Firecracker

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JackShephard MD

JackShephard MD

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  1. Medical Student
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med.firecracker.me

New medical education website rooted in an adaptive learning platform. Looks impressive, check it out.

Cheers.
 
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In the IL-12 deficiency section of Immunology:

"Discovered in otherwise healthy patients with disseminated mycobacterial and salmonella infections"

Salmonella? Does that sound right?
 
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cbrons said:
Are there any firecracker employees who visit this thread?
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Someone please make this guy a Student Editor. I use Firecracker as my bible for classes and step 1.

Today it made me look like a genius during an arthritis small group because its like the pharm department had made questions directly from Firecracker and all I had to do was recite everything from heart. Today made me love FC even more.
 
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Think I'm gonna give this a shot as I start the second unit of MS1. Does someone wanna invite me and get the free month or whatnot? PM me.

-Done, thanks
 
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How are you M1s getting along? I have 29 topics flagged in biochem (all we're doing so far) and there seems to be pretty good overlap between what my teachers highlight and the FC questions. I'm super casual about FC for now but trying to flag a bit here and there, hit up FC in my downtime after I've finished Anki.
 
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Dr Dazzle said:
Problem is that class goes into specific minutiae or a specific way to approach a concept that is important to know in order to do well on the class test. And by spending time on FC you are technically taking time away from learning stuff in a manner that will be tested in class. It's a trade off where you hope that your effort will pay off on boards even if you sacrifice grades somewhat I guess.
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Who gives a S*** how they teach the minutia in class. You wan't to learn it in the high yield manner that it is presented in boards (btw, I completely agree with you, but I stopped caring about the random minutia and the hit that my preclinical grades might take because I don't know every detail on every slide). Just something you have to overcome.....
 
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IH8ColdWeath3r said:
Who gives a S*** how they teach the minutia in class. You wan't to learn it in the high yield manner that it is presented in boards (btw, I completely agree with you, but I stopped caring about the random minutia and the hit that my preclinical grades might take because I don't know every detail on every slide). Just something you have to overcome.....
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Idk what you guys are doing, but FC does not take a significant portion of my day to complete.
 
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Current MS1 trying to simplify/rework my study methods to make them more efficient, I use Anki right now and make all of my own flashcards which is very time consuming and frustrating at times. Looking into FC to see whether it's worth the switch? I've done well in class thus far, but would love to get a more efficient method of studying.

Any input/advice is greatly appreciated
 
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seminoma said:
Idk what you guys are doing, but FC does not take a significant portion of my day to complete.
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It all depends on how many questions you are doing each day. Plus, it also depends how long you spend to review what you know and how many sources you use to cross reference topics that you don't know. I would generally agree with you that it doesn't take THAT much time, but at the same time, in order for it to work and for you to gain the maximum benefit for it, it's better to do a more manageable # of questions and cross reference with other sources to actually learn what you're tagging
 
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IH8ColdWeath3r said:
It all depends on how many questions you are doing each day. Plus, it also depends how long you spend to review what you know and how many sources you use to cross reference topics that you don't know. I would generally agree with you that it doesn't take THAT much time, but at the same time, in order for it to work and for you to gain the maximum benefit for it, it's better to do a more manageable # of questions and cross reference with other sources to actually learn what you're tagging
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Generally speaking, you should be flagging what you've been exposed to in class to already. For example, learn the G+ bugs and then flag those. That way 90% of the content you'll have seen already. If you're going ahead, then sure, it would take a lot of cross-referencing, but that would be the case if you used any high yield resource as a method to first-pass learn details.

Once you get comfortable, 100 questions/hour is completely reasonable IMO.
 
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DrEnderW said:
Generally speaking, you should be flagging what you've been exposed to in class to already. For example, learn the G+ bugs and then flag those. That way 90% of the content you'll have seen already. If you're going ahead, then sure, it would take a lot of cross-referencing, but that would be the case if you used any high yield resource as a method to first-pass learn details.

Once you get comfortable, 100 questions/hour is completely reasonable IMO.
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I agree that you should tag what you go over in class. That way you won't need to cross reference as much, which is why I recommend starting FC first month first semester. But, most people don't do this because they are too worried about grades/class rank/seeing if they can even manage the course load. And, if you start FC at the beginning of second year like most people do, there will be a lot of topics from first year the will require cross referencing from first year.

I shoot for about 70-80Q per hour and hit anywhere from 130-160 a day, some of which correlates with second year curriculum
 
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IH8ColdWeath3r said:
It all depends on how many questions you are doing each day. Plus, it also depends how long you spend to review what you know and how many sources you use to cross reference topics that you don't know. I would generally agree with you that it doesn't take THAT much time, but at the same time, in order for it to work and for you to gain the maximum benefit for it, it's better to do a more manageable # of questions and cross reference with other sources to actually learn what you're tagging
Click to expand...

