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Need to Prepare for USMLE

Written By onci on Sunday, January 8, 2012 | 8:09 AM

Admit it, in medical school, you have to juggle between lecture, classes, laboratories, and your personal and social life, such that you most probably review for a major examination a week or a day before the of test. And every time you gather with your colleagues, you huddle together and do a post-mortem of the test questions, right? In your mind, there's a small voice saying "You could have done better if you prepared properly." Then you start promising yourself that the next time will be different, but you only repeat the same process over and over again.

If you pass your medical school examinations, that means you have the capacity for memory retention, right? If you allocated enough time to your USMLE review, you could be at the top of the class, right? When your professors remind you to prepare for a test - then by all means, a medical student should be prepared. Why? Because you will later on deal with actual diseases and diagnoses, and prescribe actual medical or surgical interventions to real patients!

A medical student should never go to class unprepared, the same way that the doctor should never enter the =patient's room without proper training.
Have you heard the old saying, "What you sow today, you reap tomorrow?" Indeed, where you invest your time now as a medical student will define the physician that you are tomorrow.

With the fast evolution of technology, the information printed on your textbook (three years out of date, on average) may have changed, and what better way to prepare yourself for the medical board examinations than to do some serious USMLE review.

You can always study on your own with books open, but when help is available to give you the proper preparation to secure the next 25 years of your medical career, wouldn't you grab that chance? Here are several reasons why you should participate in a formal or informal, up-to-date, rigorous, USMLE review while you can:

  1. It took you time, energy and money to complete your medical school application requirements and to pass the MCAT exam.
  2. Both you and your parents have spent countless amounts of time, energy, and money for all the academic requirements asked of you (you can't make it to medical school without some sort of support structure).
  3. If you belong to a family of physicians, failing on the USMLE Step 1 could make for some uncomfortable moments at family gatherings.
  4. It would be far from impossible not to bump into one of your medical school classmates and see them wearing their scrubs and white coats while you struggle to walk faster so they will not recognize you.
  5. Being left behind in medical school and starting all over again with the class below you is a little embarassing.
  6. If you don't have the necessary good study habits to survive USMLE, just ask someone else for a little help. There is no embarassment there. Help can come in the form of a supporting community of student doctors, a formal USMLE review course, or an informal USMLE review with friends and classmates.
Some of the above situations are the worst case scenario. But all of the problems with USMLE exams can be prevented with the right study habits. Passing any academic examination all depends on one word: review. USMLE review will prepare you for the rigors of the exam. A regimented USMLE review can actually help you improve 20-40 percent on your previous USMLE (NBME test) scores. Don't get stuck revisiting the past and asking "What went wrong" when you could have taken a comprehensive USMLE review from the start.
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  1. Hi friends,

    The good news about the USMLE is that there are many resources that can help, and the most important thing is to figure out a plan that suits you and then sticks to it. First, you need to think about three things, which type of learner you are, what environment you study best in, and whether you want to study with partners. Take time to think through these questions before you start. Thank you.

    USMLE Step 3 Course