September USMLE Classes (Starts 9/14/26)

0:00Welcome, my name is Devine. This is a quick podcast where I want to try to give you some comprehensive information on my classes because I know some people have questions about my classes and they wonder, Devine, if I take your class, what do I get from it? What's the advantage? What's the differentiator with your classes? So I kind of want to make this podcast to discuss the different classes I offer and to essentially explain to you what you can get. At the bottom of this podcast, you'll also see just my dates for the classes I have are coming up. So the first thing I will say is that if you want to take my classes, you should love my teaching style. If you don't love the style that I used to teach, where I make integrations and I really hone in on pathophysiology, then honestly, I don't think you should take the classes because for me, I'm not a believer in a classic lecture format where I say, okay, let's talk about Anemia.

1:00And then I say, okay, these are the different kinds of Anemia, like Aracetic, macrosetic, normal, acetic. No, the thing is, it may be comforting when you're learning the information that way, but it doesn't really help you with thinking and, too, it also doesn't help you with exam prep. So the fact that something is comfortable doesn't necessarily make it the right thing for you. So my classes follow that format of the organized or the format is more on, hey, this is a vignette. And then based on this vignette, let's learn the concepts. And then based on this vignette, let's mix some integrations. So what do you get from my classes that you won't necessarily get from the podcast? So again, I'm going to start off with a 20 hour class, right? So what does a 20 hour class offer? Again, again, similar teaching style. And I really spend a lot of time on pathophysiology. So my classes are not very little sections of the class are, ooh, let's go through these

2:01associations. No, you can learn associations in your own free time. That's not what I'm here for. I like to explain pathophase. In fact, I try to make sure that I focus on pathophase, though, that is relevant to you. Exactly. So I think that's a lot of things that seem good to go down, but it's not very useful for your test. I don't go down those rabbit holes. And the thing you get from my 20 hour classes, the NVMe context. So the thing is the NVMe is these days, they heavily emphasize trigger words and buzzwords, right? So they don't do that anymore. The NVMe is these days, they are very descriptive. They use a lot more nuance in presenting concepts. So the thing is, with my classes, I make very painstaking efforts to go over NVMe contexts. So because the thing is, that's actually one thing that I feel like differentiates my classes from the Q banks. That many times the Q banks, they'll give you some context. And that context may be absolutely right, but it's actually the wrong context for the

3:01USMLA exams. The thing is the USMLA is they are certain things they focus on with disease that Q banks may not necessarily focus on. So my class really helps you hone in on the NVMe context, right? Because at the end of the day is the NVMe is that are the ones creating the exams you're going to write, not the Q bank. And then another thing you're going to get from my classes is that they are pretty comprehensive but they are very focused. So one thing I really try to avoid with my classes are fluff. Because the thing is, it's good to learn fluff, but again, it's not necessarily good for your exams. Basically, the way I structure my classes is I try to make sure that every single minute that you spend in that class counts. I try to make sure that every single minute you spend in that class counts. Every single minute literally counts. So I try to remove fluff. So because I basically try to strike a balance between being comprehensive and being, you know, but also being focused, right? Again, it's an exam review. So I try to make it that way. And the thing is the class is actually pretty well organized.

4:03The class is a very organized class. It's not really like my rapid review series for the USM, as you see on the podcast website. Right? So like, for example, for the 20-hour class on D1, we talk about internal medicine. We talk about neurology and we talk about surgery. That's our focus on D1. And then on D2. So it's five hours every day. On D2, we talk about internal medicine. We talk about psychiatry. We talk about neurology and we talk about surgery. And then on D3, we talk about internal medicine. We talk about RubyGuyne. And we talk about weird topics. Many of these things that either don't fit in any area very well or they kind of fall on the other purview of the multi-systems processes and disorders we discussed those. Because they are just certain topics that don't fit well in anything like ophthalmology, for example, right? We spend time on ophthalmology across the class. Things like locomon, all those topics we do talk about them.

