.

USMLE/ COMLEX Step 1 Plan

Table of Contents Basic TimelinePage 2 Review Books and other Study Materials..Page 3 Question SourcesPage Basic SciencesPage ! Systems...Page " #ast 2 $eeks..Page % &'M#()*s+eci,ic -n,oPage ./ 0eneral Pointers...Page ./ Question 1nswering 1dvice.Page ./ $eek Be,ore2 3ay Be,ore2 3ay o, 1dvice...Page .. 41Q5s...Page .2

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Basic Timeline:
First run through: (75:25 study:Qs)* .6 &onsolidate all 7ooks into 41 8e9ce+t 0ol:ans Ra+id Review Path and ;< Molecular will 7e used throughout and in ,ull6 26 #isten to corres+onding 0ol:an audio during a++ro+riate su7:ect=system 36 Pa+er >uestion sources directly 7y su7:ect a,ter studying each su7:ect 8as s+eci,ic as +ossi7le..ie cardio +ath2 cardio +hys2 cardiac +harm...all individually6 6 Study ,or understanding2 ie don5t try to memori?e all the details yet !6 Take @BM( Second run through: (5 :5 study:Qs)* .6 Study in ,ull systems using only 41 w= all annotations2 0ol:an RR2 ;< Molec 26 #isten to corres+onding 0ol:an audio during a++ro+riate su7:ect=system ,or 2nd time 36 !/ Asmle$orld >uestions every morning in random and timed 7locks o, !/ !6 Take @BM( 2 "6 Memori?e more and more detail 7eyond :ust understanding Third run through: (25:75 study:Qs)* .6 412 0ol:an2 ;< molec only 26 .// Asmle$orld >uestions 8as a7ove6 36 Take @BM( 3 6 (verything should 7e ,ully memori?ed 7y now !ast t"o "ee#s and $inal % days: details 7elow * the & study:Qs re,lects the amount o, time +er day that should 7e s+ent on each2 with the amount o, time s+ent doing >uestions +rogressing u+ as you move along through each run through the in,ormation and the time s+ent studying material going down

'e(ie" Boo#s and )ther *aterials:

B Asing e7ay2 hal,.com2 ama?on2 etc ,or used co+ies will save tons o, CC + 4irst 1id 8most current edition* comes out each 3ecem7er6 *there are mistakes in this 7ook every single year2 here are the 2//% errataD htt+D==usmler9.word+ress.com=2//%=/ =/E=u+dates*and*corrections*to*2//%*,irst* aid*,or*the*usmle*ste+*.= + Ra+id Review Pathology 87y 0ol:an6 *there were several re+orted errors in the ,irst +rinting o, this 7ook2 so 7e sure to check out 3r. 0ol:an5s o,,icial errata +age atD htt+D==www.healthsciences.okstate.edu=college=7iomedical=+athology=gol:an.c,m F Ra+id Review Biochem *way more succinct and clinical then #i++incott and co*authored 7y 0ol:an B 1lternativelyD the Ga+lan Biochem 7ook 7y ;ansen is e9cellent and 7y ,ar the 7est o, the Ga+lan series....i, you can get it chea+ly.do it F 0ol:an audio and slides 8availa7le in 7ootleg only6 F ;igh <ield Behavioral Science F ;igh <ield @euro 8some sections are too detailed2 7ut 7asics and +ics are good6 F ;igh <ield &ell and Molecular 8.EEE edition* new one has way too much detail6 F #ange Review o, Medical Micro and -mmuno 7y #evinson *only ,or -mmuno section2 which is HE/ +ages F Micro Made Ridiculously Sim+le 8edition 3 is ,ine6 F Savarese 'MT Review 8,or 3' students only6 F BRS Physiology

Question Sources:
+ Re,erence and=or write incorrect answers or anything you were even remotely unsure o,41 to review the conce+t again later + use >uestions +rimarily as a learning tool and don5t worry a7out your I til near the test Boo#s: + Ro77ins Review o, Path + Savarese 8'MM6 + Ga+lan Q7ook * this will sound odd7ut its well worth itD the 7ook is su7:ect 7ased 8ie +ath2 +hys2 micro2 etcso take an hour or so to go through this 7ook and mark which system each >uestion ,its into within each su7:ect 8ie under Path mark all the renal >5s2 lung >5s2 etc.6 Reading the last line and answer choices makes it +retty >uick J easy to do. This will 7e worth it when you need system*s+eci,ic >5s during your ,irst run through. ,om-uter Based: + Asmle$orld 8H2///>6 + $e7+re+D htt+D==li7rary.med.utah.edu=$e7Path=()1M=()1M-3).html B+ur+ose,ully not using Ga+lans QBank as most >uestions do not re+resent the current style on the e9am2 are too minutia 7ased and it is way over+riced. <ou will still get the 7ene,its o, Ga+lan ,or under C / w= Q7ook. _______________________________________________________________________ _

