Firecracker + FA for first year studying?

[deleted674723]

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Hey everyone,

I know there are tons of threads about studying during first year. I have found tons of different information and its really hard to comb through it all. I hope this isn't too much of a duplicate thread but much of the other discussions are outdated. So here's my question - what all are you doing or did you do to study during first year? I know people say not to but realistically I have time and I want to keep up with studying if I can. I didn't study at all during my first semester, but want to when I go back in January. Currently I have a subscription to firecracker that I bought impulsively on a sale with a buddy of mine and a copy of the new First Aid. I plan to keep up with firecracker questions each day as best I can as well as trying to read through and annotate First Aid along with my classwork. Is there anything else that is more beneficial than these two things? Should I do something else instead? Also, when people say to "keep up with" and "annotate" first aid what exactly do they mean? Should I be adding topics from my class to related FA sections? How do I know which ones are actually relevant to step 1 that aren't in FA? My school doesn't teach toward the test at all so I have no idea if what I learn in class is relevant.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[A$AP]

I did not even think about it during first year (currently a 2nd year), and many do not because it's pretty unnecessary but moreso because you don't really have an idea of what medicine really is and how everything fits together. However, nothing wrong in starting to prepare earlier. Your goal should be to get a grasp on the material in FA/your classes, and whatever resources fit YOU the best you should use. Seems like you got firecracker and FA for that covered. When people say annotate first aid they typically mean adding in relevant information not directly in FA, which is usually from UW and pathoma, etc, the best resources. Nobody else knows if what your school teaches is relevant to step 1, so that's really a call you'll have to make on your own if you think things are worth writing in extra. If it overlaps with the FA material and adds to it in a meaningful way, why not. Overall it seems like you got a solid plan going forward. Just make sure you don't stress about this bc you have plenty of time. you may miss the enjoyment and true learning that goes in if you start focusing too much on boards already

 

[deleted674723]

I did not even think about it during first year (currently a 2nd year), and many do not because it's pretty unnecessary but moreso because you don't really have an idea of what medicine really is and how everything fits together. However, nothing wrong in starting to prepare earlier. Your goal should be to get a grasp on the material in FA/your classes, and whatever resources fit YOU the best you should use. Seems like you got firecracker and FA for that covered. When people say annotate first aid they typically mean adding in relevant information not directly in FA, which is usually from UW and pathoma, etc, the best resources. Nobody else knows if what your school teaches is relevant to step 1, so that's really a call you'll have to make on your own if you think things are worth writing in extra. If it overlaps with the FA material and adds to it in a meaningful way, why not. Overall it seems like you got a solid plan going forward. Just make sure you don't stress about this bc you have plenty of time. you may miss the enjoyment and true learning that goes in if you start focusing too much on boards already

Thanks a lot for the response. I think I'm confident with just doing FA and firecracker as I have the time.