USMLE mentors and lecturers do not just end with the presentation of a USMLE review lesson especially if the material is important. Effective and efficient USMLE review programs have in them an integrated system for the development of the medical students' skills and knowledge. Practice in solving drug computations involving certain formulas and principles, drill exercises on body fluids' normal values, and practice in clinical case diagnosis – all of these and more should be present in a USMLE review session.

Of course, you are aiming to get a high USMLE score, and in order to attain this, mastery of certain habits or skills is one of the goals in a review session. Mastery of a particular knowledge or skill cannot be attained through mere repetition. To be effective, certain steps should be followed. These are:

• Motivation. The motivation of a review lesson should arouse in the medical student the desire to acquire the outcome desired. The review participants should realize the need for acquiring certain habit or skill. The desire to surpass previous record on practice tests should be present; otherwise the drill will be a useless repetition of a process. The goal should be correct practice not just practice. This should be emphasized in the motivation step.

• Focalization. This step requires medical students to pay attention to the deficiencies they want to correct. If it is a drill lesson in the use of a certain formula or solving problems, the medical should concentrate in eliminating the error. By focusing the student's attention to specific tasks, he will prevent haphazard and aimless repetition.

• Repetition with attention. The individual review participants should know where his shortcomings are and try to eliminate these. It is a good practice for mentors to remember who among the review participants need a particular skill. Then during the review lessons, the mentor should call on the student more frequently.

• Application. The test of whether the drill is successful or not is in the application of the practice tests and drills – the actual USMLE.

The review lessons that you get from USMLE review programs are not the same as the lessons you get from your medical school professors. Review means new view. It is not the same as the pop quiz your professor conducted to measure your learning and eventually give you a subject grade. The USMLE review intends to prepare you for the actual measurement of learning experience you should have attained within the recommended years you spent in medical school.