what to do last week before usmle step 1
Information technology'south the twenty-four hours before the United states Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step ane exam, and your stress level is at an all-time loftier. You lot've spent weeks studying every tiny medical noesis and basic science detail you've learned as a medical student and hither you lot are, approaching examination day, and your mind is already going blank.
At that place's no way y'all'll be able to go a full night of sleep – you're nauseated, dehydrated, unfocused, unconfident, all of the above!
Chances are, you're about to make a major exam-prep-mistake that you lot could hands avoid.
Students tend to make mistakes in their preparation or report regimes in the weeks or days leading up to a high stakes exam, which could hinder their performance, costing crucial points. Medical students aren't an exception to these common errors; in fact, they're often the example. Picmonic helps you learn the information and retain it meliorate. Combining it with the habits listed beneath are the best way to gear up yourself up for success.
Step 1 is arguably the most important exam in medical teaching in the Usa. Your functioning volition aid make up one's mind which residency program you will "match" to, and every single point counts on the big day. So what bad practices should you cut out of your routine to ensure your best functioning on game twenty-four hours? Even though the test is going to be pass/fail in the future, information technology'south still important to fix yourself upward for success so that you can sail through exam twenty-four hours and put your heed at ease.
While we are focused on Step one, our advice also applies to Pace 2 CK and Footstep three — other U.s.a. medical licensing exams provided by the National Board of Medical Examiners. But by the time you lot get by Step 1, you volition exist an exam taking expert (and won't need this article!). And then nosotros'll just focus on Stride 1.
Mistake 1: Not sleeping enough, and not on a regular sleep schedule (napping, sleeping in on exam day)
This starting time fault is so piece of cake to avoid, y'all tin literally exercise information technology in your slumber (bad pun). You lot should aim for seven full hours of slumber each night during the week before your Pace 1 exam, so yous're fully charged on the big day. Sometimes it seems similar the solution to gaining more study time is sleeping less at nighttime, or taking more naps during the day. Simply research shows, this is far from the truth.
Sleep is important throughout your entire study schedule because your cyclic rhythms (which influence your slumber-wake cycles, hormone releases, and other bodily functions) can have a few days to prepare into a rhythm. Don't look until the solar day before the exam to make the switch to a healthy sleep schedule.
If your exam begins at 7am, but you normally wake up at 10 am, start setting your alert an 60 minutes earlier every day and going to bed an hour before every nighttime. This will ease y'all into the do of waking up at 6am to be alert and focused past 7am. Check out our other tips for getting good sleep during medical schoolhouse here.
Fault 2: Cramming the days leading up to the USMLE Step i exam
Ask any marathon trainer if you should run a marathon the day before your issue, and they're going to give you the same answer: you're crazy . Preparation is all about existence set up, not being done. So don't cram in all the medical noesis you didn't learn earlier on the 24-hour interval before the test!
If you've been studying fourteen hours a 24-hour interval for weeks, start to taper downward to ten hours a day, then to eight (which is the approximate length of Footstep ane). Cramming increases your anxiety levels, and it's more important that the time you lot spend studying is effective.
Enquiry shows that studying the day before the exam hurts yous, considering it crowds your brusque-term memory with last minute info that can interfere with long-term memory retrial or bias your controlling skills.
For instance, if you study diabetes the twenty-four hour period before the exam, your mind is naturally going to lean towards diabetes-related answers. Moral of this story: take a full mean solar day off to give your brain a break and don't cram!
Error iii: Locking yourself indoors
Just because your career depends on the Step 1 exam doesn't mean you should lock yourself in the library for weeks direct. Get out!
First partaking in some light exercise in the forenoon. You don't want to rigorously exercise at the risk of building up lactic acid, but increasing your heart rate with aerobic exercise is advantageous. This will release endorphins, giving you lot a amend perspective and more confidence. Plus, information technology'll assist you slumber meliorate at night. Try walking, light jogging, cycling, or hiking.
Try to spend a fiddling more time outside during your study routine as well. You've probably been staring at your book or computer or tablet for weeks now, so requite your eyes a breather! Observe an open space where you can enjoy the view and let your mind to relax for a bit.
Mistake 4: Avoiding all television set
Every bit a demonstration of your determination and will ability, you lot may have already given upwardly television throughout the duration of your studying. Salubrious— almost.
Information technology's smashing to practice focus, but sometimes you lot demand to take a little "me" fourth dimension. If y'all enjoy watching tv typically, don't deprive yourself of a reward from time to time. Some students even discover that watching a flick before exam mean solar day is a nice mental break.
However, yous don't desire to watch a motion picture that will exist as well intense or crusade a lot of reflection afterwards. Tv shows or movies with crashing cars, dying soldiers, or confusing love triangles may linger in your mind the day afterwards you picket it, so leave those selections out. If you're going to watch TV, choice something mindless.
Fault 5: Over-caffeinating
A lot of students make the error of loading upward on coffee and Red Bull right before heading into the Step 1 exam to stay equally alert as humanly possible. Large mistake!
Some students might think that caffeine on examination day might hinder their operation, so they avoid it on the big mean solar day. Some other error!
The truth is, you should take it easy on the caffeine altogether. Try to taper off your caffeine intake—or at least maintain your boilerplate—in the days leading upward to the exam to avoid whatsoever symptoms associated with caffeine withdrawal.
And whatever you practice, don't increment your intake on the solar day of. You lot shouldn't be making any drastic changes to your diet before the test.
Another caffeine tip: avoid it subsequently 4pm so that it doesn't interfere with your sleep regimen.
Mistake 6: Avoiding thinking about the test solar day
In a fit of denial, you might be tempted to avoid thinking near the "24-hour interval of" altogether. Simply don't forget nigh your exam mean solar day preparation!
Preparing for the exam day is a slap-up way to boost your confidence and mental readiness. Plan out the twenty-four hour period:
- Where will y'all park?
- Where volition you lot put your bags?
- How long does it take to get there?
- What is the temperature of the room?
Ponder anything yous tin think of that volition put your mind at ease.
Don't forget to plan your exam break fourth dimension as well. Be sure to pack food . Nosotros recommend a circuitous carb to start your twenty-four hours and provide longer lasting energy; bananas and oranges offering lots of electrolytes and are convenient to comport. A snack bar is always an easy choice with a nice carbohydrate heave to assist you cross the cease line.
Lastly, know where the bathrooms are. You don't want to be distracted with a potty break in the middle of the examination.
Mistake 7: Focusing on the brusk-term and avoiding life postal service-exam
It might seem like the Footstep i is the last twenty-four hours of your future, just information technology's not. Just considering it'southward difficult to come across over this hurdle, doesn't hateful you shouldn't beginning plans for postal service-exam time.
It's an easy mode to keep yourself motivated: program something fun to do after the exam. Y'all'll need a reward, and this can be a nice refresher from the monotony of studying. Start planning something fun with a group of friends to go on the finish line in focus.
- Plan a vacation with friends.
- Make reservations at a prissy restaurant.
- Throw a party for you and your classmates.
As soon as that test is done, you'll be glad you planned this far ahead!
Exam day is hard enough. You already have too many things to worry about. Then don't be your own worst enemy. Endeavour to recognize and right as many little mistakes like these every bit possible, so you'll exist calm and confident come exam mean solar day.
Keep your head held loftier and your listen clear, and yous're going to practise simply fine!
Picmonic helps you remember everything you're learning to make your exam twenty-four hours even easier. Check out our gratuitous trial!
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Source: https://www.picmonic.com/pages/usmle-step-1-exam-day-mistakes/
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