Writing USMLE Step 1 in PGY1

[Artier]

With my travel plans all cancelled, I'll have a lot of free time over the next couple of months before starting residency and I've been considering the possibility of studying for the USMLE Step 1 exam to write it some time in PGY-1. Is there anyone that has written this exam in PGY-1/residency in general? Is this something that is feasible? Any other graduating students considering this?

[ChemPetE]

I did it in pgy-1 in 2014. Couple hours of uworld/first aid a week for 6 out of 8-9 weeks or so, got a mark just above passing, so I timed it right haha. Sooner you write it the better, before you forget a lot of the basic science stuff. Nowadays ANKI is also a thing, so probably helpful in prep. And keep in kind step 1 is going to pass/fail (I forget the date) and everyone’s score reports will convert at that mark. So just aim to pass.

[indefatigable]

It's a long, hard exam.  But two months is more than enough time to prep as a graduating MS4.  

There's about 2500 questions in Uworld -  doing at least half the questions would be a reasonable goal for a pass.  Personally, I couldn't manage more than 100 questions a day with review.  

I think doing UWorld questions to guide content review with FA and PAthoma is all that's necessary  (i.e. not the other way around).  Just get used to knowing every mnemonic in FA by heart - haha and making up your own.    

Also, there's probably little point in doing Step 1 on its own for you, so you'd probably want to try and cram in Step 2 as well.  

You can pay to write a NBME practice exam - it's something like 60$. 

 

[procrastinating]

In an ideal scenario, when would it be best to write USMLE Step 1, assuming a pass mark is all that's needed: 

1. After second year of med school (like they do in the US)

2. After fourth year of med school (with the LMCCs)

[usmdthrowaway]

1 hour ago, procrastinating said:

In an ideal scenario, when would it be best to write USMLE Step 1, assuming a pass mark is all that's needed: 

1. After second year of med school (like they do in the US)

2. After fourth year of med school (with the LMCCs)

I would definitely suggest doing it after 2nd year. I got my MD in the US, but I can’t imagine having to recall everything again from Step 1 in 4th year, plus you’ll have Carms and QE1 to worry about then. It also depends what your goal is. If it’s for residency, your grade definitely matters on Step 1! If it’s for fellowship, many won’t care, but some definitely do (such as GI).

[ChemPetE]

Grade won’t matter when everything goes pass/fail!

[ArdentMed]

I and many classmates did it in the 6 weeks before entering MSI 3 (clerkship). It is definitely doable. 

I would recommend an Anki deck (brosencephalon or Zanki), First Aid for USMLE, Pathoma, and UWorld as your top resources.

Good luck.

[usmdthrowaway]

11 hours ago, ChemPetE said:

Grade won’t matter when everything goes pass/fail!

True, but that won’t happen until 2022 “at the earliest“. Might be later. And if it’s taken before then, it won’t retroactively revert your P/F after. Also, in the event that it goes well, it might offer an advantage over the P/F cohort?? Who knows...

[ChemPetE]

I thought it would revert previous scores to P/F, no?

 

edit: I thought that was the case, but I guess it hasn’t been decided. Still would only write to pass imo

[pyridoxal-phosphate]

On 4/22/2020 at 8:18 PM, ArdentMed said:

I and many classmates did it in the 6 weeks before entering MSI 3 (clerkship). It is definitely doable. 

I would recommend an Anki deck (brosencephalon or Zanki), First Aid for USMLE, Pathoma, and UWorld as your top resources.

Good luck.

xx

 

[ChemPetE]

2 minutes ago, pyridoxal-phosphate said:

Hi! Thanks for all your help on this forum. 

Totally understandable if you would rather not share, but was wondering what made you want to take USMLE (I still don't know much about the test, other than that it is needed for residency and certain fellowships in the states). 

Also, I was wondering if you found that studying for it took a lot of time away from your pre clerkship studies (or did you only use those 6 weeks that you mentioned?). Seems like the school I go to doesn't focus much on pathophysiology, pharmacology etc 

 

The curriculums are very divergent. To get a competitive score imo you would essentially need the 6-8 week ‘dedicated’ block of time like US students get. Unless you’re dead set on matching the US it’s not worth it. And then then if only going for family reasons, residency QoL is better in Canada I think. But I have a biased opinion.

[anesthete]

Does anybody have insight into the extent to which USMLE scores actually are taken into consideration for competitive fellowships in the US?

Everybody I've talked to has said I should just aim to Pass, which is really where my head is at these days in the lead up to Step 2, since I am totally spent after stressful carms match & now the jumbled dates with the MCCQE1.

 

 

[ArchEnemy]

1 hour ago, anesthete said:

Does anybody have insight into the extent to which USMLE scores actually are taken into consideration for competitive fellowships in the US?

Everybody I've talked to has said I should just aim to Pass, which is really where my head is at these days in the lead up to Step 2, since I am totally spent after stressful carms match & now the jumbled dates with the MCCQE1.

 

 

Most fellowships dont even require USMLEs...