How I Passed the USMLE
I am writing this post in advance. Today’s date is February 13, 2012.
I have decided to return back to Medical School and finish my MD to ultimately become an Integrative Psychiatrist.
I am writing this because I process information in a very unique way. Most people study for the USMLE (Medical Licensing Boards) by taking Kaplan courses and study typical board review books.
However, for me, I need to know the big picture of medicine in general and then learn the details by reading journal articles and books to understand the details.
So for me, I plan to read medical journals and textbooks, even specialty textbooks to understand EVERYTHING.
My goal is complete knowledge of everything.
And I am not doing this simply to pass the exam but rather be an expert in everything. In other words, I am doing this as a type of meditation.
When I took the MCAT, I got a low score first of 23 and next 26. A good score is anything over a 30.
This happened despite having a perfect 4.0 GPA in the pre-med subjects. I even took Kaplan but my score went to only a 26.
This was because even though I had top grades, I really did not understand the subjects very well. I simply studied hard but after the exams were over, I forgot what I had learned.
I also did not take many advanced science subjects so I did not have repeated exposure to important concepts in the sciences.
And therein lies the key. The key is to have repeated exposure over and over and over. But this cannot be processed by using the brain in a linear fashion.
In other words, I am interested in what is known as Lightspeed Learning or Subconscious Learning.
This is done by skimming material by flipping the pages over and over and over. This way, the subconscious mind picks up the details at a rapid pace.
Anyways, I plan to perfect this “reading meditation” in the next six months.
Also, this is strengthened not by just studying USMLE topics but also world affairs and even novels.
The key is to build a whole new synaptic network in the brain integrating both the left and right brain.
And the secret ingredient to being able to read for 18 hours a day is to not read but rather flip pages and also to do alternate day fasting. This is because fasting integrates all the 7 chakras or energy centers in the body, thereby gradually awakening the pineal gland and the medha nadi in the brain. This is the same activation that allowed Swami Vivekananda to rapidly read books and retain the information with superb accuracy.
The whole point I am talking about is effortless learning. Truly the USMLE should not be difficult. It should be easy.
Studying is not a chore but rather a meditation. When we take it as a meditation instead of as a means to an end, we realize that all we are doing is Yoga.
So really the process of preparing for the USMLE is the same process as preparing for Enlightenment.
This is far far different than simply taking a Kaplan course and drinking energy drinks and massive cups of coffee trying to muck up an exam.
Anyways, each method has its own value.
So this is my strategy. It is reading meditation that is facilitated by alternate day fasting and daily warm water enemas.
I will post this on various forums once I achieve my goal of passing the USMLE.
Thank you.