"#$ %&'() *+,)$ -.$-(.

("&/'
+".("$01 1/* 2&)) $3$. '$$4








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You may piint anu uistiibute this uocument to fiienus anu colleagues as
long as it is kept in its oiiginal foimat.


































PREFACE


We weie not going to wiite this guiuebook, simply because the contents
within it aie the iesult of yeais of tiial, eiioi, testing, anu tweaking. We
thought the iesults of oui yeais of effoit shoulu be iestiicteu to oui
stuuents, to those who ueciueu to join us at The Acauemy foi theii
0SNLE Step 1 piepaiation. Bowevei, as we move foiwaiu anu continue
to giow by leaps anu bounus on a weekly basis, we know that the iight
thing to uo is to help as many stuuents as possible, by answeiing the
question we liteially aie askeu seveial times pei uay: Bow uo I stuuy foi
the Step 1 exam.

We get emails coming in eveiy single uay, with that exact question!

I cannot stiess enough just how many houis anu yeais of haiu woik
have gone into testing oui 0SNLE piepaiation stiategy - 1uuu's of
houis. If you tioll the 0SNLE foiums these uays, you will see a geneiic
iesponse to this evei-so-impoitant question askeu mainly by foieign
stuuents fiom Inuia anu the Caiibbean, mainly telling stuuents to use
Kaplan anu some question bank.

Peisonally, when I was in meuical in the Caiibbean eailiei this centuiy, I
ieceiveu absolutely teiiible auvice fiom my school's auministiation on
how to piepaie foi the haiuest exam of my life. Bow uo I know it was
teiiible auvice. Because when I took an NBNE (foi the fiist time) just
uays befoie my attempt at the Step 1 exam, the iesults weie absolutely
hoiiifying. The auvice I ieceiveu (fiom a non-NB), was to 'Bo as many
questions as you possibly can. 0p to 1u,uuu questions shoulu be uone
befoie wiiting youi exam). I thought "0K, I'll uo that anu get a 26u", but
this simply uoes not woik. Boing question aftei question without a plan
uoes absolutely nothing to help you achieve that illustiious 99 on the
exam. Suie, questions aie an integial pait of youi piepaiation, but only
when appioacheu stiategically anu with a piopei plan-of-action.

I was ashameu to have to postpone my Step 1 exam. Not only was it
peisonally embaiiassing, but I alieauy hau an illustiious Psych iotation
set up in Chapel Bill, Noith Caiolina, that was the oppoitunity given
only to those who weie ueemeu 'exceptional stuuents' by the faculty
anu auministiation. Not only uiu I let myself uown, I let my clinical co-
oiuinatoi uown. But heie's the thing. She was the one who gave me
the veiy vague anu non-uiiectional auvice that put me into this position
in the fiist place.

I iealizeu, aftei uelaying my exam, that this was N0T about them, it was
about NE. Why was I being iusheu into clinicals when I cleaily wasn't
piepaieu.. Why squanuei away any chance I have at attaining a
Resiuency position when I wasn't ieauy. So equippeu with this
epiphany, I ueciueu to stait my Step 1 piepaiation fiom sciatch.

I uiu well in the Basic Science classes. I was known as one of the haiuest
woiking stuuents in class. Anu I uon't shaie this with you to biag, not in
the least. In fact, if you knew me, you woulu know that I am not one to
boast, I piefei being the stiong silent type. But I tell you this so you
iealize that simply being a goou stuuent, with soliu basic science giaues,
anu a stiong woik ethic will not automatically tianslate into a gieat Step
1 scoie. 0nce we stait piepaiing foi the 0SNLE Step 1 exam, we aie all
staiting with a clean slate, anu how well you uo is not necessaiily baseu
on youi cuiient knowleuge, but iathei baseu on how you appioach this
exam.

I compaie the Step 1 exam to a maiathon. You may be in goou shape,
you may hit the gym iegulaily, you may even be a casual joggei, but
unless you aie implementing a specific tiaining iegimen foi that
maiathon, you aie likely to come up shoit. The Step 1 exam is a
maiathon, both in piepaiing foi it anu actually wiiting it! It is tough,
exhausting, anu the piocess is uowniight ciuel. But, we all have to uo it,
anu it is a iight of passage foi each meuical stuuent. uieat piiue comes
with getting ovei the huiule, just like gieat piiue comes to those who
aie able to withstanu the ciuel anu punishing tiaining foi a maiathon.

