Fastest way to make up for deficiencies in FA Biochem/Micro/Histo/Embryo?

[shan564]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey guys, thanks in advance for the help.

I'm currently about four weeks into my 11-week study block for Step 1. I'm taking the exam in mid-May, and I was planning to use the last 4 weeks to do all of the DIT lectures and then review FA one more time.

Here's my main concern - I think that biochem, micro, and histo were big weaknesses in my med school's curriculum. I was lucky enough to have a strong biochem background from undergrad to help make up some of the basics, but of course, that doesn't really cover the medical stuff.
I've covered biochem and micro fairly thoroughly from First Aid, but I still feel like my UWorld/Kaplan scores in those two sections (and histo) are weaker than I'd like them to be.

So, are there any suggestions regarding a relatively quick way to cover what First Aid might be leaving out in biochem/micro/histo? I already have a pretty packed study schedule as it is, so I'd like to avoid spending too much time on things that I've already covered...

I was thinking about using the High Yield books or the Deja Review books, since they seem to be fairly concise. But on the other hand, if they're still not much more in-depth than First Aid, then it would probably be a waste of time for me to bother with them... I might be better off trying to just use the Kaplan/UW explanations to make up for my deficiencies.

Also, I'd love suggestions for a good way to learn the basics of embryology. I had practically none in med school, and I know it's relatively low-yield, but I'd like to know at least something before test day. I was hoping for a quick 2-3 day crash course... I realize that it won't totally make up for my lack of actual training, but I just want to be somewhat prepared in case I get a heavy load of embryo questions.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[MrBigglesworth]

I've heard good things about "High Yield Embryo" but I haven't used it. For embryo, the practice questions I've had seem to be more of embryological remains, and FA covers it pretty well.

Biochem, I'm also concerned about, but I figured majority of the weak subjects will be covered with DIT.

Micro on the other hand is a vast subject. Micro High-Yield I do have and I do recommend. FA section is also very good if you have a strong understanding of Micro. I would say that one SUPER thing you can do is memorize those virus charts in FA COLD. I was getting upset in our micro class that every time we would have a new virus introduced, they would spend 5 min talking about the structure. I bit the bullet and memorized those charts and it feels good.

PS: Deja Review for step 1 is good. My friend has the Micro version (saw it yesterday), it seems nice but at this point I'm sticking with the stuff I have.