IH8ColdWeath3r said:
I agree that you should tag what you go over in class. That way you won't need to cross reference as much, which is why I recommend starting FC first month first semester. But, most people don't do this because they are too worried about grades/class rank/seeing if they can even manage the course load. And, if you start FC at the beginning of second year like most people do, there will be a lot of topics from first year the will require cross referencing from first year.

I shoot for about 70-80Q per hour and hit anywhere from 130-160 a day, some of which correlates with second year curriculum
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Agree with you here in regard to people needing to relearn ("cross reference") old material if they didn't start FC early enough. I'm one of those people, but typically the FC card is more than enough to remind me of various details and pathways. The exception being anatomy.

In any case, I use FC only to continuously remind me of older topics or random details that I may have forgotten. I don't use FC to teach me stuff or to better improve my understanding of stuff. I flag things either as I go along in class or during the afternoon after an exam. We have weekly exams so generally I can flag the leftover stuff from that week in a couple of hours.

For example we covered neoplasia and antineoplastics last week and have an exam on Tuesday morning. I probably won't get through flagging all the relevant stuff by Monday, but I want it to be in my rotation for as long as possible so I'll just finish flagging all of it on Tuesday afternoon. At that time I'll probably know everything on each of the cards so it really won't take much time at all. I lose out on the opportunity to use those particular cards for this exam, but that's not my intention with FC anyway.
 
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IH8ColdWeath3r said:
I agree that you should tag what you go over in class. That way you won't need to cross reference as much, which is why I recommend starting FC first month first semester. But, most people don't do this because they are too worried about grades/class rank/seeing if they can even manage the course load. And, if you start FC at the beginning of second year like most people do, there will be a lot of topics from first year the will require cross referencing from first year.

I shoot for about 70-80Q per hour and hit anywhere from 130-160 a day, some of which correlates with second year curriculum
Click to expand...

I'm about a month into my first year, and I'm almost two weeks into Firecracker. So far the details align pretty closely with my classes, but a couple of second years and my classmates have called me crazy and stupid for trying to use Firecracker as an M1. Why is there such a stigma about using resources as a first year?

I saw another user post that their school provides Firecracker. Personally I think schools should give Firecracker to students starting with day 1. It just seems like a much more intelligent way to study..
 
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wadewilson90 said:
I'm about a month into my first year, and I'm almost two weeks into Firecracker. So far the details align pretty closely with my classes, but a couple of second years and my classmates have called me crazy and stupid for trying to use Firecracker as an M1. Why is there such a stigma about using resources as a first year?

I saw another user post that their school provides Firecracker. Personally I think schools should give Firecracker to students starting with day 1. It just seems like a much more intelligent way to study..
Click to expand...

It IS a much more intelligent way to study. It lets you see what you don't know based on your recall. Those first years that are calling you stupid don't have clue what they're talking about, since they have been in school for a month and are completely oblivious to what lies ahead. Part of it is the mentality and attitude, which makes all the difference in how well you do in school and on boards. The second years calling you crazy are equally as ignorant themselves and will likely be the ones who bomb or barely pass boards. That's why at most DO schools, over 80-90% of the class says that they plan to take STEP 1 (that's what happened at my school) but in reality only about 1/3 rd or 1/4th of the class ends up taking (because only a 1/3rd of the people end up planning appropriately and studying appropriately for it). If you plan on taking it, start early and study smart and don't listen to your clueless classmates. Everything I ever tagged in Firecracker I have been able to retain pretty well (and things that I didn't tag I have quickly forgotten).

Best of luck
 
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IH8ColdWeath3r said:
It IS a much more intelligent way to study. It lets you see what you don't know based on your recall. Those first years that are calling you stupid don't have clue what they're talking about, since they have been in school for a month and are completely obvious to what lies ahead. Part of it is the mentality and attitude, which makes all the difference. The second years calling you crazy are equally as ignorant themselves and will likely be the ones who bomb or barely pass boards. That's why at most DO schools, over 80-90% of the class says that they plan to take STEP 1 (that's what happend at my school) but in reality only about 1/3 rd or 1/4th of the class ends up taking (because only a 1/3rd of the people end up planning appropriately and studying appropriately for it). If you plan on taking it, start early and study smart and don't listen to your clueless classmates. Everything I ever tagged in Firecracker I have been able to retain pretty well (and things that I didn't tag I have quickly forgotten).