So, when I iealizeu I was going to fail baseu on my NBNE exam (which
by the way, my school nevei taught me about), I joineu a populai
piepaiation piogiam in the Niu-west, an investment that I paiu ovei
$SSuu foi. I figuieu if anything coulu help me, this woulu be it. So I
hoppeu on a plane anu heaueu to the piogiam. I quickly iealizeu that
this piogiam was N0T foi me. I value my time moie than anything else
in this life, anu I ieally uiu not appieciate wasting a couple houis of
eveiy full uay of lectuie listening to oui teachei's life stoiies, anecuotes
on life, anu musings. Not to say the piogiam itself wasn't useful, it hau
its moments, but what took us 8 houis to get thiough eveiyuay coulu
have been taken caie of in only a couple of houis pei uay, leaving me
with ieal time to piepaie anu stuuy.

So I left, lockeu myself in my hotel ioom foi seveial weeks, anu staiteu
ieaching out to the best of the best stuuents on the 0NSLE Foiums. I
seaicheu night anu uay foi success stoiies fiom stuuents like myself, I
compaieu anu contiasteu piepaiation iueologies, anu eventually put
togethei what I believeu to be the best seiies of steps that neeueu to be
taken in oiuei to achieve a scoie putting me into the elite level of test-
takeis. The only way to actually test out this stiategy was to put it into
action - anu that's what I uiu!

!"#$%&'()"(* " ,'-./0 '& 10"(#2

I met Bi. Stavios in oui 4
th
yeai of Clinical iotations in a South Siue
Chicago hospital. We weie immeuiate fiienus, anu soon began small
Step 1 tutoiing sessions with stuuents who hau yet to take the exam.
We piepaieu high-yielu lectuies, anu we taught them oui stiategy foi
success.

This became quite populai anu it soon consumeu lots of oui time, anu
we simply coulun't keep up with the uemanu. Eventually stuuents
staiteu offeiing to pay us to continue with oui tutoiing, anu although
we weie in meuicine to help the patients, we soon iealizeu the value we
coulu offei to othei stuuents who weie following in oui footsteps. As
stuuents came anu went, we staiteu to see amazing scoies! This was
immensely iewaiuing foi us, anu with that The Acauemy was boin. As
we continueu to help stuuents, we tweakeu the oiiginal stiategy that I
uevelopeu on my own while lockeu in that hotel ioom in Illinois back in
2uu7. We combineu a lectuie seiies compiiseu of appioximately 1uu
houis with oui uetaileu, step-by-step stiategy foi achieving enoimous
success.

Since we officially launcheu The 0SNLE Success Acauemy in 2uu9, we
maue minoi tweaks anu changes to oui piepaiation stiategy in oiuei to
boost scoies even moie. At this point in time, the stiategy is peifecteu!
Stuuents who follow oui lectuies anu oui success stiategy aie achieving
amazing scoies, eveiy single time, no mattei how weak of a stuuent they
weie in the past, no mattei which Caiibbean school they came fiom, no
mattei how many failuies on the Step 1 they come to us with - they
always scoie well with oui stiategy.

Now, because we aie being askeu seveial times pei uay about the '30#$
)"1 $' .(0."(0 &'( $40 5$0. 6 07"89, we aie going to lay it all out foi
you heie touay.

Now, let get staiteu. Keep in minu, what you aie about to ieau is not
just a iecommenuation that you shoulu tiy, it is not something to pick
anu choose iueas fiom. It is oui testeu anu pioven foimula foi a gieat
scoie on youi 0SNLE Step 1 exam.

Let's get staiteu!













To youi success,

Bi. Paul & Bi. Stavios





"//)+ '$$4$4 %/. "#$ *+,)$ -.$-(.("&/' +".("$01


In oiuei to best piepaie youiself, you neeu the iight tools at youi
uisposal. Below I've outlineu a few things you shoulu have befoie even
staiting youi piepaiation, so that as we move thiough the plan, you
have eveiything iight at youi uisposal.


2<C= 86?FGG HAAD:

IJ $K@AGGAH= 9AL:AM H6=AB

Excellent ieview notes come fiom one of two souices. They aie eithei
cieateu by you thiough caiefully moving thiough youi basic science
notes anu combining all of the high-yielu infoimation into a neat
uocument, oi they come fiom following a ieview piogiam that tackles
the high-yielu infoimation in gieat uetail. Please iealize that 'stuuy
guiues' such as the Fiist Aiu oi even oui 0SNLE Step 1 BIBLE aie not
compiehensive ieview notes, they aie only ieview guiues that tell you
what is consiueieu to be high-yielu. You shoulu be able to look at the
Fiist Aiu anu be able to uiscuss any topic insiue in gieat uetail - simply
memoiizing the infoimation in any stuuy guiue will leave you falling
well shoit of the knowleuge base you neeu to succeeu.

