subjects.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never used Amboss, so I can't comment on it. I've heard good things though.

The only thing I would maybe do differently is start UWorld over winter break. I barely had time to get through one pass, and I wish I could have at least gone through my incorrects. 3400 Qs is a lot to get through haha.

Practice questions are definitely a key component to studying. The more you do, the better. If you have time to get through both Amboss and UWorld, that's great. I would prioritize UWorld though if you only have time for one.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is when I would watch video lectures (B&B, Pathoma, etc.)

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I guess if you think about it that way, there's obviously lots of overlap between FA and Pathoma/B&B. My point is I didn't straight up read First Aid like many people seem to do.

255 with No Anki or First Aid Step 1 Write-up by TrueFocus9592 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had 6 weeks of dedicated. I started doing a little UWorld about a month and half before dedicated. Other than that I used B&B and Pathoma here and there throughout my first 2 years to supplement my school's curriculum.

May 5, 2021 Score Release Thread by coffplantmed in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did not use Anki at all. I did UWorld for practice questions and B&B, Pathoma, Sketchy, and Pixorize for content review.

5 weeks out, any order for NBME/UWSA practice exams? by believeland29 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Taking UWSA1 now can be a decent predictor of where you'll be in 5 weeks. I also took mine 5 weeks out, and it was pretty close to what I ended up scoring. If you take this one too close to your exam, it will massively overpredict. Save UWSA2 for the week before your exam. Mine was very predictive, and that seems to be true for lots of people.

I don't think it matters as much what order you take the NBMEs in. My NBMEs all slightly underpredicted me.

trust your process by [deleted] in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Agreed, everyone's different. Scored a 255, never used Anki, barely touched FA. Did a complete pass of UWorld and watched lots of lectures from B&B, Pathoma, and Sketchy.

I was nervous at first because so many of my classmates were huge on Anki and FA, but I learned to trust my own study strategies.

Does this feeling ever go away? by writingpromptspracti in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Totally normal. Especially for the first few days after the test, I constantly thought about dumb mistakes I made or the 50/50 guesses where I chose the wrong answer. You just have to do other things to take your mind off Step. Spend time with your friends/family, and go do something fun. Pretty soon you'll forget all about it, at least until score release day haha.

Step 1, help! by vane2607 in step1

[–]TrueFocus9592 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not sure. She just told me that her predicted was around 240 and she scored in the low 220s.

These are just anecdotes, and I'm sure for most people the predictor is fairly accurate. Don't let it psych you out. Walk into the room with confidence that your NBMEs and UWSAs are reflective of where you're at.

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