Best of luck
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Yup, it really is incredible how much better I have retained topics that I tagged during MS1 (I'm an MS2 now). I started after anatomy and I have a really good grasp of everything MS1 related except for anatomy.
 
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seminoma said:
Yup, it really is incredible how much better I have retained topics that I tagged during MS1 (I'm an MS2 now). I started after anatomy and I have a really good grasp of everything MS1 related except for anatomy.
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Same goes for me.
 
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Hey guys, I have a question for you experienced users. I'm a MS1 and I've been in school for about 5 weeks now. I'm going through firecracker to try and flag topics but I'm finding that there are still a lot of things I haven't learned yet in class. Should I go ahead and flag the topic anyways or hold off? Should I just flag topics that I have complete understanding of? For instance, under Neoplasia there are multiple topics: Oncogenes and it's associated cancers, Tumor suppressors and it's associated cancers, etc. I've had lectures on these topics but when I click on Oncogenes and it's associated cancers I find that there are still maybe 5-6 genes I didn't even hear about in class. Should I still flag the topic? Or should I hold off until it gets taught later in the year (don't know if it will be) or in second year?
 
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justAstudent said:
Hey guys, I have a question for you experienced users. I'm a MS1 and I've been in school for about 5 weeks now. I'm going through firecracker to try and flag topics but I'm finding that there are still a lot of things I haven't learned yet in class. Should I go ahead and flag the topic anyways or hold off? Should I just flag topics that I have complete understanding of? For instance, under Neoplasia there are multiple topics: Oncogenes and it's associated cancers, Tumor suppressors and it's associated cancers, etc. I've had lectures on these topics but when I click on Oncogenes and it's associated cancers I find that there are still maybe 5-6 genes I didn't even hear about in class. Should I still flag the topic? Or should I hold off until it gets taught later in the year (don't know if it will be) or in second year?
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You're already on neoplasia? 😱
Is this just a mention of the process or are you deep into pathology already?

To a certain extent, this is going to happen, as schools have slightly different curriculums. If I've been exposed to the vast majority of the content, I'm comfortable flagging it. There is often some pharmacology or path associations you won't see yet and I tried to learn them as I went through FC at the time. After starting M2, many of the topics have already been covered and it makes old FC things I've been seeing make more sense.

It's completely up to you and is personal preference, IMO.
 
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Did anyone take advantage of the sale that was going on this summer? If I remember correctly it was somewhere around 50% off. I really feel dumb for missing out...
 
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Medicux said:
Did anyone take advantage of the sale that was going on this summer? If I remember correctly it was somewhere around 50% off. I really feel dumb for missing out...
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There is still a 50% off sale going on.
 
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Hey guys - 4 weeks into M1 here and a bit frustrated having tried out a number of different techniques to try and build up long term retention for Step 1. I've tried Anki, but when making my own cards I tend to make too many, and go into too much detail. I've tried Memorang (some new resource) but they don't have any sort of time spaced repetition so the effort to decide which topics to cover is placed on the user.

I've messed around with Firecracker a bit but am struggling with the price. Is it truly just a note card version of FA or is there more that I am missing? I also struggle (as previous posters have mentioned) with the concept of abandoning some of the "details" taught in lectures that may not be as high yield for boards. I suppose I'm just looking for some thoughts as I decide if this is worth it or not. Thanks!!
 
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Anonymous1991 said:
Hey guys - 4 weeks into M1 here and a bit frustrated having tried out a number of different techniques to try and build up long term retention for Step 1. I've tried Anki, but when making my own cards I tend to make too many, and go into too much detail. I've tried Memorang (some new resource) but they don't have any sort of time spaced repetition so the effort to decide which topics to cover is placed on the user.

I've messed around with Firecracker a bit but am struggling with the price. Is it truly just a note card version of FA or is there more that I am missing? I also struggle (as previous posters have mentioned) with the concept of abandoning some of the "details" taught in lectures that may not be as high yield for boards. I suppose I'm just looking for some thoughts as I decide if this is worth it or not. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Price really shouldn't be an issue for something as important as step 1. Think about how much you're paying for 2 years of tuition and then compare that to the price of firecracker. If you're going to consistently use it, it's well worth the money.

Also, make sure you sign up using a referral from someone else, doing so will give you an extra free month on top of the trial month.
 
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ChEMD said:
Price really shouldn't be an issue for something as important as step 1. Think about how much you're paying for 2 years of tuition and then compare that to the price of firecracker. If you're going to consistently use it, it's well worth the money.
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Thanks for the response. Do you feel the resource adequately covers the material in enough detail?
 
