- Joined
- May 6, 2016
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
Looking for suggestions on how to catch up during the summer between M1-M2.
(Not necessary to read):
I am interested in one of the most competitive specialties (surgical). Unfortunately, I have not performed as well as I had hoped on our school exams (started out a few percentage points above the average and then scores dropped off the rest of the year..scored 7-8% below the average on our last exam). I have been working on improving my study methods and have worked with an academic specialist at our school to help me improve because I am putting the time in but not seeing the results. Our exams are also not representative of any board style questions I have done but that's another story.
Long story short, looking for ways to get back on track this summer. We are on a systems schedule and will be taking Step 1 before April 2017.
This is my plan, I'm open to suggestions. I also realize that this is our last summer and resting is important. I will certainly take time to rest but our school and upperclassman (M3/M4) have recommended doing some studying over summer.
Based on the system blocks we have finished in M1, here is how much material I would have to cover:
Firecracker - a lot of cards left to do, just going to stick to doing ~150/day which should take 1.5 hours max.
Pathoma - 26 hours of videos, I'll overestimate that it'll take 40 hours since I annotate the Pathoma book.
First Aid - 350 pages
USMLERx - 1275 questions (~30 44-question blocks)
Study plan:
I have about 12 weeks of summer free.
3 random (from the systems we've done) USMLERx question blocks a week (10 hours/week)
5 hours Pathoma a week (5 hours/week)
50 FA pages a week (5 hours/week)
Firecracker (1.5 hrs/day * 7 days = 10.5 hours/week)
Total = 31 hours/week
This works out to an 8AM-1PM study session 6 days/week and I will likely finish going through everything early if I stick to the schedule (which I know I have the discipline to do).
Thoughts on this plan? I'm considering cutting out reading FA (maybe just use it as reference while reviewing Rx questions) since I'll likely forget many of the details from FA by the time dedicated Step 1 prep rolls around. I want to be clear that this is more than just for Step 1, I want to strengthen my foundation of the material we have already covered so I can fill in the details when the time comes for dedicated Step 1 prep. I think this is warranted since we are on a systems curriculum but any feedback is appreciated.
I'm open to cutting resources, hearing suggestions of another resources to consider, etc.
Thanks!
(Not necessary to read):
I am interested in one of the most competitive specialties (surgical). Unfortunately, I have not performed as well as I had hoped on our school exams (started out a few percentage points above the average and then scores dropped off the rest of the year..scored 7-8% below the average on our last exam). I have been working on improving my study methods and have worked with an academic specialist at our school to help me improve because I am putting the time in but not seeing the results. Our exams are also not representative of any board style questions I have done but that's another story.
Long story short, looking for ways to get back on track this summer. We are on a systems schedule and will be taking Step 1 before April 2017.
This is my plan, I'm open to suggestions. I also realize that this is our last summer and resting is important. I will certainly take time to rest but our school and upperclassman (M3/M4) have recommended doing some studying over summer.
Based on the system blocks we have finished in M1, here is how much material I would have to cover:
Firecracker - a lot of cards left to do, just going to stick to doing ~150/day which should take 1.5 hours max.
Pathoma - 26 hours of videos, I'll overestimate that it'll take 40 hours since I annotate the Pathoma book.
First Aid - 350 pages
USMLERx - 1275 questions (~30 44-question blocks)
Study plan:
I have about 12 weeks of summer free.
3 random (from the systems we've done) USMLERx question blocks a week (10 hours/week)
5 hours Pathoma a week (5 hours/week)
50 FA pages a week (5 hours/week)
Firecracker (1.5 hrs/day * 7 days = 10.5 hours/week)
Total = 31 hours/week
This works out to an 8AM-1PM study session 6 days/week and I will likely finish going through everything early if I stick to the schedule (which I know I have the discipline to do).
Thoughts on this plan? I'm considering cutting out reading FA (maybe just use it as reference while reviewing Rx questions) since I'll likely forget many of the details from FA by the time dedicated Step 1 prep rolls around. I want to be clear that this is more than just for Step 1, I want to strengthen my foundation of the material we have already covered so I can fill in the details when the time comes for dedicated Step 1 prep. I think this is warranted since we are on a systems curriculum but any feedback is appreciated.
I'm open to cutting resources, hearing suggestions of another resources to consider, etc.
Thanks!
Last edited: