THE NEXT STEP: Preparing for USMLE Step 1

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THE NEXT STEP Preparing for USMLE Step 1

• Beth Sonntag, M.Ad.Ed, Director
• Teaching and Learning Center
• January 5, 2007

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Successful Test-Taking
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Academic Preparation Plan

• Study Resources
• Select Review Materials
• Self-Assessment
• Study Plan
• Faculty Review Sessions
• Workshops
• Current Classes
• Practice Questions

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Select review materials

• Select a key review book
• MS3 and SAS feedback other recommendations on
  books
• Review tools and organizers

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Self-Assessment

• 1. Content listing
• Code Strengths / Weaknesses
• Rate each topic with
• anew or cant remember
• bknow but needs review
• cknow it cold
• 2. Develop a study plan
• 3. Utilize checklist

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Study Plan

• Develop a systematic review plan that
• layers your learning
• utilizes long-term memory strategies
• connects new learning to previously learned
  information
• builds in frequent review
• optimizes your learning style

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January/February (2 hrs. per week)

• Systems review of physiology with pathology
  parallel with review book(s)
• Robbins Review questions
• Pharm cards Lippincotts pharm book

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March/April (2-4 hrs. per week)

• Qbank questions (20-25 per day)
• Systems review of physiology with pathology
  parallel with review book(s)
• Robbins Review questions
• Pharm cards Lippincotts pharm book

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May

• Finals
• Begin Step 1 full-time study plan

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• One of the best things you can do is to have
  your boards review book(s) available when you are
  doing your regular studying and open them up to
  the topic. Review the anatomy, physiology,
  pharmacology and pathology. It will not only
  help you come test time, but you will do better
  in Mechanisms. MD, Class of 2005

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Practice Questions

• Format brain
• Integrate material/problem solving
• Time
• Reading Speed
• Identify areas to study
• REVIEW tool

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Practice Questions

• Instead of just answering the questions and
  glancing at the answers, I made notes on many of
  the answers and looked up info from those
  questions that I was unfamiliar with . . . doing
  the questions helped me to streamline how I read
  and processed each question this is very
  important because Step1 is so long. MS4

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Successful Test-Taking
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Positive Attitude

• Think positively about the exam
• Identify Support person(s)
• Learning is an inner game as much as an
  external activity

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Manage Stress

• Feeling overwhelmed?
• Effective Preparation Plan
• Identify potential barriers and explore ways to
  address them
• Test anxiety
• Strategies to reduce stress physical, emotional,
  cognitive

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Self-care

• Include exercise, proper diet, study breaks in
  your preparation plan.
• Exam prep can be a lonely endeavor
• Identify a person or group of people and a
  topic area and incorporate regular study sessions
  with them (i.e. pharm). Group learning keeps you
  from isolating yourself for an entire month!
  MS3

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Academic and Personal Preparation

• Re-visit the Rules
• 1. You must prepare
• 2. Know whats on the test
• 3. Know your test makers
• 4. Get every question correct that
• you can
• 5. Never leave a question blank
• 6. Learn to Guess

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Academic and Personal Preparation

• Upcoming workshops sponsored by the Teaching and
  Learning Center
• Make a Plan
• January/February
• Long-term Memory Strategies
• March/April
• Stress Management
• TBA
• Faculty Review Sessions January to April

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Resources and Workshop Information

• www.meddean.luc.edu/tlc

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