After reading through the First Aid cardiology section, a moment of uneasiness set in. My “coverage” of First Aid topics was the reason my practice scores had improved so much, right? After all, my NBMEs were 260+ at this point. I expected that I would know most of – if not all – the words in the book. To see how much I knew, I thought it would be a good idea to skim First Aid. Several days before Step 1, I decided to answer that question. Maybe I’d picked up everything via class, or another mechanism? You’re probably wondering how much of First Aid I actually knew, despite not reading it. Reading First Aid rarely led to a deeper understanding. However, I wanted to understand the material. I’d heard of people who had scored 250+ on Step 1 who had “just repeated First Aid.” (Although I hadn’t actually spoken to anyone who had “just read First Aid”). My friends would all tell me how many pages of First Aid they’d covered. I was extremely nervous about not reading First Aid. This QBank-first approach didn’t even lead to covering every First Aid topic. Instead, my approach was to do QBank questions first, then to use First Aid as a reference later. However, I never read through the “Step 1 Bible” page by page. I never read through First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 a single time. I Never “Read Through First Aid.” This is What Happened. However, it doesn’t matter if you’re looking in the wrong place. Like looking for keys where the light is best, counting the number of First Aid pages you’ve read is easier. (To read UWorld + First Aid: 4 Keys to Mastery (#4 Bumped Me to 270 from 236), click here). However, how do you know how well you’ve learned application and integration of the material? You may realize your Step 1 score depends on your ability to apply and integrate. However, looking for things where the light won’t help you if you’re looking in the wrong place.Ĭomparatively, it is much harder to measure mastery. It’s easier to count the number of pages of First Aid we’ve read. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk answers, “this is where the light is.” The drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. After a few minutes, the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. Here’s a joke that illustrates the perils of counting First Aid passes.Ī policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. If Step 1 is 50% knowledge, and 50% application/integration, does it matter how many times you read First Aid?Īsking how many “passes” of First Aid is the wrong question, and is the biggest mistake students make. (To read How Are USMLE Questions Written? 9 Open Secrets for Impressive Boards Scores, click here). She ended up matching into Harvard ENT, so she knew what she was talking about. Both are necessary, and neither alone is sufficient.
#Kaplan videos step 1 first aid how to
High Step 1 Scores Require You to Apply Conceptsĥ0% of the test is knowledge, and 50% of the test is knowing how to use that knowledge. I listened carefully because this group seemed happiest with their Step 1 scores. However, a minority of students told me that they wished they’d crammed fewer FA details. Most people, in fact, seemed to focus on rote learning over actual knowledge of the content.
Their focus was more on rote learning over real understanding of the material. They told me to memorize every single detail in it. On one side, I heard all the people who told me to read and re-read First Aid. When I was deciding how to study for Step 1, I heard lots of conflicting advice. Worst First Aid Mistake = Believing Step 1 is a Test of Fact-Accumulation What you should do instead of re-reading First Aid.How it feels not to read First Aid cover-to-cover.The actual number of “passes” through First Aid you should make.When reading First Aid works (and when it doesn’t).Read through First Aid 1-2x in 3 weeks? Yikes! How do I most efficiently manage my time? My exam is in 3 weeks. numerous FA read-throughs? I will be able to finish it 1-2 times MAX… maybe 1.5x. How many times were you able to get through First Aid during your study preparation? I was unsure how helpful questions would be v. I am taking your advice and getting through more questions via integration and application v. Here is one such question I received recently: My experiences have strengthened my conviction that most students use First Aid wrong. I’ve since tutored hundreds of medical students in Shelf and USMLEs. After scoring 270 on the USMLE Step 1, one of the most common questions I get is, “how many times did you read First Aid”? The answer is not what you would expect.
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