boards-studying WAY in advance...

[suds945]

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(I started this thread over in the "Osteopathic" forum, but I wanted to see if you guys over here had any thoughts on it. Thanks.)

Hey guys:

I'm an incoming D.O. student, and I've been considering some possible specializations into which I might go. As of right now, my goal is to pursue a residency in radiology (stemming from undergraduate imaging background and/or scientific interest) and probably an academic fellowship in interventional radiology, assuming I'm not too burned-out. I know that, as a D.O. student, I will need, among other things, out-of-this-world board scores to get both of these, but I chose to go D.O. because I like the philosophy and idealism behind it (and OMM seems pretty sweet to me).

Anyway, getting to the point, I've been reading a bunch of threads about COMLEX/USMLE on SDN, and people who have taken these exams keep saying that you should study well in advance...I'm constantly reading statements like "make sure that you learn everything really well the first time through to make studying for boards easier". So, how does one go about doing this? Should I be reading the ever-popular First Aid for the USMLE from the get-go? Do I use this book to supplement my studying for exams in medical school?

Thanks in advance for responses.

 

[lord_jeebus]

The biggest determinant of your performance is how well you learn the material the first time. Don't let review books tell you what to know; trust your professors. Ignore people in your class who brush off things like biochemistry because they've heard it won't be on the boards. If they teach it in the first two years it is probably fair game.

Worry about developing a system for review after you get exposed to medical school material. When you do, you can then focus on just the topics in the review books.