We at the USMLERx team have one singular goal: to continue to improve both the quality of questions in our question bank and the manner in which those questions are presented to you. With this in mind, here are some exciting new features on our Web site that are sure to enhance your board preparation experience:

1. Half-day or full-day exam simulation. Now you can simulate an actual half-day or full-day exam on USMLERx.com. You can create either a partial simulation, with four blocks of fifty questions per block, or a complete simulation consisting of seven blocks of fifty questions per block. (To do so, you must have enough unused questions in the bank to create these simulations.) Once questions are placed in Simulation Mode, they will not be available for regular test use on the Web site. As with regular tests on Step 1 Qmax, you will have the ability to continue after each block or suspend the simulation for later. Each block in a simulation will have a separate Analysis Page, and at the completion of each simulation, an Overall Analysis Page will be available for your review. This new feature will allow you to track your progress.
2. Review Question Page. The questions you annotate for review will now be listed on the Review Question Page with links to the actual questions. All you need to do is click on the date link next to a given question, and a new window will open with your question(s) for easy review.
3. More specific options for creating tests. You can now create a test with both an organ system and a discipline, making testing more defined. We have also focused the correct/incorrect question use. You can create tests using ONLY incorrect questions. Watch your incorrect question count go down as you get each question right!

So the Big Day has finally come. How can you maximize your chances of doing well? Here are some basic do’s and don’ts.

1. Double-check your paperwork. Do you have your driver’s license or another signed photo ID? And do you have your orange scheduling permit? Don’t leave home without it!
2. Leave your gizmos behind. The USMLE Bulletin of Information has a long list of electronic gadgets that you can’t bring with you into the testing area. These include cell phones, calculators, pagers, PDAs, radios, recording devices, and, as of the 2008 Bulletin, watches of any kind (both digital and analog). Other items you’ll have to live without - or store in a designated locker or cubicle - include books, notes, scratch paper, and, as of the latest Bulletin, earplugs.
3. Bundle up. Although you can’t bring outerwear such as coats and jackets into the testing area, you should wear warm, comfortable clothing to accommodate variable temperatures at the test site.
4. Show up early. Try to make sure you arrive at your designated testing center about 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment. If you get there any earlier than that, you’ll run the risk of stressing out. Whatever you do, however, don’t get to the testing center late, as you will likely have to reschedule.
5. Chill out! Bearing in mind how hard you’ve worked to prepare for this test, focus on being mentally alert. Focus and avoid panic.

Wondering if the USMLERx Qmax is really worth all that time and investment?

Trying to figure out how best to incorporate your First Aid text into your board preparation?  Check out this article to find out how one USMLERx subscriber prepared for his boards and ended up scoring a 260/99 on the USMLE Step 1!

Hoon Choi is a medical student at Auckland Medical School in New Zealand. He made choices just like you did, or will do, about how to prepare for his board exam. Initially, Hoon chose to use First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 as his primary resource for Step 1 preparation, assiduously underlining the information he felt was particularly high yield. “However, [I found it] difficult to retain the information just by reading and underlining,” says Hoon. So he purchased the USMLERx Step 1 Qmax to help him retain the information he had underscored in his First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 text.

Hoon began preparing for the Step 1 exam five months before he was scheduled to take it. His preparation actually began when he first entered medical school and started to attend his classes and lectures. He studied approximately five hours each day for those five months. And with the help of his classes, lectures, First Aid text, and Step 1 Qmax, Hoon walked into the exam feeling truly prepared.

“The exam was not easy by any means,” Hoon said. “However, the questions were definitely reasonable, and the level of difficulty was not unexpected. I finished the exam feeling like I gave it all I had.”

Here are some of Hoon Choi’s words of wisdom for those of you preparing for the Step 1 exam:

“Attend your lectures, and learn the school material well. Purchase your [First Aid] book six to nine months before your set exam date, and start annotating in your book. Make it your own! Do as many questions as you can get your hands on. When you feel like you’ve done enough questions, do some more. You won’t have time to work through questions when the clock is ticking. You should be familiar with the material enough to be able to ‘react’ when the clock is ticking.”

The following is the official update list for the 2008 Ed of the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 text. For a complete list of all updates to this edition, please visit the Step 1 Corrections page.

