Wednesday, June 10, 2009

CK journey

Continued my momentum while awaiting the results of step1 as I wanted to try for the scramble at the least.I stuck to Kaplan and UW. Watched the Videos first, followed it up with Kaplan notes and Q bank. IM is worth watching if you have time.Dr.Fischer's lectures were great.. I liked his style, despite his weirdness!.. OB-GYN lectures were good with good notes and tables.

Simultaneously,I prepared my eras documents,LoRs,MSPE,Personal Statement etc. Strangely enough,It took me a while before I could focus back on ck. My serious prep involved 3months of reading Kaplan notes,Kap Q bank and UW. I gave good 2 readings to CK notes. Scored about 69% on UW first time. Took NBME 3 weeks before - was 95. Practicing Q on UW or kaplan is very essentail for ck too as Q are very long and confusing some times. I revised UW full just for my memory and practice.. also discussed with friends from kaplan on several topics and exchanged ideas.

Exam day:
Had a good night sleep, revised psych and paeds a few topics in the morning. As the summer heat already picked up, mom made me good lassi, coffee and light meals for breaks. Exam started off well,finished all blocks on time, my level of difficulty- felt similar to step1. Questions were longer as expected, reading the last line first helped me, Most of the Q were from IM(60%)-then Paeds,Psy,OBGY,Surgery in that order.. got four media qs but could get the clue from q stem. The most difficult part was concept of understanding what is your next step or mostly likely diagnosis..practicing the qs is the key to this. There was some overlap with step1 especially with pharmac and patho.Psychiatry was my weakest link on NBME, I tried improve by discussing topics with friends, or doing more questions.Last but not least is... prepare for a longer day than step1 as one might feel tired or bored even.

The result took me four weeks..although disappointed for being late for post match, was a pleasant surprise and joy to see 99 again.. Writing in retrospect feels great but this time also there were similar issues or distractions in the family or home but I also learned to trust that God is directing my steps made me more comfortable in my shoes.. There were times I felt sick of mle but endurance is the key here :)Please keep doing your best..will be back with my scramble experience until then best wishes!

Friday, April 10, 2009

step1 experience-against all odds

Looking back, one of the best decisions I took was to join the local Kaplan centre. The blues of leaving NHS and the Britain just began to sink me; I missed the on-calls, the patients and our team… most importantly my "small-world" I got so used to. In addition to my career taking a major shift or going back to basics, our family was recovering from the hard reality of the sudden loss of one of my parents. So joining the Centre Prep helped me immensely to overcome the distractions and to focus.

My Prep involved - Kaplan lectures, notes and the PLS. I followed it up with practicing as many qs I could...UW,Kaplan Q bank mostly then Rapid Review, Student consult, Lippincott’s, and Prep4usmle forum etc. Last but not the least that I got hold of was the Goljan lectures, just one month before the exam. Dr.Goljan integrated the subject very well it was more like Patho- physiology, Biochemistry, Immunology etc combined.I kind of liked it a lot and tried to listen to him as much I could like even during a walk, or while doing chores etc and it was worth it...and Goljan is fun to listen to too.

To Summarize, I gave three readings to Kaplan notes and practiced it with as many qs I could.

The exam day: Amasingly I had good 6 hr sound sleep the night before, woke up fresh in the morning.Prayed once again with family,reached centre on time,went to my seat about half past eight in the morning. The proctor at my desk-top gave a brief orientation to the equipment, started the exam with clock ticking before I sat or settled down... it caused more adrenalin rush but I managed to pace myself. Also the block finished five minutes ahead so I had sufficient time to review first few questions.. I felt the first few and last blocks were easier than the 3rd or 4th block in which I had to rush with time …Overall on an average I felt about 10 qs per block were very difficult and 5-10 q moderate, remaining easy.

Thankfully eight hours passed pretty quickly, having answered all qs returned home relieved. Following days I too began to remember all the wrong answers, felt anxious now and then:) The result was out in exactly three weeks… well it was YES 99 in deed. What a joy it is to share...

hope this helps .. I will be back soon with my step2-ck experience until then... God Bless!

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