Can I pass USMLE by just reading First Aid

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Magyarzorag said:
Not an m1 yet but I'm planning on finishing reading the First Aid book before I start medical school. Just out of curiosity, do you think I can "pass" the USMLE already without starting med school by just reading the book. I just want a 194.
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No not even close. And why would you even do that to begin with? You’ll forget everything you’ve read and aiming for a pass is stupid.

Please save the trolling for the new year we’ve reached our quota.
 
You'll have about as much a chance as closing your eyes and picking a random answer.

But seriously, first aid is like an extended list of the things you need to know. You need to "understand" everything in that book to varying degrees as well. There's a difference between "understanding" random gene names and understanding renal physiology. Then you'll have to be able to apply everything that you understood to a difficult multiple choice exam.
 
Magyarzorag said:
Not an m1 yet but I'm planning on finishing reading the First Aid book before I start medical school. Just out of curiosity, do you think I can "pass" the USMLE already without starting med school by just reading the book. I just want a 194.
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My trolldar is starting to ping with you, Magyar.

But if you're serious (which I find scary) then no, FA is not enough; there's stuff missing from FA that you should know and there also stuff in FA that's wrong.
 
Chibucks15 said:
No not even close. And why would you even do that to begin with? You’ll forget everything you’ve read and aiming for a pass is stupid.

Please save the trolling for the new year we’ve reached our quota.
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Not trolling and not aiming for just passing. Just wondering if I can pass just reading and annotating (Anki) first aid alone
 
No. First Aid is basically a well organized big book of facts. Without the background you wouldn't even understand what the questions were asking. You'll see when you start school that understanding the question is usually at least half the battle—because while there's a (kind of) limited number of pure facts, there's an unlimited way of asking questions to which those facts are the answers.
 
Goro said:
My trolldar is starting to ping with you, Magyar.

But if you're serious (which I find scary) then no, FA is not enough; there's stuff missing from FA that you should know and there also stuff in FA that's wrong.
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First aid was my godsend plus Uworld
 
Magyarzorag said:
Not trolling and not aiming for just passing. Just wondering if I can pass just reading and annotating (Anki) first aid alone
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I have found from hard and bitter experience that people who "just aim to pass" fail out of med school, or fail Boards. I suggest that you step back and reconsider this career path.
 
OP

I would go ahead and take it. Residency would be very impressed if you could pass it prior to. Especially if you are interested in things like DERM or plastics. They are starting to require all theee steps passed prior to starting med school otherwise you are deemed not intelligent enough. Actually If you haven’t passed it by sophomore year you will prob be stuck in FM. Sorry
 
For college students looking for ways to get head starts on med school, I recommend that you get your hands on BRS Gross Anatomy and BRS Physiology. The content is reasonable for college seniors, and - with more and more med schools transitioning to 1.5-yr preclinical curricula - getting started on "medical school" material in college is becoming increasingly advantageous.
 
Dude just enjoy your life. You'll learn what you need to learn for step 1 in medical school and you'll have plenty of time for board prep then.


Jeez. Kids these days...
 
Honestly, just relax before you start med school. It's a long road and studying before you're even in medical school is going to A) cause you to become burned out and B) be completely useless as you don't know how in-depth you need to go in to each topic.
 
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Lexdiamondz said:
Dude just enjoy your life. You'll learn what you need to learn for step 1 in medical school and you'll have plenty of time for board prep then.


Jeez. Kids these days...
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I just have nothing else to really do. I don't really have any friends to hang out or travel the world with, and I would just be watching Netflix all day on my laptop otherwise.
 
Magyarzorag said:
If all the crew were suddenly incapacitated, I would probably be the most qualified person on board
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And if all the other med students taking Step 1 were incapacitated, then you'd probably pass Step 1.
 
MedStudent219 said:
Person: Comes on to SDN for advice
Everyone: Gives the same advice
Person: Sorry fam, y'all wrong and I'm right and I'm gonna keep doing what I planned to do -_-
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That's usually how it goes when someone asks this very same question. I think they're just looking for validation and when they don't get it they end up doing it anyway lol.

Do what you want OP! If you want to waste your last remaining free time reading FA cover to cover, that's your perogative.

Sent from my SM-G955U using SDN mobile
 
BTW you wouldn't be able to sit for the exam if this were a real idea because you need your school to certify that you are eligible to take it.
 
Magyarzorag said:
I understand that reading FA will not be of great use, and I probably won't pass reading it alone, but in my opinion, even if reading FA helps me get 1% closer to getting my dream score (235) or 60th percentile, I think it might beat spending all day on Netflix
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Not advocating pre-studying, BUT:

If you really care about improving your score, why not get a sketchy or boards and beyond subscription? Sketchy micro is a decent standalone resource, and you could potentially cover biochemistry and some basic physiology in B&B. Or just go all-in and start reading through Robbins.

Trying to read through first aid with no accompanying questions or resources is just about the dumbest way you could study.
 
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In all honestly read a book on how to study. Or several. Always room for improvement. Google memory improvement on amazon
 
There are countless things you could be reading to better yourself as a person without even looking at FA (or a medicine book in general).

But you came here for validation, not advice so whatever.
 
You let Hungary down with this post.
 
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Magyarzorag said:
Not trolling and not aiming for just passing. Just wondering if I can pass just reading and annotating (Anki) first aid alone
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You literally stated that you just want a 194. That is just passing.

This is clearly a troll post. Moving on.
 
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