USMLE Step 1 Success Stories

Latest Episodes:

Episode 18: Figuring Out What Works with David Ortiz (an MS2) Sep 14, 2019

Show notes

David Ortiz is a second year medical student at the University of Utah from Kansas City. He shares his experience navigating figuring out how to study for medical school after taking a year off after undergrad. He shares some great metrics for how to determine if a study strategy is working for you, and Rhett and Michael share their own advice on memorizing vs. understanding the material.

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Episode 17: A 254 - Studying for Step 1 and Clerkships at the Same Time with Andrew Goates Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

In this episode Andrew Goates, a second year ENT resident at Mayo Clinic, shares the strategies he used to dominate his preclinical years as well as the USMLE Step 1. Interestingly, his was the first medical school class at the University of Iowa to move to a new curriculum. He had to navigate an 18 month didactic curriculum followed immediately by 3rd year clerkships prior to taking Step 1. The strategies he implemented to conquer these challenges can be applied to any circumstance, regardless of the curriculum at your school. Plus, Dr. Goates loves to mentor anyone and answer questions on virtual anything. Feel free to connect with him in the following ways:Twitter: @goatesworldInstagram: @goatolaryngologistDoximity/Linked In: Andrew Goates, MD

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Episode 16: A 263 via 8,000+ Practice Questions, Daily Anki, and Ditching First Aid with Ian Christensen Aug 23, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we interview Ian Christensen who describes how he approached classwork during years 1 and 2, which did not include doing the recommended pre-reading suggested by the lecturers. Interestingly, he did not use First Aid much at all as part of his board preparation. According to Ian, the foundation for success is doing practice questions. And he did over 8,000 questions, so he clearly practices what he preaches.

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Episode 15: From Lightyear + BnB to Zanki + Physeo (a New World for an MS2) with Travis Norseth Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we talk to Travis Norseth, a 2nd year medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Most of our guests have been, and will be, those who have successfully completed Step 1. However, much like episode 13 with Carol Foote, in this episode we take a different approach and get the inside scoop on what a rising 2nd year medical student is currently experiencing. Travis discusses his success through his first two semesters and what resources he used during that time. Although he's grateful he had Boards and Beyond during first year, Travis plans on using Physeo and Anki moving forward.

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Episode 14: 250+ Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Track Productivity and Improve Performance with Bronson Fong Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

This podcast interviews Bronson Fong. He is a third year medical student at Louisiana Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Bronson really struggled during his first few months at medical school, and nearly left it behind to return to investment banking. He decided to stay and tough it out and discovered some really unique ways of studying. Bronson focused on using Physeo, Boards and Beyond, Pathoma, SketchyMedical and Rx to study for his coursework. He would then sporadically use Anki in long bursts to review. He used a spreadsheet to keep track of the material he’d covered and how it was working for him. During his dedicated study time, he switched tactics and used mostly UWorld: trying to cover 120 questions random and timed, keeping track of what questions he’d done using a word document. He also took an official practice test at the Prometric testing center, which he felt helpful to simulate the exact circumstances of the actual Step 1. Bronson also proves that it is possible to improve your score from your NBMEs to Step 1 by more than 40 points. Another Step 1 success story!

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Episode 13: A second year medical student's perspective on coursework and Step 1 with Carol Foote Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we talk to Carol Foote, a 2nd year medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Most of our guests have been, and will be, those who have successfully completed Step 1. However, in this episode we take a different approach and get the inside scoop on what a rising 2nd year medical student is currently experiencing. Carol discusses her focus on classwork during the first semester and her transition to gradually using other board preparation resources during the second semester. She also discusses her plans going forward for upcoming coursework and beyond.

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Episode 12: A 256 – Letting Question Banks Dictate your Study Plans with Chizitam Ibezim Jul 25, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we interview Chizitam Ibezim, a 4th year medical student from University of Missouri-Kansas City. Chizitam shares how he juggled course work and his method for determining which outside resources to invest time in. He completed 3 question banks and would use dive deep into concepts he routinely struggled with by returning to video resources like Pathoma and Physeo.

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Episode 11: Juggling 3rd Year Rotations while Studying for Step 1 with Nimrah Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

Being a third year medical student is grueling work. Needing to study for the USMLE step 1 is even harder. Nimrah explains how she worked long days in the clinic and would study for step 1 at night. And she didn’t read a single page of First Aid. How did she make it work? Staying focused on fundamentals with uWorld, Sketchy and Physeo.

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Episode 10: A 260 USMLE and 880 COMLEX - Using DIT, Physeo and Pathoma with Greg Rodden Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

Greg Rodden is a 1st year pediatrics resident at Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, Texas. He graduated from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, VA. In this interview, Greg detailed the study method he and his study group developed to learn and retain information from class lectures. Also, he explained how he scored off-the-charts, literally

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Episode 9: A 258 - Leveraging Clinical Experiences and Volunteer Work with Kara Allen Jul 04, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we talk to Kara Alan, a first year general surgery resident at Indiana University. She talks about her clinical experiences and volunteer work during her preclinical years really helped her study for courses and ultimately succeed on step 1.

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