Week 17 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - August 22nd, 2012

After about 3 weeks of not blogging, I decided to post an update today.
It's been extremely challenging to study through Ramadan but hoping to get into full gear for this final stretch! I can't believe I am so close to taking the Step 1! It's almost surreal!

I am finishing up a course and taking my 2nd NBME exam by the end of this week - keeping my fingers crossed for a better result than my 1st NBME (Form 11)!

I am going to take a hiatus and stop blogging for the remaining period in order to completely focus on the exam.

I shall definitely come back and write about my experience taking it but for now, this is it from me!

Week 14 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - July 31st, 2012

Last week has had its ups and downs it feels. I am so lucky to have arranged to study with a study partner or else I wouldn't have studied at all this past week. It has been challenging to figure out a schedule that works for me in Ramadan. From 7pm to midnight, I can't study and I try not to stay up past that to study because I do not want to mess with my sleep cycle in preparation for exam day. But I've lately been sleeping in A LOT! Last week was terrible with me waking up around 11am and noon!

I've managed to study lots of Microbiology and continue to do Uworld questions. Biochemistry is still on hold as per last week.

Other than that, I've finally booked my test date!!! I procrastinated a lot but finally got a push from my family to go ahead and do it. So the date is fixed and it's final now - September 5th, 2012 I shall be writing my Step 1 exam!!

Week 13 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - July 25th, 2012

So this past week has been weird. I made progress with Pathology but did not manage to complete Biochemistry. This end of last week also marked the beginning of Ramadan and added a new dimension to my study schedule.

I continue studying with my study partner every evening and we've managed to complete the 20 or so high yield pictures for Microbiology. I also received my First Aid 2012 so we decided to continue with the remainder of Micro this week instead of jumping subjects based off of the pictures in the 2009 FA. We are planning on finishing Microbiology by the end of this week and then starting the next subject.

I am also going to try to finish Biochemistry by the end of this week inshAllah.

My UWorld performance has gotten better but that is still not with all the subjects included. I try to add only the ones I've completed or is in the process of doing. This way, I'm constantly reminding myself of the stuff that I have already gone over and thus avoiding the forgetting part ;)

Keeping my fingers crossed and studying hard!

Week 12 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - July 17th, 2012

This past week has been very productive in terms of efficiency. 
I completed a thorough revision of Embryology, put together youtube videos for things that I had to look up, and finished the UWorld embryo questions as well. This was no minor feat since I was struggling with fetal blood circulation and formation of the heart chambers ever since I first had the class while in St. Kitts. However, I'm happy to say that I actually know those!!

One of my friends and I also started a 1hr skype review. We are using a 2009 version of the First Aid that has about 125 high yield pictures in the back. We study 3-4 images per day - learn and devise ways to identify the organisms/disease in the picture and everything there is to know about that particular condition. We also do a rapid review for the first 10 minutes of each day to make sure we don't forget what we have already learnt. It has been extremely helpful for me since a lot of it is Microbiology that requires lots of memorization (which is my weakness) ... thus, all this repetition is hopefully going to turn out to be successful retention :)

Still struggling with Pathology and hoping that I will be able to start DIT by the end of this week.

My side subject for this week is Biochemistry (like it was Embryology last week). It's not too bad so far because DNA/RNA/Proteins is my forte (one of the few things that I can give credit to my undergrad. Molecular and Microbiology degree for!).

I still need to increase the number of questions that I'm doing on UWorld every day - hopefully this will be the week for this :)

Just need to keep at it!!

YouTube Videos #3 EMBRYOLOGY

So I had just finished reading the Embryology section in the First Aid for like the third time and decided that since it was a whole bunch of memorization and it was 4th of July, I wasn't going to get any hard-core studying done so I watched youtube videos for Embryo!

I came across some really cool ones that I thought will not only be nice to share but also good for me to go back to when I'm reviewing that very last week before the exam :) Some are animated and funny, others are informative but serious, while there also are some personal experiences videos which are my favorite because I tend to remember more with those..

