AUS students Ikenna G
eoffrey Udenwani & Gabriel Gyimah recently passed the USMLE Step 1 exam and had the opportunity to share their experience with other students. The info session was held on campus in the MD5 classroom from 4pm to 6pm. The aim of the session was to discuss preparing for and taking the exam, to encourage students, and answer any questions.
Udenwani spoke at length about what inspired him to take the exam, his basic science experience, and his preparation process. He shared the benefits of taking the USMLE and matching into a U.S. residency program. He also discussed his 5-month preparation process and the materials he used, specifically first aid videos and textbooks, U-World questions, Pathoma videos, Kaplan lecture notes and NBME questions.
While Udenwani focused on the preparations leading up to the exam, Gyimah focused on the day of the exam and what follows. He elaborated on his exam day experience, time management, mental preparation, the registration and post-exam process. He shared helpful tips, such as taking a 20 minute break after every two blocks to refresh, and other methods to keep up with studying and reduce burnout. Gyimah ended the presentation by encouraging students never to give up and then opening up the session for questions from students.
Overall, the session was an useful resource for students to better understand the USMLE Step 1 process and gain some insight from peers who are going through the same experience.
