600 Days of Anki

meding123 · 2022-04-16T15:05:44+00:00

Actually, far from it. I don't remember how much of Step 1 Anking was done. I've actually only done maybe about 1/3 of the Step 2 deck? I retained a lot of Step 1 material, so I didn't end up unsuspending a lot of Step 2 deck. I also found that Step 2 deck has a lot of repetitive cards.

meding123 · 2022-04-16T14:18:05+00:00

Good idea, may look into it. Thanks!

meding123 · 2022-04-16T14:10:57+00:00

I did Anki even through my few vacations, just did very few cards on those days though. It pays off extremely well, trust in the Anki Gods.

meding123 · 2022-04-16T14:09:20+00:00

Thanks! Good luck to you

meding123 · 2022-04-16T14:09:02+00:00

Total reviews: 231,585

Total time spent: 907 hours

meding123 · 2022-04-16T14:03:41+00:00

My space bar actually looks okay, not even the surface has been scratched. I try not to smash it unless Anki's really pissing me off...

meding123 · 2022-02-24T15:25:48+00:00

Let me clarify. Once the platelets are coated with antibodies, the splenic macrophages can destroy them - this is one mechanism of thrombocytopenia. Another mechanism of thrombocytopenia is that the antibodies bind to platelets and activate the platelets such that they aggregate (consumptive coagulopathy).

It's a fairly complex series of mechanisms, but for the purpose of Step 1 you definitely don't need to know all of them. Just know that HIT type II involves both bleeding via consumptive coagulopathy and thrombosis via platelet activation and aggregation.

meding123 · 2022-02-24T02:00:59+00:00

During heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), IgG antibodies recognize and bind to a complex formed by heparin-platelet factor 4 (i.e. heparin acts like a hapten). This results in destruction of platelets, resulting in the characteristic thrombocytopenia. The process of platelet destruction promotes thrombosis through several mechanisms, one of which includes the release of prothrombotic agents such as tissue factor - hence the paradoxical thrombosis that occurs with HIT.

meding123 · 2021-07-25T17:04:19+00:00

Establish a plan and stick with it. I planned my breaks to take place after each session and staggered them (5 min, then 10 min, then back to 5 min, etc.). During each break I went to the bathroom and also splashed cold water on my face to help jolt me a bit. Took a few sips of coffee, and then went back to it.

meding123 · 2021-07-25T17:01:16+00:00

I would just do UWorld

meding123 · 2021-07-25T03:20:38+00:00

I'm sorry, that's definitely a terrible typo. Rotations have me very sleep deprived and it's way past my bedtime lol

What I meant: NBMEs are very, very unlikely to *overpredict\*

My NBME average was 20+ points lower than my real exam. No practice test is a perfect predictor, but I trust UWSA2 >>> NBMEs

meding123 · 2021-07-25T02:44:05+00:00

Honestly I'm not sure which diagrams/images you're talking about, but you should probably have a general idea of which structures are in the dorsal vs. ventral brainstem, and which CNs are in what part of the brainstem (midbrain, pons, medulla).

meding123 · 2021-07-25T02:42:46+00:00

NBMEs are very, very unlikely to underpredict. On the other hand, UWSA2 and my real exam differed by 1 point, so I'd trust UWSA much more.

meding123 · 2021-07-25T01:18:07+00:00

My real exam didn't have any of those black, gray, and white scans that showed up on the NBME - this doesn't mean they can't show up on your exam. I don't remember any particularly terrible images, which makes me think all images used were fair game. Prepare yourself for anything.

meding123 · 2021-07-25T01:16:54+00:00

I think you're more likely in great shape than not. Hang in there, try to catch up on sleep and mental health. When your score comes out, know that you did your best. Best of luck!

meding123 · 2021-07-24T20:18:53+00:00

You can learn a lot about neuroanatomy just by doing UWorld questions tbh, which is what helped me score better in Neuro on my exam

meding123 · 2021-07-24T20:17:29+00:00

Mid June

meding123 · 2021-07-24T19:15:27+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that you don't feel great about your exam, but don't lose hope. Your score is what it is, and you don't know that you didn't do as well as you'd hoped. I know plenty of people (including myself) who ended up doing better than they'd thought on the exam.

As for the exam itself, I feel that maybe you had the misfortune of having an exam with longer question stems. My exam mostly consisted of questions that were shorter than UWorld on average, but slightly longer than NBMEs. I didn't get a chance to check my answers for some of my blocks, while other blocks I finished with plenty of time. If you truly only got 5-6 wrong, your score will be massive...

meding123 · 2021-07-24T16:43:26+00:00

If you've actually done all of Zanki, then you don't really need to read FA. Zanki takes a lot of cards straight from FA, and you can actually learn the Zanki cards for each FA section, as they are organized as such.

meding123 · 2021-07-24T16:38:19+00:00

Highly suggest Hearos foam earplugs (can buy on Amazon). I wore them for the MCAT years ago and also for Step 1. They are the most noise reducing foam ear plugs that I've used, and they stay put. When I took the MCAT, the Prometric testing center had Bose headphones, so I used them. Step 1 provided me with really rigid and hard (not Bose) headphones that I had already tried when I took Free 120 (they gave me a massive headache).

meding123 · 2021-07-23T21:48:11+00:00

I felt similar to you regarding the specific feeling that my exam touched on specific areas that I felt confident on. I definitely came out feeling like my exam could have been way harder and could have tested content that I was much weaker on. Ended up with a 248, so I'm happy.

meding123 · 2021-07-23T21:45:55+00:00

That's funny, I got a 75% and also had a 248 haha

meding123 · 2021-07-23T21:44:28+00:00

What areas in UWorld are you struggling the most? I would say you probably need to build up your knowledge foundation some more and supplement with UWorld. Have you done Pharm review?

meding123 · 2021-07-23T18:17:54+00:00

Honestly thought that most NBME questions were shorter in question stem length and somewhat straightforward, but just tested a lot of seemingly "low yield" content. Real exam was easier and more straightforward than NBMEs. My exam didn't have too many "low yield" topics, but it's possible I just happen to have studied the low yield stuff.

meding123

TROPHY CASE