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Anonymous1991 said:
Thanks for the response. Do you feel the resource adequately covers the material in enough detail?
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For my school exams? Sometimes. For step 1? Probably, but I haven't taken it yet so I can't say for sure. The goal of firecracker is to make sure you keep remembering the things that you learn, but that doesn't include every little detail. If you keep up with it, it should significantly reduce the number of things you must relearn during your dedicated study period, leaving more time for question banks and practice tests.
 
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Quick question. Does everyone look at the pictures associated with the topics or do you commonly skip those? I find that many of them are either random, show the same thing multiple times, or are overall poor quality. Other than that I like Firecracker, but the pictures are lacking.
 
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FutureDO22 said:
Quick question. Does everyone look at the pictures associated with the topics or do you commonly skip those? I find that many of them are either random, show the same thing multiple times, or are overall poor quality. Other than that I like Firecracker, but the pictures are lacking.
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I just have FA open and look at the topics that I get questions on and the associated picture/diagram
 
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FutureDO22 said:
That sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't that slow you down too much?
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How long could it take to turn a few pages? put those sticky dividers in your first aid so you can just flip to the section. Plus, some cards don't require you to look at the diagram so it's not like I do it for single question
 
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Firecracker is awesome. Its not specific enough for classes but it definitively has helped in reenforcement and seeing what is high yield because it is basically First Aid.
 
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I thought I saw on the website last week that today was the last day for 50% off so ya'll might want to check it out. I just purchased a year.
 
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Hey guys I'm an MS 1 and I got Firecracker the very first week of Classes which started late July and now I have 101 topics flagged right alongside classes (it could've probably even been more flagged). My mastery right now is mid-70s because some topics go into more detail than classes and class study comes first so i'll pick up on the details as I go through in more depth and see those questions everyday until they're stuck in my head. I've been doing well in classes and I've been keeping up with my questions pretty well I do about 40 a day. I'm gonna keep at it throughout MS 2 and see if I can get a way above average board score. I like reading the success stories of people getting 260's and even 270's on the boards by using Firecracker alongside other materials gives me hope.
 
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deecee90 said:
Hey guys I'm an MS 1 and I got Firecracker the very first week of Classes which started late July and now I have 101 topics flagged right alongside classes (it could've probably even been more flagged). My mastery right now is mid-70s because some topics go into more detail than classes and class study comes first so i'll pick up on the details as I go through in more depth and see those questions everyday until they're stuck in my head. I've been doing well in classes and I've been keeping up with my questions pretty well I do about 40 a day. I'm gonna keep at it throughout MS 2 and see if I can get a way above average board score. I like reading the success stories of people getting 260's and even 270's on the boards by using Firecracker alongside other materials gives me hope.
Click to expand...


That's a solid number of flagged topics. Good job! I started same time as you but haven't got quite that many
 
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midweststudent1 said:
That's a solid number of flagged topics. Good job! I started same time as you but haven't got quite that many
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Yeah I usually use the search option on Firecracker to search for topics that are on the powerpoints for class and it usually ends up being pretty similar detail as for class but sometimes more in depth or just big picture stuff. I've been flagging some topics that might be in more detail than class so that hurts my mastery somewhat but I should at least know it by the time my classes start going in that depth regarding topics learned at the beginning of the basic sciences.
 
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Just wondering what everyone thinks about how it would work to use Firecracker throughout M2 alongside UWorld or USMLErx during the spring semester. Doable? Would you stick with firecracker instead of QBank that early, or vice versa? Also, has anyone used Kaplan's High Yield program, and is that doable with Firecracker? Thanks for the help.
 
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Hi everyone, MS1 here.

Would you recommend using FC starting now so that the material sticks better? And then switch over to FA/Uwold/Pathoma as I get near the end of MS2? Thanks!
 
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How many people use the standard mode vs the legendary mode? I just can't keep up with legendary....is just using standard mode okay?
 
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midweststudent1 said:
How many people use the standard mode vs the legendary mode? I just can't keep up with legendary....is just using standard mode okay?
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Not worth the money if you're only using standard mode. Might as well just read the bold words in KLN.
 
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I don't understand how you have over 100 topics flagged already... school just started!

We are starting with anatomy and while I doubted its suitability for this, FC has proven its usefulness as a supplement... and I'm sure it will become increasingly valuable past anatomy.

What is it?
-It's like long-term Anki cards for retaining high-yield information

What isn't it?
-A replacement for studying for classes
-A primary source of information

To that last point, I have certainly learned a few new things from FC but they required outside reading (aka wikipedia). There are a few questions I roll my eyes at when I see them because they're totally out of scope for me and I don't enjoy memorizing esoteric terms out of context. I've also found that if I let myself, I will take too much time on them. I try to look at them as something quick to cycle through and move on with life.
 
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