USMLE Step 1 Advice - Everything you need to know about attending UAG - Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara Medical School!

Welcome to UAGMD where you will learn everything you need to know about attending the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine (UAG)

Picture of our soccer team our first year at UAG 2001/2002

USMLE Step 1

Notice!

USMLE Step 1 - the exam we've all been waiting for is just around the corner. It's the exam I affectionately call "Emily". It will be our ultimate test of clinical sciences knowledge. "Emily" will be both the ONLY focus of our studies over the next few months and a major contributor in determining our future as doctors. A lot rides on our success on this exam and that is why I will be dedicating this page to helping us achieve that success.

If you want to contribute anything at all to this page please email gmb1994@aol.com with the information.

Table of Contents

	Please try out my new HandyCards data files. I am providing these FREE of charge for your learning benefit. The only thing I ask is that you email me with corrections, suggestions and requests.
	Kaplan Review Course information and professors
	Who's involved in USMLE Step 1?
	Registration process and requirements to take the USMLE Step 1
	Outside Resources
	Achieving the 99th percentile - Success Stories!
	Other great websites that might help you prepare ...
	Study tips I've heard along the way ...
	My Contributions ...

Who's involved in USMLE Step 1?

The USMLE Step 1 is prepared by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). You will take this computerized exam at a Prometric^® testing center either in Guadalajara or in the United States.

Specific information about USMLE Step 1 is presented at the following websites:

1. National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
2. United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)
    +How do you compare to past test takers?
3. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical (ECFMG)
    +Checkout "When To Apply" deadline dates.
    +Checkout the "2003 Information Booklet" online.
    +Checkout the "Registration process and requirements to take the USMLE Step 1" section for information pertaining specifically to us.

I will post critical dates here as I find out more information.

Registration process and requirements to take the USMLE Step 1

	USMLE Step 1 application process: Dra. Sandavol is going to help us out by preparing all our USMLE step 1 application material for us. We will simply need to fill out some paperwork by the end of April 2003. Once our paperwork is filled out UAG will take care of mailing the material off to the US. At least, that is what I was informed of today ... I'll keep you posted if there are changes to this.
	Are you planning on taking the USMLE Step 1 this July? If you are, you must have passed all your classes by the end of April 2003. That means you can NOT owe a single class, segundo, extra or Propedeutics exam by the end of April 2003. If you have completed all your courses and exams you may proceed to filling out your USMLE Step 1 application. If you owe anything you will not be allowed to apply for your USMLE Step 1 until after you have passed all your courses and exams (including Propedeutics). You will also be required to sign a waiver saying that you will continue taking the Kaplan Review Course until its completion. That means that if you complete all your requirements during segundos or extras weeks, the soonest you will be able to take the USMLE Step 1 will be in September or October 2003. USMLE Step 1 application processing takes about 4-6 weeks after you have completed all your course and exam requirements with UAG.
	News from NBME (administrators of the USMLE Step 1) I've been corresponding with the NBME concerning the deadlines for application prior to your desired test date. According to NBME they only need our paperwork in their offices at least 3 weeks prior to your desired test date. So, we'll have our stuff in their offices with plenty of time using UAG's processing timetable. No worries here.

Outside Resources

	Kaplan - Qbank
	Kaplan - Integrated Vignettes Qbank
	www.csa-notes.com/ is a great source for great USMLE Step 1 study material
	www.usmlebank.com is a great brain dump of remembered questions
	www.prep4usmle.com is a great source of USMLE questions
	More success stories found here: http://www.prep4usmle.com/strategies.html

Achieving the 99^th percentile - Success Stories!

Success stories from fellow classmates.

Ok, everyone wants to achieve the 99 percentile, but how difficult is the attainment of that goal? In this section I will present fellow classmate's (not all from UAG) success stories. There are many of these stories on the web and I will not claim that they are all true, but perhaps consistency among the different stories will lead you in the right direction.

