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Exclusive advice from USMLE experts, to guide you from your first day of med school to Match Day.
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- Mar 21, 2018
- 5 min
How to Use the NBME Self-Assessments to Prepare for Step 1
Despite their nondescript name, the Comprehensive Basic Science Self-Assessments (CBSSAs) offered by the National Board of Medical Examiners’ (NBME) cover material most closely related to the USMLE Step 1 exam. Consequently, they represent one of the most important resources to use to prepare for Step 1, yet many students aren't sure how to best utilize these practice tests, often referred to as "NBMEs". Below is a comprehensive guide on how get the most out of these crucial
34,380 views2 comments
- Mar 15, 2018
- 4 min
How I Scored a 266 on the USMLE Step 1 in 6 Weeks
The most important piece of advice I can offer is to take your pre-clinical coursework seriously and to try to learn and integrate as much as possible during this time. Believe it or not, much of what we learn in the pre-clinical coursework–particularly physiology, pathophysiology, and microbiology–is extremely relevant for questions you will be asked on the wards, on shelf exams, and ultimately on the board exams. I cannot stress this enough: having a solid foundation going
58,776 views1 comment
- Mar 12, 2018
- 4 min
How to Succeed on Your Surgery Clerkship
Many things that are true for your medicine clerkship are true for your surgery clerkship (see our “How to Succeed on Your Medicine Clerkship” for more medicine-specific tips). However, I will outline things that are more specific to surgery in this blog post and provide suggestions on how to be the best surgery student you can be based on my experience as a third-year student. For me, the surgery clerkship was a huge deal. I knew before even starting it that a surgical subsp
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- Mar 7, 2018
- 4 min
How I Scored a 281 on Step 2 CK
Once a minor hurdle on the road to Match day, the USMLE Step 2 CK is now required by many residency programs prior to ranking applicants. For those with less-than-stellar Step 1 scores, Step 2 CK is even more critical, as it represents a student’s only opportunity to compensate for Step 1 performance. I was happy with my Step 1 score, but planned to take Step 2 CK well before applying for IM residency, and to ultimately pursue a highly competitive sub-specialty, gastroenterol
47,252 views4 comments
- Mar 2, 2018
- 3 min
What I Wish I Had Known Before Applying for Residency
When I first entered medical school, residency was the last thing I was thinking about. I was completely consumed by the firehose of information contained in basic science lectures and anatomy labs. I think that’s completely appropriate. You have plenty of time to think about specialties and residency as you meet different mentors, stumble upon different research opportunities, and feel out your third-year rotations. However, I think there are some broad strokes about applyin
3,205 views1 comment
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