Boards I

The USMLE Step 1 is the first part of a three part licensing examination for physicians. It covers basic science applied to clinical concepts and is an eight hour computer-based test with 350 questions, 72 seconds per question. It's tough, and depending on residency, its importance in applications ranges. We have to take it by early April.

We recently had a talk about the Boards (and attendance doubled that of a normal lecture). I didn't find it particularly useful and got mixed messages. Some people emphasized that we're already well prepared and there is no need to start reviewing until after winter break. Others suggested that we should already have started thinking about it. The general message seemed to be that we shouldn't worry, but it is a big deal and we can't put it off either. Everything was vague, and I think it caused general anxiety.

We take Step 1 earlier than other schools, and although at this point, it feels like a disadvantage, apparently it gives us an extra elective rotation before residency applications which helps. There are rumors that UCSF "soft plays" the Boards, de-emphasizing it and that the curriculum is not geared towards the standardized test (for example, we only have lectures on five cancers: breast, cervical, lung, prostate, and skin, but the USMLE certainly expects more than that). I'm not really sure how to take all of it, but the right attitude is that here is where I am, I know what I need to do, and I have confidence I will get there come the test.