Please peeps in d house...I need yur advise....I plan writing either usmle / nationals but I know dse two exams ff different paths..I will like toh know which I should write first cos if I start prepping for usmle I may av toh forget nationals primaries and pursue usmle fully and vice versa...I will really love toh write usmle while working as a medical officer so i'll av enof time toh read and prepare. Don't know if ds is a wise option...also heard about d difficulties of getting a placement in d usa due toh visa issues and all dat...please yur contribution will be highly appreciated cos am at a cross-road right now...thanks!

Pls friends,I'm about finishing my 1st degree in biochemistry & love to read medicine abroad. Pls which medical school is d cheapest in d states,europe or uk. I think I can afford to pay up to $7000.

@drdan1,
Unfortunately, US is out of bounds for you. Next is the UK which is very, very expensive. With your financial limitation, your best bet is to go to Ukraine or Romania. However, if I were you and I were very bent on studying medicine then I'll choose Romania just because it's part of the EU.
I must point out though that being able to pay the tuition fee is just a minor part of the big picture. By the time you factor in cost of living and other costs, the total amount you'll spend a year will be more than $15,000.
Good luck.

@TCD,
Thank you for taking interest in my question. For my 7 weeks rotation in internal medicine, for example, by my school's criteria, I'm supposed to observe or preferably actively participate in the following:
Urinary bladder catheterisation (both male & female), intercoastal drainage, internal jugular vein canulation (and/or venous cut-down technique), joint aspiration, lumbar puncture, radical artery canulation, sampling for arterial blood gas, simple aspiration and lot of BP readings.
I have observed (and performed some of these procedures), but practice as they say makes perfect. This is the exact idea why my school recommends doing these more in my home country. So these were the "pre-defined" procedures. For other rotations (surgery, obs. & gynecology etc) I'll do them here.
I am told that if I went to a teaching hospital, I won't have the opportunity as a medical student to perform some of these procedures because others would also wanna scramble to do them. So this is why I am asking which institution apart from teaching hospitals I can do these.
My hometown is in Kaduna so I can easily go to ABU teaching hospital for these, but from what I heard they may not likely allow me to do some of them (of course no one will be crazy enough to allow me do a spinal tap. LOL)
Thank you and hopefully you'll reply soon.

Good day
I have posted this about 2weeks ago
I recently secured a job with the saudi arabia ministry of Health
I am now 3 yrs post internship and my starting pay is $2k
I am currently working in a Private Health Facility FCT(Nigeria) with a pay of $1,150
I am seeking advice on a viable option to take considering the security challenges for non moselms in the middle east and I also want to know If It is easy to commence residency in saudi. Are there countries I can easily get jobs with a 1 - 2 years saudi experience.
Thanks I await your response

messiah: @TCD,
Thank you for taking interest in my question. For my 7 weeks rotation in internal medicine, for example, by my school's criteria, I'm supposed to observe or preferably actively participate in the following:
Urinary bladder catheterisation (both male & female), intercoastal drainage, internal jugular vein canulation (and/or venous cut-down technique), joint aspiration, lumbar puncture, radical artery canulation, sampling for arterial blood gas, simple aspiration and lot of BP readings.
I have observed (and performed some of these procedures), but practice as they say makes perfect. This is the exact idea why my school recommends doing these more in my home country. So these were the "pre-defined" procedures. For other rotations (surgery, obs. & gynecology etc) I'll do them here.
I am told that if I went to a teaching hospital, I won't have the opportunity as a medical student to perform some of these procedures because others would also wanna scramble to do them. So this is why I am asking which institution apart from teaching hospitals I can do these.
My hometown is in Kaduna so I can easily go to ABU teaching hospital for these, but from what I heard they may not likely allow me to do some of them (of course no one will be crazy enough to allow me do a spinal tap. LOL)
Thank you and hopefully you'll reply soon.

I think your best bet would be to go to a federal Medical Centre. They aren't as staffed as teaching hospitals and they love free labour. The only problem is they aren't as sophisticated as teaching hospitals. Teaching hospitals on the other hand, might do most of these procedures, but you'll never be allowed to touch them...heck, residents, House officers, Medical students, are all waiting in the wings for opportunities, so really in this situation you're bottom of the pile.

