Burntout with FA

[tootheye]

Boy! How does one "Read" FA 2x 3x....Is there any one who "loves" going thru FA. Yes I love the look of my book but not the contents as much! What does it mean reading passively? How much of it is retained unless its coordinated with a q bank. So.......the importance again goes to a q bank than a passive reading.

I spend more time planning on how to read it than "doing" it. All because of the hatred I developed towards the gold standard! I was better off with UW tho I used it more as a learning tool with a 59% cumulative early on in my prep.

With out review- practice test scores sink, just passive reading is not working.....a vicious cycle.
I need a rescue mission.

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[naseeha]

Have you tried usmlerx or kaplan qbank? They have FA page references which are good. So when you do a question go to the FA page reference and quickly read the section or even the whole page as a review. If you do that with the whole qbank you can get through all of FA again.

 

[tootheye]

Do you suggest random/ system wise blocks. I dont score well in random , better as systems which is not the case in real deal. If I am using rx as a navigating tool I guess system might be better. Whats your opinion. You think Once I am done with systemwiserx I could do Kaplan random. As I exhausted UW and reviewing it again.
Thanks for your time.

 

[Valadi]

Do you suggest random/ system wise blocks. I dont score well in random , better as systems which is not the case in real deal. If I am using rx as a navigating tool I guess system might be better. Whats your opinion. You think Once I am done with systemwiserx I could do Kaplan random. As I exhausted UW and reviewing it again.
Thanks for your time.

Do whatever you want until a 3-4 weeks before the exam, at which point you should basically only be doing random blocks.

If FA is getting boring, step up to something less rote and feel free to annotate it.

If you're burnt right now, go drink a beer, sleep for 20 hours, and refresh yourself.

If you're still not motivated, tell yourself over and over, "I'm going to fail unless I learn all of this."

 

[medstud161]

You def need to mix it up and keep it fresh to break the monotony of FA. Helps to learn from multiple modalities such as flash cards, audio (Goljan!), and even kaplan videos if you can get your hands on some of those. But if you are burning out now, take a day off an re-coop, this exam prep is a marathon.

 

[Phloston]

Have you tried usmlerx or kaplan qbank? They have FA page references which are good. So when you do a question go to the FA page reference and quickly read the section or even the whole page as a review. If you do that with the whole qbank you can get through all of FA again.

I agree with Naseeha that integration with USMLE Rx is necessary. A first-pass read of FA is important however prior to initiating the QBank. I feel Rx is also the one bank to do solely in tutor mode. The others are open for improvisation. If you do all of Rx in tutor mode and read all of the FA alongside the explanations (although very repetitious at times [which is good]), you will have read the equivalent of >3 passes on FA. Putting that in conjunction with your initial read prior to Rx, that's >4x having read FA (etc. etc.). Listen, there's a reason why very few people score high. Just get your head into gear and do the reading all day every day. And no matter what anyone says, don't relax ;-)

 

[tootheye]

Thanks Guys. I guess I wont be stubborn with FA if itsn't working FA way. I'll integrate RX but will do it system wise. I wont use it as a real q bank but more to break the monotony of FA. I dont care I will do it untimed. I am anyway reviewing UW simultaneously so feel protected!