5:05So that's the way the class is structured. And the class is five hours every day. But I typically start 15 minutes before time. So let's say the class is from like 5 to 10 PM Eastern. We start at 4.45 Eastern. Because I try to build in some extra time with the class so that in case we kind of run over, we have some wiggle room. And I've always found that to be helpful. I've always found that to be pretty helpful. So the class is actually very organized. It pretty much kind of follows a schedule. And then another thing that you also get from the class is I cover materials in the class that are exclusive, right? So things that you don't necessarily see on the website with any of my podcasts, right? So I cover those things. Again, you're paying for the class, right? I want to make sure that you're getting a lot from it. Another very good thing you get from the class is I make lots of useful charts. Lots of useful charts. Of course, all 40s of the class is big to the material. And basically these are very good things you can use for quick review of like very high

6:07your concepts, like the night before you exam or the night before a practice test. Many people actually find those charts to be extremely helpful. And the thing is you may actually with these charts, you may notice that man, divine. This algorithm you're teaching is somewhat different from the algorithm I learned from a Q-Bank. The thing is again, many of the resources out there, they focus a lot on hey, let's put every single branch point in this algorithm. But the thing is it's not every branch point that is relevant for the USMLEs. And the thing is again, there are certain things that Q-Banks focus on that the USMLEs do not care about or they present things in certain ways that the USMLEs actually don't want that pattern, right? Like a very common classic example like an estate is like for example, the way many resources discuss the treatment of restless like syndrome, that may be correct. But the USMLEs they have a completely different view on restless like syndrome. I discussed that completely different approach in the class, right?

7:10So it kind of gives you an idea of hey, okay, my Q-Bank may be saying this, but wait, the in-game is this is actually what they really care about. Or this is the way the woman will go about that thing, right? That's something that I really take a lot of pains to emphasize with the class. And then another benefit you're going to get with the class is that you're going to get a chance to ask questions. You're going to get a chance to ask questions and have those questions answered. I spend quite a bit of time actually with the class taking people's questions. We take people's questions at the halfway point and at the end of the class, right? So people have a chance to get their questions out and have those questions answered. And also, you know, the class has, you know, a different variety of questions. Some multiple choice that audience responds, some essay questions, right? So you do get a chance with some of the questions to think about them, answer them, and then I didn't discuss them with the with the class. And another benefit you also get with the class, the 20 hour classes that, and honestly, this pretty much applies to all my classes is that I'll do these classes very, very regularly

8:11to keep up with the USMLEs, right? We know that the USMLEs, they do pull changes from time to time, they start the emphasizing certain topics and then they start emphasizing other topics. I make that a point of view. That's something I do almost sometimes even every week. I update the class material to make sure that it's keeping up with the USMLEs, right? So if you're taking your exams within like two to three month window of when you attend in my class, you're very likely getting the most recent exam information, right? So getting the most recent exam focus, okay? Again, in the most recent exam focus in terms of the coverage of material. That's one thing I try to think of my classes as software that needs to be updated on a regular BC so that they don't lose their relevance. And again, and one of the things that tells me that this process is working is that the people that take the class, the overwhelming majority of the people that take the class, they do extremely well on their exams. I get emails all the time because again, I do a lot of these classes, but I also do a

9:11lot of one-on-one work with people. And I get emails all the time from people that, oh wow, they've been, I took your class like two weeks ago, you know, a month ago and then I got in the 250's on my exams. Even with the recent pool changes, I guess I'm going to comment on that because many people are always worried about the pool changes, right? I've had many people that have taken my classes even with the recent pool changes like over the last like few weeks and they've got in the 250's in the 260's on the exams in the 270's on the exams, right? So again, I can is a good testament to the updates that I make to the material pretty regularly. And then another thing I also really like to focus on with my classes are alternate descriptors, alternate descriptors because this is actually one thing that many resources don't necessarily focus on. They focus on the stock on the classic description of things, but they don't focus on all the alternate ways those things could be described or the alternate words that the USML is used for that material. That's something that I take pride in doing.

10:12That's something that I specifically do research to figure out, right? The USML is again, what they love to do these days is they take what you know and put it in other terms. So those other terms, I covered them throughout the course of the class. I covered them throughout the course of the class. And then another thing I also do for the pool that take the 20 hour classes, on the final day of the class, I have a study schedule that is attached to the course material that you're able to use that can pretty much guide you how to, hey, because I'm not just letting you like, oh, this is the information. Do it as you please. No, I give you like an organized approach to, okay, after I don't with this class, this is how you should study this information. This is how many Cuban questions you should do every day. This is how you should take your practice exams. I've kind of layered out those things and many people will actually find it to be very, very helpful. And then another thing you also get from the 20 hour class before I then talk about some other classes is that you get unusual emphasis. What I mean by unusual emphasis. So there are certain things that many resources don't even talk about.

