Sea turtle I painted in Akumal, Mexico.
“Welcome back from your LAST spring break ever!” This was the greeting I got from my Physical Diagnosis instructor this week. Indeed I returned from my last official “spring break,” and I feel like I made the best of it. I had a relaxing time with my husband’s parents in Akumal, Mexico where I celebrated my 29th birthday, practiced Spanish, swam with turtles and even did some watercolor painting. Lovely!
In fact, it was so lovely that a part of me did not want to come back to school this week and face the challenges before me. Mainly, it’s time to start studying for my Board exam (9 weeks away as of this morning). I started my penultimate unit, Endocrinology, and additionally I am trying to begin a new combination of Board studying mixed with class preparation.
How does this work? Well, it consists of spending time with the book, First Aid for USMLE Step 1, which is probably purchased by almost every medical student preparing for the Boards. I am currently making a list of Q&A about important facts from First Aid. Then, I’ve been listening to this nutty Oklahoma State professor, Edward Goljan. His lectures are the cult classic of Board preparation. My former college classmate is at OK State and has him as a professor now… lucky! He is the best professor I’ve never had! He has a wonderful way of focussing on clinical aspects, and an amazing laugh.
In addition to that, there is the USMLE Q-bank, which I purchased and activated recently. It’s recommended to complete the 2,000 Q-bank practice questions before taking the Boards. I have completed a pitiful 8% so far with dismal scores. A typical session on tutor mode takes me several hours because I take notes on the questions I get wrong. When my summary page comes up, I usually feel my heart sink. These questions are the closest thing to real Board Exam questions, and they feel tough right now. I think only twice I have taken practice test that went better (by that I mean I actually get over 50%), and I feel like maybe I’m on the right track.
I have other resources too- Lippincott’s pharmacology flash cards, Goljan’s Pathology Rapid Review, and a couple other books I bought for my classes. I haven’t had time to incorporate them all yet, but I’m slowly working everything into my routine. I’ve started with my most dreaded subjects, Hematology-Oncology and Biochemistry, as my goal for the next few weeks. Wish me well!
You are so amazing Liz! You are so lucky you are went to Spain!
Now to question if you learned any spanish::
¿Cuánto tiempo se tarda en pintar esa tortuga? ¡Es asombroso!