Firecracker too early for M1

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madchemist89 said:
Maybe SDN can make a high yield Anki deck. Not just First Aid either. It could include all high-yield material for STEP 1 and inclusion/exclusion of cards could be debated and decided upon in the forums.
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I wonder how many guns are sitting at home reading this silently thinking, "Could this be me? Could it be my deck!?"
 
I'm only an M1, but I've actually been making an anki deck using image occlusion to make cards literally based off images from First Aid. I've just been adding cards as we cover the material from First Aid in class. I'd be more than happy to share it if after the year ends if people are interested.
 
dextor2003 said:
I'm only an M1, but I've actually been making an anki deck using image occlusion to make cards literally based off images from First Aid. I've just been adding cards as we cover the material from First Aid in class. I'd be more than happy to share it if after the year ends if people are interested.
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If you don't mind, please do
 
allojay said:
If you don't mind, please do
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Sure thing. I wouldn't mind doing it now, but it's incomplete and still needs some work. But if anyone still wants to try it out, just let me know.
 
dextor2003 said:
Sure thing. I wouldn't mind doing it now, but it's incomplete and still needs some work. But if anyone still wants to try it out, just let me know.
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If you're not too busy, I'm ready. Just not sure how to even get it though.
 
Does firecracker cover everything you need to know for Step I? At first glance it didn't seem like it did, but now that I'm actually looking through the interface I'm pretty sure it does. Just curious.
 
cbrons said:
Does firecracker cover everything you need to know for Step I? At first glance it didn't seem like it did, but now that I'm actually looking through the interface I'm pretty sure it does. Just curious.
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I don't think any 1 source covers everything you need to know.
 
cbrons said:
What I meant is, does it cover all of the listed subject material that is testable? There is a list that NBME releases of all testable topics but I figured someone here may have already checked on it.
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It covers all of FA (and more), but that's all I know.
 
What's the consensus here? Is using firecracker at the start of M1 too early? Will it distract from class material?
 
StevensBibi said:
What's the consensus here? Is using firecracker at the start of M1 too early? Will it distract from class material?
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No. It's intended to be used from the beginning of M1.

What I would recommend, is getting acclimated with your first exam or two before adding on an extra resource. Contrary to what some believe, it's a nice supplement to class material in addition to a sustained board review.
 
DrEnderW said:
No. It's intended to be used from the beginning of M1.

What I would recommend, is getting acclimated with your first exam or two before adding on an extra resource. Contrary to what some believe, it's a nice supplement to class material in addition to a sustained board review.
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Okay thanks. So in terms of flagging topics...should you unflag topics that you've already been tested on in class? Or just keep adding new topics as you cover them - so that FC is testing your cumulative content? It's kind of tempting to unflag old topics but I know that it will come back to bite me if I do.
 
StevensBibi said:
Okay thanks. So in terms of flagging topics...should you unflag topics that you've already been tested on in class? Or just keep adding new topics as you cover them - so that FC is testing your cumulative content? It's kind of tempting to unflag old topics but I know that it will come back to bite me if I do.
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Unflagging topics defeats the intended purpose of FC. Adding the info along with your material in school is an added bonus of another pass through material. FC works because when you keep content flagged, you see it again, and again, and again before you start your dedicated board review.
 
I liked firecracker. I didn't get it until the summer between MS1-2. I honestly don't know if I would have used it during the school year - right now i'm like 300 questions behind from slacking for 4-5 days. oopse.
 
Do you guys that use firecracker take notes on content you don't know? Or do you just read it over and try to cement the information?
 
I am of the opinion firecracker is both a waste of time and money. You'll get a better review just using first aid and you'll get significantly better questions with a qbank
 
I wouldn't say it's a waste of time depending on how you study, but Ifelt the same way for myself. For M1 I just followed the advice of 2nd and 3rd years who did well on step of rocking my year and during the summer I didn't focus much on step. Now that I am learning more what I need for the exam, I am using USMLE-Rx which has been helpful (saving UWorld for dedicated time). It was tough for me to do well in class and keep up with Firecracker (especially since I use anki) but some people benefit from it. They have a 30 day trial I believe so I encourage you to use that before jumping into a subscription.
 
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