Anyone having troubles studying since taking Step I?

[docjolly]

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If you are, please let me know...

Seriously, Since taking/passing Step I, I am having the hardest time focusing and forcing myself to study for my (internal/external) Shelf Exams. It's quite frustrating, and it seems only to be getting worse...

😳

 

[jocg27]

If you are, please let me know...

Seriously, Since taking/passing Step I, I am having the hardest time focusing and forcing myself to study for my (internal/external) Shelf Exams. It's quite frustrating, and it seems only to be getting worse...

😳

yes...and I have my first shelf (surgery) next wk. I am terrified. But still having a hard time studying.

 

[QuinnB]

It kind of persisted for me all of 3rd year - I was just so sick of studying from MS1/2 and then step 1. You'll get through it. Try studying in short blocks of just a few minutes with very realistic goals (i.e., 2 pages of reading 15 times during a day). This is also much more functional when you're on the wards and there is randomly scattered down time.

 

[Arctic Char]

you're not alone. i can barely read my email these days, much less step up for medicine. the last post appears to be good advice - i'll keep it in mind . . . hang in there

 

[Learfan]

I an experiencing the same difficulty. After the step one experience, I just want to sleep 20 hours a day. (Sounds like a neurovegetative symptom.) I scored a bit below my own expectations on the exam which was disapointing. I am currently doing psych and have not read much for weeks. The shelf exam is two weeks away so I better get it in gear. 🙁

 

[lil pook]

yes, yes, yes.

i am sooooo freakin burned out right now. i can only read for maybe 5 minutes at a time without my mind turning to mush.

and yes, i am very very scared that i am going to fail my shelf.....and its not like i will most likely have wonderful evals to fall back on either, because for some strange reason i am extremely apathetic right now about what my preceptors think of me....i go to work and do my job....and if they don't like me...well.......fcckuck 'em. 😱

 

[SoCuteMD]

Count me into the post-boards coma!

 

[UCLAstudent]

I'm also having this problem. By the time I get home from the hospital, I'm too exhausted to study. I get one day off per week, but I feel like sleeping instead of studying!

 

[doctorp82]

PBSAS - Post-boards studying apathy syndrome (Multiaxial diagnosis)
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 5 required):

• Cannot study for more than 2 hours at most without losing focus
• Presence of an intense drive to sleep/relax on soft furniture the majority of the time off of feet
• Places studying lower in priority to activities of daily living, opposite previous years
• Interactions with real people on a daily basis renews interest in social pursuits at the expense of study time
• Finding yourself forgetting facts you knew in preparation for boards, tell yourself you'll look that up later, or revisit all pre-boards material to "reinforce" what you learned, only to never/seldom actually do so

 

[Ambs]

PBSAS - Post-boards studying apathy syndrome (Multiaxial diagnosis)
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 5 required):

• Cannot study for more than 2 hours at most without losing focus
• Presence of an intense drive to sleep/relax on soft furniture the majority of the time off of feet
• Places studying lower in priority to activities of daily living, opposite previous years
• Interactions with real people on a daily basis renews interest in social pursuits at the expense of study time
• Finding yourself forgetting facts you knew in preparation for boards, tell yourself you'll look that up later, or revisit all pre-boards material to "reinforce" what you learned, only to never/seldom actually do so

I meet ALL five. Also...regarding "cannot study for more than 2 hours at most w/o losing focus" ... that is, IF I ever even get started w/studying.

 

[lil pook]

you can go 2 hours without losing focus and that's a problem????!!!!!

geez....i really AM in trouble

 

[blz]

glad im not that only one out there. i have my medicine shelf in a week and i definitely could have studied more for it. ive turned into such a bum. im praying to god this shelf will be somewhat similar to step1 because i remember most of that stuff.

before i take it i'll have gone through step up, mksap, and kaplan qbook questions (which just seem to be like step1 questions so im finding them all pretty easy). is that enough to do decently well on the medicine shelf (like get in the 80s)? i dont even know what to expect - the only thing i hear is that the test is difficult to finish.

 

[domer621]

before i take it i'll have gone through step up, mksap, and kaplan qbook questions

I bet you'll do well, since those seem to be the top books out there... you're also a freakin animal.

 

[smq123]

i dont even know what to expect - the only thing i hear is that the test is difficult to finish.

I just took the psych shelf - and it was difficult to finish. The question stems are so incredibly long, that you start to get worn out just reading them. And it's very easy to believe that people might run out of time.

If you've had a chance to look through Platinum Vignettes (Brochert), those are very similar to what the questions look like.

