best study methods?

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juc9355

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just started pgy2 year and not sure about the best way to study... i have been reading all of the bolognia chapters as my program assigns them, but they are so dense it's hard to know how much i'm remembering... i have heard it's good to use a review book as well after reading bolognia. i have baby bolognia, jain, and alikhan currently but clearly can't read all three every week.

any suggestions on which is best or any other good methods to keep up with studying? thanks!!

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For me, I just methodically plugged away at Bolognia. Took handwritten notes just like I did when I was in medical school, which I realize it’s probably more than many people are interested and or willing to do. But it works for me. I did the same with Hurwitz since we had a pretty intense pediatric Derm curriculum as well. It’s all about repetition too. I would go back and read the notes that I had written. It allowed me to review all the major points and details of the chapters without having to actually reread the entire chapter most of the time.

I had Jain and the Galderma binder too, but I didn’t do much with them at all the first few months.

In my opinion, the biggest mistake some people make is trying to go to too many different sources. This can become difficult.

FWIW, I scored the 98th percentile on the ITE first year, 93 the second year, and 98 the third year.

An important point: when you first start out, no matter what method you are employing, you are going to feel like you’re struggling to keep up. The first 6 months have you feeling pretty lost and stupid. Just keep plugging away!
 
just started pgy2 year and not sure about the best way to study... i have been reading all of the bolognia chapters as my program assigns them, but they are so dense it's hard to know how much i'm remembering... i have heard it's good to use a review book as well after reading bolognia. i have baby bolognia, jain, and alikhan currently but clearly can't read all three every week.

any suggestions on which is best or any other good methods to keep up with studying? thanks!!

I would echo the advice above. I'd try and use the methods you used in medical school with an eye on keeping an open mind if what you did in medical school wasn't particularly time effective.

In the end, I think it's the same for everyone. It's an incredible amount of information, often times in a brand new language. It just means methodically reviewing it and reviewing it and reviewing it. It seems like it is an adjustment for most residents to go from the level of reading they did as an intern to a more intense version of what they did as MS1s and MS2s.

As a PGY2, it can be hard to tell what's important and what isn't so I think the advice to use a review book isn't as helpful until you are a PGY3 and PGY4. I would focus on hammering Bolognia as many times as you can and try to see what concepts/issues tend to keep popping up in ITEs, clinical appearances, journal clubs, etc. Once you get an idea of what's important, you can start supplementing with a review book (I used the Galderma binder) to reinforce key concepts.
 
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I’m a big fan of Andrews. I was able to read the entire book in less than 4 months my first year. The tables in Bolognia are great, but you don’t need to read the entire book.
 
I’m a big fan of Andrews. I was able to read the entire book in less than 4 months my first year. The tables in Bolognia are great, but you don’t need to read the entire book.

I tried reading Andrews several times, but it never seemed to really stick with me the way Bolognia did. It was too stream-of-consciousness for me I think. Although, there are a few things in there that aren’t in Bolognia.

This just further underscores the importance of understanding your own reading/learning style.
 
I tried reading Andrews several times, but it never seemed to really stick with me the way Bolognia did. It was too stream-of-consciousness for me I think. Although, there are a few things in there that aren’t in Bolognia.

This just further underscores the importance of understanding your own reading/learning style.

Absolutely! Everyone is different.

The one thing I think we can all agree upon is whatever you do, just keep reading. Things may not make sense initially, but they will start to fall into place over time. It can be overwhelming to read an entire textbook, but you have to start somewhere.
 
Absolutely! Everyone is different.

The one thing I think we can all agree upon is whatever you do, just keep reading. Things may not make sense initially, but they will start to fall into place over time. It can be overwhelming to read an entire textbook, but you have to start somewhere.

Just to throw a monkey wrench further into things :)

I struggled with both Bolognia and Andrews. I still prefer Andrews more because of its brevity but I do agree it's tough for a first year to start with Andrews because it leaves so much out.

Bolognia I just found too dense but the tables and photos are top notch.

The book I liked the most was actually Fitz which has a bad rep for being very basic science heavy but I thought it did the best job of explaining concepts and felt "just right" in terms of wordiness when compared with Bolognia and Andrews. Like everyone else has mentioned, I think the best thing to do is just stick with a book and keep plugging away.
 
Just to throw a monkey wrench further into things :)

I struggled with both Bolognia and Andrews. I still prefer Andrews more because of its brevity but I do agree it's tough for a first year to start with Andrews because it leaves so much out.

Bolognia I just found too dense but the tables and photos are top notch.

The book I liked the most was actually Fitz which has a bad rep for being very basic science heavy but I thought it did the best job of explaining concepts and felt "just right" in terms of wordiness when compared with Bolognia and Andrews. Like everyone else has mentioned, I think the best thing to do is just stick with a book and keep plugging away.

I think al this input is great, and I just wanted to add that Andrews seems, to me, to be designed for someone who already has a strong foundation in Derm and wants to brush up in an expedited fashion. Andrews seems to presuppose a fair amount of knowledge with the way it breezes by concepts very matter of factly, at times. As a pgy2 this would’ve been even more frustrating for me. I at least think it’s a better read during second or third year.
 
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