Weak on Micro, need some help choosing a source

[Meds2dent]

I'm about 5 months out from dedicated step prep time and really suck at micro (poorly taught too) and I really can't stand reading First aid as a primary source for things (need context). I know that FA is really strong on micro but the organization isn't something I like. I've narrowed down two sources that got good reviews on amazon, Deja review micro & immuno and lippincott microcards, but I do not know how to proceed.

Should I use Deja review and microcards and know them both cold? Or just pick one and know it cold? If I pick one, which is the best to run with? I use anki, so I will use it to retain them for the long term.

Could really use some help on this! Med school always gets in the way of med school so I'm just looking for the best way to proceed and be well prepared for micro on rounds and step 1.

Thanks!

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[IH8ColdWeath3r]

I'm about 5 months out from dedicated step prep time and really suck at micro (poorly taught too) and I really can't stand reading First aid as a primary source for things (need context). I know that FA is really strong on micro but the organization isn't something I like. I've narrowed down two sources that got good reviews on amazon, Deja review micro & immuno and lippincott microcards, but I do not know how to proceed.

Should I use Deja review and microcards and know them both cold? Or just pick one and know it cold? If I pick one, which is the best to run with? I use anki, so I will use it to retain them for the long term.

Could really use some help on this! Med school always gets in the way of med school so I'm just looking for the best way to proceed and be well prepared for micro on rounds and step 1.

Thanks!

Well, to be honest, after going through several micro sources, I would say that FA is actually the *BEST* micro source. It is VERY well organized, the charts and pictures are outstanding, and it covers everything. Micro is a heavy memorization, "buzzword" heavy type of topic, so i'm not sure why you're looking for context. But, if I were to make a suggestion, I would say go with neither of the sources you mentioned above and pic up Micro Made Ridiculously easy.

 

[Meds2dent]

With Micro Made Ridiculously easy would you recommend annotating anything into first aid from it? Or save the annotating space for UWorld?

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

With Micro Made Ridiculously easy would you recommend annotating anything into first aid from it? Or save the annotating space for UWorld?

Yeah, annotate what you feel is important

 

[mcloaf]

FWIW Microcards are awesome.

 

[Psai]

Micro made easy is bad for dedicated study time

 

[seminoma]

I'm about 5 months out from dedicated step prep time and really suck at micro (poorly taught too) and I really can't stand reading First aid as a primary source for things (need context). I know that FA is really strong on micro but the organization isn't something I like. I've narrowed down two sources that got good reviews on amazon, Deja review micro & immuno and lippincott microcards, but I do not know how to proceed.

Should I use Deja review and microcards and know them both cold? Or just pick one and know it cold? If I pick one, which is the best to run with? I use anki, so I will use it to retain them for the long term.

Could really use some help on this! Med school always gets in the way of med school so I'm just looking for the best way to proceed and be well prepared for micro on rounds and step 1.

Thanks!

I'm with you on the FA organization of micro. The info is good, but I absolutely cannot memorize things the FA tables.

I liked Microcards and for bacteria I really liked sketchymicro.

 

[Meds2dent]

Thanks for the input everyone, I also heard about sketchy micro, I might ask for it for Christmas lol and use it for bedtime stories up until prep time. Sadly, I minored in micro and really understand the tests and agars etc but I have since forgotten the detail laden world of microbes. I'll take memorizing a bug name over a drug name any day though.

 

[NeuroLAX]

FA + Microcards is a solid plan when combined with UW. Micro just boils down to how well you can categorize everything and apply it.

I'll take memorizing a bug name over a drug name any day though.

Oh man that reminds me of anti-cancer and other immuno drugs. I came close to pulling a Sheldon once or twice.

 

[Vexare]

Almost everything you need to know for micro is in FA+UWorld. If you can't stand the organization of FA then I'd recommend using one of those other resources to organize yourself, come up with a system for working through the information presented in questions and then recall the appropriate answer. I specifically emphasized organization and recall here because that's the crux of how you should be answering micro questions.

If another micro resource can help you organize and recall information already in FA then use that, but don't memorize or annotate too much extra information outside of FA from these sources. The testable micro will come up again and again in FA + qbanks, so rely on those to test your recall and understanding. Microcards, MMRS and any other resource should be adjuncts - you should use them to learn what's in FA but not to add paragraphs of info not found in FA; knowing any of those resources "cold" is unnecessary and time that could be well spent doing other things.

If you're looking for a resource recommendation I used MMRS during classes and found it extremely helpful. I was able to recall much of their silly mnemonics and it framed everything in FA quite nicely. I never touched that book outside of class and I wouldn't recommend going through it during dedicated time either.

 

[seminoma]

Thanks for the input everyone, I also heard about sketchy micro, I might ask for it for Christmas lol and use it for bedtime stories up until prep time. Sadly, I minored in micro and really understand the tests and agars etc but I have since forgotten the detail laden world of microbes. I'll take memorizing a bug name over a drug name any day though.

Didn't think I'd ever say this, but I'll take obscure pharm over obscure bugs.

 

[Saharsima]

I would recommend Sketchy micro. It's fantastic! I used to be very weak in this subject, but after watching the videos twice, I can answer all the questions.
I wish they had some videos on viruses.

 

[Psai]

I think picmonic is awesome for micro
i still remember stuff about acinetobacter israeli from a presentation they did at my school to promote their product. it's been over half a year and i still remember a lot of things about it
also crohns vs uc is easy because i remember one of the pics my friend showed me

 

[mcloaf]

Also agree with the above. Picmonic/SketchyMicro are about as good as it gets when it comes to memorizing random bugs. I like microcards because they give nice images and vignettes, but I'd much sooner go without those than Picmonic/SketchyMicro.

 

[Fatalis]

I'm about 5 months out from dedicated step prep time and really suck at micro (poorly taught too) and I really can't stand reading First aid as a primary source for things (need context). I know that FA is really strong on micro but the organization isn't something I like. I've narrowed down two sources that got good reviews on amazon, Deja review micro & immuno and lippincott microcards, but I do not know how to proceed.

Should I use Deja review and microcards and know them both cold? Or just pick one and know it cold? If I pick one, which is the best to run with? I use anki, so I will use it to retain them for the long term.

Could really use some help on this! Med school always gets in the way of med school so I'm just looking for the best way to proceed and be well prepared for micro on rounds and step 1.

Thanks!

Picmonic!
Thank me later!

 

[iki4life]

where can I find the sketchy micro videos? torrents? youtube? subscription only?

thanks

 

[BlueJay25]

Personally, I did the Kaplan videos and annotated my FA with Kaplan. I felt like this was the best resource and it showed on my NBME grades. Micro went from below average to above average after going through it.