Essentially what should you annotate in FA

[phd89]

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so if your aiming for a high score what sources should you potentially annotate in First Aid out of the 3 major qbanks, BRS Physio, Goljan etc? I don't wish to over do but don't want to take risks on missing points that are not in First Aid which would be tested on the exam. I know most people think Uworld is enough but is that honestly true for people who get scores like 250+

 

[sylvanthus]

I annotated essentially nothing and got a 250. A lot of times it seems people annotate way way too much unneeded stuff and end up overwhelmed.

 

[kaleerkalut]

I hear "annotate your FA" tossed around A LOT, but I don't think I'm still clear at all WHAT I would need to annotate? Anybody have an example of an actual annotation they made into their first aid or a qbank? It would be much appreciated. Thanks 🙂

 

[DarkKnight11087]

One of the few i remember adding was that fact that you can get gall bladder stones in Crohns!

 

[septoplasty]

One of the few i remember adding was that fact that you can get gall bladder stones in Crohns!

Due to increased cell turnover? or it because you can't reabsorb bile salts in terminal ileum?

Dammit, I seem to be forgetting **** as the exam gets nearer

 

[235009]

I hear "annotate your FA" tossed around A LOT, but I don't think I'm still clear at all WHAT I would need to annotate? Anybody have an example of an actual annotation they made into their first aid or a qbank? It would be much appreciated. Thanks 🙂

annotate means add in facts and associations that are not in FA. i annotated from UWorld and the Kaplan QBank and even big robbins during some systems! IMO put in there anything that is interesting that you didn't know. Of course don't put in every little detail but if its something big picture-ish that you didnt know and isn't in FA (or is in a different section but would fit just as well somewhere else) then write it in. If you think the annotations are overwhelming later its easy to just ignore them

oh and annotate in pencil! you don't want your FA to get messy. Also as time went on i ended up erasing a whole bunch of various things when i realized they were covered elsewhere in FA, sometimes a page or two later.

 

[LovelyBRass]

^this

minus the pencil comment - it smudges and it doesn't write well on the paper in fa

 

[neuromaniac]

I plan on buying kaplan and u-world q banks. I will annotate accordingly. The great thing is that kaplan has page references to FA.

 

[LovelyBRass]

I plan on buying kaplan and u-world q banks. I will annotate accordingly. The great thing is that kaplan has page references to FA.

Yes they technically have page references but the pages they refer to don't usually help you answer the question... you'll kind of have to see for yourself. I'm not recommending against Kaplan, just saying it's not actually a great feature.

 

[235009]

Yes they technically have page references but the pages they refer to don't usually help you answer the question... you'll kind of have to see for yourself. I'm not recommending against Kaplan, just saying it's not actually a great feature.

i would say that in most cases it points you to the relevant/appropriate page though yes, a few times it'll point you to a page that doesn't answer the question or that only brings you 1 step into a third degree question

 

[ThePursuit]

Due to increased cell turnover? or it because you can't reabsorb bile salts in terminal ileum?

Dammit, I seem to be forgetting **** as the exam gets nearer

ilial destruction-->fat malabsorption--> change in ratios of biliary system--> bile stones precipitate as result.

You get oxalate renal stones too b/c Ca binds bile in lumen and then oxalate (usually bound by Ca) is reabsorbed at higher rate.

 

[Tig2575]

My suggestion is to annotate notes to help you understand certain concepts that you're having trouble holding onto. I also suggest that you highlight first aid. Read through it slowly, word by word, and ask yourself after each word (figuratively) "could I have guessed that if it was covered up?" If not, highlight it. If it's something that you've never heard of or just can't remember even when prompted with the term, highlight it in a different color so you know to spend extra time focusing on it.

I went so far as to create little "flaps" (with paper and tape) that covered key terms and facts that I had trouble remembering. That way, reading through the book was an active learning process where I actually had to think about what "XXXX" was, before opening up the flap covering the words to check myself. That sort of thing really gets your memory working, since if you just highlight a term that you keep forgetting, you never get a chance to try to remember what it is, because as soon as you've looked at the page, the answer is spoiled for you.

Might be a bit too much for most people, but I'm certainly happy with the result it gave me

 

[kaleerkalut]

My suggestion is to annotate notes to help you understand certain concepts that you're having trouble holding onto. I also suggest that you highlight first aid. Read through it slowly, word by word, and ask yourself after each word (figuratively) "could I have guessed that if it was covered up?" If not, highlight it. If it's something that you've never heard of or just can't remember even when prompted with the term, highlight it in a different color so you know to spend extra time focusing on it.

I went so far as to create little "flaps" (with paper and tape) that covered key terms and facts that I had trouble remembering. That way, reading through the book was an active learning process where I actually had to think about what "XXXX" was, before opening up the flap covering the words to check myself. That sort of thing really gets your memory working, since if you just highlight a term that you keep forgetting, you never get a chance to try to remember what it is, because as soon as you've looked at the page, the answer is spoiled for you.

Might be a bit too much for most people, but I'm certainly happy with the result it gave me

Do you mind stating what you got? Thanks 🙂

 

[Shadowmoses]

I am going completely digital when it comes to classes and even Step 1 studying when 2nd year starts (I am buying a windows slate tablet so I can use onenote on it). Does anyone know who turned FA into a PDF or scanned it into a PC, and then annotated that way and how it worked out?

I mean this way you have unlimited annotation space at least...not to mention the FA book is kind of bulky once its fully annotated and whatnot .

 

[235009]

I am going completely digital when it comes to classes and even Step 1 studying when 2nd year starts (I am buying a windows slate tablet so I can use onenote on it). Does anyone know who turned FA into a PDF or scanned it into a PC, and then annotated that way and how it worked out?

I mean this way you have unlimited annotation space at least...not to mention the FA book is kind of bulky once its fully annotated and whatnot .

there's already a pdf of FA 2011 out there and i'm sure there'll be one for FA 2012

i've never heard of anyone doing this but it is a decent idea insomuch as it was frustrating that i couldn't control-F my annotations. however i wouldn't take any chances with step 1 studying by using a machine/system that i'm not 100% familiar with