Biochem resources?

[The kitchen sink]

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Anyone have suggestions on good Step 1 biochem resources? I heard Kaplan videos are pretty good. It seems like theres a good amount of videos so I was wondering if there was anything quicker

 

[AndyRSC]

The Kaplan videos are excellent, and do a good job of painting a full picture of medical biochemistry, as well as honing in on high-yield concepts. They are lengthy, though, as you already know. One option is to watch them at 1.5x or 2x speed. Another is to spot-review just concepts you feel unsure about.

Realistically, most of what you need to know for boards is in FA. The real challenge is not memorizing the material, but understanding the concepts and being able to apply them when presented with exam scenarios. Most questions on the step will be in the context of biochemical disorders, so try to acquire a stereotypical picture of how each condition in FA will present - at what age, with what signs/symptoms, and what the blood tests will show. This is where question banks are invaluable, as they paint that picture for you. Every now and again the step questions will simply ask a direct question about some specific enzyme or pathway.

There was an earlier discussion on the matter in this thread. Some suggestions included FA Express, Lippincott Biochem, etc. Regardless of what book or video you choose to use, use FA as homebase, supplement its bare-bones description with more vivid details where needed, and try to anticipate a question on every biochem disorder in it.

 

[The kitchen sink]

The Kaplan videos are excellent, and do a good job of painting a full picture of medical biochemistry, as well as honing in on high-yield concepts. They are lengthy, though, as you already know. One option is to watch them at 1.5x or 2x speed. Another is to spot-review just concepts you feel unsure about.

Realistically, most of what you need to know for boards is in FA. The real challenge is not memorizing the material, but understanding the concepts and being able to apply them when presented with exam scenarios. Most questions on the step will be in the context of biochemical disorders, so try to acquire a stereotypical picture of how each condition in FA will present - at what age, with what signs/symptoms, and what the blood tests will show. This is where question banks are invaluable, as they paint that picture for you. Every now and again the step questions will simply ask a direct question about some specific enzyme or pathway.

There was an earlier discussion on the matter in this thread. Some suggestions included FA Express, Lippincott Biochem, etc. Regardless of what book or video you choose to use, use FA as homebase, supplement its bare-bones description with more vivid details where needed, and try to anticipate a question on every biochem disorder in it.

I am super weak in Biochem so if I have time I may use Kaplan for it. I am use to watching my school lectures at 1.5-2.0 speed so that may work for me. And yes, that is my main issue. I am reading first aid but memorizing dry facts that I have minimal understanding of is tough so I was hopin to understand thru Kaplan to make the memorizing a bit more doable.

 

[24thGrade]

No one directly suggested it to me, but I found the kaplan videos VERY helpful. Biochem was very weak for me and I'm feeling a lot better about it after running through the videos. I found the cell bio videos (in the biochem section) a complete waste of time so if you're short on time, cut those and anything before the vitamins lectures out. It will take awhile to get through all of them though.

 

[mdeast]

I am super weak in Biochem so if I have time I may use Kaplan for it. I am use to watching my school lectures at 1.5-2.0 speed so that may work for me. And yes, that is my main issue. I am reading first aid but memorizing dry facts that I have minimal understanding of is tough so I was hopin to understand thru Kaplan to make the memorizing a bit more doable.

I've found Kaplan High Yield very helpful for Biochem (not the regular Kaplan videos...though they may be good too). Biochem is relatively straight forward once you get used to it. Just need to know key enzymes, key regulations, and the typical presentations of the diseases. These actually usually become the most straight-forward questions on practice exams I've taken.

Repetition is key for this. I think I've watched the Kaplan lectures maybe 3 times. You'll get better at it, just stick with it.

 

[The kitchen sink]

I've found Kaplan High Yield very helpful for Biochem (not the regular Kaplan videos...though they may be good too). Biochem is relatively straight forward once you get used to it. Just need to know key enzymes, key regulations, and the typical presentations of the diseases. These actually usually become the most straight-forward questions on practice exams I've taken.

Repetition is key for this. I think I've watched the Kaplan lectures maybe 3 times. You'll get better at it, just stick with it.

I agree, once you figure out the Biochem, they become straight foward questions/presentations. I just want to know the best way to approach them is. So im figuring out whether Kaplan HY vs Kaplan videos are worth it. Im leaning towards Kaplan videos, bc I have a copy of an annotated Kaplan book.

Thanks.

 

[LaCasta]

I was supposed to take this weekend off and start dedicated studying time tomorrow, but I figured I would just watch a few of the Kaplan biochem videos today. I have found the molecular biology videos pretty helpful (the guy tries really hard to be excited about it), and I have been able to finish almost all of the molecular biology vids today. The videos are split into three parts: molecular, and then the vitamins, glucose etc. is split into two parts. So, you could probably finish the videos in a few days.

I would reocmmend at least the molecular part from what I have seen so far.