If you go to an FMC, just attach yourself to a House officer or Junior doctor, and I'm sure you'll get enough opportunities to do procedures.

What you should do now is look for a good FMC, with bearable level of sophistication and apply. I hear FMC owerri is very good. Haven't been there though. Goodluck.

guysparrow: Good day
I have posted this about 2weeks ago
I recently secured a job with the saudi arabia ministry of Health
I am now 3 yrs post internship and my starting pay is $2k
I am currently working in a Private Health Facility FCT(Nigeria) with a pay of $1,150
I am seeking advice on a viable option to take considering the security challenges for non moselms in the middle east and I also want to know If It is easy to commence residency in saudi. Are there countries I can easily get jobs with a 1 - 2 years saudi experience.
Thanks I await your response

I think the Saudi Job offer is a good one. And will present itself as valuable experience. Who knows what opportunities you might come across there. And I think you can get jobs in Aussie with that (not too sure) .

Ask yourself what is going to be your Job description and how does it fit into your overall career path.

Remember in Saudi, there is no tax so that's a plus.

Concerning security, I think saudi is safe. When was the last time you heard of any bombings or shootings of foreigners in Saudi or UAE. There is a large expat community in saudi and they are doing well. You just have to follow their rules.

Residency in saudi, I highly doubt it. They'll rather train their own citizens, do you think they plan to keep importing foreign doctors forever? Nonetheless, you should research it using google, information is free on the internet.

Halo docs...am chioma a medical stud of abia state 300lvl..i jst saw dis forum and i wnt 2 hv sum frnds dat r already med docs xo we can chat and dey help mi out in any difficulty..i admire med docs

drdan1: Pls friends,I'm about finishing my 1st degree in biochemistry & love to read medicine abroad. Pls which medical school is d cheapest in d states,europe or uk. I think I can afford to pay up to $7000.

I am also a Biochemistry graduate from a Nigerian university currently studying medicine(MD) in a Canadian offshore medical school situated in Dominica, Caribbean Islands. I will not advice Ukraine as their graduates are consistently proving incompetent in handling medical practice in Nigeria, including their recent inability to perform well in the local MDCN local licensing exams. If you have a few more dollars (up to 9000usd), i will advice you enroll in an American/Canadian offshore medical school. They also consider students for scholarship but u have to write to the schools personally during your application. Direct entry in Nigeria ia another option for you. lets i forget, admission here is 3rice, Ukraine/Romania is once per year. for more information, visit www.allsaintsuniversity.org

fedico21:
I am also a Biochemistry graduate from a Nigerian university currently studying medicine(MD) in a Canadian offshore medical school situated in Dominica, Caribbean Islands. I will not advice Ukraine as their graduates are consistently proving incompetent in handling medical practice in Nigeria, including their recent inability to perform well in the local MDCN local licensing exams If you have a few more dollars (up to 9000usd), i will advice you enroll in an American/Canadian offshore medical school. They also consider students for scholarship but u have to write to the schools personally during your application. Direct entry in Nigeria ia another option for you. lets i forget, admission here is 3rice, Ukraine/Romania is once per year. for more information, visit www.allsaintsuniversity.org

I think this is totally false and misleading. Where have ukraine graduates been proven "consistently incompetent in handling medical practice in Nigeria"? On what basis dis you assess this? I have seen several of them and they hold their own quite well, even our own Dr Beneli on this thread trained in Eastern Europe and his competence is not in doubt. So what in God's name are you talking about. Please stop the misinformation.

Two, Concerning the recent MDCN exams, people fail exams for many reasons and not necessarily because they are dunces. Anyone who has experienced medical school in Nigeria will tell you this. Besides, when the results were announced nobody said the graduates that failed were from ukraine. All Foreign medical graduates from whatever country wrote that exam, and the results were released without any reference to schools graduated from . So, How did you sit in your house and conclude that its the Ukrainian graduates that failed and not the Asian, American or Caribbean?

fedico21:
I am also a Biochemistry graduate from a Nigerian university currently studying medicine(MD) in a Canadian offshore medical school situated in Dominica, Caribbean Islands. I will not advice Ukraine as their graduates are consistently proving incompetent in handling medical practice in Nigeria, including their recent inability to perform well in the local MDCN local licensing exams. If you have a few more dollars (up to 9000usd), i will advice you enroll in an American/Canadian offshore medical school. They also consider students for scholarship but u have to write to the schools personally during your application. Direct entry in Nigeria ia another option for you. lets i forget, admission here is 3rice, Ukraine/Romania is once per year. for more information, visit www.allsaintsuniversity.org

Thanks alot. i understand ur point just think too much nigerians are going to ukraine. I will check dat site out. Thanks.
Pls i need more suggestions. Thank u friends

HOW TO PASS USMLE STEP 1


Our members don't see this ad.