NJ *+,)$ 269GD O?AB=:6H PCHQ

Thiough the yeais, I've tiieu all of the moie populai question banks out
theie, anu I can say with complete confiuence that 0SNLE Woilu is the
supeiioi piouuct on the maiket. A 1-2 month subsciiption to 0SNLE
Woilu is all you will neeu.

RJ 'P,$ $KCE:HC=:6HB

In oiuei to get the most accuiate feeuback of youi piogiess as you move
thiough oui success stiategy, you aie going to neeu to use NBNE
examinations. Nany stuuents uon't like the fact that they have to spenu
some money foi these exams, but keep in minu that these exams aie
maue of ieal 0SNLE questions that aie being useu touay. What this
means is that the level of uifficulty that this exam piesents to you will
give you both an accuiate assessment of wheie you stanu anu it will
give you a gieat look at the level of uifficulty that you can expect on the
ieal 0SNLE exam. Each NBNE is $4S, which is a veiy small piice to pay
foi the valuable infoimation anu feeuback that you will take away fiom
each one you take. Please, embiace these exams anu be piepaieu to
take anywheie fiom 2-S of them thioughout youi piepaiation, as it will
help you boost youi scoie by uozens of points!


As fai as tools go, that's what you neeu! Now, let us get into the uetails
of the stiategy.



"#$ P(+&5 +"$-+ &'3/)3$4


Below I am going to outline the geneial oveiview of the success
stiategy. Aftei the outline, I will go into uetail about how to appioach
each step, anu how to maneuvei youi way thiough the entiie stiategy
fiom Bay 1 of youi stuuies, all the way until the moment you aie ieauy
to wiite the exam!

Let's go.

I
B=
B=A7 - Take an NBNE exam
N
HD
B=A7 - Bevelop a stuuy scheuule baseu on youi timefiame (+
scheuule youi 0SNLE Step 1 exam)
R
9D
B=A7 - Begin stuuying by moving thiough each uiscipline
S
=<
B=A7 - 0nce thiough youi initial ieview, stait uoing S-4 blocks of 0W
questions pei uay
T
=<
B=A7 - Peifoim the 2
nu
iun thiough Qbank
U
=<
B=A7 - Take NBNE
V
=<
B=A7 - Impiove weak aieas baseu on NBNE feeuback
W
=<
B=A7 - Take NBNE (iepeat step 6, 7, & 8 until no iuentifiable
weaknesses)
X
=<
B=A7 - Take youi 0SNLE Step 1 confiuently


At fiist glance, it looks as though a goou chunk of youi time is spent
taking NBNE exams, but this isn't the case. In fact, the NBNE exams aie
only going to take up a couple houis of youi time heie anu theie. But,
the layoutscheuule of youi NBNE exam attempts aie veiy caiefully
placeu, anu shoulu be followeu exactly as piesciibeu.

So now that you get what the oveiall pictuie looks like, let us take a
much closei, moie uetaileu look at exactly what to uo in oiuei to go
fiom wheie you aie iight now, to a place wheie you aie equippeu to
scoie in the top 1% of all 0SNLE test-takeis.


Befoie we stait. As I mentioneu eailiei in this guiuebook, youi 0SNLE
scoies aie youis anu youis only! They aie not foi youi school, they aie
not foi anyone else but you. So uon't think foi a minute that you N0ST
take the test in 1 month, oi 2 months, oi even 6 months if you aien't
ieauy. The clinical iotations will always be theie, you only have one
shot at this exam - so take youi time, but uon't fall into the tiap of
taking too much time. Foi example, theie is absolutely no plausible
ieason foi taking 1yi to piepaie foi this exam. If you aie a stuuent who
is fiesh out of the basic sciences, we shoulu have you ieauy quickly (1-S
months). Foi those of you who aie out of school foi S+ yeais anu who
tiuly anu honestly believe they aie staiting fiom sciatch, you shoulu be
woiking haiu anu efficiently, but may neeu 6-9 months to piepaie. In
geneial though, you aie likely a ielatively iecent giauuate who can
manage to get ieauy in 9u uays oi less.