More success stories found here: http://www.prep4usmle.com/strategies.html

Score

Story

234 and 236

	J
	Fall 2002 graduates from UAG.
	They studied all the Body Systems books provided by Kaplan.
	They studied NBME retired questions = only helpful in identifying weak areas that need more attention
	Note: UAG graduates take a 3.5 month Kaplan review course

220+

	U1
	Fall 2002 graduate from UAG.
	She studied (maybe memorized) all the PreTest questions. She would dedicate at least 1 hour every night to taking a 60 question PreTest exam.
	Note: UAG graduates take a 3.5 month Kaplan review course

220+

	M
	Spring 2004 graduate from UAG.
	She took all her notes during the Kaplan Review Course in her First Aid 2001 book, that way when the course was over the only book she had to study was her First Aid 2001 book.
	She took full advantage of the Kaplan Review Course.
	qbank
	first aid
	pay attention to Kaplan course
	use first aid along with Kaplan
	your own notes in first aid from Kaplan ... great idea for review
	you should do 50 questions of qbank/day as your doing kaplan
	you're about to finish Kaplan ... do qbook
	2000 questions in qbank
	last month of Kaplan do qbank
	qbook is slightly harder than qbank
	qbook is almost 1000 questions
	going over explanations is time consuming
	recommendation now, focus on classes this 3rd semester
	use first aid at the end of every class to review
	many clinical vignettes
	some one line questions
	most questions are a paragraph long
	50?s/block and 60mins/block
	software for qbank is exactly the same for usmle step 1
	after doing qbank you will feel comfortable with usmle step 1
	350?s in 7 blocks & 45 min break
	put in code number for each block
	Kaplan will give a simulated exam disk
	% of each subject?
	scored 74% on simulated exam
	path / pathophys / pharm
	not much of micro = only what was in first aid (micr/pharm)
	lippincott for pharm is good
	Kaplan is all you should study
	Kaplan's Qbank questions = very helpful
	Note: UAG graduates take a 3.5 month Kaplan review course

215+

	C
	Spring 2004 graduate from UAG
	Kaplan's Qbank questions = very helpful
	Note: UAG graduates take a 3.5 month Kaplan review course

215+

	M
	Spring 2004 graduate from UAG
	Kaplan's Qbank questions = very helpful
	Kaplan's Integrated Vignettes Qbank = not helpful
	Buzzwords for the Boards = not helpful
	Note: UAG graduates take a 3.5 month Kaplan review course

214

	JR
	Spring 2003 graduate from Texas Tech.
	He studied a minimum of 6 hours per day at least 4 months prior to the exam. He studied a minimum of 9 hours per day at least 3 months prior to taking the exam.
	Every night he would set a timer in his room to 60 minutes and would test himself on 100 new questions from a variety of sources. He would try to answer as many questions (from those 100) as he could in 60 minutes. If he ran out of time he would leave the remaining questions for the following night. He would then spend the next hour reviewing his exam and understanding his mistakes.

More success stories will be added soon!

Other great websites that might help you prepare ...

	Heather's Homepage: Medical Board Review Extravaganza ... I like the name, lots of great links
	Ghetto for the International Medical Graduates ... lots of great info for IMGs, lots of great software to download, lots of great medical resource links

Study tips I've heard along the way ...

High-Yield for psychiatry and High-Yield ob/gyn were good

Tips will be added soon!

My contributions ...

Typical "Normal" Laboratory Values.

I prefer the term "Typical" to describe laboratory values. Using the word "Normal" implies that someone falling outside of the given range is "Abnormal" ... and I do not think that is a term that a health care provider should present to their patients.

I prefer to consider someone's laboratory values as "Typical" vs. "Atypical" rather than "Normal" vs. "Abnormal.” Thank you Alan Gault for that one!

Typical “Normal” Laboratory Values that appear on the USMLE Step 1 provided by the NBME and formatted by gmb1994@aol.com.

Download: Typical "Normal" Laboratory Values found on USMLE Step 1 - Word Document (47 KB)