By Ryan Nguyen Many osteopathic medical students at the beginning of their second year struggle to come up with a game-plan to prepare for the COMLEX Level 1 and USMLE Step 1. With a disturbing number of resources and study plans to choose from, how can students determine […]
By Tim Durso There’s one age old question that inevitably creeps into the forefront of the (admittedly neurotic) mind of many medical students during the pre-clinical years: “When should I start studying for Step 1?” For a question that seems so universal, the answer is far from it. […]
By Luke Murray So, you’re sitting down to start studying for Step 1 and you’re freaking out. That’s understandable. I sure as heck did. It’s the most important test that you’ll take on your journey to becoming a physician. The problem with worrying was that it hurt my […]
By Jocelyn Compton I’d scoured the internet for every last dribble of advice for Step 1 test day. I’d even read some blog posts about MCAT test day mixed in with Step 2 test experiences. I thought about braving the subway versus taking a cab to the test […]
By Patrick Sylvester Alternately titled… what to do about topics you just don’t feel comfortable with! From my own experience, and from talking to other students, a common theme that comes up during Step 1 studying is the nagging feeling that “I just can’t remember X,” or “How […]
By Luke Murray “The hard part about writing is not the writing. It’s sitting down to write.” – Steven Pressfield, author of “The Legend of Bagger Vance” When it comes to studying, or any endeavor requiring great physical, mental, or emotional effort, having momentum on your side […]
By Patrick Sylvester Part of what we’re hoping to do with these First Aid Team posts is to share with you things that we really wish (or were really glad) that someone had told us about a variety of things related to medical school, the USMLE exams, and […]
By Mark Ard In the immortal words of NCAA legend John Wooden, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” When it’s time to hunker down, lay the pedal to the metal, chug coffee, skip showers, and generally do things that compromise your sociability to prepare […]
By Jocelyn Compton The ethical principles section of Step 1 is perhaps the hardest to anticipate and study due to the vast number of situations and minute variations that could be thrown your way. Many medical students consider these questions “easy points” and fail to recognize them as […]
By Patrick Sylvester Let’s talk about your plan for exam day. You might be thinking, “Surely there are more important things I should be studying/worrying about?” Well you might be right, but in my experience, too many students put off thinking about test day logistics until the bitter […]
