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Video App Review: USMLE Amnesia Cure Lite
03 months ago
by rstigall
in Video App Reviews
With all the great apps available to help you study, how do you know which one(s) to choose? No worries, we’ve got you covered. Check out this great video review from First Aid team member, Jaysson Brooks. We include a grade for the app based on our Video Review Grading Scale.
Know of an app you’d like us to review? Share your suggestion in the comments below.
Name: USMLE Amnesia Cure Lite
Mobile Operating System: iOS
Price: 6 free cases. $17.99 for full version.
*Grade: A
Grading Scale: http://firstaidteam.com/4885/video-review-grading-scale
Taking Step 2 CS This Year? The USMLE Has Announced New Passing Requirements!
23 months ago
By Molly Lewis
The USMLE’s Step 2 Committee recently decided to increase the passing standards for the CS (Clinical Skills) portion of the exam (i.e. it will be harder to pass!).
After reviewing input from independent physicians, state licensing officials, medical school faculty, and Step 2 test-takers, as well as data on past exam performance, the committee chose to raise the standards for two components of the exam. Since the exam is graded pass/fail (and not numerically, like Step 1 or Step 2 CK) this means that a certain percentage of students would no longer pass.
The changes were made in 2 of the 3 portions of the evaluation: Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS) and Integrated Clinical Encounter (ICE). The grading of the Spoken English Proficiency (SEP) portion will not be changed.
Please don’t panic! Instead, invest in a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CS, Fourth Edition to make sure you are prepared!
For more information, please see: “Change in the performance standard of the Step 2 CS examination that will affect examinees testing on or after January 1, 2013”
USMLE-Rx Step 2 Qmax Challenge #23144
103 months ago
Check out today’s Step 2 Qmax Question Challenge.
Know the answer? Post it below! Don’t forget to check back Saturday for an update with the correct answer and explanation.
A 30-year-old man is brought by ambulance to the emergency department after a major motor vehicle crash. He is lethargic but conscious, and after the primary survey, he is found to have significant hypotension and tachycardia. Secondary survey reveals an unstable pelvic girdle and what appears to be a developing pelvic hematoma. There is no blood at the urethral meatus. Anteroposterior x-ray of the pelvis is shown in the image.
Which of the following is contraindicated in this patient?
A. Exploration of the hematoma
B. Retrograde urethrogram
C. Emergent pelvic angiography
D. Orthopedic consultation for fixation
E. Manual prostate examination
F. Volume resuscitation
———————–
Want to know the ‘bottom line?’ Purchasing a USMLE-Rx Subscription provides many more features, more questions, and passages from First Aid, including images, references, and other facts relevant to this question.
This practice question is an actual question from the USMLE-Rx Step 2 test bank. Get more Step 2 study help at USMLE-Rx.com.
Join Us at the AMSA Convention!
03 months ago
USMLE-Rx will be exhibiting at the American Medical Student Association Annual Convention & Exhibition in Washington, DC, March, 14-17, 2013, and we’d love to see you there! Stop by our booth (#106) to meet Dr. Tao Le and enter to win an Ipad Mini.
The AMSA Convention features
- More than 100 exhibitors (including us!), providing the best products and swag
- Four outstanding keynotes (Dr. Patch Adams, Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. David Nash, and Dr. Alfredo Quinones)
- 60 breakout sessions in the areas of Professionalism, Wellness and Society; Career and Professional Development; International Health; Public Health; and Advocacy
- 80 poster presentations featuring cutting-edge research by your peers
- Interview Like a Ninja, one-on-one private sessions with experts, where you will participate in a mock residency program or med school interview and receive personalized coaching and feedback
- Capitol Hill Advocacy Day
- The Women Leaders in Medicine reception
- A service project benefitting Children’s National Medical Center
- Tons of social and networking events
Register at http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/Events/Convention/Registration.aspx. Members of AMSA receive even bigger discounts, and did you know that AMSA membership is now FREE? You can find out more at AMSA website.
