Advice for the New Guy

[operaman]

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But how in the world can you memorize irrelevant details from m1 all the way until boards? Isn't it just too much detail that it's almost impossible to memorize

Not really. There is some detail that's probably a little extreme, but I would say that much of it actually ends up being important. I remember hearing first years this fall talking about the crazy details they had to memorize, and then proceeded to list as examples a number of things that are actually quite relevant both to step 1 and clinically. I think it's hard to know what exactly is important in the early stages, and you only really know what was high/low yield AFTER you take your exam.

You can do some triage with memorizing by letting yourself forget things that can be easily re-learned right before boards. Some of the biochem probably falls into this category, especially all those rare inborn errors they love to test. Otherwise, I think learning it really well the first time will make it much easier to refresh your memory later. Beyond that, taking some time to review and refresh as you go along is probably a good thing. Question banks are a great way to do this while also refining your testing skills, and it ensures that you really only study things you need to review while letting you blaze past the easier stuff.

 

[wjs010]

Not really. There is some detail that's probably a little extreme, but I would say that much of it actually ends up being important. I remember hearing first years this fall talking about the crazy details they had to memorize, and then proceeded to list as examples a number of things that are actually quite relevant both to step 1 and clinically. I think it's hard to know what exactly is important in the early stages, and you only really know what was high/low yield AFTER you take your exam.

You can do some triage with memorizing by letting yourself forget things that can be easily re-learned right before boards. Some of the biochem probably falls into this category, especially all those rare inborn errors they love to test. Otherwise, I think learning it really well the first time will make it much easier to refresh your memory later. Beyond that, taking some time to review and refresh as you go along is probably a good thing. Question banks are a great way to do this while also refining your testing skills, and it ensures that you really only study things you need to review while letting you blaze past the easier stuff.

But retaining isn't the same as learning. And it seems that there's a lot of straight low yield memory stuff. Take katsung pharmacology book. How in gods name am I supposed to retain all of the info from that book?

 

[PL198]

you aren't, but the point is you don't know what is actually low yield. so learn as much as you can now and the next year when you're applying it more, you'll remember what is important and forget what isn't.

 

[wjs010]

First aid should just add some more minutae to their books then

 

[PL198]

what? nothing in first aid is minutae, that's the entire point of the book

 

[wjs010]

what? nothing in first aid is minutae, that's the entire point of the book

I mean they should add some. Lol

 

[PL198]

why would they do that.... FA isn't made for getting through your classes M1 and M2 year. It might help that, but it's certainly not the purpose. It's a condensed resource to be used for studying for step 1. I feel like this idea is being lost in translation or something with the newer classes. I see M1s carrying around FA at schools that aren't systems based and I don't get it at all.

 

[touchpause13]

Serious question should I get pathoma?

 

[wjs010]

Serious question should I get pathoma?

I hear it's the best for step. Goljan is great but it's apparently too dense. Pathoma is easy to read too

 

[VisionaryTics]

I hear it's the best for step. Goljan is great but it's apparently too dense. Pathoma is easy to read too

Goljan is the bomb. I think it's the only source aside from UWorld and FA that integrates well across topics.

Pathoma is still excellent. I used both.

 

[username456789]

Pathoma didn't exist when I was in medical school (I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow, barefoot), but Goljan was amazing, especially for bridging the gap between too much information in class and not enough information in FA. It ended up being a great supplement for my classes, better than just following along in FA. I recall him doing a great job of explaining leukemia and lymphoma (in the audio and in RR Path) too.

But, it sounds like this next generation of medical students swear by Pathoma, so it must be good. Even though the Goljan audio is 15 years old or so, I think that is still a worthy time investment as far as something to listen to when you're commuting to and from school, at the gym, or walking to class.

 

[PL198]

I would use goljan audio and pathoma. RR is just too dense with too much detail.

 

[tvelocity514]

Random but can someone please message me where they found their goljan audio please? (obviously legal places since this post is public.. Lol)

 

[PL198]

somewhere where large volumes of information are able to accessed in a few short clicks

 

[Sandmeezy]

somewhere where large volumes of information are able to accessed in a few short clicks

Bing?

 

[Pacna]

Get a bunch of other nerds together to make Anki decks for the material.

*backflip* *recover to desk* *nosebleed* *syncopal episode*

I agree with this post 150%.

 

[shinsoochoo]

Is osmosis prime worth it? Or is anki better?

 

[Fatalis]

Most of it you will learn as you go along, the entire 4 years is just one big learning process, from learning how to study to how to present patients, etc.
The best advice I can give is "more work now, means less work later" this goes for everything you do while you are there. More time studying in class means being more comfortable reviewing it for step 1, etc.

 

[HaitianDrSoph]

Get a bunch of other nerds together to make Anki decks for the material.

What does "anki deck" mean?

 

[BudMEd05]

Hey everyone, I will be starting medical school in the fall. I just wanted to ask if there was any pertinent advice from current medical students for those coming in. Any regrets? Anything you could change if had to do it all over again? What worked best for you during your time in med school, etc!

Thanks a lot!

Do research, you don't realize you have so much time in medical school, it just gets more scarce as years go by and it makes doing research difficult later on when you are applying for fellowships- so you should do research in your medical school years, you won't regret it.

 

[username456789]

What does "anki deck" mean?

It's a euphemism for a common sex act.

 

[HaitianDrSoph]

It's a euphemism for a common sex act.

Thanks for your "useful" input

 

[username456789]

Thanks for your "useful" input

Happy to help.

In the future, it may be beneficial to purchase a computer that comes with a google preinstalled.