_____________________________________________________ _Basic Sciences:

B do in order o, your weakeststrongest su7:ects B KL in the ,ollowing sections means to annotate ,rom one to the other ,or clari,ications BiochemD + Ra+id Review 8or Ga+lan6 41 8use only to clari,y to+ics in 4irst 1iddon5t add to+ics6 +GoljanD &h.*cell in:ury2 &h%*@utritional 3isorders2 any other relevant +laces w= 7iochem 8ie anemia2 dia7etes6 +41 Path -ntro *olec Bio./enetics: +;< 841 is @'T enough in this su7:ect6 +GoljanD &h!*0enetic 3isorders2 &hM*@eo+lasia +41 Path -ntro 0harmacodynamics and 0hysio 1ntros: + 41 8:ust +harmacodynamics and autonomics at this time6 + GoljanD &h"*(nvironmental Path + BRS Phys &h. . and autonomics in &h. 2 +1mmunologyD +Levinson 41 +GoljanD &h2*in,lammation and re+air2 &h3*immuno+athology *icro 0rinci-les and *icro 0harm: +&MMRS41 * ma:or system*s+eci,ic 7ugs will 7e re*visited during their res+ective systems2 ie he+atitis and causes o, diarrhea w= 0-2 +neumonia w= Pulm2 meningitis w= @euro2 etc 2natomy (*usculos#eletal): + 41 only 3m4ryo: +41 only Beha(oral: +HYFA 8clari,ying only..don5t add muchalso know e>uations well6 **+ysch w= neuro later 8only research2 stats2 +atient*care stu,, now6

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Full Systems *'rder in each systemD anatomy+hysiomicro+ath+harm 8add others where

needed or s+eci,ied 7y 416 5eme.)nc: +Goljan: &h...*.! ,ardioD +GoljanD&h *,luids8only edema to end62 &hE*Nascular 3?2 &h./2 ;eart 3? + BRS PhysD &h3*cardio 'enal: +GoljanD &h *,luids 87eginning to edema62 &h.E*Gidney disorders +BRS +hysD &h!*renal and acid=7ase 'es-iratory: +GoljanD &h."*u++er and lower res+iratory +BRS PhysD &h *res+iratory /1D +GoljanD &h.%*0-2 &h.M*he+ato7iliary +BRS PhysD ch" 'e-roducti(eD +GoljanD &h2/*male and lower 0A2 2.*,emale +BRS PhysD ch%*endocrine 8only relevant sections6 3ndocrine: +GoljanD &h22*endocrine +BRS PhysD ch%*endocrine S#in: +GoljanD ch2 and the one +age in the MSG cha+ter o, 41 *usculs#eletal 6 ,onnecti(e Tissue: +GoljanD &h23 msk disorders 7euro: +GoljanD ch2!*nervous system +HY @euro41 8don5t add much2 :ust e9+lain well.also Radiology in ;< is use,ul6

% +BRS +hysD &h2 neuro +hys 0ysch: + ;< Behavioral41 Pysch

The last 2 "ee#s

2*: .// A$ Questions2 in random=timed 7locks o, !/2 then go over all e9+lanations in ,ull 0*: " hours o, studying as divided 7elow * get through everything in ./ 3ays * ,inal 3 day +lan at the end
8a 9 hours BiochemD + 41 + GoljanD &h.*cell in:ury2 &h%*@utritional 3isorders + 41 Path -ntro 84 2 hours Beha(oral (all e:ce-t 0ysch): F41 2a ; hours *olec Bio: +;< +41 +GoljanD &h!*0enetic 3isorders2 &hM*@eo+lasia +41 Path -ntro %a 2 hours 0harmacodynamics and 2utonomic 0harm: +41 +harm section +GoljanD&h"*(nvironmental Path %4 9 hours +1mmunologyD + 41 +GoljanD &h2*in,lammation and re+air2 &h3*immuno+athology + aids +harm +immuno +harm in msk section o, 41

