Discouraged in Step 1 studying. Advice and tips?

[Rogue42]

Hey all,

I recently began studying boards; started by taking a practice exam just to see where I was, and the projected score was low (to be expected honestly). Eh, not terrible, but obviously meant that I needed to put in some work.

I bought Boards and Beyond and USMLE-RX. I'm using Cramfighter to make a daily schedule of videos to watch, taking the associated quizzes, and reading the relevant FA pages, then following that up with trying to do a block of 40 untimed-tutor mode questions in USMLE-RX on that topic.

I have found that I either don't make it through what I have scheduled for that day, or I do but don't feel like I've learned anything. I get to the untimed blocks of 40, and definitely get questions right that I would have missed otherwise, but likewise miss questions that I covered on that days material.

I feel like Im doing a lot of paddling and going nowhere. Is this normal? Any advice?

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[PorkChopsOG]

Why are you not using uworld? Cramfighter didn't work for me. Instead I spent about 2 hours figuring out the time it took to watch every single B&B video at 1.5x speed and then added in that system to my question bank.
As for why you're not retaining anything, you need spaced repetition. I recommend a smaller anki deck like Soze. It was super high yield and straight to the point.
Also, START with questions. I know it sounds bad but it's a lot better than watching tons of videos and being burnt out by the time you get to questions.

 

[Rogue42]

Why are you not using uworld? Cramfighter didn't work for me. Instead I spent about 2 hours figuring out the time it took to watch every single B&B video at 1.5x speed and then added in that system to my question bank.
As for why you're not retaining anything, you need spaced repetition. I recommend a smaller anki deck like Soze. It was super high yield and straight to the point.
Also, START with questions. I know it sounds bad but it's a lot better than watching tons of videos and being burnt out by the time you get to questions.

Im not taking my test until July, so I was going to try and get through BnB, FA and USMLE-RX first before I started Uworld. That is why Im using Rx currently.

Thanks for the advice, ill see if switching it up helps.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Try starting with uworld in the morning and doing your content review like BnB and FA after that. Then finish your day by reviewing your uworld from the previous day. I liked to put a day between doing the questions and reviewing. Forces you to review a little slower imo.

if your first practice test was even close to passing at this point, you’re in a great spot. I agree with the other poster. The time to play around with RX is over.

 

[Rogue42]

Try starting with uworld in the morning and doing your content review like BnB and FA after that. Then finish your day by reviewing your uworld from the previous day. I liked to put a day between doing the questions and reviewing. Forces you to review a little slower imo.

if your first practice test was even close to passing at this point, you’re in a great spot. I agree with the other poster. The time to play around with RX is over.

Gotcha; i'll switch it around.

My only question is, is it too early to start UWorld 5 months out? I'm afraid i'll get through it and still have 2/3 months before my test which is why I haven't.

 

[PorkChopsOG]

Gotcha; i'll switch it around.

My only question is, is it too early to start UWorld 5 months out? I'm afraid i'll get through it and still have 2/3 months before my test which is why I haven't.

There is no right answer to this. Personally I saved UWorld for dedicated. I sat down and calculated how many questions/day I needed to do. Some people say do UWorld throughout 1st and 2nd year and then redo it for dedicated. I personally have an issue remembering questions so I didn't want to do that. The months leading up to dedicated are excellent for reviewing all of sketchy micro/pharm and completing an anki deck of your choice. I'd save UWorld for dedicated IMO.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Gotcha; i'll switch it around.

My only question is, is it too early to start UWorld 5 months out? I'm afraid i'll get through it and still have 2/3 months before my test which is why I haven't.

There is no right answer to this. Personally I saved UWorld for dedicated. I sat down and calculated how many questions/day I needed to do. Some people say do UWorld throughout 1st and 2nd year and then redo it for dedicated. I personally have an issue remembering questions so I didn't want to do that. The months leading up to dedicated are excellent for reviewing all of sketchy micro/pharm and completing an anki deck of your choice. I'd save UWorld for dedicated IMO.

I agree. I did uworld by section so I could prepare for the next topic of uworld with FA/BnB. I had a couple areas where I had to stop going through uworld because I was lost so I’d spend a week on content review. Nothing wrong with moving your test up and having some vacay if you’re ready early. But there really is no right answer.

 

[DameJulie]

How do you guys find time in M2 Spring classes before dedicated? I am struggling too finding time to do Qbanks like UWorld. During summer school holidays, I do 5-10 Qs per day but once classes resumed, I quickly put Qbank in the back-burn and prioritized classes.

For example, I have 4-6 hours of classes/labs/mandatory activities on most days. After that, I do some Anki/FAPS/tutoring for 1-2 hours and I am already exhausted by then. I go to class for a sense of structure and to keep up.

I am not trying to make excuses, just trying to see how to get myself started. So no mean comments please.

 

[drducky.]

How do you guys find time in M2 Spring classes before dedicated? I am struggling too finding time to do Qbanks like UWorld. During summer school holidays, I do 5-10 Qs per day but once classes resumed, I quickly put Qbank in the back-burn and prioritized classes.

For example, I have 4-6 hours of classes/labs/mandatory activities on most days. After that, I do some Anki/FAPS/tutoring for 1-2 hours and I am already exhausted by then. I go to class for a sense of structure and to keep up.

I am not trying to make excuses, just trying to see how to get myself started. So no mean comments please.

You’re definitely wasting too much time on class. Most of us don’t even listen to lectures at 2x speed let alone go to class. Say you’re doing cardio block, if you review all the board relevant cardio resources, you should easily pass. Or just spend the last few days cramming minutiae from lecturers.

Wasting 4-6hrs a days on school stuff alone is ridiculous. Stop that! This isn’t high school anymore, you don’t need to have your hand held in class to get a “sense of structure”. Focus on what’s important, aka boards.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Yeah you need to drop class like a needy ex ASAP.