is there any benefit of doing very well in preclinical classes?

[Bulbasaur]

I go to a true P/F school, no internal ranking, pre-clinical grades are not used for AOA, etc. People say that doing well first 2 years will help when step 1 comes but is it really the case? The stuff I learned a week ago, I have already forgotten so I'm pretty sure I'd have to relearn most of the board material brand new. Also, I heard first year courses are rarely tested on the boards.

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[cs24]

The better you know it the first time, the faster and better it will come back to you when you do your boards review.

 

[EMDO2018]

I go to a true P/F school, no internal ranking, pre-clinical grades are not used for AOA, etc. People say that doing well first 2 years will help when step 1 comes but is it really the case? The stuff I learned a week ago, I have already forgotten so I'm pretty sure I'd have to relearn most of the board material brand new. Also, I heard first year courses are rarely tested on the boards.

not really, why are you posting this in pre allo?

 

[Serous Demilune]

I go to a true P/F school, no internal ranking, pre-clinical grades are not used for AOA, etc. People say that doing well first 2 years will help when step 1 comes but is it really the case? The stuff I learned a week ago, I have already forgotten so I'm pretty sure I'd have to relearn most of the board material brand new. Also, I heard first year courses are rarely tested on the boards.

You'd be surprised what comes back to you once you see some boards-type questions. You will have to work much harder at boards prep if you only do the bare minimum during first year. These courses aren't rarely tested, you'll have plenty of questions on them.

 

[DermViser]

I go to a true P/F school, no internal ranking, pre-clinical grades are not used for AOA, etc. People say that doing well first 2 years will help when step 1 comes but is it really the case? The stuff I learned a week ago, I have already forgotten so I'm pretty sure I'd have to relearn most of the board material brand new. Also, I heard first year courses are rarely tested on the boards.

Yes, doing well in the first 2 years is an integral step to doing well on the boards. That's so the 6-8 weeks of studying after MS-2 is over is more a review than a learning stuff for the first time. So no, they weren't lying to you.

And no, first year courses are tested on boards. Maybe not as nitty-gritty as course exams, but they are tested. Take advantage of your "true" P/F curriculum in the first 2 years to maximize your learning and your board scores while not having to be anal about every single point on course exams.

 

[redpanda]

The better you know it the first time, the faster and better it will come back to you when you do your boards review.

This and the fact that the better your preclinical knowledge foundation, the easier it is to load clerkship knowledge on top of it. Because clearly, no one learns all the stuff on the IM shelf exam in the 8-12 weeks of the clerkship. It certainly helps to have some pre-existing pattern recognition.

 

[Snoopy2006]

Echo the above. You'll regret not getting a topic down well the first time when you're trying to get two years of material reviewed in 6 weeks. Take a look at some of the popular Step 1 study schedules out there. You think it's hard to review an entire subject in 2-3 days? Try learning it all new - not gonna happen.

 

[Ismet]

Also, I heard first year courses are rarely tested on the boards.

Whoever told you that hasn't taken the boards. Biochem and micro are HUGE on Step 1.