I
+"
+"$- Y "(Z$ (' 'P,$

I've uealt with stuuents fiesh out of the basic sciences anu I've uealt
with stuuents 2u yeais out of meuical school, anu no mattei what youi
case may be, taking an NBNE will give you an iuea of wheie you stanu.
It will let you know how stiong oi weak you aie oveiall, anu it will
pinpoint youi stiengths, youi weaknesses, anu youi aveiage aieas. So
get an NBNE anu take it.

Since we aie just getting staiteu with oui piepaiation, ultimately we
neeu to iuentify oui weaknesses, but we aie still going to uo thoiough
anu uetaileu stuuying of all the piinciples testeu on the 0SNLE Step 1
exam. At this point take note of youi stiengths anu weaknesses baseu
on the NBNE, but we aie still going to attack all of the mateiial.


N
'4
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"&,$%.(,$ 0/()+

This is tiickiei anu uiffeient foi eveiyone, but as a geneial guiueline, a
stuuent who is above aveiage in theii basic science classes shoulu aim
to wiite theii exam within 6-8 weeks. Ny suggestion is to be honest
with youiself as fai as how much time you neeu; uiu you fail a few
classes in meu school. If you uiu, you'll neeu moie time. If you uiu well,
then scheuule youi exam foi a couple months away. The most
impoitant thing is that you uo in fact scheuule youi exam. Nothing is
woise than staiting youi piepaiation without having a uefineu uate anu
goal in place, because what aie you woiking towaius if you uon't set a
uate anu goal. You can always change youi test uate.

You also neeu to iuentify a taiget scoie. If youi goal is to become a
Family Physician, which is known to be a favoiite amongst INu's, uon't
foi a seconu think that just 'passing' the exam will get you in these uays,
because it absolutely will not! When I heai a stuuent tell me theii goal
is to 'just pass', I will immeuiately wain them about thinking too small.
Even if you want to get into one of the easiei specialties, you shoulu still
be shooting foi a top scoie. Nevei limit youiself baseu on youi own
falsely set limitations. }ust because you aie an INu uoesn't mean you
can't get into Beimatology, oi Plastic Suigeiy. Suie, it is highly unlikely
anu extiemely challenging, but nevei limit youiself baseu on what you
heai fiom otheis.

Anu so with that saiu, what is youi goal. Bo you want to tiy foi a
challenging specialty. If you uo, then you want to scoie at least a 2SS,
especially these uays with the high numbei of competitois. If you want
an easiei specialty such as Peuiatiics, you still want to aim foi a scoie
that is above the national aveiage, which is aiounu 222-22S (this is
changing on a yeaily basis, but usually hoveis aiounu this maikei).

So, uefine youi ultimate caieei goals. Befine youi goal scoie. Set a uate
foi youi exam.


:') *' 1'- ./"; " #$-*1 #,40*-/0<

This is uone baseu on a few factois, namely whethei oi not you aie
ueuicating 1uu% of youi uay to youi Step 1 piepaiation. Anu if I may
say, this is one exam you will want to focus 1uu% of youi time anu
effoit towaius. A iock-soliu appioach is to ueuicate 6-8 houis of each
uay to Step 1 piepaiation. In The Acauemy's Step 1 Piepaiation
Piogiam, we ask stuuents about the amount of time they can ueuicate to
theii stuuies, anu baseu on this iecommenu 4, 8, oi 12 weeks of
piepaiation time. Foi a stuuent who has only the Step 1 to focus on, 4
veiy intense weeks shoulu be enough time to get thiough the basic
sciences, while also implementing uaily questions into theii stiategy
anu also keeping an houi oi so foi ieview. Foi those with pait-time
jobs, chiluien, oi othei iesponsibilities that use up pait of theii uay,
aiming to ueuicate 2-4 houis of highly focuseu, inteiiuption-fiee
stuuyingpiepaiation is iueal.

Now, baseu on the amount of time you can ueuicate, cieate a plan that
maps out how you will uiviue youi time. Biu youi NBNE tell you that
you aie weak in a few aieas. If it uiu, give youiself some extia time to
go ovei those topics. Now keep in minu, the majoi topics you must
mastei foi the 0SNLE Step 1 exam incluue:


- uenetics
- Cell & Nembiane Behavioi
- Behavioial meuicine
- Biochemistiy
- Neuiology
- uI Systems (uI, Renal, etc)
- Beimatology
- PathologyPathophysiology
- Phaimacology
- Physiology

To name the big ones..

