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! :)