How to Use the Rx Study Planner

The Rx Study Planner is a free planning tool designed to help you organize your USMLE Step 1 or Step 2 CK study schedule. The planner is built in Google Sheets and must be used in that format.

Access the Rx Study Planner

1. Open the Rx Study Planner link provided by USMLE-Rx.

2. Sign in to your Google account.

3. Create a copy of the planner and save it to your Google Drive.

4. Rename the file as needed.

Note the Study Planner does not work in Microsoft Excel. 

 

Set Up the Daily Tab

Use the Daily tab to define the structure of a typical study day.

1. Enter the number of hours you plan to allocate each day.

2. Assign hours to the relevant categories, such as sleep, meals, self-care, study and review time, question practice, breaks or other activities

3. Confirm that the total hours align with your daily schedule.

Set Up the Monthly Tab

Use the Monthly tab to map your study period across weeks.

1. Enter the start date of each study week in the first column.

2. Set full study days, half study days, or non-study days as needed.

3. Review the automatically calculated pacing to confirm it is realistic.

4. Adjust the schedule if necessary before proceeding.

By default, the Rx Study Planner is set for 8 weeks, which was based on the average time that medical students spend during their dedicated period, leading up to the USMLE Step 1 exam. 

You can add additional weeks to your planner. To do this, add more rows to the bottom of your sheet, select the final week in the planner and drag the fill handle (the small square in the lower-right corner of the selection) to add more weeks. 

Set Up the Subject List Tab

Use the Subject List tab to allocate study time by topic.

1. Select the review level for each subject: normal, careful or intensive

2. Review the calculated time allocation for each subject.

3. Mark subjects as complete as you finish reviewing them.

Updates made in this tab automatically adjust the Monthly schedule.