The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE®) is difficult, but students who prepare well should be able to excel on this series of tests. Although the three Steps of the USMLE® cover different information, some general tips for USMLE® prep are applicable to all of these tests. Students should make sure to learn as much as possible in classes and in clinical rotations. Closer to the test date, they should use review books, question banks, and a study schedule in order to succeed on the tests.
The best tip for USMLE® prep is to learn as much as possible about medicine from day-to-day activities. For Step 1 of the USMLE®, this means to study hard for the basic science courses taken during the first two years of medical school. Doing well on Steps 2 and 3 requires practical knowledge about the application of medicine that is best learned by taking care of people. Individual patients should serve as jumping-off points for reading about specific diseases and treatments. In this way, facts learned in textbooks can be linked to real patients, and will be remembered more easily.
Other methods of USMLE® prep are more focused on increasing knowledge in the months prior to the test. Many people use review books in order to refresh their knowledge before taking the tests. Often students prefer using review books instead of using textbooks because the review material is geared towards only the information that will be on the test. The review books eliminate unnecessary information, allowing students to focus on the most important material.
Question banks, which are collections of USMLE®-type questions, provide another great way to prepare for the tests. Answering questions not only refreshes knowledge, but also familiarizes students with the type of questions asked. The USMLE® questions typically don’t test the simple recall of information. Instead, they require thinking through problems and applying multiple pieces of information. Practicing using questions that involve integrating knowledge from different disciplines will help maximize USMLE® scores.
The scope of the USMLE® tests is broad, covering many disciplines and subjects. As a result, proper USMLE® prep can take a long time. Often creating a study schedule can help organize the study process, and will help ensure that all subjects are reviewed in enough detail. Some students choose to do a practice test at the beginning of their study period in order to identify areas of weakness. Then they can focus more time on poorly understood subjects, thus maximizing the efficiency of their studying.