M 9a 9 hours *icro 0rinci-les and *icro 0harm: +41

Full Systems
94 2 hours 6 5a 2 hours 5eme.)nc: +Goljan: &h...*.! +41 54 9 hours ,ardioD +GoljanD&h *,luids8only edema to end62 &hE*Nascular 3?2 &h./2 ;eart 3? 41 ;a 9 hours 'enal: +GoljanD &h *,luids 87eginning to edema62 &h.E*Gidney disorders F41 ;4 2 hours 6 7a 2 hours 'es-iratory: +GoljanD &h."*u++er and lower res+iratory F412 Bugs 74 9 hours /1D +GoljanD &h.%*0-2 &h.M*he+ato7iliary F412 Bugs 8diarrhea2he+2worms6 <a % hours 'e-roducti(eD +GoljanD &h2/*male and lower 0A2 2.*,emale F412 AT-=ST3 7ugs <4 % hours 3ndocrine: +GoljanD &h22*endocrine F41 =a 5 hours *usculs#eletal 6 S#in 6 2nat: +GoljanD &h23 msk disorders F41 MSG anatomy 8in neuro section6

E +GoljanD ch2 *skin +look at some 0-=thoracic &T5s = 4 8 hour 3m4ryo: +41 8 a 9 hours 7euro: +GoljanD ch2!*nervous system +412 7ugs +Radiology in ;<=online 8 4 2 hours 0ysch: F41 8some in 7ehav section too6

%rd to last >ay * O o, margin 87lue6 notes in RR Path J slides * cramma7le ,acts in immuno 8&3 markers2 etc6 * all o, Biochem 2nd to last >ay * O o, margin 87lue6 notes in RR Path J slides * molec J genetics in ,ull * all o, +harm* go through all systems in 41 * some 7ehavioral=7iostats 8non*+ysch6>uickly review high yield areas !ast day * 41 ;< section 8at end o, 7ook6 J Pics * ,ormulas and la7 values one last time * +harm sides in 41 8those 2 +ages in the intro to +harm section6 * @' ;(1N< STA3<-@0

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)(erall Studying 2d(ice and Boards 1n$o:

,)*!3?@s-eci$ic in$o:
+ Between ASM#( and &'M#()D Savarese J Bugs n 3rugs + More o,D Micro2 Pharm2 'MM2 (9tremity 1natomy2 @euro + #ess o, 87ut not non*e9istant6D Biochem2 Molecular2 0enetics2 Biostats

/eneral 0ointers:
+ know the meaning o, all 7u??words 8won5t see the actual word o,ten6 + know all charts=gra+hs=diagrams in 41 inside and outwill 7e tested a7stractly + start with weakest su7:ects + only know e>uations in 41 + memori?e all la7 values 841 has a list o, most commonly used6 + learn Tutorial on usmle.org and location o, all 7uttons2 la7s2 etc + always kee+ scheduled 7reaks during studying + study like a :o72 clock in2 clock out2 when you5re done ,or the session you5re done + @BM(5s P must start within 3/ days o, registering and have 2/ days to com+lete once start them !C each on n7me.org7uy in Kun*timedL mode so you can review and study ,rom >uestions 8answers and e9+lanations are not given6

Question ans"ering ad(ice B w= a long +assage2 read the last line .st then always read ,rom 7eginning and in ,ull B +ractice doing >5s in . minute B H ! seconds read Q2 H.! secs answer B only read >uestion once B always +ara+hrase a,ter each sentence in Q B don5t look at answers til have read entire +assage and thought o, answer B i, you think you5re taking too long on a Q2 you are.guess2 mark it and move on B never change answers on anything e9ce+t KmarkedL >5s B only check answers o, >uestions marked ,or review B i, you think you know answer2 7ut not .//I2 +ut it and move on2 no time to 7e .//I B Ste+s o, answering a QD .. Read Q and +ara+hrase a,ter each sentence 2. Para+hrase entire >uestion and think o, the answer w=o looking at answers

.. 3. Select your answer and >uickly make sure it5s the K7estL answer . -, didn5t get answer yet2 eliminate answers and narrow down to 2*3 then guess !. -, couldn5t narrow down2 select ,avorite letter then guess * do not re*read the >uestion 7=w any o, these ste+sthere is no time Aee# Be$ore Test: B @' new material B slee+ on a set schedule that will 7e the same as test day2 no na+s B review the tutorial 8you can download the so,tware on usmle.org6 B call +rometric to con,irm time=date >ay Be$ore: Rela92 work out2 watch a movie2 etc.nothing stress,ul..you wouldn5t run a +ractice marathon the day 7e,ore the real race..so rest your 7rain Test >ay 2d(ice * only mark a ,ew Q5s +er section ,or review and mark Q5s on white 7oard B during 7reaks clear your head2 don5t think a7out test or +revious >5s B @ever +ress 1ltR&ontrolR3elete B <ou can highlight and=or strike*out in,ormation in the Q and answers B la7 values are categori?ed2 7ut still memori?e 7e,ore B com+uter shortcutsD (nter or S+ace7ar S ne9t >uestion2 (sca+e S closes la7s or other +o+u+ 7o9es2 1lt TS shows timers B There is no warning a7out going over your 7reak time on the screen2 you have to kee+ track o, your 7reak yoursel, B Passing is usually around "/*%/I correct B no digital watches2 analog only B take a 3/ second 7reather at your seat during a 7lock in you5re really stressed. Score 'e-ort: + 3*" weeks ,or score re+ort2 always comes on a $ednesday

