Medical students who want to do well in USMLE® physiology can benefit from some essential tips on how to handle this complex and dense portion of the multi-part United States Medical Licensing Examination, or USMLE®. The USMLE® physiology section is taken in Step 1 of the exam, and involves a lot of detail about the human body and its interactions with medications and chemicals. Students can get more information about all parts of the USMLE® from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
One crucial tip for doing well on USMLE® physiology is to anticipate technical question types. Students should have a good grasp of mathematics in order to do some quantitative work required. Physics and chemistry also present themselves in USMLE® physiology questions, so it’s important for the student to excel in these disciplines as well. Many questions on the test will include math-based problem questions or present complex equations.
Resources on the USMLE® can also be beneficial. For those who want to succeed in USMLE® physiology, practice books can be indispensable. Practice books can contain practice questions that can help students determine what kinds of things they will face on this test module. Some web forums can show what other test takers have found to be the most effective practice books and materials.
An additional tip for the USMLE® physiology section comes in the form of a recommendation from many former med students who have taken the test. The idea is to make sure that physiology as a discipline is well represented in the practice books that the student uses to prepare. In some books, according to many in the medical community, other disciplines are over-represented, at the expense of physiology.
When it comes to doing well on the entire USMLE® physiology section, it’s important for studiers to really focus on specific aspects of physiology. For example, items like the function of lipids, proteins, and other bodily elements are often prominently included in USMLE® physiology. Items like the structures of biological membranes also tend to be heavily represented. Any kind of physiology that seems likely to relate to drug treatment is a good subject for overall preparation, as well. In general, a combination of well-rounded physiology and using resources to narrow down the most likely question topics will allow a student to meet the USMLE® section on physiology head-on, and be more successful in answering a set of unanticipated or random physiology questions.