Advice for starting 2nd year

[haFaithve]

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[Ilovewater]

Does your school go by organ system for second year? If it does, I'd suggest brushing up on the organ system's physiology using BRS Physiology the weekend before you start each system. A chapter can take 2-4 hours to read, so you should be able to do it in half a day. This will help you review all the phys learned in year 1 and prepare for the upcoming system. For path, Pathoma is something you can look into. I just used it to study for boards, and it was amazing. You can watch the videos along with your school's lectures. Dr. Sattar is very good at explaining "why" things happen and filling in gaps of knowledge. Some people also use Rapid Review by Goljan, but it's a ~700 page book...which might be overwhelming. Pharm is just straight up memorization, so just do multiple passes, and you'll be fine.

Also, did you attend class first year? I'm also a slow reader, and it helps to not attend class. Instead, I just spend that time actually reading instead.

 

[shenanigi]

Hi. I finished my first year of medical school. I took some time off for personal reasons and will now start my second year in a few weeks. I just wanted some realistic advice on how to approach my second year so that it will not mimic my first year.

I struggled greatly my first year, but I passed. Although I passed, I know that I did not master the material. I was tested for learning disabilities, and although I did not have any, I showed deficits in processing speed and reading rate.

What is the best approach to relearning 1st year material, while approaching 2nd year material? Should I take an hour or so on the weekend to start the first year material over? I do not want trying to read first year material to interfer with my 2nd year courses. But I feel that given my reading rate, I should start my Step I prep now on 1st year material.

Second part is that the test results suggested that my reading rate is lower than expected considering my IQ, but that my comprehension score is superior. I do not benefit from reading review books because I need details to understand the bigger picture. But I know that starting textbooks like "big" robbins will take me forever. What is the best approach for starting second year and learning the material the first time through. Should I opt for condensed textbooks, like Lippincott and medium robbins, etc? My school's curriculum is systems based.

If you're a slow reader the review books are going to be your best friend. Add little details from class if you need them, but the format of those books is going to help you get through a lot of material in the lowest amount of time.

 

[haFaithve]

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[Ilovewater]

My school is systems based (skin, cardio, renal, GI, reproductive, etc) so we learn path, pharm, histo, physio of each system block. So I may be able to just read each chapter that was to be covered first year when we start the system block second year. I just learned about Pathoma a few days ago. My plan for path was pathoma, medium robbins, and robbins Q&A book, but I am not sure how to use the resources or if these are too many resources for path. For pharm, I have Lippincott and flash cards. I do not have a plan for physio yet.

All the necessary physio will be reviewed during the blocks. Use BRS physio by Costanza to learn the other details and fill in the gaps as you go along. It's straightforward and easy to read.

Pathoma is great. Listen to the corresponding videos as you go along. I've never used Robbins, so I can't comment on that. However, since you said that you're a slow reader, don't use too many resources and spread yourself too thin. You might end up being overwhelmed. Like you, I'm also a really slow reader. I avoided using a lot of resources because I'd never be able to go through all of them. Pick 1 or 2 resources and maximize your learning from them.

I did attend classes and lab first year, which lasted from 8am - 5pm. Needless to say, i did not benefit from them, but I did not have a back-up plan. I am not really sure what to do for second year though, because I learned that I have to hear something first before I read it, read the corresponding material, then hear it again to make sure I interpreted it correctly.

I'd say stay at home and listen to the recordings at double speed. Then, re-read your notes multiple times before the exam. Going to class 8-5 is such a big waste of time. You'll gain so much more free time to study at your own pace and make multiple passes on the materials. Try and see if it works out for you.

Any suggestions on relearning first year material so that I will not be trying to learn biochem, immuno, etc a month or so before I take Step?

Honestly, those can be relearned right before Step 1. That's what I and the majority of my classmates did. Whatever biochem you need to remember during second year will be reviewed in lecture. However, relearning biochem, micro, etc. a year before Step 1 is useless in my opinion because you'll forget all the pathways and details by the time you reach the dedicated study time. I've probably already forgotten half of the pathways I memorized for Step 1, which I took a couple of weeks ago.... Those are subjects that are mostly memorization which can be relearned closer to the actual exam.

Focus on second year materials and do well. Learn the concepts and know them cold. Don't worry about first year stuff until later. Most of the materials on Step 1 is from second year.

 

[haFaithve]

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[Ilovewater]

This has all been helpful. Not to spread myself thin is the best advice and pick 1 to 2 resources. I have to remember this. And I feel I should somehow be doing practice questions. I did not use review questions first year, so I really want to change that this year.

You can buy a question bank (USMLERx, Kaplan, etc.) and do questions along with your classes. Maybe you can do a few questions from anatomy, biochem, etc. to review first year stuff. I've never used either of these programs, but a lot of people are using DIT and GT to review first year materials as well as learn 2nd year material. Oh, and don't worry about not recognizing some stuff from first year. When I reviewed biochem for the first time during Step studying, I felt like I had never seen that stuff haha. It will all come back to you. Good luck!

 

[NightSwim]

You can buy a question bank (USMLERx, Kaplan, etc.) and do questions along with your classes. Maybe you can do a few questions from anatomy, biochem, etc. to review first year stuff. I've never used either of these programs, but a lot of people are using DIT and GT to review first year materials as well as learn 2nd year material. Oh, and don't worry about not recognizing some stuff from first year. When I reviewed biochem for the first time during Step studying, I felt like I had never seen that stuff haha. It will all come back to you. Good luck!

I recommend this too. It's not necessary, but doing the respective section in a qbank during each unit will give you an idea of what step I is like early and it will give you a big leg up when board studying time rolls around. Do the biochem and other 1st yr sections in that qbank early in the year along with reviewing those sections in 1st aid.

Do as well as you can in classes. Stay on top of the material. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=9403559&postcount=15

Don't kill yourself studying. Second year isn't too hard until board studying starts.

 

[haFaithve]

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