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F2Qs
Qs that 1 ha(e 4een as#ed a4out the guide: Q8) ;ow do you +hysically consolidate everything into 4irst 1id without the +ages 7ecoming un*reada7le with little scri77led writingsT 1lso2 do you mean you used 41 mainly and re,erred to some te9t 7ooks as you went through to+ics in the 41T 28) - ,ound that a good way to get all o, my clari,ications=in,o=good charts=etc into 41 was to get the 7ook 7inding cut o,, and have it 3*hole +unched 8!C at kinkos6 and +ut it in a 7inder. This way you can add loose*lea, and whatever other +ages you want and truly have everything consolidated into one +lace a,ter your ,irst run through o, the in,o 8e9ce+t RR +ath and ;< molec6. That5s 7asically what - did and what my +lans outlines how to do. The areas where more in,o is needed 7eyond what5s in 41 are indicated in my +lan. The goal is to use other sources to hel+ you com+letely understand everything in 412 down to all the im+lications o, all the little details in it. _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q2) ;ow long did it take you to get through each run throughT 22) -t5s really an individual thing and de+ends on how much time you have to study. The ,irst run*through should take as much time as you need to make sure you com+letely A@3(RST1@3 8not necessarily memori?e6 everything. Most 7asic sciences took me around *% days and most systems were 7=w 3*! days. $hen youUre done w= this you need to take a look at how much time you have le,t and how many days you think you realistically need to get through each su7:ect the ne9t time around. Pull out a calendar and ma+ this out while making sure you leave around 2 weeks at the end ,or the ,inal review. This is what - did2 7ut it totally de+ends on how much time you have overall and how much you need ,or individual su7:ects. - know this wasnUt a concrete answer2 7ut 7oards studying is a very individual thing and only you know how much time you need ,or certain to+ics 8which is also why - wouldnUt rec. taking a review course6

Q%) - do not ,ully understand your 3 +rong +lan. So in the ,irst run throughD 8%!D2! studyDQ5s62 its here that - am consolidating all my in,o in ,irst aid2 7ut does that mean the

.3 7asic science run 1@3 the systemsT -5m asking 7ecause in your +lan2 you se+arated B1S-& S&-(@&( and S<ST(MS * so should - go through B'T; in the ,irst runT -, yes then what am - su++osed to do in the 2nd runT Vust go through 7asic sciences and systems againT 2%) Both systems and 7asic sciences are in the .st run through.....then during the 2nd and 3rd time you go through (N(R<T;-@0 again. The only di,,erence is during the 2nd time through you are done consolidating into 41 and are doing more >uestions. 3uring the 3rd time you are s+ending most o, your day doing >uestions 7ut you are still going through all o, the in,o. _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q9) 3o you have any suggestions on how to 7est KannotateL ,rom the various review 7ooks to 41T 29) - ,ound it very e,,icient and 7ene,icial to do the ,ollowingD .. Quickly ,li+ through the 41 cha+ter that you are a7out to study to 7asically :ust see what5s in it and how its organi?ed. 2. '+en u+ your other review 7ook ,or that su7:ect and read a short section 8ie a ,ew +aragra+hs or +ages. 3. 0o 7ack to 41 and ,ind the small section that corres+onds to what you :ust read in your review 7ook 8usually :ust a small +ortion o, . +age or so6 and make notes to ,urther e9+lain=clari,y what5s in 41. - indicated in my +lan where you will need to add in,o to 41 vs. :ust clari,y it. This way2 during your 2nd and 3rd runs through you will 7e a7le to easily streamline your studying towards what5s im+ortant and will ,ully understand every detail in 41. . Rinse and re+eat until you are ,inished with the review 7ook and section in 41. !. <ou now never need to o+en that review 7ook again 8e9ce+t ,or RR Path and ;< &MB6 a,ter the .st run through. _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q5) -, youUre +lan was over 2.!*3 months then how long did you take ,or each real run throughT -, each run through S 2! days )3 S %! days S H 2.! months R 2 weeks ,or the crunch S H 3 months total2 does that sound rightT - really like the idea o, multi+le reviews o, the to+ics2 as -Um :ust not one o, those +eo+le that can see something ,or one day o, my +re+ and remem7er it ,or ! weeks until the test. 25) 1s ,or how long to s+end on each run*througheach one should take less then the one that +receded it. 1s ,or e9actly how longits really gotta 7e an individual thing. Some to+ics on the ,irst run*through took me a week...some 2 days. _______________________________________________________________________ _

