# Step 1 During Internship — 14 Weeks

> How Dr. Marish Asudani finished USMLE Step 1 in 14 weeks while working a full internship — the phone-first resource setup, front-loading Sketchy, the per-system loop, and the real NBME progression.

URL: https://vault-guides.vercel.app/internship.html
Canonical: https://vault-guides.vercel.app/internship.html

## Summary

A first-person account of completing the whole of USMLE Step 1 in 14 weeks during a working internship. The method rests on two decisions: every resource lives on the phone so shift downtime becomes study time, and Sketchy Micro plus Sketchy Pharm are finished completely during the lightest rotation so that every organ system afterwards is a revision rather than a first pass. Systems then run two days of First Aid reading followed by UWorld blocks with a strict review protocol, in a deliberate order. The final phase is a 7-day rapid review with a high-yield Anki deck, then NBME forms 26 through 29, the Free 120, and the exam.

## Key facts

- Whole of Step 1 completed in 14 weeks alongside a full internship
- Three resources kept on the phone: UWorld, First Aid, and high-yield Sketchy Micro and Sketchy Pharm PDFs
- Requires 6 to 8 hours of study daily, recovered in short blocks across a shift rather than one long sitting
- Phase 1: finish all of Sketchy Micro and Sketchy Pharm during the lightest rotation, before any organ system
- Phase 2: about 2 days reading First Aid per system with ChatGPT and high-yield YouTube, then UWorld blocks with a detailed review protocol; Boards & Beyond is avoided as too time-consuming
- UWorld blocks started around 50% and climbed to 70-80% with aggressive review
- Approaching systems haphazardly cost two weeks; a deliberate system order is required
- Phase 3: all systems reviewed in 7 days using First Aid plus a high-yield Anki deck
- NBME progression: 26 scored 77%, 27 in blocks scored 83%, 28 in blocks scored 75%, 29 scored 83% after reviewing the Mehlman high-yield PDFs
- Finished with the Free 120, then the exam, and passed

## Covers

step 1 during internship, usmle while working, 14 week step 1 plan, mobile usmle study, sketchy before systems, uworld review protocol, nbme scores progression, img internship usmle

## Source

USMLE Vault — https://usmlevault.com
Author: Dr. Marish Asudani

Updated: 2026-08-27