Only put UWORLD annotation in FA, or else you run the risk of making a giant book filled with lower-yield information.
I bought FA for first year and only really used it for reviewing for end-of-semester NBME subject tests. Like it says in many threads here, FA is a REVIEW source,not a LEARNING source, so you would be better off learning from class, esp for first year.
I studied for my Step 1 in 2015 using FA 2014. I did this because when the newest FA comes out in January, the errata do not usually come out until March. I wanted last year's edition to make sure all the errata were found, and to make sure I was not studying incorrect information in the newest edition before March.
This is really good advice, but I want to offer a slightly different take (which is probably saying the same thing anways). I started preparing for Step 1 from Day 1, but not all by taking notes in FA.
I actually used USMLERx Qbank throughout first year to test subject-specific topics before our exams. It was only
this information that I would annotate into FA. I would then use FA as a study
guide all the way until Step 1. Think of FA like a dictionary. It has a collection of terms and facts. What you learn in medical school is how to
use those terms and facts to practice medicine. But you would never learn a language by studying a dictionary, and you shouldn't use FA to learn medicine. It's just a
guide.
My approach had this benefit: by the time Step 1 rolled around, I had already completed a QBank and was thoroughly familiar with FA. I went straight into UWorld and NBMEs for my month of dedicated study and it worked out well.
The content of Step 1 doesn't seem to change
that much from year to year (as evidenced by how similar closely-spaced NBMEs are), but FA is always updated with new facts that people have likely reported as showing up on the exam. Invariably when the new FA is released, a thread pops up on the Step 1 forums comparing the differences--those actually tend to be high-yield, since they've probably
recently shown up on Step 1 for
multiple people (otherwise they wouldn't have been added to FA). Just wait for that thread to pop up in 2017 or whenever. Otherwise, go to the library and look at the latest edition. It shouldn't take that long to notice major changes. I also strongly agree about errata.
You could always just buy two editions, but it's a pain to transfer your annotations, and you should be getting thoroughly familiar with just
one resource. As an aside, a very common mistake people make when studying for Step 1 is getting
a million different resources. I think acquiring these resources makes people
feel better, but they really muddle the dedicated studying period. You need to approach Step 1 like an inverted pyramid, funneling down to the most essential information as you get closer and closer to the test date. This means that the majority of your Step 1 study should actually come
early, by laying a strong
foundation in your preclinical coursework.
But to return to your specific question, notes are either notes to learn or notes to review. Notes to learn shouldn't be in FA. Notes to review should, but only the
notes relevant to Step 1. Because that's what FA is for--to
review for Step 1. The best way to know what notes are relevant to Step 1 is to do a QBank. I like USMLERx, because it familiarises you with FA while also providing some good questions for both your preclinicals exams and Step 1. Some people prefer Kaplan, but it's quite pedantic and doesn't tie into FA as well. Save UWorld till the end, because it's simply the best and highly integrative.
