Best way to prepare

[emac]

Hi I have just been accepted to medical school and I was wondering what would be the best way to prepare for the step I exam before I have started medical school. I am really anxious to get started studying for it, but there are so many books out there! I have ordered First Aid and Microbio Made Ridicuously Simple. Are there any other good books out there that would be better?

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[JonnyG]

if you are worried about the boards before you even start school, don't worry because you will probably have a heart attack WAY before then from stress. At most pick up the board review series when you are taking that class to help you study for that class.

 

[THP]

There is a whole forum dedicated to USMLE preparation.

 

[bigdan]

emac-

Listen, friend. Everyone is gonna tell you that you're way too early in the game to worry about that. And they're right.

I was just like you. Bought about $600 dollars worth of review books off a fourth year that was leaving school the same year that I was entering. I "read up" right before school. Don't. It won't make any sense, and you won't remember it in the context that you need to.

If you want to do some useful things with your pre-medical school time, make sure that the rest of your game is in order - get your car fixed, find the right place to live, get the right laptop, etc. And if you still need to study, maybe memorize the TCA cycle enzymes and regulators, or the innervations of the muscles in the hand.

Balance.

dc

 

[synapse lapse]

emac-

Listen, friend. Everyone is gonna tell you that you're way too early in the game to worry about that. And they're right.

I was just like you. Bought about $600 dollars worth of review books off a fourth year that was leaving school the same year that I was entering. I "read up" right before school. Don't. It won't make any sense, and you won't remember it in the context that you need to.

If you want to do some useful things with your pre-medical school time, make sure that the rest of your game is in order - get your car fixed, find the right place to live, get the right laptop, etc. And if you still need to study, maybe memorize the TCA cycle enzymes and regulators, or the innervations of the muscles in the hand.

Balance.

dc

Indeed, no way in hell could you learn enough to make a dent in step 1 before school, you don't know anything! I don't know anything and I'm almost done with 1st year! I agree to enjoy your time, make sure other crap is in order. And yeah you could learn some usefull crap really well like all the major biochem pathways tca cycle, glycolysis, etc., and maybe a bit of anatomy like all the muscles or the brachial plexus but why? Those things won't put a dent in the crap they hit you with. Just chill out. That said I don't think its a bad idea to study summer between 1st and 2nd, most say it is but I will be reviewing this years material.

 

[ddmo]

BigDan is spot on.

 

[emac]

Ok that makes sense, I am enjoying the time while it lasts and going out as much as possible, but I am taking one class this semester and end up being worthless most of the time when my friends actually have real work to do. Rather than being completely worthless all semester, are there any key cycles/principles/subjects I could learn (like TCA and glycolysis that were mentioned) that might actually save me some time when I have too much stuff to do in the fall?

 

[tupac_don]

Ok that makes sense, I am enjoying the time while it lasts and going out as much as possible, but I am taking one class this semester and end up being worthless most of the time when my friends actually have real work to do. Rather than being completely worthless all semester, are there any key cycles/principles/subjects I could learn (like TCA and glycolysis that were mentioned) that might actually save me some time when I have too much stuff to do in the fall?

Hey man,

By no means should you read anything for school. I know your instinct is telling you, to do something. But beleive me you don't need to do anything. What you see coming at school is plenty, plus even if you learn the TCA cycle or glycolytic pathway you will still have to look at it again in school. And that is something that you can learn real quick. I honestly would stop buying ANY books for step I at this point. Many schools have students who sell these books cheap or even better, sometimes they also give them away. So I wouldn't worry.

If you try to study some of this stuff ahead of time, it will just confuse you and you won't really make a dent whatsoever in this material. However, I think its a good idea to review lets say courses after 1st year of med school to keep them fresh in your mind. But trust me they pound this stuff in your head from all different angles. That when you read it first time you have to memorize it. By the fifth time, you don't even have to think about it, you just know it.

So to tell you the truth the best prep for step I is to study hard and give 100% during your med school classes and try to learn as much as possible. Then solidify the material of 1st year over the summer and then you have 4-6 weeks at the end of 2nd year to put it all in one nice package.

Enjoy your time that you have, do something for yourself, go party, go workout, better yourself in some way. When school comes, you won't have too much time. Good luck man.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Hi I have just been accepted to medical school and I was wondering what would be the best way to prepare for the step I exam before I have started medical school. I am really anxious to get started studying for it, but there are so many books out there! I have ordered First Aid and Microbio Made Ridicuously Simple. Are there any other good books out there that would be better?

Yeah, the AAA travel guide is a good book to look over before you start med school. Otherwise, no one seriously studies for a test that is two years in the making before school even starts. Go on vacation, it's a much better use of your time.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi I have just been accepted to medical school and I was wondering what would be the best way to prepare for the step I exam before I have started medical school. I am really anxious to get started studying for it, but there are so many books out there! I have ordered First Aid and Microbio Made Ridicuously Simple. Are there any other good books out there that would be better?

The best thing you could do is watch so much TV that you are absolutely totally sick of it and have no desire to watch any for the next 4+ years. We're talking 15 hours a day at least. That will put you in much better shape than a lot of your classmates who religiously have to work their study schedule around House/Scrubs/Greys etc. Congrats on your acceptance.

 

[emack]

Two pieces of advice to the OP:

1) As everyone else has mentioned-- make the most of your free time. If you want to do some reading, I'd recommend maybe some of those pop-med books that I wish I had time to read now. Off the top of my head, two that people seem to be talking about a lot lately are Complications and Selling Sickness (note: not an endorsement-- I've had time to read neither). And I've always gotten a kick out of Oliver Sacks (especially The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat). You won't learn anything useful about being a medical student, but it's good to read something 'for fun' about your new profession; something to keep you entertained & enthusiastic. Because MS1 can be... shall we say... a bit dry.

2) Get a new user name. Either that, or we can have a fight to the death over our homophonic monikers.

 

[Pinner Doc]

If I had ten cents for every time this topic came up...

 

[Gut Shot]

Are there any other good books out there that would be better?

If you absolutely positively HAVE to purchase a book this early in the game, buy a used copy of First Aid for Step 1 and place it in your bathroom reading rack.