Preface:
This Qbook includes a Test-Taking and Strategy Guide, followed by 850 USMLE Step 1 style-questions divided into test blocks of 50 questions each. All questions represent only the current USMLE Step 1 formats. Each test is followed by comprehensive explanations of both the correct answer choices, as well as all the wrong answer choices (distractors). By reviewing why each distractor is incorrect, you learn more than just the answer to that one question; you learn the information needed to answer multiple similar questions on the same topic. You’ll also appreciate how the exam is constructed, and you’ll begin to feel a greater sense of control over the exam. The key to exam day success is controlling the exam and not letting it control you!
First:
Begin by reading the Test-Taking and Strategy Guide on pages 5-47. Use the strategies and approaches outlined as you work through the tests in this Qbook. Also reread the final sections of this guide (pages 33-47) as your exam approaches. This section gives you great advice on what to do during the weeks leading up to the exam, as well as on test day itself. Finally, advice on how to use the FRED” software interface can be found on pages 35-36.
After Completing Subject Area Review:
We recommend that you wait until you complete your review of a subject area before taking an exam. There are two exams each in Anatomy, Behavioral Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology/ Immunology, Pharmacology, and Physiology. Because of the increasingly clinical nature of the exam, we have included five tests covering pathology and pathophysiology. Take each exam in the allotted one-hour time frame, and do not look at the answers until you’ve completed a test. (Note that standard lab values are given for easy reference on pages 455 and 456.)
After Completing the Questions in This Book:
When you have completed all the exams in this book and are within a few weeks of your test date, take the online simulated exam (access is available through your home page at kaplanmedical.com). One additional simulation is also available on computers in the Kaplan Medical centers (simulations are included in the tuition of some Step 1 prep courses). If you’d like practice with over 2,100 additional questions before taking any simulated exams, please consider opening a Qbank account at kaplanmedical.com.
Finally, we want to hear what you think about this Qbook. Please share your feedback by E-mailing us at [email protected].
Introduction:
Preparing for and doing well on the USMLE exams are essential requirements on the road to becoming a practicing physician. This guidebook is intended to help you with that process. The suggestions offered here come from two sources: / ) the Kaplan faculty and 2) thousands of students who are eager to let you know what worked and what did not work for them as they prepared for the USMLE.
This guidebook contains concrete information and guidance, not tricks or gimmicks. More than 30 years of experience tells us that there is no magic way to help you achieve your best performance. Rather, we offer here some practical suggestions to help you make the most of your preparation time and to avoid common pitfalls in the exam itself. Preparing for and taking multiple-choice tests are skills in their own right. These skills have little to do with the day-to-day practice of medicine but are necessary hurdles that you must overcome to advance your medical career.
Of course, how you prepare for and handle your exam are up to you. You may have your own methods of study, or a way of taking the exam with which you are more comfortable. This book is not intended as a rigid prescription to which everyone must adhere. But it does summarize the key study and test strategies that have helped thousands of students achieve their maximum score. As you read this guide, take some time and think about the way you study and take exams. Look at your habits and make changes that can make a substantial difference in your score. Use this as a chance to improve your study methods and exam skills as you focus on improving your knowledge base. Consider all of your options carefully and make the choices that work best for you.
Take heart, there have been many ahead of you. The USMLE Step 1 is not insurmountable. It only requires some knowledge of techniques, a little planning, persistence, a dash of impertinence, and, above all, patience. By sharing the accumulated knowledge of the many students who have gone before you, we hope to prepare you to do your very best and to achieve a score that matches your goals.
I hope you find this book useful.AZON
