Doing nothing but studying for step during M2?

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IceDuchess

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Hello everyone,

I just started my M2 year recently. Would it be a bad idea to ONLY focus on studying for step during M2? Aside from learning medical Spanish, I am currently not doing anything (no research, no extracurriculars, etc). I hear that most of my classmates are involved in research or leading student organizations. Would it hurt me if I spend the entire year focusing on step prep?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

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Ec mean nothing, step > research.
Youre good
 
You can always do research after step (research year or during M3). You only get one shot for step. Leading orgs is low yield.
 
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stop learning medical spanish. just crush step
 
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The only thing more important than step, is Anki. Anki always reigns supreme.
 
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Hello everyone,

I just started my M2 year recently. Would it be a bad idea to ONLY focus on studying for step during M2? Aside from learning medical Spanish, I am currently not doing anything (no research, no extracurriculars, etc). I hear that most of my classmates are involved in research or leading student organizations. Would it hurt me if I spend the entire year focusing on step prep?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
STEP is your first priority. you can have 5 publications/research experiences and never make it through the filters if your step score is low for the residency you apply to. i focused on step and once i got my score i began doing research. i have almost 3 publications in a matter of 6 months (1 i lightly started at the end of M2). so don't worry too much about extra stuff. take care of step and after that you'll have ample time to get involved in these opportunities.

EDIT: i stayed very involved in just one organization but local chapters wont do terribly as much to get your name out there. a surgery fellow told me to join the regional organizations and go to their events. so if you can just stay involved in one organization that would be great. plus it'll give you something to look forward to other than step. that **** gets tiring
 
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Hello everyone,

I just started my M2 year recently. Would it be a bad idea to ONLY focus on studying for step during M2? Aside from learning medical Spanish, I am currently not doing anything (no research, no extracurriculars, etc). I hear that most of my classmates are involved in research or leading student organizations. Would it hurt me if I spend the entire year focusing on step prep?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
It will if you fail your courses.
 
I hear that most of my classmates are involved in research or leading student organizations. Would it hurt me if I spend the entire year focusing on step prep?
And thats the point; you heard... what you will find in med school is that what you hear from someone and what the truth is are vastly different. While in med school, if someone started off the sentence with "I heard..." id stop paying attention. To answer your question and has other said: study for step 1, keep all doors open then focus on beefing up CV once that is done
 
courses and step SHOULD go hand in hand

just make sure you pass

honestly i have barely an ECs but some research before. it worries me. but i want some quality of life and running a bake sale to give $50 worth of diapers to someone as a med student is weak stuff i'm sorry. and thats what these clubs seem to be doing?
 
Study for each exam with an over-arching goal to understand the most the Step-relevant material. My general method of attack was to use high-yield board review resources to guide my studying (Annotate Boards and Beyond into FA; annotate SketchyPath into Pathoma; also Goljan audiofiles if you like to listen while you do other things) - and cram low-yield but exam-testable class slides 2-3 days before the course exam.

Only do ECs if you feel like you are crushing all of your academic work. Step 1 is much more likely to be a barrier to entry into the specialty you desire than a relative lack of ECs.
 
Does prioritizing STEP1 over extracurriculars still hold up for those that will now have it pass/ fail in 2022? Should we now be focusing more on extracurrics to stand out? or should we focus on maximizing our pre-clinical letter grades? How do we stand out now?
 
Does prioritizing STEP1 over extracurriculars still hold up for those that will now have it pass/ fail in 2022? Should we now be focusing more on extracurrics to stand out? or should we focus on maximizing our pre-clinical letter grades? How do we stand out now?
Focus on research
 
Does prioritizing STEP1 over extracurriculars still hold up for those that will now have it pass/ fail in 2022? Should we now be focusing more on extracurrics to stand out? or should we focus on maximizing our pre-clinical letter grades? How do we stand out now?
Standing out = your class rank/quartile, AOA, clinical grades, Step 2 CK score, MSPE comments.
If pre-clinical grades factor into your class rank/AOA, work hard and do your very best. Otherwise, just pass comfortably.

For most specialities, research is the most important extracurricular.
 
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