Best way to coordinate Med school and USMLE prep

[Gunneria]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am sure has probably been discussed before...but how do you guys coordinate Step I question based studying with class-work?

Say I am in Biochem 1st block, should I be reading Lippencott, BRS, and doing their questions, etc...? Could someone recommend a regimen of what question books/supplements corresponding to the med school course that would be optimal for USMLE success as opposed to just ramming everything before the USMLE?

Thanks broskis

 

[MarlyMarl]

I just want to say that that's an awesome name haha.

 

[Gunneria]

well i slept with a harvard med girl and contracted my disease...anyways, do any of my med school homiez have some invaluable advice for my original question....thanks G's!

 

[Forthegood]

I crammed. Review books are great if you have the time. Lippincott for biochem was basically a review because you can go through the book so quickly if you need to.

Each subject is different. By the time you are M2 you will be doing much more review book stuff b/c path, pharm, and micro have good review books to work with and are high yield for step one.

Most first year stuff is low yield for step 1 and is easily crammable. So everybody crams it b/c you will forget it so quickly if you studied it earlier on you'd end up having to cram it before anyway.

There is no way to cram path or pharm. Those are just too big of guys to not learn the board material with the class material.

 

[HopefulDoc1984]

I am sure has probably been discussed before...but how do you guys coordinate Step I question based studying with class-work?

Say I am in Biochem 1st block, should I be reading Lippencott, BRS, and doing their questions, etc...? Could someone recommend a regimen of what question books/supplements corresponding to the med school course that would be optimal for USMLE success as opposed to just ramming everything before the USMLE?

Thanks broskis

get first aid and goljan RR and everytime you see something in class (or stuff missed in class that should be there) study it from those two books. dont worry about questions until you actually start your board study.

 

[Mace1370]

If you are in first year I would consider gunner training. I've heard it is very worthwhile if you start early. There is nothing like laying a solid foundation of knowledge for later.

 

[reedman]

this what i think you should really do:

just do first aid. really, really learn the material in first aid along with your classes. if your school is like mine, the exams test over 20x more than what is in first aid, so it shouldn't be too much extra work.

then when you start thinking about cramming for the USMLE you will already know enough to pass.

 

[Gunneria]

i dont wish to merely pass...250 or bust dawgs

 

[2012mdc]

i dont wish to merely pass...250 or bust dawgs

You don't need to coordinate 1st year stuff with Step 1 studying. 1st year material is such a small subset and biochem, anatomy, and embryo are all very crammable. Focus on learning physio well b/c that helps 2nd year.

I used review books and questions to prepare for shelf exams but did not coordinate it with in-class stuff. Didn't touch FA till 2nd year.

Strategy got me a score that you are looking for

 

[hiphaupt]

Coordinating step 1 and M1/2 is definitely my main concern right now.

I plan to look at FA and some of the other review books as a supplement to the in-class material so that I can be as prepared as possible for the 5 week protected study period I get after M2.

There's only about 4hr of classtime/day at my school so I still think this leaves me plenty of time to study, relax and maybe get something else going.

 

[Bluesaurus]

Just do the Kaplan Q-bank when u have time off. Either that or commit to like 30 Q's a day.

The reason why I think Kaplan is better than world is that it links directly to first aid with page numbers on every problem. So you do a Q, and then read like one page of first aid.

When you finish you basically have first aid memorized.

I think mastering First Aid material is like the first block towards getting Step 1 under control and would probably get you to the 220 range. I didn't like reading first aid straight up, but when Q's linked to it, I found it tolerable.

If you got to that early on, then from there you can build on it.

Also, don't be intimidated by second year course work you haven't done. A lot of it is random stuff that you just need to learn as individual topics and you can learn as you go just as well as anywhere. Then if you do see it 2nd year, ull already have some idea on it.