[equium]

Hi all.

I am a first year medical student at a medical school in the UK and am obviously looking to sit the USMLE Step 1 - my question is, when is it best to take it?

It was suggested to me a while ago to take it after 2nd yr (i.e. at the end of pre-clinical medicine). But having looked at some of the questions they ask in Step 1, it is a very clinical exam and I would be seriously lacking in hands-on clinical experience. The only plus side is that the first 2 yrs of medicine are much less busy than the next 3, so it would be a lot easier to set time aside to revise for step 1.

Any advice you can give me would be brilliant!