stion! It was nothing like any of the NBMEs or prep materials! I was just guessing on every question!”
Why is that? Does NBME get a kick out of making us feel miserable? Maybe. But there’s another force at play. Ever since Step 1 went pass/fail, the powers that be have decided that medical students are missing out on some of the basic science foundations. Let’s face it – students are certainly studying way less for Step 1 than they used to, just look at the recent pass rate data:
But do you really need these basic science foundations to be a good clinician? That’s a separate debate. You came to this website because you want to do well on your USMLE exams.
What makes us different from other tutoring platforms?
Here at Integrated USMLE Prep, we understand that the New Step 2 is essentially the Old Step 2 sprinkled in with some Step 1 knowledge. It really is a more integrated exam. The number of gram stains, histology slides, FISH assays, and mentions of ELISAs and silver stains that I had on my June 2025 Step 2 exam was remarkable. But did I feel like I was just guessing on every question? No. That’s because I took an integrated approach to studying for Step 2.
I realized that I couldn’t trust the Free 120 or even the new NBMEs to fully prepare me for the New Step 2 exam. I had read enough forum posts and could see the writing on the walls: NBME wants to make sure that we don’t finish med school without having that Step 1 knowledge in our heads somehow. As a physician, will you ever be ordering a silver stain or actually analyzing a histology slide? Probably not, unless you’re a pathologist. Does it matter? Not at all. They’re on the New Step 2 exam, and you have to know it.
I want to use this website to help out other medical students get the highest score they can. I plan to publish blogs as often as I can going over some complex Step 2 topics in an integrated fashion, in a way that they might show up on the New Step 2 exam. I also offer online private and group tutoring for shelf exams and USMLE exams, as well as reviews of medical school personal statements or mock interview prep.
Thanks again for popping by the site – I hope you find it to be useful!