. Q;) ;ow long did it take you to get through the 7lue margin notes in RR and are you ha++y you did itT -5m trying to decide 7etween 7lue margins and 3"+g gol:an high yield ,or my last ,ew days o, studying. 2;) - decided to use the margin notes over the 3"+g ;< mainly 7=c - had read the margin notes several times as - went through the main te9t o, RR2 so - knew - wouldnUt 7e seeing any new=,oreign in,o during the ,inal days o, studying. Being ,amiliar w= the ,ormat also allowed me to go through it really ,ast 8H2 hours6. - had +reviously randomly ,li++ed through the 3" +g ;< and didnUt see any in,o that wasnUt in the margin notes 8or main te9t6 and thought the ,ormat would 7e too cum7ersome to get through >uickly. $as it worth itT -5m not sure i, it added many +oints to my score2 7ut it was nice to have the meat o, the test very ,resh in my mind _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q7) -n your +lan you mention 41 +ath intro2 what do you mean 7y thatT - have 41 2//" right now 8annotated with e9tra +ages and all errata ,i9ed2 so - donUt want to u+grade to 2//%6. -s +ath intro in the 2//% editionT 27) - donUt think the se+arate +ath intro is in the /" version2 7ut all that in,o should still 7e in the 7ook w= other cha+ters somewhere... its all the 7asics o, in,lammation=cell in:ury=neo+lasia=etc _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q<) Regarding RR PathologyD - read through it once already and liked it a lot. -Wm not sure i, -5ll 7e a7le to work through 412 .// Qs each day 1@3 the whole RR Pathology again. &an give me some advice how to divide my time a++ro+riately and also suggest what the high yield2 must read +ortions o, RR areT 2<) - wouldnUt read the entire thing again word*,or*word. 'n to+ o, the charts2 summary ta7les and side comments...-Um assuming that you underlined=highlighted=etc the +oints that were crucial and that you wanted to go over again. -, you havenUt done any o, that2 then - would try to use what he goes over in his audio and what 41 hits on as a guide ,or what5s high yield. 1s ,ar as what cha+ters2 it5s tough to say as all systems are +retty im+t. 1lso2 de,initely donUt neglect the intro cha+ters on the 7asics o, in,lammation=cell in:ury=neo+lasia=etc. Q=) 3id you really ,eel that 41 was enough ,or em7ryo and anatomyT 2=) <es2 - did. - would consider ,li++ing through ;< 1natomy ,or the P-&TAR(S '@#<....:ust to review some classic cross*sections. 1s ,or em7ryo....- mean i, you want to s+end a week learning tons o, cra?y little details2 have at it2 7ut -Ull take what - got ,rom 41 and leave it at that. - had 2 em7ryo >Us on my test and 7oth were in 41 _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q8 ) $hat is the online +ortion o, XRadiology in ;<=onlineXT

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28 ) - meant that 7eyond the +ictures in ;< @euro... - think it5s a good idea s+end an hour or 2 looking through mri=ct=angioUs etc o, the 7rain ,rom one o, the many online radiology sites. Some sites to check out areD htt+D==www.med.harvard.edu=11@#-B= htt+D==wwwE.7iostr.washington.edu=cgi*7in=31=image,orm htt+D==www.med.umich.edu=lrc=course+ages=M.=anatomy=html=atlas=atlasYinde9.html _______________________________________________________________________ _ Q88) <ou mentioned Ga+lan as a +ossi7le review 7ook ,or 7iochemistry. -s a com+lete review 7y Ga+lan an e>ually2 +oorer2 or 7etter way to a++roach studying ,or the e9am. $hy not :ust use all o, their 7ooksT 288) Ga+lan 7iochem is a really solid 7ook2 7ut there are sim+ly 7etter o+tions then Ga+lan ,or the remaining su7:ects.

Q82) $hy did you choose those s+eci,ic to+ics ,or the last ,ew daysT 282) 1s ,or why - chose 7iochem=molec=genetics=+harm=etc....- tried to +ick things that had a lot o, small details to memori?e2 which tend to 7e ones that only stick in my short* term memory. (veryone has a di,,erent to+ic that ,its that criteria and youUve :ust gotta honestly say what you need to look at one more time 8and not have XeverythingX as your answer6