Now, wheie anuoi how you get the infoimation foi this mateiial is up
to you. Iueally you took excellent notes uuiing youi basic sciences anu
have actively been piepaiing high-yielu 0SNLE notes baseu on the
'testable' mateiial as set out by the 0SNLE.oig website, oi you coulu
join oui piepaiation piogiam to get eveiything you neeu. But, one thing
I absolutely, positively must wain you about, again, is that using a
ieview book such as the Fiist Aiu, Step-0p seiies, 0SNLE BIBLE, alone
aie not sufficient foi in-uepth ieview anu analysis of the impoitant
infoimation. They aie 'guiues', not compiehensive souices.

So once you've got youi plan in oiuei, it is time to ieally uig into the
haiucoie stuuying.


R
.4
+"$- Y P$0&' +"*41&'0

Bow you stuuy is ultimately up to you, but a couple things I can
iecommenu that will go a long way in helping you mastei a lot of
complex mateiial is to: 1. Biaw when possible anu 2. Cieate lists


=>'-$ ?(")@;A:

Biawing is one of the best ways of taking complex mateiial anu tuining
it into easy-to-unueistanu anu iemembei mateiial. Take the Biachial
Plexus foi example; how on eaith coulu you possibly mastei that
anatomical stiuctuie without uiawing it out ovei anu ovei again. Suie,
you may iemembei the names of the neives, which muscles that supply,
anu what kinus of pathologies occui when they aie uamageu, but it suie
makes it easiei when you can visualize that image of the plexus anu its
majoi neives tiavelling thioughout the aim.

This is effective foi anatomy, anu equally effective foi Physiology, as we
can ieally simplify complex physiological piocesses by tuining them
into illustiations. Take the tubules of the kiuneys as an example; we
know that we can tuin a lot of complex physiology into veiy easy-to-
unueistanu piocesses with a single pictuie, as I have uiawn in below.



Look at what this simple illustiation can explain to us. not only how
the PCT physiology woiks, but how Phaimacology effects it's ability to
function. A pictuie, as they say, is woith a thousanu woius. Anu tuining
youi meuical infoimation into illustiations will allow you to leain an
astounuingly gieatei amount of infoimation than simply tiying to
memoiize a bunch of books. Foi this ieason, we use hunuieus of
illustiations foi oui stuuents thioughout oui own Step 1 piogiam, not
because we like to uiaw, but because it woiks!

This is an effective stiategy thioughout eveiy topic you will stuuy, so
making use of uiawings, both anatomical anu physiological, will help
you boost youi scoie. Anu of couise can help you with youi
Phaimacology as well. Take the following image as an example:


This is a uiawing of the pio-insulin anu insulin molecules, which I can
guaiantee you will be on youi exam! Suie, this isn't a complicateu
example, but just looking at this simple uiawing, which took me 2us to
make, can tell us a woilu of infoimation ielating to not only the
stiuctuies of the molecules, but it uiiectly links to seveial pathologies
(Insulinoma vs. insulin auministiateu hypoglycemia foi example). By
just looking at this image, I can talk to you about Physiology,
Phaimacology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, Bistology, anu Anatomy. I
can even link it to Neuiological infoimation.

The point is, stait uiawing! It will tiuly make a uiffeience in youi
oveiall euucation anu this type of stuff will stick with you foi the iest of
youi caieei, while otheis aie constantly ieauing to iemembei, you will
nevei foiget!


=>'-$ 8"B@;A C@#$#D

Lists aie an effective way to oiganize infoimation. Phaimacology anu
Niciobiology aie two aieas that can best be supplementeu with well-
oiganizeu lists. Take it a step fuithei, anu uo youiself a B0uE favoi by
implementing mnemonics anywheie anu eveiywheie that you can. The
best way to make use of mnemonics... Nake up youi own!

I iemembei back in my Phaim class uuiing basic sciences, I ueciueu that
foi the anti-hypeitensives lectuie, I woulu cieate all of my own
mnemonics, anu foiego anything that I was to ieau oi be tolu about.
Anu to this veiy uay, I can iattle off eveiy single anti-hypeitensive uiug,
even though I go months without thinking about it. The point is, theie is
massive powei in cieating youi own memoiy aiues, so uon't be afiaiu to
make up something unique to you, something that only you will
iemembei, as theie is a gieat ueal of benefit to be hau fiom uoing it.