I have recently passed the Step 1 USMLE and thought I should share my experience. My advice may apply more to the IMG but others may find it useful too. The advice also assumes that you have at some stage in your life had a reasonable exposure to basic sciences.

Just a few words on my background. I graduated from Medical school in Nigeria in 1990 so my contact with the basic sciences is very distant. Indeed while reading a lot of the stuff was totally new to me and never existed when I went to medical school. I am a resident in cardiothoracic surgery in the United Kingdom and only want to go to the States for a year to do a fellowship. For this reason I just need a pass mark for the USLME. My advice would therefore not be useful for those who require a high score but only those who are struggling to pass or just need a pass. My advice might be slightly tainted because I have been a clinician for over 10 years and taken many exams in my time.

Sources/material
I used exclusively 3 sources for all my study for USMLE
1) First Aid 2000 edition which I bought second hand on the net for $8
2) Crashing the boards (Yeh) 1999 edition which I bought 2nd hand for $10
3) Qbank 1 month $150 for online version
I did not own or use any other books. I think this is the most important aspect of preparation – RESTRICT YOUR READING MATERIAL. There are always books to read, Anatomy, Biochem, Path etc containing 100s of pages each. The list of books and sources is limitless and you could spend the rest of your life reading for this exam. I think the key to time management is not to waste time on things that yield low output. There is noneed to read a biochemistry book when 1st aid can provide you answers on 80% of the questions in exam. Reading big books is for those who need to score 99. If you want to pass there is more than enough in first aid (or any good review book). Also bear in mind that the objective is to pass and NOT to acquire knowledge, so if first aid tells you that NSAIDS preferentially constrict the afferent arteriole reducing the GFR then that is all you need to know. There is no need to find a big pharmacology book that will explain the precise mechanism or why the efferent arterioles do not dilate in response to PGE….now that is time wasting. Move to the next fact, don’t be greedy and try to get all the marks cos the time you spend, maybe 30 minutes consolidating on one aspect that might yield you one correct answer (or none) in 350, you could have used to cover a broad topic that would answer you five questions. Also ignore the questions and recalls you see on discussion forums; don’t even read them– those serve only to panic you. Nobody posts the easy to moderately difficult questions which constitute over 70% of the exam. The questions people post never reflect the real exam but the 10 or 20% that defines those who will score 99 and those who won’t. Remember even if you fail 20% you will still pass with a very good score.

Time for preparation
I sat my exam 17 September 2003. I started preparation August 1 2003. Prior to this my last exposure to any basic sciences was in 1993 when I did my basic surgical exams. So it was all new to me and if I had taken the exam in August I would definitely have failed. I was working full time as a resident in cardiac surgery and worked all through my preparations except for a week off in August and a day off the day before the exam. As you can imagine being a cardiothoracic resident is very busy, working over 80 hours a week. So depending on how busy my day has been I would study for 0 minutes to 2 or 3 hours maximum on weekdays. The only reason I include this is to illustrate to you that it is possible to PASS this exam with minimal effort provided you use the right approach. I think rather than preparing for months and then putting in for the exam you should put in for the exam immediately leaving a SHORT period of preparation, maybe 2 months, 3 months max. You will then focus your preparations. You can then understand why I did not read big books…I simply could not afford to as I just had 6 weeks and was working full time. Big books is for people who have the time…but then even if you have time why waste it?. Use it for something better.

Sequence of preparation.
In the first week of August I read the two books (first aid and yeh) cover to cover once. I then registered for Q-bank which would become my ONLY method of study for the 4 weeks up to the exam.