 

[71263]

Psssh... babies! 😡

I had my first Shelf exam 3 WEEKS after starting rotations, 6 weeks after finishing USMLE Step 1. Yes, it was hard to study, but youd be surprised how motivating the fear of failing can be. Its alot easier to get studying right off the bat when you dont have a choice. I havent had another shelf since then, and my next one is in 5 weeks.

Good luck, everyone! 👍👍

 

[Miami_med]

The 80 hour weeks of staying up for no reason and repeating mind-numbing lab results to 4 different people definitely don't help in terms of keeping your mind sharp and ready to go.

 

[RockShox]

PBSAS - Post-boards studying apathy syndrome (Multiaxial diagnosis)
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 5 required):

• Cannot study for more than 2 hours at most without losing focus
• Presence of an intense drive to sleep/relax on soft furniture the majority of the time off of feet
• Places studying lower in priority to activities of daily living, opposite previous years
• Interactions with real people on a daily basis renews interest in social pursuits at the expense of study time
• Finding yourself forgetting facts you knew in preparation for boards, tell yourself you'll look that up later, or revisit all pre-boards material to "reinforce" what you learned, only to never/seldom actually do so

This description is money!! My whole third year I only had tolerance for lists no greater than three things long and lectures only 10min.

 

[Arctic Char]

This description is money!! My whole third year I only had tolerance for lists no greater than three things long and lectures only 10min.

whats a lecture?

 

[hyperbaric]

PBSAS - Post-boards studying apathy syndrome (Multiaxial diagnosis)
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 5 required):

• Cannot study for more than 2 hours at most without losing focus
• Presence of an intense drive to sleep/relax on soft furniture the majority of the time off of feet
• Places studying lower in priority to activities of daily living, opposite previous years
• Interactions with real people on a daily basis renews interest in social pursuits at the expense of study time
• Finding yourself forgetting facts you knew in preparation for boards, tell yourself you'll look that up later, or revisit all pre-boards material to "reinforce" what you learned, only to never/seldom actually do so

I'm 5/5. Glad I'm not the only one!

 

[Learfan]

PBSAS - Post-boards studying apathy syndrome (Multiaxial diagnosis)
Diagnostic criteria (3 of 5 required):

• Cannot study for more than 2 hours at most without losing focus
• Presence of an intense drive to sleep/relax on soft furniture the majority of the time off of feet
• Places studying lower in priority to activities of daily living, opposite previous years
• Interactions with real people on a daily basis renews interest in social pursuits at the expense of study time
• Finding yourself forgetting facts you knew in preparation for boards, tell yourself you'll look that up later, or revisit all pre-boards material to "reinforce" what you learned, only to never/seldom actually do so
  [/LIST
  
  Count me in 5/5. Guess I need to start some meds. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Sertraline for depression, a bit of Geodon for the psychotic symptoms, some cymbalta for the chronic pain transmitted to me by this nusiance who claims to be a neuro resident............

 

[doctorp82]

I just took the psych shelf - and it was difficult to finish. The question stems are so incredibly long, that you start to get worn out just reading them. And it's very easy to believe that people might run out of time.

If you've had a chance to look through Platinum Vignettes (Brochert), those are very similar to what the questions look like.

Psych shelf was a pain. A question stem takes half the size of the page, jeez. I thought I might lose out on time. Especially when while reading the stem I'd get to the question and realize I hadn't really retained anything in the stem.

At least Blz is on medicine first. I took psych/neuro first, now I'm really working on remembering all my step 1 knowledge on peds.

 

[blz]

so i just finished the IM shelf and although im pretty sure i passed, it seemed pretty damn hard. it was kind of strange because im usually a very fast test taker and i only had 7 mins at the end to check my work and i thought i was blazing through. the damn question stems were long though. oh well. im not sure what i need to get honors though. i think something like an 85/100 and our school doesn't give a crap about percentiles. i'll be lucky if i even break 80. on to surgery!

 

[cubsrule4e]

so i just finished the IM shelf and although im pretty sure i passed, it seemed pretty damn hard. it was kind of strange because im usually a very fast test taker and i only had 7 mins at the end to check my work and i thought i was blazing through. the damn question stems were long though. oh well. im not sure what i need to get honors though. i think something like an 85/100 and our school doesn't give a crap about percentiles. i'll be lucky if i even break 80. on to surgery!

Ditto. I actually felt better coming out of step 1 than i did yesterday. The first 25 questions or so i was thinking to myself, wow i think i may have taken this a bit too lightly and might be taking it again sometime...then it got a little better towards the middle and end. Also pretty sure I passed, but after that who knows. 80/100 raw is honors for me