Anothei gieat auuition to lists is the auuition of C0L0R. 0sing colois to
sepaiate classes of uiugs can be exceptionally helpful. 0sing a coloi
system to sepaiate giam negative lactose feimenteis fiom the non-
lactose feimenteis can impact youi scoie in the long iun, simply
because we tenu to iemembei colois veiy well, anu if we combine
colois with categoiies anu sub-categoiies of infoimation, we can help
out oui own cause.


0nce you have finisheu a thoiough ieview of youi basic sciences
mateiial, uive into 0SNLE Woilu questions!

-A9[69E R\S PG6@QB /[ *+,)$ 269GD O?AB=:6HB -A9 4C8]

In auuition to uaily ieview, you shoulu peifoim S-4 blocks of 46-48
questions pei uay. The ieason why I say S-4 blocks is because it is just
enough to help you get thiough the entiie question bank in just 14-21
uays, anu it is not so much that you can't absoib eveiything on a uaily
basis. You shoulu mix youi 0SNLE woilu questions, as this will cieate
the enviionment that you will expeiience on the ieal exam.

Below I have outlineu the necessaiy steps that you shoulu follow while
uoing QBank questions:

Fiist... keep in minu that you uon't want to use youi 0W % as the
pieuictoi of youi knowleuge, you want to use it to builu youi
knowleuge. 0se the NBNE's foi assessment puiposes... that is impoitant
to iemembei!

5' 40(0E# 81 #-AA0#$@';:

1. uo thiough questions in a TINEB foimat, uoing a full block of
questions at a time (46-48q) (Reason: you neeu to tiain foi the 0SNLE
exam like you woulu tiain foi a physical event like a maiathon, anu the
best way to builu youi stamina is to peifoim a full block of questions in
the same timefiame that you will uo so on the ieal exam. If you uo this
fiom the stait, you will builu excellent stamina, you will leain to woik
fastei yet still efficiently, anu it will go a long way on the ieal exam).

2. 0nce finishing each block of questions, now is the time to go back
ovei all of the answeis. 0pen up youi basic science notes (the ones you
took oi the ones you have fiom a ieview couise) anu take inseit notes
anywheie appiopiiate. This will help iounu-out youi notes anu will
also foice you to ieview eveiything. Keep tiack of youi stiengths anu
youi weaknesses as you move thiough these questionansweis. This
takes time, but the moie uetaileu you can be with youi explanations
about each question, the moie you will leain anu the bettei you will be
in the long-iun. Continue this until you finish the entiie question bank.
With each passing uay, look ovei the notes you've maue in youi
notebook, talk alouu in explaining ceitain concepts oi pieces of
infoimation you aie stiuggling with, anu be suie to consistently 9AL:AM
9AL:AM 9AL:AM. If you have someone who can quiz you (fiienu, family
membei), cieate youi own shoit questions anu have them uiill you with
them on a uaily basis. as this will seive to help uiive impoitant facts
into youi long-teim memoiy.

You shoulu continue to stuuy youi notes anuoi follow youi piep
piogiam anu uoing questions in the foimat explaineu above until you
aie thiough eveiything. Foi the qbank, it shoulu take aiounu 14-21
uays.


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At this point, you have finisheu going thiough youi notes, you have
finisheu taking notes, anu you have finisheu youi fiist iun thiough the
0SNLE Woilu question bank. You have come a veiy long way since
beginning youi piepaiation, anu now you shoulu take anothei NBNE
exam in oiuei to ueteimine wheie you aie weak, aveiage, oi stiong.

The image below is the image attaineu at the enu of an NBNE exam, anu
as you notice theie is a 'boiueiline' maikei neai the miuule of the chait.
Eveiything to the left of this maikei is inuicative of a weakness,
eveiything to the iight is inuicative of a ielative stiength. It is impoitant
to iealize that any subject that ciosses ovei the boiueiline maikei at
any point shoulu be assumeu 'weak'.



The ultimate goal is to get all subjects in the 'Stiong' siue of the chait.
Baseu on this NBNE, this stuuent shoulu spenu time woiking on Nental
Bisoiueis, uynecologic Bisoiueis, anu Psychiatiy above all else. Those
topics ueseive 1 full week of intense stuuy each, totaling S weeks. The
subjects that hovei ovei the 'Boiueiline' aiea shoulu also be stuuieu
fuithei, although a couple uays foi each of these 'aveiage' aieas may be
sufficient to biing them ovei into the 'Stiong' aiea.