QBank
QBank to me is the MOST IMPORTANT contribution to my passing the exam. My advice to you is to buy the online version. It is well worth the 150 dollars. If you pay for a month's access you will be forced to work hard and finish the 2000 Qs in a month and take the whole thing seriously as you don’t want to waste your hard earned money. If on the other hand you had a free disc you probably would not finish or would pace yourself and spend the next 12 months studying. Also the online version gives you better feedback on your progress. If you are concerned that 150 dollars is a lot to pay, I would say it is much cheaper than the 800 dollars it would cost to retake the exam. Other question banks may serve the same role but I only have experience in QBank.

QBank has 3 main roles, it gives you concentrated knowledge in a manner that is easier to retain (compared with reading a book), it offers you self assessment, and it prepares you for the real thing. To dismiss the last point first, if you have done loads of QBank tests the real exam would not overwhelm you, your time management will be precise, your marking methods will be spot on, you will learn your own limits, how to guess, when to change and not to change etc. In other words you will know how to play the game…it is a game and while knowledge is important, probably more important is how you play. For every person the optimal approach to answering questions differs, for example the traditional teaching is not to change an answer unless you have a good reason to do so. My experience from Q-bank was that when I did change answers, it was from incorrect to correct in 65%, correct to incorrect in 20% and incorrect to incorrect in 15% so this gave me the impunity to change responses in the real exam. So QBank will help define the best approach to answering questions for YOU.

NEVER do QBank in a tutor mode (or you lose on the latter 2 objectives). Always set yourself tests of 50 questions so you would have done so many simulated exams that the real one cannot faze you. Don’t despair when you fail questions. Indeed it is better to fail questions because it points you to your areas of deficiencies. No point wasting time on things you know already. After each QBank test review all the answers…study Kaplans explanations and read the relevant areas in First Aid. As you go along you will get better and learn the art of question answering. You will never get all questions right…some of them are stupid…some require too much effort. If it requires too much effort leave it and accept you will fail it if it comes out in the real exam. Like the difference between a GLUT 1 and GLUT2 receptor or FAB1 and FAB5 – there is absolutely no way of knowing that other than cramming and it will get you one mark in 350 at the most. Forget it and move to the next. Your performance should increase over the 4 weeks; I started at about 56 to 62% and ended about 65 to 75%. Overall average was 67%. Also QBank will tell you your strong subjects (forget them) and weak subjects (read relevant first aid chapter again). By the time you have finished QBank there will be few things they can ask in the exam that you have not dealt with in one way or the other. First Aid is useless for the ethics questions and doctor-patient relationship questions of which there are loads…for this QBank will prepare you.

The exam
I will not go into the exam in detail because previous discussion threads give a very good insight into the exam. Only comments I will make is that you do it as if you were doing QBank. If it worked for QBank it will work in main exam. Just imagine your USMLE was another test on the QBank…if you passed the last 10 you did with over 60% you will pass the USMLE too (provided you answer in exactly the same manner). Remember USMLE is set by human beings too and they can’t be much different from the human beings setting Kaplan so not many new things they can think of. Don’t think too hard…there is no problem with failing one question…indeed there is no problem with failing 100…you will still pass. As you go on you will realise from present questions that you failed a previous question in an earlier block…just smile or laugh and move on. Remember there is an element of competence based testing so performing ‘badly’ on a block doesn’t mean failing. Also be prepared for many strange questions, some I doubt anyone other than the person who wrote it knows the answer, smile again, mark B, C or D and move on. The question probably won’t even count to the final score. There is another type of question though which is very long and seems to ask something you know nothing about; don’t bother reading those, mark them and then come back to them if you have time. When you come back you may find the question has a workable answer (but only work them out at the end as might require up to 3 or 5 minutes).

After the exam
You will remember loads of questions you failed. You will hardly remember any you passed. That is human nature. Smile and get on with whatever else you have to do.

Hope you find this advice useful. I think the reason most people fail any exam has nothing to do with knowledge but all to with their approach to preparation. Follow the path of least resistance - get rid of those big books, read first aid, do QBank! Months of preparation won’t make that much difference…it is how you prepare that matters. For most people, provided you have been through medical school okay (without struggling), it should be possible to PASS without excessive effort. I don’t think it is risky either; using the above approach my score was 90/221 so there is plenty of safety margin.