First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 2013 — What Changed?
43 months ago
As the Editors of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, we would like to briefly clarify the nature and scope of the changes made in the new edition.
2012 ERRORS FIXED
Our first priority was to fix the errors reported in the previous edition. Our errata review resulted in 317 verified errata – some minor and some major, but all examined in an extensive process with expert review and adjudication by faculty. This process prompted us to revert many of the “errata” previously published on the errata list, and so the penultimate 2012 errata list is being published on our website, www.firstaidteam.com. Yet even with this rigorous review process, there will be passages that evoke passionate disagreement among students and even among faculty. As always, we welcome your feedback.
CONTENT CLARIFICATIONS
Our errata review also revealed many comments that challenged us to clarify, simplify, or otherwise improve the material to avoid confusion in complex or ambiguous factual areas. While a word count alone is only one way to judge a revision, a quick comparison below shows the extent to which we have expanded the text and, importantly, the index in the new edition. The vast majority of the 10,000+ new words are clarifications and rewrites of existing entries that were potential sources of confusion with other review books, test banks, and web resources. 
STRUCTURAL CHANGES
- Based on student feedback and surveyed preferences, the embryology content has been incorporated into the relevant major organ systems chapters
- Many entries have been merged, grouped, or consolidated (e.g., pp. 417, 429)
- The dermatology section (pp. 395-403) includes 59 new color images
- The Rapid Review section is better “synchronized” with underlying high-yield material covered within the book
- The index has been fully redone with the assistance of a medical indexer and medical students who gave feedback on each index entry
- The test preparation material in Section I is updated and expanded, with additional advice for IMGs and DO students
DESIGN AND LAYOUT CHANGES
- Entry formats are extensively redesigned, to better separate headings from content and to aid in grouping related material logically
- Mnemonics are colorized and bolded to clarify associations and memory hooks
- Entries requiring more than 1 page are on a 2-page spread for convenience
- Selected illustrations were redesigned and colorized in a new First Aid style, to aid in visual clarity (e.g., pp. 71, 106, 314, 478)
In the end, real-world student experience with the book will determine the success or relative value of a revision. We offer this summary so that students may appreciate the extent of the changes in the 2013 edition, many of which may not be immediately apparent.
The Editors of First Aid
IMG Info: Step 2 CS IMG Study Tips
1
By Sarah Wesley
Among English-speaking graduates, the Step 2 Clinical Skills exam generally produces the least amount of study angst. As long as you can take a decent history, communicate effectively, exhibit empathy, and come up with a reasonable differential diagnosis and plan, you will pass. There is no numerical score, and the exam consists of only twelve patient stations with actors. The tasks of communication and note writing under pressure can be more daunting when you are dealing with a language barrier or/and an unfamiliar system of notation for writing your assessment.
USMLE-Rx Step 1 Qmax Challenge #1891
114 months ago
Check out today’s Step 1 Qmax Question Challenge.
Know the answer? Post it below! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for an update with the correct answer and explanation.
A 58-year-old hospitalized woman who has been complaining of dysuria develops a high fever and a sudden drop in blood pressure. The patient has petechiae and purpura, bleeding from her intravenous sites, and epistaxis. Laboratory tests show an elevated white blood cell count, low platelet count, elevated creatinine, increased prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time, and elevated of D-dimers. A peripheral blood smear is shown in the image.
Which of the following is the most likely underlying cause of this woman’s acute symptoms?
A. Absence of protease responsible for cleaving von Willebrand’s factor
B. Activation of the coagulation cascade
C. Deficiency of factor VIII
D. Absence of glycoprotein Ib
E. Deficiency of von Willebrand’s factor
———————–
Want to know the ‘bottom line?’ Purchasing a USMLE-Rx Subscription provides many more features, more questions, and passages from First Aid, including images, references, and other facts relevant to this question.
This practice question is an actual question from the USMLE-Rx Step 1 test bank. For more Step 1 study help, try our Flash Facts and Step 1 Express video series.
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