Download the updates list. (word) (PDF)

The First Aid Team is looking for a motivated student to take over the responsibilities of running www.firstaidteam.com! Send an email with a resume to us at firstaidteam@yahoo.com

The Job

1. Year long commitment to managing the content of this blog, including working with members of other projects to publish updates to various editions of the First Aid texts.
2. Independently researching issues affecting students studying for the Boards and creating timely blog posts (NBME website, ECFMG, student forums, etc.)

The Perks

1. Authorship credit in the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1
2. Generous stipend
3. Opportunity to work with First Aid authors and develop relationships for future projects

The Applicant

1. Passionate about medical education and helping fellow students
2. Comfort with HTML, Wordpress, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Word
3. Experience blogging a big plus!
4. Basic ability in image editing
5. Organized, dependable, and able to work with a team.

The First Aid Team has been hard at work!

• New Updates for First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (word or pdf)
• New Updates for First Aid Q&A for the USMLE Step 1 (pdf)
• New Updates for First Aid Q&A for the USMLE Step 2 CK (pdf)

This announcement from USMLE.org

A small number of multiple-choice items with associated audio and/or video clips will be introduced into the USMLE Step 1 Examination beginning in mid- to late May 2008. No more than 5 items with associated media clips will appear in a single examination. The 2008 USMLE Orientation Materials include a small number of multiple-choice items that contain exhibits involving audio and/or video clips. Instructions for practicing with items with associated media clips on Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 are provided in the Tutorials for each Step examination in the orientation materials.

Items with associated media were introduced into Step 2 CK in 2007, and into Step 3 in March of 2008. As of May 2008 all three multiple-choice question components of the USMLE examination will include items with associated audio and/or video.

This update from USMLE.org

Starting on or around May 15, 2008, a transitin period will begin in which the number of items in current forms of the Step 1 examination will change from 350 items to 336 items. Although the transition will occur quickly at many test centers, there may also be some locations where the changes take slightly longer to complete. The overall transition period will likely last approximately 6 weeks. The length of the examination day will remain unchanged.

The decrease in the number of items per form will be accounted for in scoring the examination results, so that scores on new and old forms will be comparable. Because of these changes in timing, as well as modifications to the test item pool and the processing load caused by a heavy volume of test takers, there will be a delay in score reporting for most Step 1 examinations administered in the second half of May and June.

The target date for reporting Step 1 scores for most examinees testing from May 15 through late June will be Wednesday, July 16, 2008.

Dr. Tao Le invites you to a free Webinar Tuesday, April 22nd from 9-10pm EDT!

This high-yield talk from Dr. Tao Le, the series editor for First Aid, will cover need to know information on how to become an outstanding medical student on the wards and get outstanding clerkship evaluations.  Learn how to effectively work with a medical team, study and learn on the run, avoid the mistakes other students make and get a gratifying clerkship experience that will enhance your career choice.  There will be an opportunity for a live Q & A session at the end of the talk.

ATTENTION:  You will need to be able to make a long distance telephone call to listen to the conference audio.The way it works:

1. Register to hold your place now (space is limited).
2. Make sure that your computer meets the system requirements for the visual portion of the online conference (details below).
3. Be able to call the conference phone number to listen to Tao’s presentation. This can be done with a home phone, cell phone, or internet phone.
4. Come with questions!
5. Try to call in a few minutes early for the Webinar as the phone lines tend to get a little jammed around 1pm.

• Title: First Aid for the Wards by Dr. Tao Le
• Date: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
• Time: 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EDT
• System Requirements
  Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista OR
  Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer
• Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
  https://www.gotomeeting.com

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/244930633

Dr. Tao Le (series editor for the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1) invites you to a free Webinar Thursday, April 17th from 9-10pm EDT!

This high-yield talk will cover the basics of the USMLE Step 1 including an overview of the boards, goal setting, high-yield topics in each subject area, study strategies, review resources, and study schedules. There will be an opportunity for a live Q & A session at the end of the talk.

ATTENTION: You will need to be able to make a long distance telephone call to listen to the conference audio.

The way it works:

1. Register to hold your place now (space is limited).
2. Make sure that your computer meets the system requirements for the visual portion of the online conference (details below).
3. Be able to call the conference phone number to listen to Tao’s presentation. This can be done with a home phone, cell phone, or internet phone.
4. Come with questions!
5. Try to call in a few minutes early for the Webinar as the phone lines tend to get a little jammed around 1pm.

• Title: First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 by Dr. Tao Le
• Date: Thursday, April 17th, 2008
• Time: 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EDT
• System Requirements
  Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista OR
  Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer
• Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
  https://www.gotomeeting.com

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/308576534