Best of luck

Ani

ani90@btinternet.com
Share

^^^^Meeeehhhnnn!!! This guy's good joor!
This is called crashing USMLE!
I'm tripped!
The guy just cracks me up.....
Nice one!

@Moderator,, y U̶̲̥̅̊ go hide ma post nahh?
D U̶̲̥̅̊ think am not a Dr.? Or  don't knw those lecturers  asked Oma abt?

This is a way to connect to ma junior colleague and U̶̲̥̅̊ decided hid d post. If thrs anythng wrong wit that, can U̶̲̥̅̊ lemme knw

@Oma, hws is FECAMDS and NCCMDS ova thr now? Hope Prof Ihemalandu and Dr Ekpo r doin well.  jst wan establish contact wit U̶̲̥̅̊ incase U̶̲̥̅̊ need advice etc. Check absumsa facebook page and holla me. Write CMANFORALL only..
Admin, no hide ds one, abeg.
All d best.

Hey house, i just concluded NYSC and im looking for a job. Finished from UI. Im open to work anywhere - Lag, abuja, ibadan etc thanks

lawizle: Please peeps in d house...I need yur advise....I plan writing either usmle / nationals but I know dse two exams ff different paths..I will like toh know which I should write first cos if I start prepping for usmle I may av toh forget nationals primaries and pursue usmle fully and vice versa...I will really love toh write usmle while working as a medical officer so i'll av enof time toh read and prepare. Don't know if ds is a wise option...also heard about d difficulties of getting a placement in d usa due toh visa issues and all dat...please yur contribution will be highly appreciated cos am at a cross-road right now...thanks!

Well i fink you should kickstart the usmle process if u really wanna write cos registering and all (verification of documents etc) takes a while. You shd also have it in mind that the exams are quite expensive. For step 1, registering alone is $930 then books, online banks, travel expenses (nearest centre is Ghana). In all, you'll be spending an average of 300-350k per step. Primaries ofcos is a whole different ball game and less expensive too.

fedico21:
I am also a Biochemistry graduate from a Nigerian university currently studying medicine(MD) in a Canadian offshore medical school situated in Dominica, Caribbean Islands. I will not advice Ukraine as their graduates are consistently proving incompetent in handling medical practice in Nigeria, including their recent inability to perform well in the local MDCN local licensing exams. If you have a few more dollars (up to 9000usd), i will advice you enroll in an American/Canadian offshore medical school. They also consider students for scholarship but u have to write to the schools personally during your application. Direct entry in Nigeria ia another option for you. lets i forget, admission here is 3rice, Ukraine/Romania is once per year. for more information, visit www.allsaintsuniversity.org

Hey friend nice info, even the minister for education has warned nigerians against ukraine. Please this your school, how much is there tuition and estimated cost of living per year and does ur school have any rotation program in the US or canada ?

olsmade: Hey house, i just concluded NYSC and im looking for a job. Finished from UI. Im open to work anywhere - Lag, abuja, ibadan etc thanks

Congrats!
Ÿ̲̣̣̣̥ø̲̣̣̥u̶̲̥̅̊ can come to Awojobi clinic in Eruwa, for pp things.

bukahands:


Hey friend nice info, even the minister for education has warned nigerians against ukraine. Please this your school, how much is there tuition and estimated cost of living per year and does ur school have any rotation program in the US or canada ?

first, i couldn't reply any faster, exam is near. to ur question, YES. all offshore medical schools situated in the Island have both core rotation(in US) and electives (US or Canada. No core rotation in Canada). but No school guarantees Visa for non US/Canadian residents for the rotation(as you know visa is an embassy issue. do you have an undergraduate? i must add, its no fun here, its an accelerated curriculum, u have to be prepared mentally , physically and psychologically. You also need to have a good enough head to sit and pass internal exams (written 3times per semester) and USMLE. Pass mark is 70percent. fees are usually high here, but mine is considerably low to compare with other school in he same region. preclinicals, 10000usd, clinicals, 150000usd. cud be a bit higher/lower. Duration is 3years and 4months if u have and undergraduate in anatomy, physiology, biochem...etc. hope this would help.