Sonic Hedgehog gene pathway - used the animated Sonic character .. fun video
Wnt signaling - AMAZING
Hox gene parody - on the song Tick Tock by Kesha
VACTERL association (mesodermal defects) - personal blog of a person living with this condition
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
EXCELLENT video to remember heart embryologic derivatives!!
Interventricular septum, aorta and pulmonary trunk development - understanding this concept is SO SIMPLE in this animation!!
Interatrial septum development
Fetal circulation - with babies jumping all over the place - cool video :)
Inspiring Chiari story of a little girl
Functions of Branchial arch derivatives

Hope this is useful for some people :)

Week 11 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - July 9th, 2012

Another week over! There isn't much I can say about this past week since it had a 4th of July break right in the middle of the week that sort of disrupted the flow but I must admit that it was a productive week overall. I made some progress with Pathology as well as completed going over Embryology in the First Aid.

My plan for the rest of the month is to finish Pathology, go over Pharmacology, try to do DIT, and take one of the NBMEs at the end of the month. Hoping that it will all work out smoothly.

I work best under pressure and I have definitely started to feel it build. I am also starting to feel more efficient when I'm studying as well as the focus is all strengthening..

Studying hard and praying harder that I'm ready for it when I want to be!

(And by the way, as I study tonight, I wish I could walk down to Big Boy with my friend(s) and have the amazing chocolate fudge cake like we did when we needed to take a break from studying while we were in Houghton Lake ... miss you all a lot!)

Week 10 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - July 2nd, 2012

Here I am again, Monday! This past week was quite productive but not quite there where I'd like it to be. I haven't been studying my bugs and no recall exercises either, which is rather sad. However, I did take some time off this weekend to re-focus and re-do my plan of action for studying. AND I did finish reading the First Aid like a story book .. lol ;)

I've yet to complete Goljan which is such a difficult task to get through, it seems like :(

This week, I'm going to the gym in the morning hours and putting in about 8 hours of studying in the afternoon/evening + the 2 hours after dinner and before bedtime.

<-- this is what it feels like studying for the Step ... endless amount of studying..

YouTube Videos #2

Today I was freaking out about completely neglecting Pharmacology since it had been one of my strongest subjects while in school. So I decided to look up some videos for Pharmacology that might have songs that I could listen to and these two interested me the most..

Memorize drugs through grouping :)

Analgesics

Week 9 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - June 25th, 2012

So I finally came back with a bang. I'm back to being super productive and I'm loving it - it also calms my nerves a little :) I covered a major chunk of Pathology that I was having trouble getting through. And I devised other methods of studying and study plans in order to be more efficient as well as in order to help me study even when I'm not sitting at a desk. 

I have realized what my problem is when it comes to exams - RECALL! I study and I study hard! And I think I know it and I really do. I also understand it. But when it is time to pull it out of my brain cells, I struggle! So I've figured out new methods of learning in order to help me with recalling the information that I am reading. 

I continue to battle with getting through Pathology and in the meantime, I have constructed ways to help me remember things. I study one bug a day for Microbiology and have started randomly talking about these bugs with my sister and sister-in-law at our gym locker room ;) Although they don't understand much of what I talk about, they are very good listeners and my sister's curiosity causes her to ask me questions that I have not thought of and that I have to learn how to reply to in a way that's comprehensive to her. This helps me associate what I study to random unrelated things and in turn, helps me recall them better. 

I also have a Pathology notebook - a small book that I write in. I write things that I have a hard time remembering or recalling, as I study. I'm handing that book over to my sister every time we are sitting around doing nothing, for her to quiz me. I'm also trying to read those notes every night, before bedtime. 

In addition to that, I have a powerpoint with about 800+ slides that I got from a classmate. Each slide has "clues" for remembering different facts and pieces of information. I'm going to study at least 5 slides per day and have recruited my sister to quiz me every weekend on the material that I have already covered. 

I'm hoping all this will pay back in a huge way --> that fat Step 1 score! :)

YouTube videos

As I study for the Step and talk to my fellow students, we have all discovered how helpful youtube videos can be. Some of us, like me, are visual learners and sometimes need a change in routine in order for something to stick. Like many of my friends, I type random study-related words on youtube in order to run into interesting/funny videos that can help me remember a certain topic/fact etc.

Here's a couple that my classmates posted on our class google groups:
Not Enough Perfusion
Bug A-B-C's

I'll keep posting these as I come across them ;)

8 weeks so far!

Weeks 1-4 studying for the USMLE Step 1 - May 17th, 2012

I feel like I needed a blog ... a way to quantify my studying in order to feel productive and keep the struggle going :) What better way then my facebook!! 