11:16There are certain diseases that they don't even give the light of day. What I give them, those things, the light of day, right? I may be like, divine, why me this being important? Well, the reason this may be important is there are certain things that you may not find in any Cuban that the Mb is actually really care about. I make it a point to emphasize those things, right? So those are things you will get from the 20 hour class. And honestly, like the 20 hour class, I try to go at a good pace, you know, as I'm annotating and everything so that people can take good notes. But the thing is, even if it's a 20 hour class, it feels like you're taking a 40 hour class, right? By the end of the 20 hours, you feel like you've learned 40 hours worth of material. With the way the class is thought, it doesn't mean that, oh, I got the crazy speed. No, no, no, no, I got a pretty decent pace for people to follow along. But again, I try to make every minute count. There is a way you can synthesize topics to where in an hour, you may cover what classic resource may take two to three hours to cover.

12:18So that's something. So you may think that, oh, it's just a 20 hour class. There's no way it can be comprehensive. I've actually seen this phenomenon with many people and then they're like, they're done with the class. They are going through the materials from the class and they're like, oh, my goodness, this stuff I learned a ton from this class. That's the way I structure the class. I kind of learned that skill from my med school, med school, med school at Hopkins. Because when I was at Johns Hopkins, I used to do reviews for all the classes, pretty much of the classes that we thought at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. And I learned that from like a professor, a neurology professor we had that was actually a very brilliant guy. I kind of noticed that weight. He has a 45 minute lecture, but she, I feel like I learned like two, three hours worth of stuff. So that skill is something I've practiced over the years. And I feel like I've kind of perfected it. Like try to keep getting better at that skill. So I think that's something you get from the class. So you, you, you think it's a 20 hour class, but you, you feel a lot like, man, I'm taking like a 40 hour class. And this applies not just to my 20 hour class, but I should pretty much all my, all my classes. And then the next class I offer is the bio statistics.

13:20And this 20 hour class is for step two and step three. And to be honest with you, pretty much everything I said about the step two, step three class, obtains from my step one class. My step one class is a 25 hour class. But many of the things that apply to my 20 hour step two class also apply to my 25 hour step one class. And the thing is the 20 hour step two class to be honest with you is something that's useful. Some people actually find it to be is actually a use case of studies seen in recent times. Some people they are like, Hey, I just came up with step one about to start my third year. Let me take this class. And main point find it to be like excellent prep for like all their rotations, all their shelf exams. So just again, another plug to the benefit to be getting from this class. The people that are taking step two, step three occasionally take my 25 hour step one class because they find it to be beneficial, right? Because the thing is, since step one became pass fail, a lot of basic sciences have been translocated to step two and step three. Right. So that's a benefit. So if you know that, let's say, for example, you struggled massively on step one or you

14:21had a very long dedicated pair for step one or you struggled with a lot of your shelf exams, right? And the next science foundation was not very good. You didn't do well in your basic science years. You should probably consider taking my 25 hour step one class in addition to the 20 hour step two, step three class. Okay. Now the next class I offer is a four hour bio statistics class. It's four hours long. It's four hours long, right? Now the thing is this class, the focus is not formulas. The formulas, I mean, obviously I go over the important formulas that you need. But the thing is, the USML is these days, they write back their bio stats questions to where formulas will not help you at all. Literally, they won't offer you any good, right? There are very few questions these days that you can answer just by formula or low. Right. The thing is the questions these days are written to more, you know, more reflect like depth and analysis. In fact, I've actually seen this from many people where they are like reading the bio stats question and they're like, they know the formulas off the top of their head. But they have no idea what this question is even asking.

15:21Right. If you want to be a person that truly understands bio stats on a deep level, this class is for you. This class is for you. Right. By the time you're done, you'll understand you will not just know the formula for sensitivity, but you understand why is this formula constructed like this? In fact, you may come out of the class, not needing to know the formula for sensitivity. But if you see a sensitivity question, you know instinctively that they're testing sensitivity. And you feel very good. You feel like there's no sensitivity question that is too difficult for me. Because the thing is the way I design the class, the questions are written in a way to where it's understanding that will help you get those questions right. Not just, hey, I can plug the formulas and I'll get the questions right. I like to think of the class as like a pathophysiology of bio statistics class. So again, I think if you take the class, I think you'll find it to be extremely helpful, extremely helpful. And again, the focus is on questions. It's not a lecture. It's on questions, questions, questions. And then the next and this bio-stats class is for step one to step three and you know,

