The USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) is one of the most important exams, if not the most important exam, if your medical school career. In this post, I share tips on how to optimize your study habits during dedicated, which is key to doing well on the exam, especially if you are historically a poor test taker like me who fears standardized tests.
For your reference, I scored between 245-250 on the exam.
Other related posts:
– Planning for Step 1 Dedicated
– How I Studied for Step 1
– My Step 1 Dedicated Schedule and Creating Your Own
Check your mindset and attitude.
Adopt the right mindset with a positive attitude, as this sets the tone for ALL that is to come. Do NOT doubt yourself too early. You have complete control! This is one of the few exams that if you put in the work, you WILL do well. You’ve already learned all the material and all that’s left is to review. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there! I have always been a poor test taker of standardized exams and my anxiety was at an all time high for Step 1. But one of my Step 1 advisers shared this piece of advice with me, which I found to be immensely helpful. Negativity is not going to do anyone any good!
If you are using Anki, keep up with your reviews if you can!
The entire purpose of Anki is long-term retention and you will see the rewards of that during dedicated and on test day the most.
A common problem during dedicated is that you start to forget what you had just reviewed 2 weeks ago. One of the ways to combat this is Anki, which is why I am such a huge fan because that knowledge is already in my long-term memory from doing it throughout the school years. Keeping up with the reviews during dedicated can help prevent you from forgetting material you already reviewed.
Anki not only helps you avoid burnout during dedicated, but you will be able to recall information quickly on test day.
But another way is to simply start reviewing the old material, a little bit every day. As you go through content review, highlight high yield points or points that you often forget/miss. This can be what you review when you go back later!
Don’t dwell on a topic – it probably won’t be on the test.
If you find that you’re spending way too much time on a topic you’re finding a hard time understanding, first ask yourself if this is high yield. If it’s not high yield, then move on. If it is, you can reach for your supplemental resources (B&B, online videos), but chances are it STILL won’t be on the exam. Only 10% of what you study will actually show up on the exam, unfortunately! If you’re like me and get fixated on something because you feel like you MUST learn it, the best thing is to move on because you’re losing time that you can spend on other subjects.
Don’t miss the larger picture by focusing on minutiae.
Another piece of advice that my adviser shared with me. It’s easy to get bogged down by the details. When this happens, try to look at the larger picture. Instead of memorizing all the biochemical pathways, try to remember the clinical manifestations of that disease, which is likely to be more high yield.
Keep a list of affirmations when self-doubt and/or test anxiety creeps in.
Because of test anxiety, I’ve always been a poor test taker. However, being aware of this helped me prepare for this important exam. Here are some affirmations that helped me stay positive and motivated!
- Step 1 is a test of stamina and hard work, not pure intelligence.
- I’ve studied hard for this exam. I deserve the score I want.
- I can’t control how hard the exam is or how smart other people are, but I can control my attitude and my work ethic.
- I’ve studied too hard to let test anxiety get the best of me.
- I accept that self-doubt is a normal part of this experience, but I will NOT let it invalidate my hard work.
- There is no new material. I’ve learned all of this already. All that’s left is reviewing!
- Step 1 is not the end all be all. You can still be a physician even if your score isn’t ideal. A number does not define you! You might need to work harder to get to where you wanna go, but you can still get there.
Do not postpone your exam if you can help it.
I thought about postponing my exam SEVERAL times during my dedicated period, but after talking to many upperclassmen who DID postpone it, I decided not to. Many of them regretted it because 1) it did not make a difference on test day 2) there is only so much you can cram in your brain 3) it led to quicker burnout. See below!
But obviously, you know yourself best. Trust your instincts!
Be mindful of burnout.
You should be scheduling breaks! There should be some days where you study less than your usual. Take care of yourself mentally first and foremost because everything else will fall into place.
Another thing that can help is to keep your test date rather than postponing, unless you feel like you absolutely have to. The longer you spend during dedicated, the more burnt out you will be by the end of it. I thought about postponing my exam several times and I’m glad I didn’t because by the last week, I was ready to take the exam. I mentally could not study another day and just wanted to get it over with. There’s only so much you can stuff in your brain! An upperclassmen gave me this advice and I couldn’t believe him because having more time to study sounds like it would be a good idea right? But towards the end of dedicated I knew exactly what he meant.
Reassess weekly whether you’re on schedule. Reroute if needed.
If you’re falling behind, take a deep breath first. Don’t panic. It’s okay. There’s time to adapt. Hopefully, you are able to recognize this early on. If it’s late in your dedicated and you haven’t reviewed half the material you planned to, then it might be a good idea to postpone your date. But this should be the absolute last resort.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions!
With lobe,
Kelly