Week 1 (after MD5): took the week off to spend time with family - much needed break! 

Week 2: application for ECFMG certification and the Step 1; paper-work completed and sent, slow start to studying, felt totally overwhelmed with the amount of resources to study from AND the amount of stuff I needed to go through!

Week 3: made myself a schedule, started uworld questions in addition to my studying; felt less stressed

Week 4: still finishing off Behavioral Sciences - my experience: seems very easy and common sense BUT questions can be very tricky ... if you leave to study this in the end, you will end up just brushing over it so in my opinion it was best to study this first :) Also, Behavioral covered some Psychiatry and Neuroscience stuff from the First Aid so that was good ... I think I'm going to go over those sections in the FA over the weekend and get that over with as well :)

that's it for now ... I'll keep posting updates on my studying :)

Week 5 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - May 28th, 2012

This week was tough to get through - a tad bit of low motivation and a little bit of being tired. 

This week I realized what a long way I have! But thank God and supportive friends that I've made it through Week 5 and feel energized for this coming week :) 

I've been working on Pathology and also worked on one of the NBME forms. 

Pathology is a fun subject since everything makes sense and I don't have to memorize :) 

Hoping to continue this week and work on more uworld questions. 

Week 6 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - June 4th, 2012

Hey there again!

So, this past week was ... let's just say, weird! I've heard of getting on a rocky-road in terms of how your studying goes but this week was definitely a rocky-road combined with a roller coaster combined with bumper cars ... lol! My level of enthusiasm, motivation, focus, positivity, and health was all down and it was most definitely the most I've struggled in terms of studying. I just couldn't seem to find the right mind-set for studying efficiently.

I initially had my schedule set for 3 weeks of studying Pathology (as well as the other two P's, Pharmacology and Physiology), but somehow managed to change it and have Pathology for 2 weeks instead --> BAD idea! Now I feel like I'm behind, especially because last week was so blah! I guess I'm going to have to step it up this week and make it stronger than ever! Soooooo, off I go to studying Pathology for the day - and for the rest of this week!!

Week 7 & 8 - Studying for the USMLE Step 1 - June 18th, 2012

Week 7: After having a couple weeks of low productivity in terms of studying, this week was so much better. I managed to get in 3 eight hour days of Pathology! And a couple five hour days as well. However, I was stressed out about having fallen behind schedule. The week was otherwise quite uneventful until Friday night when my right eye felt very irritated. Little did I know what was in store for me..

Week 8: I spent the weekend self-diagnosing (like most medical students do) my right eye. I went from contact lens irritation to allergies (and taking an antihistamine) to "I have no idea and now my iris has a whitish dot on it; it must be something bad!" lol I went to my optometrist on Monday, who was out and had to see another doctor who was covering for him. She said I had a corneal infection and put me on Pred Forte (antiinflammatory) and Polymyxin B Sulfate/Trimethoprim (antibiotic) .. and told me to follow-up the next day with my doctor. I went to the doctor again on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday! He had me switched to other two antibiotics, Moxifloxacin and Bacitracin Zinc/Polymyxin B Sulfate. My infection was still there but getting better each day. However, what this did to my studying was a very stressful situation. My eye was light sensitive for a huge majority of the week and I had to apply eye drops on the hour and the whole condition was just uncomfortable in my eye! But I did manage to listen to some audio lectures for Pathology and started studying Microbiology as well. I've been studying one bug a day and reviewing every day so that I don't forget. Looks good so far ... hoping to keep up with it. The pressure seems to be building when I think that I'm planning on taking the Step in less than 3 months!

I have realized this week though that I need to give myself a break and it's alright to have days here and there that don't work per schedule. I just need to work 200% on days that are good study days :) And stop freaking out so much!!

The beginning ..

So my sister suggested that I should start a blog since I have been writing notes on facebook about each week of my studying for the USMLE Step 1. I have tried blogging before but it went down the drain. This is my second attempt and hopefully I shall continue since I feel much more organized in terms of giving this the time that it needs. I am also more ready to share my thoughts without feeling the need to hide anything - thanks to twitter I suppose.

I'm going to start off by trying to transfer the last few weeks' worth of note-writing.
I usually write every Monday about my entire week and specifically about how my studying is coming along. This helps me focus for the rest of the week and prioritize my work.

I hope I can keep up with this!!