Hello friends.
Ist of all i want to tell u i am a very average student and if i can do it, you ! yes you who is reading this now can definitely do it…
I started preparing only after internship
One of our senior who was about to appear for this exam and is thankfully matched now guided me…
So i started with Biochem turco videos, physiology,pharma(kaplan videos), didnt do kaplan for pathology instead did pathoma…
I did Uworld offline system-wise along with first aid…made notes (never read it but somehow writing itself was creating memory in me)
Came across this amazingly beautiful thing called sketchy micro, sketchy pharm which i found fascinating…
I was so in love with it that i labelled it , printed it and made an album out of it(i wud never needed to do this if i knew about anki which already had a separate decks for them)…
I had to undergo a serious breakup, my parents went to village to take care of grandparents, so i was all alone and i moved near a hill…i am not bragging about myself but i want to encourage to any of u who is having a bad time…becoz there is nothing as sexy as chasing your dreams in the face of all odds…
…
I was happy as I was covering as i planned , i took an NBME(older) did 8 mistakes per block , so i clearly had a long way to go…i read many experiances one of which read “every word of first aid is important” So this is when i knew what i had to do -“I had to fall in love with every line, every word of first aid”
Many stationery refused to do it, i was extremely devastated untill i came across a man who pulled a nail on which a calender was hanging,hit it with hammer on the edges of my first aid and handed me my first aid which was strongly binded with empty pages in between all pages.These were the pages where i appropriately annotated online uworld which i did in random mode(Average correct 82%)
I made separate notes for my mistakes.
Did 2nd pass with 92 percent correct in 21 days.
This annotated FA was the heart of my preparation, i took an NBME 16 with 29 mistakes.This is when i felt i can do it…
My mistake was i should have applied for this test way earlier…
I reviewed, i did anki, i tought many of my study partners(thanks to all of them)…i explained concepts to others, that way i was also helping the other and myself even more…coz once you explain to someone you will hardly forget it…
Due to some technical problem my exam date was delayed and i had 2 months in hand…i reveiwed first aid in 11 days and took nbmes (19,20,21,22,23) with average number of mistakes(25) every monday…
Now i had to build stamina for which i started doing AMBOSS…my schedule was i wud wake up at 6 or 7 and do Back to back 5 blocks till 12 or 1(i would eat bread or cookies in between each block.) then i would review all the blocks untill sleep time…this was possible coz i knew most of stuffs…my average correct was 79%.
NBME 18 offline (26 mistakes)
I was so confident as i took uwsa1 with 258
My exam got cancelled due to COVID
As i was done with everything with the best i can all i needed was to wait patiently…there was a fear of forgetting…with every hope getting withered after this long toil…only one thing that suvived stubbornly was my love for this exam…
During lockdown
I did anki, kaplan qbank(Questions were really tough)also did usmleRx(it was basically first aid in question formulation)
Took nbme24 1 month before exam (25mistakes)
I always questioned myself for score being stagnant…
But deep down i was happy for my exam gonna be over soon…i reviewed Amboss and took notes out of it.
Took uwsa2 8 days before exam :- 251
Last week i reviewed first aid in a rocket speed…
Took free120 = 89% correct( 3 days before test)
During these days I felt a strange glow in my face as if a sun was lit there… Actually from the very begining of my preparation i was scared of whether i will be able to sleep before a night or not ??
I want to thank dirtymedicine video which i followed https://youtu.be/zJgjMZk8_To
Last day
I went for an hour walk…
Comfortably Reviewed ist four chapters of pathoma and watched bnb videos for biostat in ×2 speed…thats all for the last day…
I walked 45 minutes more before my dinner,
Ate mango , drank coconut water be4 bed.
I tossed this and that side but i knew if i sleep a total of even 4 to 5 hours i will destroy tommorrows test. Eventually falling asleep at 10 i woke at 2.47…
I went through those last review pages of first aid and formulas…it took less than an hour…
I ate oatmeal, 2 eggs, half cup of coffee…
Reached center 1 hour before time…
…
Guys i had packed all stuff i may need 1week ahead…
In center i used all break and in each break i used to do 3 things(pee, take a couple of bites on chocolates, drink water…)no energy drinks,though i had carried a red bull as a back up just in case i felt drowsy…but i didnt hav to use it…
Surprisingly i finished all blocks with 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time, except last block where i was lazy and to be frank i was celebrating in my mind becoz my exam was about to be over…i lived these hours of exam as the best memory of my life…
To all those who have started , or those who are in beginning ,middle , or terminal time of preparation this exam is gonna be a lifetime experiance …the thing that u’ve learnt till now, will learn today will remain with u untill u die…so cherish these moments of learning…if u do so…
A good feeling during yr real exam is bound to follow u like a shadow
How to annotate first aid
https://youtu.be/REpYZACrvoY
My youtube channel(kindly subscribe)
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpicyMedicoS