Dr. Love Kumar

IT is tough but doable. If I, did It you can do IT

I am Love Kumar and here I am sharing with you my USMLE success story to help you through your USMLE journey. I started preparing for my step exam after my graduation during my internship which (I believe was a mistake), but Gaining knowledge and clinical experience was fun and exhausting too but I never sat back and watched. I never Said no to on-calls or emergency calls or holidays calls because I knew that this is time where I have to learn and practice my clinical skills.

I faced and overcame many hurdles for these exams. I had a family to give time to, my wife and parents but I managed my time and set my priorities to achieve my goal and kept myself motivated that I have to do it and I can do it. I still say it has been the most stressful time of my life. As I was completing my internship I was tempted to apply for a job and moved to a new city. I studied in the morning and worked in the evening to support myself and my family.

I studied Kaplan (Lectures and Books) and tried to finish ASAP with first aid step 1. For QBank I used UWORLD as my main source of study material along with First Aid. I did Uworld one time only with overall (76%), and took UWSA 1 (260). Then I started repeating my notes and first aid. I used to study Monday to Saturday my uworld notes and first aid and on Sunday I used to do NBMES and study and read them thoroughly. I got less scores initially in NBMEs but I kept on improving as I approached the END. After my Uworld first pass, I took My UWSA1 260 and UWSA2 255 with my NMBE 18 252. They gave me a boost and I went for my exams and I got 256.

After My step 1 I took a month off to give a fresh start for step 2 ck. I had the same schedule for my step 2 ck as my step 1. I used uworld and UpToDate for my preparation. I did uworld twice. In my first pass I got 79% and in the second pass I got 90%. I did NBMEs at the end of every month to monitor my progress. My UWSA 1 and UWSA 2 scores were 271 and 269 respectively I scored 256.

It is very important to have a peer group or to stay connected with the people who are as well like you preparing for the USMLE.

Always make a timeline. Schedule ahead and follow it strictly