16:23level one to level three. The 20 hour class is for step two and step three, level two and three. The 25 hour step one class is for step one to three, level one to three. Right. And then the next class is the social sciences and ethics class. This is also for step one to three, level one to three. This class is a five hour class. It's a five hour class, right? This class, what are some of the benefits of this class? Well, in that one class, we go through about 300 different scenarios that caught across ethics, social sciences, healthcare systems, communications and all those things, hospital medicine. The thing is these things are about 10% of any US Emily exam you take these days. So that's something you're going to find to be really, really helpful. It's a pretty comprehensive class. And I really try to focus on not just again going over associations. I try to make sure I go over principles because if you learn principles, you can answer a very wide number of of scenarios. You can deal with a wide number of scenarios you may see on your when you accept. Okay. Now, next class I offer is my last mini review.

17:24You know, sometimes I call this the last mini US Emily primer. It's a three hour class. This is for step two, step three for level two or three. At the social science class, I just talked about is a step one to three, level one to three class. But this last mini review is for step two and step three, level two and three. And the thing is it's a, it's kind of like a cultural class, right? It's a cultural class. And obviously it's not going to be as comprehensive as all my other classes, but it actually has a big benefit. In fact, many people that take like my 20 hours step to step three class, they take this last mini review like just before the exams, just to kind of prime them, right? Boost your confidence and whatnot. It's a three hour class. But in a short time within that, those three hours, I focus on training your thinking for the US Emilys. I focus on going over a bunch of high-yield concepts that you want to see like right before your test. And I focus on like making it like a primer. It's almost like you take the class and you're walking out with confidence that weight. Oh, so this is how the US Emilys love to present these particular concepts or all weight.

18:27This is the level of thinking and processing that I need for my exams. You will get that very well. This last mini primer is exactly for that, right? It's a very good way to tune your brain just before your test. But honestly, some people actually do it very early in the year, they get a period and find it to be helpful because you can teach them that, okay, this is the kind of thinking and processing I need for my test. Let me actually start this mindset with my prep for the exam from the get go. And for many people again, they find it to be a very huge confidence booster before their test, right? In fact, I like lyrics on that too. The class was like, wait, the fine. Did we just, did three hours just go by, right? Because it's a very immersive class, you really end up learning a lot in just that three hour, three hour timeframe. But again, obviously again, like the 20 hour class is a huge, huge, huge step up from that, right? And again, the class I really try to focus on the nuances of of MDME diversity. Again, like just to see like the MDMEs from a thinking perspective, from a, how they

19:31set up answers perspective, from a, how they integrate concepts perspective. Again, I think you're going to find the class to be really, really helpful. Again, I know this may kind of be a long podcast, but I want you to know exactly what you're getting. I don't think you're just blindly taking my classes. I think it's helpful to know what you're getting. Okay. Now, the next class I'm going to discuss, which is my final class is my test taking strategy class, my test taking strategy class. It's a two and a half hour class. It's for step one, all the way to step three and level one, all the way to level three, right? And what does this class focus on? What does this class focus on? On a, on a bunch of things. This class is actually really, really useful for many people. It's for the MDMEs, it's for the complex exams, right? And there's a bunch of things we discuss, right? We discuss like, for example, hey, you're down to two answers. How bright pick between those two answers, right? Another thing we discuss is, hey, how do you read questions, right? Because these exams have very long vignettes. What are you supposed to pay attention to in a question? We talk about those, right?

20:31And another thing I really try to do is that I try to give updated test taking strategies because the thing is, there are some test taking strategies that may have worked three, four years ago, but they no longer work on these exams, right? So again, this is a class where I'll be the strategies, right? So these are class where I'll be the strategies. If you took this class like four years ago, the class that you will take now feels quite a bit different from the class you may have taken like four years ago, right? Because again, the USMEL is, these exams are not static, right? The USMEL is changing character every single year, right? Every single year. So what may have worked in the past may not work now, right? So I try to make sure that these test taking strategies are updated very frequently, right? We talk about how to avoid traps, how to avoid traps, right? That the MBA means, you know, complex, they set for people on these exams, right? And the thing is, this class is not just me going over strategies. I use questions to show you those strategies. I use exam style questions to show you that, hey, this is how these strategies work.

