All my MS1 classes skip important USMLE stuff (help)

[UAAWolf]

Examples...

Anatomy: We do almost no clinical correlates...at all. Exams are pure memorization and regurgitating...no thinking AT ALL. I study clinical stuff on my own

Biochem: Nope, no diseases mentioned really. I have to use review books to keep up with the important stuff we skip. Exams are more chemical than medical

Histo: 0 diseases/clinical aspects discussed...

I feel like our school doesn't care about boards, not to mention we only get TWO WEEKS after ms2 to take USMLE 1!!!!

What do I do

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[xanthomondo]

Examples...

Anatomy: We do almost no clinical correlates...at all. Exams are pure memorization and regurgitating...no thinking AT ALL. I study clinical stuff on my own

Biochem: Nope, no diseases mentioned really. I have to use review books to keep up with the important stuff we skip. Exams are more chemical than medical

Histo: 0 diseases/clinical aspects discussed...

I feel like our school doesn't care about boards, not to mention we only get TWO WEEKS after ms2 to take USMLE 1!!!!

What do I do

There's a difference between learning the material well for Step1 and being able to get good grades. I would shoot for in between the two (ie: don't blow off your coursework to study for Step1). This applies more to MS2 though.

You really will worry about diseases during MS2 in pathology and some sort of clinical medicine course. In MS1 you should be focusing on the basic sciences and getting a good foundation so that you will understand MS2 better.

 

[Mace1370]

Stop stressing. You're an M1. The vast majority of material on the step 1 exam that comes from first year courses is taught again in second year.

 

[UAAWolf]

Stop stressing. You're an M1. The vast majority of material on the step 1 exam that comes from first year courses is taught again in second year.

I'm not stressing...just frustrated at how much time we waste. It seems more like undergrad than medschool in how they teach

 

[Mace1370]

I'm not stressing...just frustrated at how much time we waste. It seems more like undergrad than medschool in how they teach

Sorry if I misunderstood. It sounded like you were stressed out.

One of the most important things I learned in first year was to not get frustrated about wasting time (or at least, try not to get frustrated). They're going to keep doing it. Yes, it sucks. It will probably be even worse second year (although to be fair this probably various depending on your school). You can't really change the situation, so just do your best.

 

[UAAWolf]

Sorry if I misunderstood. It sounded like you were stressed out.

One of the most important things I learned in first year was to not get frustrated about wasting time (or at least, try not to get frustrated). They're going to keep doing it. Yes, it sucks. It will probably be even worse second year (although to be fair this probably various depending on your school). You can't really change the situation, so just do your best.

Definitely agree...guess its just part of the hoops we have to jump through. I wish they encouraged more thinking skills and less rote memory (although I know a TON is needed)...but maybe in clinical years we will see that

 

[DrDrToBe]

If you don't already have First Aid (no need to get the latest version) I would suggest getting it and using it along with your coursework. After you finish each course, take a couple hours and skim the corresponding section in FA. Chances are your school may have covered most of the stuff in FA, but if not this is your chance to look it over. At this point you're not trying to memorize anything from FA, you're just making sure that when it's time for the boards you would have seen most things at least once. It's true that most of the stuff for the boards will be covered in M2, but biochem, anatomy, pharm...those are gold if you learn them well the first time. You know your curriculum better than any of us here on SDN, so if you feel that you're not learning enough relevant stuff, you probably are not. Going through FA will at least give you some peace of mind.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

Step 1 does have some basic science on it. All that non-clinical biochem and anatomy seems pointless, but there are questions on the shelf that require to know it.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Many schools focus on how things work in a perfect human the first year (clinical correllates are thrown in for interest, but not focused on) and it is during second year the messed up human is focused on. Don't worry about not covering everything needed in a body system during MS-1. Just about everything you feel is being "left out" will be covered next year.

Example:

Year one: Discuss glucose metabolism and insulin/glucagon regulation. Mention that problems cause diabetes.

Year two: All of the important manifestations of diabetes discussed.

 

[shadowfox87]

Examples...

Anatomy: We do almost no clinical correlates...at all. Exams are pure memorization and regurgitating...no thinking AT ALL. I study clinical stuff on my own

Biochem: Nope, no diseases mentioned really. I have to use review books to keep up with the important stuff we skip. Exams are more chemical than medical

Histo: 0 diseases/clinical aspects discussed...

I feel like our school doesn't care about boards, not to mention we only get TWO WEEKS after ms2 to take USMLE 1!!!!

What do I do

Welcome to med school. The whole point is to self-study. They can't teach you everything, you have to use outside resources and other USMLE books to prepare. Don't depend on courses to teach you. You memorize to learn the basics, then you got to use the knowledge and apply it to clinical situations yourself by doing practice questions from other places.

 

[TheLoneWolf]

Sorry if I misunderstood. It sounded like you were stressed out.

One of the most important things I learned in first year was to not get frustrated about wasting time (or at least, try not to get frustrated). They're going to keep doing it. Yes, it sucks. It will probably be even worse second year (although to be fair this probably various depending on your school). You can't really change the situation, so just do your best.

I completely agree, dont neglect your courses to prep for the boards in MS1. If you feel compelled to look at the clinical correlations then BRS anatomy and BRS biochemistry are filled with clinical correlations boxes.