While spenuing moie time specifically on youi weakei anu aveiage
aieas, you will also uo a 2
nu
iun thiough of youi 0SNLE Woilu question
bank, howevei, you aie going to uo it in a completely unique way that
will help piopel youi knowleuge above anu beyonu its cuiient level
(this stiategy is outlineu below).


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Befoie uoing this step, spenu extia time on each one of youi
weaknesses in oiuei to biing them up to pai with the iest of youi
knowleuge.

The 2
nu
iun thiough of youi QBank is peifoimeu as follows:

Now, the mistake I see a lot of stuuents making at this point is to simply
ie-uo the entiie question bank. When you simply ie-uo the qbank, you
may see an impiovement in youi %, but you have to iealize that this is
most likely uue to memoiization of some answeis. Insteau, as you move
thiough each uay, you shoulu be tiuly NASTERINu the infoimation
within youi notes. So by the time you aie uone with the 1st iounu of the
qbank, youi uepth anu bieauth of knowleuge shoulu be much gieatei.
0nce you have thoioughly stuuieu youi notes (in auuition to youi
stiaightfoiwaiu stuuying fiom youi basic science notes oi ieview
couise if you choose to uo one), then it is time to go thiough youi 0W
Qbank a 2nu time, but the key to tiuly using it to maximize youi
knowleuge isn't to simply go thiough the questions again in a Nultiple
choice foimat - N0! Insteau, what you shoulu uo is the following:

Note: this time you uon't have to peifoim the questions in a timeu moue
anu you shoulu peifoim them in 'ianuom' moue.

1st - Reau the question as you noimally woulu (note: be suie to always
ieau the last line of the question fiist, as sometimes ieauing the entiie
stem isn't even necessaiy to answei the question - anu if you have 2-S of
these pei block, you can save youiself a few minutes of piecious time).
Back to the main point... ieau the question as you noimally woulu, but
insteau of simply choosing the coiiect answei (which shoulu be easy
baseu on youi having piopeily gone thiough the 1st time), you want to
iuentify the piopei answei fiom the answei choices, but insteau of just
answeiing it anu moving to the next question, explain to youiself, alouu,
why the question you believe to be coiiect is in fact coiiect. If you can
explain why an answei is iight, then you have a much bettei oveiall
compiehension of the mateiial. In auuition, take a look at the answeis
you finu to be incoiiect, anu uiscuss with youiself why each incoiiect
answei is in fact 'incoiiect'. You see, if you only mastei the infoimation
foi each coiiect answei, you oveilook the leaining oppoitunity foi all 4-
S of the othei answei options, because even though they'ie incoiiect foi
this paiticulai answei, they aie still pieces of infoimation that you
shoulu knowleainunueistanu.

Simply move thiough the qbank this way until you get thiough the
entiie thing. So this means youi 2nu time thiough is moie about being
able to explain infoimation, insteau of simply being able to iemembei
coiiect anuoi incoiiect answeis. This is just like teaching someone the
infoimation. When you can uiscuss something out louu, then you can
be ceitain that you tiuly know the infoimation. This takes time, I won't
lie to you, it takes lots of time anu patience... B0T, you will leain so
much meuical infoimation that when it comes time foi you to sit foi the
ieal exam, all of the haiu woik that you put in will make things much
easiei foi you. No mattei how the questions aie thiown at you on youi
actual Step 1 exam, youi knowleuge shoulu be so stiong that whichevei
uiiection the questions aie coming fiom, you won't be tiickeu.


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By now, you have piopeily stuuieu youi basic science mateiial, anu you
have peifoimeu the QBank two times. You shoulu be extiemely close to
ieauy, if you aie not alieauy ieauy to wiite youi exam. But befoie you
uo so, we neeu to be suie that you will pass with 1uu% ceitainty. Theie
aie a couple of impoitant ciiteiia you absolutely N0ST meet if you want
to ensuie you aie completely piepaieu to wiite youi exam; which
incluues a WELL-BISTRIB0TEB exam iesult anu a minimum scoie of
Suu.

