As a second year medical student, every time I hear someone mention The Boards, I see this in my head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=HqqQ-3tTZig&feature=related
I believe that creeptastic music plays in the minds of every 2nd year whenever we hear the words "USMLE" or "The Boards." You can't help but flinch.
So what is this "boards" business? It's Step 1 of the US Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), aka Step 1 of "The Boards." USMLE Step 1 is a standardized multiple-choice exam that all medical students around the country take. Step 1 covers basically everything that you learn during the first two years of medical school (or everything you should have learned), including biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, behavioral science, and anatomy. It is the gateway to the second half of medical school (the clinical years), and it can be a major component of your residency applications down the line. Depending on what you want to go into, your Step 1 score can profoundly influence your decisions about what specialty to pursue and which programs you can apply to. In other words, it's a Big F#*%!ing Deal.
People have a tendency to freak out about it. Which is understandable, but probably not helpful. It's an important test, but it's still just a test. Multiple choice, just like the SAT, and the MCAT. No written portion. And sure, it covers more material than probably any other test you've ever taken, and the questions probably demand a more advanced level of reasoning and synthesizing information than you're used to, and OK so it could potentially have a major effect on the rest of your life, but... I'm sorry. I forgot where I was going with that thought. I know it was going to end on some hopeful, inspiring thought, but I'm having trouble thinking of one right now.
If you want to be a plastic surgeon, then you really need to rock out on the Boards and score well above the national average. If you want to be a pediatrician or a psychiatrist, you really just need to pass. And most people pass. The Boards are hardest for people who went to medical school outside of the US and are taking the exam so they can do a residency and/or get licensed to practice in America. The vast majority of American medical students who don't have some horrific breakdown the day before their exam date do just fine. And if you fail, you can take it again. It will suck, and you may have to take a year off to study and do research or something while all your classmates continue on through 3rd year rotations, but it does not necessarily mean the end of your medical career.
Oh, and, yes, there is a USMLE Step 2 exam. That tests knowledge about medical treatment and management of illness; basically it tests everything you should have learned during your 3rd year rotations. There is also Step 2 CS which is a practical exam assessing your clinical skills, such as your ability to wash your hands before touching a patient, your facility with an H&P (medical history and physical exam), and whether or not you can interact with patients like a normal human being.
Here's some info on the basics of The Boards (duh duhhhh):
http://www.usmle.org/examinations/step1/step1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USMLE_Step_1
What I want to do over the next couple of posts is provide some insight into the boards preparation process, and hopefully give some insightful reflection on things that you can do throughout the first two years of medical school in order to reduce stress and anxiety about The Boards (duh duhhhh) and be ready to completely kick ass when it comes time to take the test. Any advice I might dole out will probably come from the department of, "Dear God, why oh why didn't I do __blank__ last year?!" I've noticed I'm pretty good at knowing what I should do, and really bad at actually doing it. So, I'm going to write down all my brilliant thoughts here, and maybe someone else who's good at that kind of thing can actually put my plans into action.
To recap: USMLE Step 1 -->
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=HqqQ-3tTZig&feature=related
