Did mediocre in 1st year -- doomed for Step 1?

[GrammCracker]

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I'm going to be an MS2, but I didn't do great in my first year. I earned a "pass" in all of my classes with the exception of one high pass. I was usually about 10 points above the pass/fail line (e.g. the failing grade was 69 and I ended up with a 79). I almost always was below the mean class average for exams. I also did poorly on the NBME board final exams compared to the national average.

So it seems that I'm a below average medical student. I'm really, really concerned that I'm not going to do all that well on Step 1 next summer due to my mediocre first year.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice? Thanks!

 

[anon-y-mouse]

I'm going to be an MS2, but I didn't do great in my first year. I earned a "pass" in all of my classes with the exception of one high pass. I was usually about 10 points above the pass/fail line (e.g. the failing grade was 69 and I ended up with a 79). I almost always was below the mean class average for exams. I also did poorly on the NBME board final exams compared to the national average.

So it seems that I'm a below average medical student. I'm really, really concerned that I'm not going to do all that well on Step 1 next summer due to my mediocre first year.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice? Thanks!

I don't think you will have too much of a problem, as long as you pay close attention in pathology and put in a ton of effort for that, since it comprises much of the test. If I were you, I would keep my BRS physio, etc. and refer to those *alongside* the different pathology units, so re-learn renal physiology while you're learning the pathology, etc. Hit Qbank/Usmleworld hard (as soon as you're out of school), use it to gauge your strengths/weaknesses, and allot 1-2 weeks extra to review first year subjects.

 

[.edu-MD]

I don't think you will have too much of a problem, as long as you pay close attention in pathology and put in a ton of effort for that, since it comprises much of the test.

I would think it really depends on the reasons for the OP's mediocre performance. Poor study habits/slacking can be improved. But if the OP was already studying all out, then maybe some time evaluating study methods is the most important first step since they apparently weren't producing the desired results.

 

[GrammCracker]

I would think it really depends on the reasons for the OP's mediocre performance. Poor study habits/slacking can be improved. But if the OP was already studying all out, then maybe some time evaluating study methods is the most important first step since they apparently weren't producing the desired results.

In most of my classes, it took me a while to figure out what method of studying worked. Some people can use the exact same method for all of their classes, but that doesn't work for me as I found out. However, there were a couple of classes for which I couldn't discover an effective studying method. I studied hard for physiology and tried a bunch of things but the highest test grade I got was a 76. 😡 I don't know what my problem was but nothing worked out.

 

[anoz]

In most of my classes, it took me a while to figure out what method of studying worked. Some people can use the exact same method for all of their classes, but that doesn't work for me as I found out. However, there were a couple of classes for which I couldn't discover an effective studying method. I studied hard for physiology and tried a bunch of things but the highest test grade I got was a 76. 😡 I don't know what my problem was but nothing worked out.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. It is true that you need good study methods and for some people they finally figure it out by second year. I wouldn't say I was a rock star this year but my grades improved substantionally over first year... partly this was due to my terrible lack of motivation for anatomy which always pulled my grades down. Pathology and drugs are huge topics for second year and for boards and I wouldn't say a mediocre performance first year dooms you to the same for boards. Keep at it, and stay on top of your game, you'll figure something out soon enough.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

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[IndyZX]

youre "doomed" if you continue making the same grades. considering that the 'only covered in first year' stuff is <25% of the test content, no reason why you cant improve. i think that the low-yield anatomy stuff is the only subject that you wont really improve on, who has time to learn that stuff twice.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

youre "doomed" if you continue making the same grades. considering that the 'only covered in first year' stuff is <25% of the test content, no reason why you cant improve. i think that the low-yield anatomy stuff is the only subject that you wont really improve on, who has time to learn that stuff twice.

The OP, or me?

I made that solid C b/c I didn't do hot on the 1st lab practical ... however, my lecture grades and the lab exams thereafter were above average.

 

[45408]

Well, obviously you realize that half of all med students score below average, so keep a realistic goal. With that said, if you were pulling around an 80% in your classes, there's not much keeping you from at least getting a respectable score. If I could do it all over again, I'd have used RR path more throughout the year, listened to Goljan audio as I had those topics in path, and that's about it. Switch to full-speed boards prep as soon as finals are finished, and give yourself enough time to learn as much as possible.

 

[IndyZX]

The OP, or me?

I made that solid C b/c I didn't do hot on the 1st lab practical ... however, my lecture grades and the lab exams thereafter were above average.

im just saying that of all the first year stuff that was tested on step 1, id think you can recover on all of them except anatomy. sure you can get the high-yield stuff, but the only people who are going to pick up all the anatomy points are the people who learned it the first time around. i only say this to compare it to a subject like biochem, which you can entirely expect to build a solid foundation of knowledge from essentially scratch in 4 days of hard studying.

 

[.edu-MD]

I studied hard for physiology and tried a bunch of things but the highest test grade I got was a 76. 😡

One thing to keep in mind is that your performance on school tests may not necessarily have much bearing on how well you understand the material. I've certainly had tests where it seemed like the research interests of the faculty were tested more heavily than the important concepts.

So it's really up to you to ensure you understand the physiology because I felt that a fair chunk of Step 1 was either straight physiology or pathophysiology (e.g. arrow questions--testing whether you know how various enzyme levels/electrolytes/etc change for a given state, respiratory flow-volume loops, cardiac PV loops, muscle phys, etc). You may get more re-exposure to the basic physiology in second year but this would be school-dependent. They may just assume you know it and gloss over, for example, normal respiratory phys in an intro 1-hour lecture at the beginning of a respiratory pathophys unit. Then you're stuck trying to learn what happens in pathological states without a solid foundation on the normal state. While this may get you through your coursework (learning just the pathology), it may be more difficult for Step 1 since you won't have integrated normal and abnormal in your learning. I felt that the best way to answer the multi-jump Step Qs is to have a solid and integrated grasp of path & phys (normal and abnormal).
-- just my opinions.

 

[78222]

You arent doomed so long as you bust ass in second year. Path/Pathophys is a good excuse to review the phys/anatomy of each organ system. Path really is the make or break you course when it comes to the boards. All said, I listened to almost every Goljan audio lecture 3 times (some more) by the time I took the beast. I think that paid off far more than anything else I did in the first two years. Being honest with yourself about your strengths, weaknesses, and abilities is also key. Know where you stand so you know where to improve.

 

[Docster]

On my Step, Pathophys, Path, Biostats, behavioral, and neuro were heavy hitters. Every single question on my exam could be answered from the Holy Trinity: First Aid, Goljan RR, and USMLEWorld.



edit: I also found BRS Endocrine to be helpful b/c my exam was endocrine heavy. This is just my experience, and if you're like me, you're not gonna take any chances and will end up studying all the highly reviewed books😉