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USMLE Step 1 Basics: Format & Content Breakdown

USMLE® Step 1 is used to assess your understanding and ability to apply the important core concepts of the sciences learned in medical school years 1 and 2. The ability to pass Step 1 ensures the foundation has been laid for safe and competent practice of medicine both now and in the future.

USMLE Step 1 QBank – USMLE Weapon Review

USMLE Step 1 - The dreaded 1st step in the process of obtaining your medical license. Preparing for the USMLE Step 1 test involves reading and taking practice questions, thousands of practice questions. USMLE Weapon is one of many options of qbank (question banks) for the USMLE. USMLE Weapon specifically has a qbank for USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 CK (clinical knowledge). I gave it a thorough, unbiased, review so that you can make a more informed decision when you purchase a qbank.

The Ultimate Guide to Volunteering for Premeds

So, you have been working hard in college on your classes and taking lots of practice tests for the MCAT. You might ask, what else do I need to do…

Best Premed Major to Get into Medical School

Congrats! You are half-way through your undergraduate studies (unless you’re studying in Canada in which case it’s only the end of freshman year) and it is now time to choose a major. At this point, you may have also decided that you want to go to medical school and you are trying to decide what to major in. The first question you may be asking is “Does it matter what my major is if I want to go to medical school?”   The answer in large part is no. Medical schools want applicants who are smart, hard-working and well-rounded. In addition, medical school requirements state that there are a set of courses which must be completed prior to applying to medical school; these include general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and typically at least 1-2 semesters in English. Aside from those courses which are required for med school, you can major in anything you want. The majority (75%) of medical school matriculants major in the biological, physical and social sciences. This leaves 25% of students accepted to medical school that have majors in other disciplines.

How to Choose the Best Premed School for YOU

There is no perfect or wrong choice when it comes to selecting a pre med school.  The biggest considerations for most high school seniors are geographic location, proximity to family, size of school, range of degree programs offered, and cost.  There are, however, some other important things to think about if you are thinking about becoming applying to medical school someday.  Read below to find out 5 criteria for choosing a pre med school.

Caribbean Medical School Interview Questions

We already covered a Top 10 Tips for the Medical School Interview. Review that if you haven’t already The Caribbean Medical School interview will be very similar to a U.S.…

Caribbean Medical Schools: What You Need to Know

Welcome to the Caribbean! One of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. Welcome to medical school! One of the most rigorous experiences in your life.   Two separate statements. When standing on their own, they are both true. When put together though, does the Caribbean make medical school a vacation?   There are currently 60 Caribbean medical schools that you can attend, as of 2011. One might think that this vastly increases your chance of being a doctor since there are only 137 M.D. and 26 D.O. medical schools in the U.S. You must understand that these schools are not all up to the standards of U.S. schools, although there are a few well known schools that have been graduating medical students for some time now, who are now successful physicians practicing all over the country.

Top Medical Schools: Are they really the BEST Medical Schools?

Every year, U.S. News publishes a list of the top graduate and professional schools in the country, a list which contains the top-rated medical schools. The list contains 100 schools,…

Prescription Writing 101 (with Example Prescriptions)

Prescription writing is something that I used to worry so much about in my 3rd year of medical school. I probably killed a whole tree tearing up prescriptions that were wrong. Why did I worry so much about it? Prescription writing was not covered very well at my medical school. And with the amount of material that needs to be covered in those 4 years, I'm sure writing prescriptions is not that well covered at any medical school. Maybe that's one of the reasons there are so many medication errors in medicine. Look at some of these commonly quoted statistics: 
  • Medication errors occur in approximately 1 in every 5 doses given in hospitals.
  • One error occurs per patient per day.
  • 1.3 million people are injured and approximately 7000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. from medication-related errors
  • Drug-related morbidity and mortality is estimated to cost $177 billion in the U.S.