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USMLE STEP 1STUDY PLAN 2016 UPDATED 1.28.16By following this guide, you will: Complete over 620 hours worth of study Review 559 First Aid pages Master over 935 First Aid Specific PicmonicsPICMONIC.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTSGetting Started . Page 3How Our Study Plan Was Developed . Page 4Best Practices . Page 5The 3 Prong Approach . Page 6How Our Study Plan Works . Page 7Step 1 Study Plan . Page 10The Day Before The Exam . Page 31Good Luck! . Page 32Try/Buy Picmonic . Page 32EDITOR’S NOTE:Hello there,The wait is over! The updated USMLE Step 1 Study Plan 2016 is here. With the help and feedback of our CampusAdvocates, active subscribers, and scholars, we created a comprehensive plan for you to follow and get the most out ofyour studies. Before we begin, we would like to address some of the questions we’ve received since the plan was firstreleased in March of last year.This plan was put together with one key word in mind: customization. Everyone is different. Everyone is at separate stagesin their studying, and has different studying priorities. We’ve listed out the estimated times for you with the suggestedresources: First Aid 2016, Kaplan and UWorld Qbanks, and Picmonic (of course).You don’t have to stick with just these resources, however! Customize the plan as you see fit. Picmonic’s content isdynamic, and some playlists may contain more Picmonics than are listed in the study plan. That means we’ve addedmore content to help you prepare! Just add one or two Picmonics per day for that course area as needed to fit them allin.Think of this as a guide, as a "big picture" outlook on the time it would take to completely review each area of content.This study plan puts you in control. Follow it as needed to get what's best for you with the time you have until Step 1. If youhave any questions regarding the guide or Picmonic in general, reach out anytime at feedback@Picmonic.com!Best of luck and stay focused!- Picmonic TeamPICMONIC.COM2

GETTING STARTED“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyonewould do it. The hard is what makes it great.”- Tom Hanks in “A League of Their Own”Nothing comes easy. But you knew that when you decided tobecome a physician, one of the most respected professions onecan pursue. At this point, you’re no stranger to long sessions ofstudying, prioritizing work over fun, study groups over parties, beingpresented with loads of information, and, of course, stress.Now is the time to set your sights on a high Step 1 score. How high?It’s up to you, but don’t for a moment sell yourself short. 230? 240?250? Whatever it is, identify it, visualize it, and keep that number atthe forefront of your mind. It will be your guiding light.Like your desired Step 1 score, now is also the time to fully identifyyour motives for going down this road. Embrace them. Write themout and place them somewhere that is visible. Remember, if yourreasons are strong, moments of doubt will be just that: fleetingmoments.“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.”- Charles Kettering“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”- Thomas PainePICMONIC.COM3

HOW OUR STUDY PLAN WAS MADEPicmonic not only draws on its research backed success1, but has alsoconsulted medical scholars, power Picmonic users, and the input fromhundreds that have received successful Step 1 scores to assemble arobust and comprehensive study plan to assist you in achieving thesame.“Suffer now and live therest of your life as agreat doctor.”- UnknownWe have mapped out how to incorporate Picmonic with First Aid aswell as both Kaplan and Uworld question banks. You can alsocustomize the plan based on how far you are from your Step 1 date. Ofcourse, the earlier you can get started, the better off you will be."Because of your program I was able torecall essential information quickly toanswer second and third orderquestions.the cards proved to be anessential tool in my success on Step 1 andthroughout second year. I destroyed themicro section on that exam because ofyour cards. You guys are incredible.""[Picmonics] correlate directly with what isin First Aid so you know it is essentialinformation that will show up on the exam.The amount of questions I got right inbiochemistry and microbiology were mainlydue to this resource so I would highlyrecommend it."- James, 274 Step 1 Score(Texas Tech)- Sam, 253 Step 1 Score(St George's University)1. Adv. Med. Educ. Pract. 2014 May 8; 5: 125-32 doi: 10.2147/ AMEP.S61875. eCollection 2014PICMONIC.COM4

BEST PRACTICESAssess1yourweaknesses.If possible, it is stronglyrecommended that you take an NBME Assessment to determine whereyou may need more focus, especially if you're six months or closer toyour Step 1 exam. Once you've been able to identify your weaknessesyou can plan on spending more time and focus on where they'reneeded most. Your strengths and weaknesses may shift as you get closerto your test date. If the NBME Assessment isn’t an option, look into otherresources. 23456Find your study location. Library? Coffee shop? Wherever it is,it needs to be your designated area, where you can go to study withoutfail, devoid of anything that can distract you.Eliminate all possible distractions.Text messages, phonecalls, and social media should be shut off during your study time. We getdistracted all too often, too easily, and sometimes without notice.Incorporate exercise. Do your best to follow a regular exerciseroutine. Physical exertion is a great way to release stress and bringneeded energy to our already overworked bodies. Caffeine can onlydo so much.Eat healthier foods. Curbing the junk food and avoiding anythingheavy will go far when you need to spend 3-4 hours attentive andenergized.Get sleep. Depriving yourbody of needed sleep andrecovery time is detrimental toany kind of effective studying."The true power of Picmonic becomesevident when Iʼm able to accomplish hoursworth of studying in a fraction of the time.Picmonic takes the phrase 'high yieldstudying' to the next level."- Avram (Creighton University)PICMONIC.COM5

