Jan 02, 2020 First Aid 2021. UWorld Offline 2019. First Aid 2020 PDF FREE! Kaplan 2017 Question Bank USMLE Step 1. Becker Step 1 Question Bank 2017. Lecturio Question Bank 2019 USMLE STEP 1.

My journey to a 269.

I found reading other people’s experiences incredibly helpful during my prep. This is a comprehensive breakdown of my prep for my IMG friends or anyone unfamiliar with the popular resources and strategies to ace this exam. Hopefully, this is of some use to you. Take what works for you and leave the rest.

The only way to get it offline is to get those free pdf screenshots of the questions, which is illegal, as well as very time consuming It’s better to pay for subscription. Prepare for the USMLE Step 1 Exam with UWorld. With over 2,600 practice questions, in-depth explanations, flash cards & more, we can help you master the exam to help you become a better clinician. April 17, 2021 April 17, 2021 DR.Paul best usmle resources biostat review Download UWorld Biostatistics Review 2020 Download Uworld Qbank 2020 For USMLE Step 3 dr ali uworld notes nbme offline google drive step 2 book step 2 ck step 2 ck high yield notes step 2 ck img step 2 ck practice test usmle step 1 usmle step 1 qbank usmle step 1.

Background: I am a non-US IMG, currently in 3rd Minor MBBS in a government medical college.

Question Banks

I prioritized doing as many questions as I could. Step 1 is 50% application and 50% retention. Doing questions helps you with both. Studies have found a direct correlation between the number of unique questions a candidate has done and their step 1 score.

I recommend saving Uworld for dedicated since it is the closest to the real deal. You can do USMLE Rx or Kaplan Qbank during your “Learning Phase” system-wise, after or during every system. Following this you can burn through Amboss questions. I did it system-wise as a review after a break from studying, but Random Timed will give you better spaced repetition. Amboss questions are notoriously difficult so don’t be discouraged by low scores on Random Timed.

UWorld is obviously a mainstay. I did 3-4 blocks per day Random, Timed during dedicated, and I think this is very important. Not only will this prepare you for how the exam will be structured, it will also test your recall more and give you spaced repetition. I made Anki cards from my UWorld incorrects, or searched and unsuspended cards from my collection.

Video Lectures

1. Boards and Beyond

Dr. Ryan has a way of explaining things that just makes them stick. He breaks complex topics down into simple overarching and interconnected concepts. The Cardiology section is solid gold. Another highlight was The Rule of 4s from Neurology. You get the exact tools you need to tackle questions from his videos. His videos followed by the Lightyear Anki deck is a magic recipe.

2. Sketchy

These are not your regular video lectures. They employ the Memory Palace technique to make volatile things easier to remember. They build a spatial story with symbols for drugs and diseases. The Ancient Greeks weren’t wrong, this technique definitely works. I don’t know how I would remember Micro or Pharm any other way. You can follow up with either the Pepper or lolnotacop Anki deck. (I used the Pepper deck.)
Sketchy Path is not as popular but I think it’s incredibly useful for certain topics:

Tumours
Genetic disorders (MEN syndrome, Sturge Weber, Osteogenesis imperfecta, etc)
UC vs Crohn’s
Pneumoconioses
Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis
Gout and Pseudogout

Instead of doing a Sketchy path deck I added the sketches to my Lightyear cards using the Batch Editing add on. Add on code: 291119185

3. Pathoma

I only did chapters 1 to 3. Many people swear by it, and Dr. Sattar is an exceptional teacher. It has a lot of overlap with Boards and Beyond though and I didn’t have the time for it. If you have an option between doing another video resource and more questions, go with questions.

4. Others

There are some topics which are not in Sketchy Micro or Pharm, but are extremely volatile. For these I used Memory Palace videos from other sources.

Physeo
- Lysosomal Storage Diseases
- Genetic Disorders
Pixorize
- Hyperlipidemias
Picmonic
- Developmental Milestones

Again, I added these sketches to my Lightyear cards using the Batch Edit add on.

Anki decks

For those unfamiliar with Anki, start here: Potty racers 4 hacked unblocked games.

1. Lightyear Deck

A great companion for Boards and Beyond. This was my main deck, which I extensively edited. I added B&B slides, sketchy images and my own diagrams. The base deck I used was an update with B&B slides. I would still recommend this deck over the AnKing deck, especially if your main resource is Boards and Beyond. With AnKing, you end up memorizing the sentences through the cloze cards. Lightyear tests information in a better way.

Pros of Lightyear
- Higher card quality (Shorter sentences, more basic cards)
- Lists (Forces you to remember blocks of information and connect them)
- Smaller deck (around 22k cards compared to 32k cards in AnKing)
- Closely follows Boards and Beyond
- Tests information in multiple ways

Cons of Lightyear
- Too many duplicate cards
- Less background info
- Less comprehensive
- No regular updates

2. AnKing Deck

The most comprehensive and up-to-date deck out there. I didn’t use this as my main deck but I supplemented Lightyear with it. Whatever new information I came across in Qbanks, I would search in my card browser, unsuspend and transfer them to my main deck.

3. Pepper Sketchy Decks

I prefer these decks to the lolnotacop deck included in AnKing. Pros include the basic card type, fewer cards, and the blocks of interconnected information in one card.

If you’re using this deck, I recommend the Edit Field During Review (Cloze) add on. Add on code: 385888438. Without this, editing Pepper style cards is too time consuming. This allows you to edit cards as you’re doing them, it’s a game changer.

Uworld Step 1 Offline Pdf

4. 100 concepts of Anatomy Deck

The anatomy that will show up on your exam is very unpredictable. This deck, and the original PDF it’s based on, cover the High Yield concepts you can prepare for. Although the card quality is not too great, but it does the job. This along with the anatomy questions in UWorld should cover 80% of what will show up on the test.

Newer version:

The one I used:

5. NBME Images Deck

It’s no secret that images, concepts and sometimes entire questions from NBMEs show up on the real deal. I saw a few images from this deck on the test. You can score some easy points by doing this deck just before your test. But don’t do it before you’ve given your NBMEs to avoid artificially inflating your scores.

6. UMich Heart Sounds Deck

I suspended a few cards which I thought were too complicated for preclinical level.

Books

I didn’t read any book cover to cover, I used them only as references.

Other Resources

Communication Skills

This PDF developed by the MD Anderson Institute to communicate sensitively with cancer patients and their relatives was a worthwhile read. You don’t have to remember the exact mnemonics or their expansions, it just puts you in the right frame of mind to answer communication questions.

YouTube videos

There are some topics in the USMLE content outline that are not covered in the standard resources. I watched Randy Neil videos for the Kaplan Meier curve, Population Pyramids and Metcalfe’s Law.

I would start by watching a Boards and Beyond video, immediately followed by the Lightyear cards for that video. While doing this, I would edit the cards extensively. If the topic was volatile, I would also watch the relevant Sketchy Path video before doing the Lightyear cards, and batch edit them with the sketch. I had done a good chunk of Sketchy Micro and Pharm before this in my 2nd year (videos followed by Pepper cards.)

Questions

When I was done with a particular system, I would add it to my USMLE Rx question blocks. I did random questions from systems I was done