21:34This is how these strategies work. In fact, we've won this class like, hey, because they are going to be questions you're going to see on your exams where you see that you're like, I have absolutely no idea what is being tested here, right? But the thing is, it doesn't mean you cannot answer those questions. Let me tell you this. As much as divine knows, I'm not sticking my step to example. There's some questions that I saw. It's like, hmm, I have absolutely no idea what these people are talking about, but it doesn't mean you can get those questions right. To discuss strategies that are specifically targeted to helping you answer questions where you have pretty much no idea what they're talking about, right? And again, we go for a pretty large number of test taking, less test taking principles, right? Because again, the thing is, having a good knowledge base is not enough to dwell on these exams. You also have to get good at taking the test. There are many people that I know that I've matured, many on key cards, but then they are practiced test scores. They're like barely passing practice exams, right? And again, this class will really help you with test taking principles. And one thing I find that is actually a really unique selling point of these of this class

22:34is that we go over question patterns. This is something that I really focus on. Like, hey, like wait, the last sentence of a USMD question, if he says this, this is how you should approach that question. But if the last sentence ends this or the thing, this is how you should approach that question, right? So I discuss question patterns, question, question, question patterns, question, question patterns, right? Because the USML is right, and that's one thing. They change their question patterns from year to year, at least every few years, right? So I focus a lot on those patterns so that you know how to, because again, sometimes you mean half the knowledge, but you may see a last sentence to a question, I'm like, man, what do they want me to do? Do they want me to pick a diagnostic step? Do they want me to pick a treatment step? Like, what do I do here? We go over those things in the class, right? And the thing is the class is like, you know, it's almost like a worksheet format, right? So as you go, you're going to fill in the different parts of the worksheet, right? I mean, that's kind of like how my classes are, right? Like, you know, you, you have course materials and you fill them out as I go with the, with

23:37the class, right? And one thing I'll say, I guess I forgot to say about the 20-hour class is that the class builds on itself. So it's a very, it's not like a random class, right? It's not a, it's not a random class. It's not like a rapid review session. You know, like the, on the two, you need to remember the, and master the information from the one, right? So it's kind of built that way so that it's like a logical story. It's almost like from when we start the class, when you end the class, you feel like you've kind of gone through a movie from beginning to end. So I think those are things that you, you'll find to be helpful with the class. So if you're interested in any of these classes, I run them roughly every month, you know, based on my schedule. Just shoot me an email and I can give you some more information. You know, and I guess once a year, I have a lot of questions. I have a 50 hour class, although that class is definitely going to grow next year because the USMLEs, they're just making all these changes, right? So I'm going to have a, it's probably going to be the 50 hour class. I hope that once a year. That has like limited attendance is not, it's not something where I can take a limited

24:40number of people know because I want to very personally invest in everybody that attends it. So it's a 50 hour class, but you know, again, depending on how the USMLEs change, that's an analysis I do like in the back half of the year. I do the analysis to see, okay, wait, how have the USMLEs changed this year? Have they changed over time? And then I try to say, okay, based on that, it then informs how large the class should be, right? Should it be a 50 hour class or should it be a 100 hour class? Right? So those things kind of change, right? But if you're interested in that class, you want to book a spot for next year, you can shoot me an email and I can give you some more, some more information on that. And then some future classes that may be coming down the pike, I may be having, not saying for sure, I'll do this, but I may thinking about this, but I may be having a CCS cases class for step three, that's kind of coming down the pike. And then on the class that's coming down the pike or series of classes are like study groups. There'll be like very small group sessions where they have topic focused. So maybe a cardiology study group or a pulmonology study group or a hematology study group or a micro study group, one infectious disease study group or, you know, just study groups

25:45is going to have like a fixed number of people that kind of tend, but it's going to be like two, two and a half hours, you learn a ton in that timeframe. Again, I think it's going to be something that a lot of people are going to find to be really, really helpful. So if you're interested in that, again, you can shoot me an email. I can kind of tell you what my current thoughts are or that. So thank you for listening to this. Again, I think I know that this is almost 30 minutes. What I think it's important to know what you're getting from my classes, that you're not just attending some review course. Again, I really put a lot of effort into making these review classes and they're all over Zoom to making them a very big value ad for people. Right? Again, I consider my podcast to be excellent. When I consider these classes to be very, very excellent here, you're going to learn so much. Right? If you're like, wow, I learned this from my Divine Spotcast. Right? Just imagine how much more you learn from these classes. So if you're interested in any of them, shoot me an email. I can give you some more information. And also offer a one-on-one to learn for the USMLA exams and also obviously help with the era's applications and mock interviews and personal statements and things of that nature. So thank you for listening to me today.

26:46I will see you next time. God bless you, and bye for now. Thank you.