Just got my STEP 1 results today and I passed! 


Here's a list of resources I used: 
- FA 2014 x5 
- Pathoma (videos only) x2
- DIT 2013 (videos only) 
- UWorld (~5000 qs) 
- Kaplan QBank (~2000 qs) 
- Kaplan videos
- UsmleRx (~1000 qs)
- NBME forms 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
- UWSA 1, 2
- Picmonic 

Timeline:
- 3 months of focused studying (10 hrs/day at the library) 
- wrote exam on Aug 9, 4 weeks for results to come out 

Stuff I wish I did:
- started studying earlier!! 
- used more resources 
- more questions = better understanding
- balance better between studying and still having a life outside of studying

Stuff I wish I DIDN'T do:
- isolate myself from everyone else (I pretty much cut myself off from social life so I could focus better) 
- Kaplan physio vids (I like Conrad Fischer as much as the next person but I didn't find the lecture videos very efficient) 

My advice to those currently studying:
- take it one day at a time and try not to stress out about things you cannot control (ie. WTF questions on the exam)   
- don't rush it! If you don't feel ready to sit for the exam you can always push back the date (for a fee). Just contact the Prometric centre. It still has to be within the 3 month window period. 
- book a practice test at the Prometric centre to familiarize yourself with the testing environment

My advice for test day:
- arrive early to the Prometric centre. Check-in (photograph and finger scan) can take up to 15 minutes. 
- bring food that will keep you awake and energized. I brought energy bars and energy drinks and a lunch but I barely ate anything that day because of the adrenaline that I didn't feel hungry. 
- if you don't know the answer to the question after a minute then mark it and move on! 
- you should leave 10-15 mins to review answers (if you have trouble with time then do more timed UWorld blocks of 46)

My advice to those who already wrote their exam and is waiting anxiously for results:
- you will feel like you failed so it's normal to feel miserably depressed for a day (or a few days in my case), but try to do something that will take your mind off by surrounding yourself with family and friends and positivity!
- relax! The biggest exam of your medical career is over! 
- above all, trust in your NBME scores! 

Labels: ecfmg, med school, med student, step 1, step1, usmle

Labels: basic sciences, exams, fifth semester, med, med school, nbme, statia, steustatius, usesom

This is it! The final semester of basic science, and the last four months on the island (or any island) for me!!
I arrived two nights ago after a few delays but nothing worse, thankfully. The rough weather apparently caused many flight cancellations at major airports in the states and Canada. 
On my first day back at school I noticed that it was very very empty. Well it was kind of expected given the unideal situation from last semester. I was kind of sad to hear that some people had transferred to other schools, just because I had grown familiar with their presence in the classroom since first semester.
My two classes this semester are ICM (Introduction to Clinical Medicine) and FCM (Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine), but technically only one real course (ICM), as the other one consists of the Kaplan Review in preparation for the NBME that I have to write (and pass) at the end of the semester.
Yesterday at noon, the school's new CEO held a town hall meeting to go over the school's status and changes being implemented. The only change I did not like was that we were ordered to wear scrubs during class. 
Did I mention that I made a few New Year's resolutions this year? (I don't usually). I plan on working out at the gym at least 5 times a week, and meal-prepping! 
The gym I go to is right on the main road and about a five minute walk from where I live. It is on the ground floor of a large hotel beside the marina. The gym itself is actually quite small. There are three areas: the weight room, the cardio room and the room with the glass mirrors (cool-down room?). Anyways I was there yesterday for about an hour. After I got home I started meal-prepping. I wanted to do meal-prepping just to force myself to cook instead of buying food everyday. So I bought a huge bag of frozen chicken tenderloins, a bag of broccoli florets, and a box of mashed potato flakes and some fresh sweet potato as well as some quinoa. Also I bought a 24-piece set of plastic containers to place all the food in. It wasn't until I started cooking that I realized how long meal-prepping takes. But it did feel satisfying afterwards to see all the food packed neatly in the containers on top of one another. It will also help me control my portions (which I have a big problem with!) 

At the gym~

Today I went to the gym again and bumped into my two friends from Toronto who were also working out there. Later we went out for food (since their stove exploded!!), and ended up at a restaurant on the main road called Harbor Queen. My two friends both got the all-you-can-eat ribs option, and I ordered… lobster!! (as usual) 

My 1.5 lb lobster and endless ribs :Q

Labels: ceo, fcm, fifth, gym, icm, lobster, meal prepping, med, med school, med student, new, new year resolution, school, semester, sxm

Website Hit Counters