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    How to Prepare for the Medical Boards: Secrets for Success on Usmle Step 1 and Comlex Level 1
    How to Prepare for the Medical Boards: Secrets for Success on Usmle Step 1 and Comlex Level 1
    How to Prepare for the Medical Boards: Secrets for Success on Usmle Step 1 and Comlex Level 1
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    How to Prepare for the Medical Boards: Secrets for Success on Usmle Step 1 and Comlex Level 1

    By Adeleke T. Adesina and Farook W. Taha

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    About this ebook

    Studying for major medical exams can be a confusing and stressful task. In HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE MEDICAL BOARDS, third-year medical students Adeleke T. Adesina and Farook W. Taha present a useful guide for medical students studying for both the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 and the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX) Level I.

    Using a system-based learning method, HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE MEDICAL BOARDS provides a plan to study for the major topics tested on the board exams and suggests a unique approach to reading and keeping mental notes. It discusses the use of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 and question banks in the preparation process. A bonus chapter addresses how to survive medical schools rigorous education requirements and the most e?cient ways to maximize education while still enjoying life.

    Based on personal experience, Adesina and Taha help medical students discover the secrets, learn the rules, and avoid common costly mistakes when preparing for and taking important national medical board examinations. These students have developed a unique stepwise approach to help students score above 95 on their medical boards.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateSep 2, 2011
    ISBN9781450298155
    How to Prepare for the Medical Boards: Secrets for Success on Usmle Step 1 and Comlex Level 1
    Author

    Adeleke T. Adesina

    ADELEKE T. ADESINA is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Osteopathic Medicine, New Jersey. FAROOK W. TAHA is a fourth-year medical student studying at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Osteopathic Medicine, New Jersey.

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      Book preview

      How to Prepare for the Medical Boards - Adeleke T. Adesina

      Contents

      Disclaimer

      Dedication

      Acknowledgments

      Preface

      Introduction

      1     USMLE and COMLEX

      2     What is First Aid for the USMLE Step 1?

      3     USMLEWorld and Kaplan Question Banks

      4     How to use First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 effectively

      5     The integration

      6     Studying Practice Questions

      7     Studying for the Boards

      8     Preparing for the test

      9     Time Schedule for COMLEX and USMLE

      10     Student concerns

      11     Advice for osteopathic students

      12     Summary for Board review

      13     Surviving medical school

      14     Resources

      Authors

      Adeleke T. Adesina

      University of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Osteopathic Medicine, New Jersey.

      Class of 2012

      Farook Wael Taha

      University of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Osteopathic Medicine, New Jersey.

      Class of 2012

      Disclaimer 

      In preparing for this book, we used extreme caution to completely avoid violation of the terms and condition of the National Boards of Osteopathic Examiners (NBOME) and National Boards of Medical Examiners (NBME).

      We contacted the NBOME office to review our book to make sure we did not violate their terms and conditions. We abided by the terms and conditions (V) in the NBOME Bulletin of Information, Candidate Confidentiality Agreement,published July 1, 2010.

      We attempted to collaborate with the NBME office and requested they review the book in order to ensure no illegal content was revealed to the public,but they simply notified us about their terms and conditions, which we made every effort to adhere to.

      Dedication 

      This book is dedicated to Almighty God, the author and finisher of our faith.

      We would like to thank our loving families for their unending encouragement and support.

      To me the ideal doctor would be a man endowed with profound knowledge of life and of the soul, intuitively divining any suffering or disorder of whatever kind, and restoring peace by his mere presence.

      ~Henri Amiel

      Acknowledgments 

      We would like to thank the following people for their advice and contributions to the completion of this project.

      Paul Krueger, DO

      Associate Dean of Student Affairs and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology,

      University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine

      Jacqueline Giacobbe, MS. Ed

      University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Center for Teaching and Learning Academic Center

      James White, PhD

      UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine, Neuroscience professor, author of USMLE Road Map Neuroscience and Gross Anatomy

      John Barone, MD

      Kaplan Pathology Instructor

      Olufunmilayo Johnson, Pharm. D

      Steven Agabeji, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Assistant Professor at University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.

      Author,Step-Up to Medicine

      Preface 

      Dear Reader,

      This book was written as a guide for medical students who are preparing for the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 Board exams. Our goal was to give you a step-wise approach to preparing for these two exams. USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 (for osteopathic students) are two different examinations, and preparing for these exams is different.

      If you are an allopathic or international medical graduate, you only need to focus on the USMLE section. Osteopathic students need to also understand how to study for the COMLEX Level 1, so a chapter is dedicated to that exam.

      We first describe what the USMLE and COMLEX examinations are and what score ranges students can achieve on these two tests. The book includes a chapter on First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, which should be one of the primary sources for your Board preparation. We then discuss the importance of using questions; we highly recommend two of the best question banks on the market: USMLEWorld and Kaplan Question Bank.

      Chapter 5, the integration chapter, is the key to using this book. This chapter demonstrates how students should prepare for the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 exams. You should read this chapter to fully understand this process; refer back to it as you proceed with your Board preparation.

      We provided a sample Board schedule to serve as guide during your preparation; use it if it works for you. We offer a system-based learning method to cover the major topics tested on the Boards, according to First Aid for the USMLE Step 1. The book also offers a chapter for osteopathic students who are considering whether or not to take the USMLE Step 1 exam.

      The book ends with a chapter focused primarily on how to survive medical school’s rigorous education and on planning the most efficient way to maximize your medical education while still enjoying life during medical school.

      We have been through the same situation you are in right now, and we are aware of your confusion and anxiety. We have written this book to improve your preparation.We hope this book sheds some light on how to survive the last few months of your Board preparation and helps you achieve the Board score you so wish for.

      Confucius once said, The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step, and your journey is just about to begin.

      Introduction 

      We wrote this book during our third year of medical school, after taking the USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX Level 1 exams. We experienced the dread every medical student feels before and after taking these licensing exams. Most of us often feel lost or confused. We realized that most students do not know how to utilize the resources and information available to do very well on these standardized exams. Most students have no systematic approach to preparing for these exams and end up developing anxiety issues over Boards.

      We encounter many second-year medical students who ask for advice about how they should study for their Boards. Let us start by encouraging you—you will pass this exam. Many students before you have taken the test and succeeded; it is your turn to seize the moment! It is very hard to fail, whether you believe it or not. Even if you have taken the Boards once and did not pass, it was simply because you were either not ready or you made certain mistakes others have made prior to taking the test. But do not be discouraged—because you failed once does not define you. What defines you is not what you do when you fail, what defines you is who you are when you rise after failing. (Author unknown)

      This is a typical conversation: a second-year medical student asks for advice about Board preparation from an upper classman, who just finished taking the exam.

      missing image file

      Are you familiar with this conversation? We bet you are! You are just like us at beginning of our second year of med school. We spoke to many third- and fourth-year medical students, asking them for the best way to study for Boards.They all seemed to have it figured out. Eight out of ten times we got this answer: "Memorize First Aid and do lots of questions." Maybe you feel like other students are not telling you something.

      You have no idea how a student performed on his or her Boards, and no one will tell you either. So you do not know if he or she did the bare minimum to just pass the test or performed excellently on the exam. You dare not ask students what their Board scores are! We hope not. It is a personal thing. Most students only share their scores with a very few people. Do not take this personally either—after you have completed your Boards, you will understand better.

      There must be more to the story, right? Yes, you are

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