THE 3 PRONG APPROACHREVIEWMASTERASSESSThat is the core of our “3 Prong Approach” and how this Study Plan will helpyou get the most out of your studying time. When looking at First Aid ,Picmonics and Qbank questions, follow this guideline: 1REVIEW theapplicable pagesin a specificchapter. Do not skipany portions of thecontent. Revisitunfamiliar topicsand understandmechanisms andconcepts ofdisease processes.PICMONIC.COM2MASTER thePicmonics thatcorrespond to eachof the listed First Aidpages. Based onuser experience, itgenerally takes 3-5views per Picmonicto understand it inits entirety.63ASSESS yourknowledge withKaplan and/orUWorld Qbankquestions. Each setof questions isspread evenlythroughout thestudy days, so youwon’t risk beingoverburdened.

HOW OUR STUDY PLAN WORKS163-5The Study Plan isbroken down intoCATEGORIESEach category isbroken up intodays and eachday representsHOUR BLOCKSFor example, Behavioral Sciences is estimated to take 21 hours tocomplete. Thus, it is broken up into 5 days with each day averaging justover 4 hours. If you’re looking to begin studying on Monday, you cancomfortably spend Monday through Friday studying in the determinedblocks of time and have the weekend off.We put this together this way to provide you with versatility. Regardlessof where you are in relation to Step 1, whether you’re six months out ortwo, you can accurately gauge how much time it will take for eachcategory and plan your personal life accordingly. Obviously, thesooner you start, the more breathing room you’ll have so don’tprocrastinate!PICMONIC.COM7

HOW OUR STUDY PLAN WORKSBEHAVIORAL SCIENCESWhen looking at the Behavioral Sciences Study Grid, you’ll see abreakdown of each resource.ResourceBreakdownDay 1Day 2Day 3Day 4FIRST AID PAGES31-46Read Pages31-34Read Pages35-38Read Pages39-42Read Pages43-46Picmonic Playlist:2016 Study GuideBehavioral Sciences(12 Picmonics)Page 32 3PicmonicsDay 5Page 43 9PicmonicsPage 33 2PicmonicsEstimatedTime: 1 Hour 5MinutesReview 12QuestionsEstimatedTime: 1 Hour20 minutesReview 12QuestionsEstimatedTime: 1 Hour20 MinutesReview 12QuestionsEstimatedTime: 1 Hour45 MinutesReview 13QuestionsReview 13Questions123 QuestionsEstimatedTime: 48MinutesReview 32QuestionsEstimatedTime: 48MinutesReview 32QuestionsEstimatedTime: 48MinutesReview 33QuestionsEstimatedTime: 52MinutesReview 33QuestionsEstimatedTime: 52MinutesReview 33QuestionsEstimatedTime: 2 hours8 minutesEstimatedTime: 2 hours8 minutesEstimatedTime: 2 hours12 minutesEstimatedTime: 2 hours12 minutesEstimatedTime: 2 hours12 minutesEstimated Time PerDay4 Hours 1Minute4 Hours 16Minutes4 Hours 40Minutes4 Hours 49Minutes3 Hours 4MinutesKaplan Qbank62 QuestionsUWorld QbankSUMMARYTotal PicmonicsTotal KaplanQuestionsTotal UWorldQuestions14Found in:62 BiostatisticsFound in:163 ncludes a comprehensive breakdown of allBehavioral Sciences subject matter available.PICMONIC.COM8

HOW OUR STUDY PLAN WORKSNext, when looking at the Behavioral Sciences Study Grid, you’ll see that each“Day” is broken down into 3 segments.123FIRST AID // PICMONICS (12)Here you will read the assigned First Aid pages and then reviewthe Picmonics that are associated with them. For Day 1, you willread pages 31-34. Since we have 5 Picmonics for page 32 and33, depending on your comfort level you can either read pages32 and 33 only and review the associated Picmonics, or, you canread all five and revisit for Picmonic review after. The averagetime is 20 minutes per First Aid page and 5 minutes for eachPicmonic.KAPLAN QUESTIONS Here you will review 12 of the 62* questions for Day 1. Theaverage time per question review is 4 minutes.*At the time of release, Kaplan had 62 questions for behavioral sciences. If they add more, adjust yourschedule accordingly.UWorld QUESTIONS Like the Kaplan Question Bank questions, you will review 32 ofthe 163* questions for Day 1. The average time per questionreview is 4 minutes.*At the time of release, UWorld had 123 questions for behavioral sciences. If they add more, adjust yourschedule accordingly.The times that we allotted are not going to be applicable to every itemthroughout the entire study guide but were provided as a means to give you an asclose to accurate time estimate as possible. If you only have one Qbank resource,then disregard the allotted time for the other resource.Any time you gain or lose should be made up for in other aspects of the Study Planor by reviewing other resources as you see fit.PICMONIC.COM9