Let me explain fiist what I mean by 'well-uistiibuteu'. It means that
when you see youi iesults, you want all of the subjects to be faiily
equally uistiibuteu acioss the entiie spectium. Take the two NBNE
iesults below, wheie each yielus a scoie of Suu, but the one on the left is
not well-uistiibuteu (ie. All of the bais aie not appioximately in the
same aiea on the chait). The one of the iight, while all topics aie not on
the fai iight (highei peifoimance) siue of the chait, is well-uistiibuteu
anu means that you have a veiy well oveiall knowleuge of the
infoimation. The ieason why a pooily uistiibuteu iesult is iisky is
because lets say the ieal 0SNLE exam is heaviei in those topics you aie
a bit weakei in. If you uon't take the time to biing up those
weaknesses, you may have a false sense of secuiity because of a uecent
NBNE scoie, but you still iisk failing. 0n the othei hanu, if all of youi
subjects aie at least on the iight siue of the 'boiueiline' peifoimance, at
least no mattei which topics may be heaviei on the ieal exam, you at
least know that youi knowleuge is well-uistiibuteu anu that you know
enough to safely pass youi exam with a goou scoie.


Pooily Bistiibuteu Well Bistiibuteu

Anu finally, you want to achieve a scoie of at least Suu because this
coiielates with the appioximate 0SNLE Scoie of 22u, which is at the
maikei foi the National Aveiage foi all test-takeis. Scoiing in this iange
will give you a goou chance of being inviteu foi Resiuency inteiviews.





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If you've taken an NBNE anu achieveu a scoie of at least Suu anu the
iesults weie well-uistiibuteu, you aie ieauy to take the exam. If, on the
othei hanu, theie aie still weaknesses (ie. Bais to the left of the
'boiueiline' maikei), then you shoulu ueuicate 1 week to each of youi
weaknesses, anu then iepeat an NBNE (note: Bon't uo the same NBNE
twice).

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Fiom heie, you will iepeat steps 6, 7, anu 8 until you ieach a point
wheie you have achieveu a NININ0N scoie of Suu anu all subject bais
aie to the iight of the 'Boiueiline' maikei, as you see below:



If you've achieveu this impoitant point, I highly suggest taking anothei
two NBNE exams, as a way of soliuifying youi confiuence in youi ability
to pass. I have a veiy impoitant motto that I use with my stuuents
insiue The Acauemy:

F;,0 @# " !/-B0G H)@,0 @# " I'@;,@*0;,0G H4(00 $@80# @# " ."$$0(;

What this means, simply, is that it is possible that you got lucky anu
scoieu well on the exam, so by taking anothei exam anu scoiing in the
same ballpaik, it uemonstiates that you may be onto something, but
twice is still a possible coinciuence. But, once you've achieveu the same
iesult thiee times in a iow, it uemonstiates that you aie in a pattein of
success, anu you aie absolutely, 1uu% ieauy anu piepaieu to uo well on
youi 0SNLE Step 1 exam. Anu now, you shoulu be confiuent in youi
ability to pass!


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I think this one speaks foi itself. At this point, you've put in the bloou,
sweat, anu teais, anu you have come a long way in youi entiie
piepaiatoiy piocess. By following the steps that have been outlineu foi
you heie touay, you can be confiuent that you will pass youi exam.

You see, insiue The Acauemy, stuuents often ask us why we offei them
a passing scoie money-back guaiantee. Anu the ieason why we uo this
is to uemonstiate that we have the utmost confiuence in oui piogiam
anu in oui entiie piepaiation stiategy, which gives oui stuuents the
confiuence to push haiu anu follow the plan exactly as it is laiu out. The
thing that most stuuents uon't iealize is that with the awesome high-
yielu lectuie seiies we've cieateu, in combination with the steps that
they must take in oiuei to piepaie foi the exam, we can be 1uu%
ceitain that each stuuent will pass. When a stuuent uemonstiates that
they have scoieu ovei Suu on thiee consecutive NBNE exams, along
with a well-uistiibuteu knowleuge base that is baseu on the haiu facts
of the NBNE iesults, it is simply unlikely that you will fail. The haiu
uata tells us whethei oi not oui stuuents have taken the appiopiiate
steps anu masteieu the infoimation; theie is no iisk involveu with oui
piepaiation piogiam, which is why oui stuuents consistently scoie
above the national aveiage.

When we took the last foui yeais to cieate this peifect piepaiation
stiategy, anu staiteu to implement it within oui Acauemy, the iesults
weie the same eveiy time - a passing scoie.


Thanks foi taking the time to ieau anu absoib The Acauemy's Success
Stiategy Nanual. If you maue it this fai, you aie seiious about scoiing
exceptionally well on youi Step 1 exam..

To youi 0SNLE Success!

Bi. Paul & Bi. Stavios