Blueprint Med School Blog (formerly Cram Fighter & Med School Tutors)

The blog for Blueprint Medical, supporting your MedEd journey with our exam study planner, tutoring, residency consulting, and advanced boards.

Didn’t Match? Learn All About the 2024 SOAP
Didn’t Match? Learn All About the 2024 SOAP

​​On Monday, in mid-March, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) will send out Match emails to eager, awaiting medical students. Most will be overjoyed that they matched, securing a spot in a coveted US residency program. However, some receive a less auspicious email. Although not matching can be disappointing at first, it’s important to keep

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Didn’t Match as an IMG: Next Steps to Take
Didn’t Match as an IMG: Next Steps to Take

Practicing medicine is a privilege, and doing so in the US is a coveted one. To practice in the US, medical graduates have to take a long and difficult path. They typically complete their residency in the US to become board certified in their field. Though international medical graduates (IMGs) undergo a similar application process,

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What to Do and Say When Your Loved One is Struggling in Medical School
What to Do and Say When Your Loved One is Struggling in Medical School

Adapted from a blog post written by Kristin Rose Henrich published January 2021. Medical school can be an enormously stressful time for students and families alike. Watching your loved one struggle in medical school is sad, scary, and frustrating. You want to help, but aren’t sure how. If you’re wondering what you can do for

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Why Take a Step 1 Mock Exam (Even Though It’s Pass/Fail)?
Why Take a Step 1 Mock Exam (Even Though It’s Pass/Fail)?

In 2022, the USMLE altered the very fabric of the first two years of medical school by changing Step 1 to pass/fail. While this change has been embraced by many med students, this doesn’t mean that Step 1 is no longer important, or that you don’t need to thoroughly prepare for the exam! If anything,

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6 Stress Management Tips for Residency Match Week
6 Stress Management Tips for Residency Match Week

As we approach Match Week 2024, the stakes are becoming more and more real. Surviving residency interviews was hard enough, but the anticipation of receiving your match results can be agonizing.  Don’t let the pressure eat away at you. Read on for tips to deal with this stress, mentally prepare for Match Week, and know

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What I Wish I Knew About The Match: Doctors Share Their Advice
What I Wish I Knew About The Match: Doctors Share Their Advice

The journey to becoming a physician is challenging and filled with obstacles, with the Match process standing out as particularly anxiety-inducing. If you’re a med student approaching the Match, you may be wondering what it’s actually like to go through the process and land a residency program. To take some of the guesswork off your plate, we

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Which Are the Hardest Shelf Exams?
Which Are the Hardest Shelf Exams?

Clinical rotations are an exciting time that most medical students look forward to. With them comes the exhilaration of hands-on learning, patient interactions, and teamwork alongside residents and faculty.  Another, perhaps less enjoyable aspect of clinical rotations are the shelf exams that come at the end of each one. They can be particularly difficult for

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How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome: Medical School Edition
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome: Medical School Edition

Medical school is a challenging journey that inevitably comes with its own set of hurdles, and one of the most common is the notorious imposter syndrome. As a medical student, studying for exams and navigating through hospital rotations can be daunting, and imposter syndrome may rear its ugly head at the most unexpected times. In

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