boards resources - ovewhelmed

[BlueBee20]

hello all - looking for advice! i've just begun second year and all anyone talks about anymore is BOARDS. please help me decide what to throw my cash at as far as resources go!


i understand UFAPS is where it's at. i will be getting UWORLD 6 months, i have first aid, i plan to get sketchy, and pathoma. what am i missing for success?

i have heard things about:
firecracker
osmosis
boards and beyond
usmle-rx
doctors in training
--- thoughts on these?

what else should i add and how to i structure this? lol i'm lost

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

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[Medic741]

1. Watch BnB or Physio along with your classes from now on. If you have free time and you want to get ahead watch BnB or physiology. I also watched Sketchy Path before each system and it was really helpful to have a mental map for each pathology to build on/reference while learning them.

2. Re-watch Sketchy Micro sometime toward the end of Sem1. Will make systems way easier if you have micro down early.

3. Watch Sketchy Pharm during pharm. Actively review drugs when you see them by referencing sketchy pharm image.

4. I used FireCracker and got a 682 b/c of it. After watching a school or BnB or Sketchy lecture I'd mark those topics as current and do those cards right after the lecture and would start my day with FC in the AM while having breakfast.

5. Learn the content well the first time and you'll be good to go. Around December dedicate 8a-12p to nothing but reviewing for boards. This means doing questions, reading Robbins, actively filling in any of the deficits you have in your knowledge.

If you stay ahead of the curve, once dedicated hits you'll be chilling while your peers are freaking the f out.

 

[hungrydoc710]

Use Pepper anki decks for micro and pharm.

I am learning bugs and drugs this block, and plan to mature by the end, which will allow me more pathoma and FA review prior to dedicated questions time.

 

[Dr. Death]

hello all - looking for advice! i've just begun second year and all anyone talks about anymore is BOARDS. please help me decide what to throw my cash at as far as resources go!


i understand UFAPS is where it's at. i will be getting UWORLD 6 months, i have first aid, i plan to get sketchy, and pathoma. what am i missing for success?

i have heard things about:
firecracker - I used this, was a waste of time
osmosis -Waste of time
boards and beyond - Good but dull and dense. I used it extensively but not everyone has the time to
usmle-rx -Too easy
doctors in training - Unproven
--- thoughts on these?

what else should i add and how to i structure this? lol i'm lost

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

See bolded above
I would go through sketchy, pathoma and boards and beyond, using them to annotate first aid. Once you get UW, annotate that into your first aid. During the last few weeks of dedicated, read your FA 2-3X

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

i have heard things about:
firecracker
osmosis
boards and beyond
usmle-rx
doctors in training
--- thoughts on these?

what else should i add and how to i structure this? lol i'm lost

Firecracker- waste of time. It really needs to be started day 1 to have any benefit.
Osmosis- waste of time
Boards and Beyond- In my opinion a must. Watch the videos corresponding to your current block 2x before doing class power points
USMLE-Rx- Hated it. Too much of a "did you read this one line fact in FA"
DIT- waste of time.

I would do as many practice questions as you possibly can along with your current block, and when you have time do them for the blocks from first year. I suggest Kaplan long before Rx. I also highly suggest the Lolonotacop micro deck and Pepper Pharm deck. They are absolute gold because that stuff is mostly memorization.

The key to organizing this is by doing a little bit of review every day from previous info, and then just hitting the stuff hard for whatever block you are in.

 

[Sardonix]

Firecracker- waste of time. It really needs to be started day 1 to have any benefit.
Osmosis- waste of time
Boards and Beyond- In my opinion a must. Watch the videos corresponding to your current block 2x before doing class power points
USMLE-Rx- Hated it. Too much of a "did you read this one line fact in FA"
DIT- waste of time.

In a similar vein to what was said here:

Firecracker = waste of time
Osmosis = what? Assume to be waste of time
Boards and Beyond (BnB) = wish I had it. Hear amazing things about it. Basically medical school minus the debt.
DIT = waste of time AND money
USMLE-Rx = debatably a waste of time. Some people use it as a "pre-Uworld Qbank" but honestly if you have time to do an entire Q-bank before you get to Uworld just do whatever rando Qbank you school buys for you.

 

[Medic741]

Firecracker- waste of time. It really needs to be started day 1 to have any benefit.
Osmosis- waste of time
Boards and Beyond- In my opinion a must. Watch the videos corresponding to your current block 2x before doing class power points
USMLE-Rx- Hated it. Too much of a "did you read this one line fact in FA"
DIT- waste of time.

I would do as many practice questions as you possibly can along with your current block, and when you have time do them for the blocks from first year. I suggest Kaplan long before Rx. I also highly suggest the Lolonotacop micro deck and Pepper Pharm deck. They are absolute gold because that stuff is mostly memorization.

The key to organizing this is by doing a little bit of review every day from previous info, and then just hitting the stuff hard for whatever block you are in.

I’d agree w FC being of no benefit if not started in M1, my friends that started late didn’t find it useful. Those who started in M1 loved it.

Some extra thoughts on sketchy pharm/path... treat them as full-on lectures and give each a try for a half dozen sketches before you write it off. Some of their lectures are just not good

 

[CoomassieBlue57]

i will be getting UWORLD 6 months

That’s 6 months too late. If I could go back, I would have started doing 5 UWorld questions per day starting day 1 of second year. UWorld is a learning tool, not an assessment tool. 5 questions per day should take about 25 minutes to complete and go over all topics addressed in the answer choices. That should give you around 1,000+ questions completed before dedicated starts.

 

[hungrydoc710]

That’s 6 months too late. If I could go back, I would have started doing 5 UWorld questions per day starting day 1 of second year. UWorld is a learning tool, not an assessment tool. 5 questions per day should take about 25 minutes to complete and go over all topics addressed in the answer choices. That should give you around 1,000+ questions completed before dedicated starts.

Burning out Q's too early? Or are there that many, that you won't finish them anyways?

 

[CoomassieBlue57]

Burning out Q's too early? Or are there that many, that you won't finish them anyways?

That won’t be an issue as there’s around 2,500 questions. Again UWorld is a learning tool and not an assessment tool, so this idea of burning questions is absurd. There’s a reason many students go through UWorld multiple times.

 

[hungrydoc710]

That won’t be an issue as there’s around 2,500 questions. Again UWorld is a learning tool and not an assessment tool, so this idea of burning questions is absurd. There’s a reason many students go through UWorld multiple times.

Maybe I will get sooner than I thought.
I also need COMQUEST questions..?

 

[Goro]

hello all - looking for advice! i've just begun second year and all anyone talks about anymore is BOARDS. please help me decide what to throw my cash at as far as resources go!


i understand UFAPS is where it's at. i will be getting UWORLD 6 months, i have first aid, i plan to get sketchy, and pathoma. what am i missing for success?

i have heard things about:
firecracker
osmosis
boards and beyond
usmle-rx
doctors in training
--- thoughts on these?

what else should i add and how to i structure this? lol i'm lost

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

Not impressed with Firecracker, but am with BnB. We tried Osmosis here and the students were less than impressed. Not familiar with DIT. My students all swear by Sketchy.

 

[IntheClouds4ever]

BnB during years 1 and 2 along with Anki deck.

Start First Aid, Sketchy (if you like it) UsmleRx, Combank first half of second year.

Comquest, Uworld second half of 2nd year.

Pathoma, Physio, and anki deck with incorrect and weak areas from qbanks for dedicated study and second pass of uworld and comquest