fedico21:
[/b]
first, i couldn't reply any faster, exam is near. to ur question, YES. all offshore medical schools situated in the Island have both core rotation(in US) and electives (US or Canada. No core rotation in Canada). but No school guarantees Visa for non US/Canadian residents for the rotation(as you know visa is an embassy issue. do you have an undergraduate? i must add, its no fun here, its an accelerated curriculum, u have to be prepared mentally , physically and psychologically. You also need to have a good enough head to sit and pass internal exams (written 3times per semester) and USMLE. Pass mark is 70percent. fees are usually high here, but mine is considerably low to compare with other school in he same region. preclinicals, 10000usd, clinicals, 150000usd. cud be a bit higher/lower. Duration is 3years and 4months if u have and undergraduate in anatomy, physiology, biochem...etc. hope this would help.

Thanks I have a degree in biochem. I actually applied for Windsor university and ur fees is it 10,000 a year or per semester

bukahands:

Thanks I have a degree in biochem. I actually applied for Windsor university and ur fees is it 10,000 a year or per semester

10000 a yr for preclinical, and about 18000usd a yr for clinical. its two academic section for each phase. Windsow in st. kitts is cool. Our fees is roughly the same with them in overall. But you should know they have larger class sizes (over 200). Also i forgot to add, we have two campuses, 1 in Dominica and the other in St. Vincents and Grenadines.

Hello house, for those writing the forthcoming national primaries in internal medicine, have received any mail/info on the type of question format, like is going to be normal true or false, objective of theory, better still did anyone attend the updates for march on internal medicine? please help.

Gudday everyone so sori to derail d thread,pls am in search of a single lady from d medical sciences for a friend kindly send me an email let's get talking: ugonduboy@gmail.com

I greet the docs in d rum

lawizle: Please peeps in d house...I need yur advise....I plan writing either usmle / nationals but I know dse two exams ff different paths..I will like toh know which I should write first cos if I start prepping for usmle I may av toh forget nationals primaries and pursue usmle fully and vice versa...I will really love toh write usmle while working as a medical officer so i'll av enof time toh read and prepare. Don't know if ds is a wise option...also heard about d difficulties of getting a placement in d usa due toh visa issues and all dat...please yur contribution will be highly appreciated cos am at a cross-road right now...thanks!

you want to write USMLE and you are still writing like a teenager. The earlier you start writing like a professional the better for you.

pls house, I need ur advice ..

I ' m biochemistry graduate considering going to UK for medicine... buh on second thought, I ll just feel like goin there 4 masters in bch instead ( quality control to be precise) .I 'm really havin a hard time makin a choice..pls house, wch do u think is better off? wch do u think holds better opportunities ?

I hv someone who can sponsor me through any of these .....

vivichocs: pls house, I need ur advice ..

I ' m biochemistry graduate considering going to UK for medicine... buh on second thought, I ll just feel like goin there 4 masters in bch instead ( quality control to be precise) .I 'm really havin a hard time makin a choice..pls house, wch do u think is better off? wch do u think holds better opportunities ?

I hv someone who can sponsor me through any of these .....

I also had a similar dilemma, I studied biochem too, but I have decided to study medicine cos it has beta prospects + job security etc. But why uk university they are very expensive and they have little slots for foreigners

bukahands:

I also had a similar dilemma, I studied biochem too, but I have decided to study medicine cos it has beta prospects + job security etc. But why uk university they are very expensive and they have little slots for foreigners

does it mean biochemists dont hv a chance in this country cos most biochemists r goin into medicine?? hv bn admitted into medical sch? i'm goin to UK cos that's where my sponsor resides and medical sch can be completed under 3yrs unlike US buh wouldnt like to practise there if i finally opt for medicine shaaa...

what do think abt quality control?

vivichocs: does it mean biochemists dont hv a chance in this country cos most biochemists r goin into medicine?? hv bn admitted into medical sch? i'm goin to UK cos that's where my sponsor resides and medical sch can be completed under 3yrs unlike US buh wouldnt like to practise there if i finally opt for medicine shaaa...

what do think abt quality control?

Hmmm quality control is a nice course but has little prospects in Nigeria even in the UK and US it has little prospect and I don't know any school where u can complete med school under 3 years check again. In the US it 3yrs -4yrs after ur first degree

Prettychyna: you want to write USMLE and you are still writing like a teenager. The earlier you start writing like a professional the better for you.

I wonder