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)