Step 1: Setting my study schedule

Studying for Step 1 was a daunting task when it lay before me. How should I allocate my time? In what order should I study each subject? As the dedicated study period approached, Student Affairs invited an MD/PhD student who took the exam a few years ago to speak to us about setting a Step 1 study schedule. This was just as much about calming over-anxious second-year medical students as it was communicating information that was actually useful. It was a good talk, though. The most salient bit of advice he gave was to enjoy it: to have fun and make the most of the only time in our careers in which a whole month is set aside to just learn as much about medicine as we can - without all the distractions of patients and such (a little bit of tongue-in-cheek). Two other important take-home points: 1) set aside a few days to review and return to subjects covered earlier in the study period, and 2) set aside time to just relax.

My schedule

The semester ended on Friday, March 11. I took that Saturday completely off and started full-steam ahead on Sunday, March 13.

Before starting, I mapped out the days on which I wanted to take practice exams. Because I took my exam on a Monday, I decided that I would take a practice exam every Monday until the real deal on April 11th. I built the rest of my schedule around those practice test dates.

Based on my experiences studying for Step 1 during the school year, I decided to take a fluid approach during the dedicated study period. What that meant was letting go of a rigid schedule in which I mapped out exactly what subject I would be studying on what given day for the next 29 days. Instead, I made a list of all the subjects that I wanted to study. I started out with those subjects in which I felt weakest and that also demanded a more conceptual understanding versus rote memorization.

From there, I almost let whim guide my next subject. For example, while studying cardiovascular, I knew that I needed to understand heart development, so I decided to just tackle the rest of embryology at the same time. It worked out for me because embryology is a more conceptual subject that can be more broadly applied to understanding the organ systems. The point is that everyone has to tailor their study schedule to best fit their own needs.



As the end of the study period approached, it became easier and easier to identify which subject I wanted to study next and to gauge whether I had enough time to do it. As it turned out, I had more time than I needed to cover all of the subjects that I listed. I used that extra time to take more practice tests, the formal practice tests published by USMLE World. I'm very glad that I had enough time to do this.

I spent the bulk of my review days talking through subjects in which I still felt weak and reading through notes that I took from my practice questions. This turned out to be a good use of my time. Importantly, I took those last two review days easy - an attempt to key myself down and control my anxiety.