FIRST AID Cases for USMLE STEP I

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cpb80

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Anyone read?? I have it, and I was thinking about skimming it the day before vs. skimmimg the actual FA vs. skimming RR path. (ie reading what's in the margins- can't decide... Any suggestions?
 
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cpb80 said:
Anyone read?? I have it, and I was thinking about skimming it the day before vs. skimmimg the actual FA vs. skimming RR path. (ie reading what's in the margins- can't decide... Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Depends on how much time you have till the exam...

This book is a nice little supplement, but if you don't have that much time, I wouldn't go through it.... You would gain alot more, in my opinion, by going through the other more important books...

If you do have some time, it doesn't take long to go through....

But, either way, i wouln't worry about this book too much if you've been on top of your studying... The book basically reinforces the basics of all the subjects and organ systems... which you would have gotten if you're on top of your studying... It's the other odd things that you may not think of or are not as salient during your studying that you want to catch, which would be done by doing questions in the Qbanks (ie, Kaplan or UW, or whatever).....
 
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cpb80 said:
Anyone read?? I have it, and I was thinking about skimming it the day before vs. skimmimg the actual FA vs. skimming RR path. (ie reading what's in the margins- can't decide... Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

i loved it!!! 25-30 Q on my test came from this book alone!!!!! its takes 4-5 hrs to read...do it.!
 
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How do you guys rate Kaplan's Qbook and it's Qbank? How different are the questions, and is one more useful?
 
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Pewl said:
How do you guys rate Kaplan's Qbook and it's Qbank? How different are the questions, and is one more useful?
Click to expand...

I used (actually, still using since I'm taking COMLEX next week) USMLEWorld and Kaplan....

But after taking USMLE I, I honestly felt like I was doing Kaplan Qbank...

I mean, you're not gonna get the same questions, but style, length, depth of reasoning, nit-picky-ness, etc, etc, was very similar kaplan.... On a side note, not as important, but the test program is exactly the same as Kaplan's.

HOWEVER: i am a strong supporter of UW because the questions are tough and, higher order reasoning, EXCELLENT explanations....

Didn't really waste my time with anything else, some say USMLERx is good, don't konw...


KEY POINT: Pick your resources and stick with them... You're gonna get a million opinions.. you have to eventually decide what you want to use and stick with it....

Personally, the best way to study for Step I is using:

KAPLAN NOTES (the best, top notch, in my opinion). Not sure why people are all about using High Yield, BRS... that's total bull-crap. just get Kaplan Notes and you're set, save yourself the head ache.

First Aide: Excellent resource, should be used to supplement you studying, not the basis of your studying.

Questions Bank: Pick one or two Qbanks and stick with it and do many many questions

Goljan Lectures and High Yield material....


WITH THIS BASIC FORMULA, I think anyone could destroy step I....
 
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Pewl said:
How do you guys rate Kaplan's Qbook and it's Qbank? How different are the questions, and is one more useful?
Click to expand...

Sorry, i realized my response didn't answer your questions directly, however, I would stay away from using the paper version, unless you have a compelling reason to do so.

The actual exam is also a time game, you have to be familiar with and get used to the computer style....

Also, computer one is probably easier to use and after you do questions, it tells you how you did compared to others so it gives you an idea of where you are....
 
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treasurefull2 said:
Sorry, i realized my response didn't answer your questions directly, however, I would stay away from using the paper version, unless you have a compelling reason to do so.

The actual exam is also a time game, you have to be familiar with and get used to the computer style....

Also, computer one is probably easier to use and after you do questions, it tells you how you did compared to others so it gives you an idea of where you are....
Click to expand...

It's funny, the opinions i've heard about High Yield series have been divided. Some love high yield and some absolutely hate it.
 
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Pewl said:
It's funny, the opinions i've heard about High Yield series have been divided. Some love high yield and some absolutely hate it.
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well...some of the HY books suck and some are great....its not so cut and dry...also...a lot of the new editions are insanely detailed and long for a "High Yield" book
 
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Taus said:
well...some of the HY books suck and some are great....its not so cut and dry...also...a lot of the new editions are insanely detailed and long for a "High Yield" book
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I heard that High Yield Neuro is good. Are there any others that are highly recommended in the High Yield series?
 
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Pewl said:
I heard that High Yield Neuro is good. Are there any others that are highly recommended in the High Yield series?
Click to expand...
IMO the only ones that are really better then anything else on the subject are:

1. Neuro
2. Behavioral (but BRS is the same author and has questions)
3. Cell & Molec (the old 1999 edition...the new one has way too much low-yield bs)
 
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But after taking USMLE I, I honestly felt like I was doing Kaplan Qbank...

I mean, you're not gonna get the same questions, but style, length, depth of reasoning, nit-picky-ness, etc, etc, was very similar kaplan.... On a side note, not as important, but the test program is exactly the same as Kaplan's.

HOWEVER: i am a strong supporter of UW because the questions are tough and, higher order reasoning, EXCELLENT explanations....
Click to expand...

to each his/her own...I thought it was wayyy closer to UWorld

Personally, the best way to study for Step I is using:

KAPLAN NOTES (the best, top notch, in my opinion). Not sure why people are all about using High Yield, BRS... that's total bull-crap. just get Kaplan Notes and you're set, save yourself the head ache.
Click to expand...

after taking the time to look through and compare individual Kaplan books to other series....my conclusion is the same as w/ the HY series...certain books in each series are great and some suck.....it was certainly a pain in the a$$ to do that...but to me it was well worth to it select what I thought was the best for each subject and then work w/ that book only
 
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Pewl said:
How do you guys rate Kaplan's Qbook and it's Qbank? How different are the questions, and is one more useful?
Click to expand...

I thought the Qbook questions were ridiculously picky. They are also in paper format, and for me getting used to a computer format was important. I really didn't like QBank all that much, either. To me it seemed like a LOT of rote memorization whereas Step 1 seemed more focused on making connections without necessarily memorizing.

I honestly felt like USMLEWorld was far superior to QBank. As a bonus, it's EXACTLY the same format as the real Step 1.
 
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Pewl said:
I heard that High Yield Neuro is good. Are there any others that are highly recommended in the High Yield series?
Click to expand...

HY Neuro
HY Cell and Molecular (old edition if you can get your hands on it)
HY Behavioral
Mixed feelings on HY Biochem, HY Anatomy (although I do think HY Anatomy is worth at least a day or so)
 
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SoCuteMD said:
HY Neuro
HY Cell and Molecular (old edition if you can get your hands on it)
HY Behavioral
Mixed feelings on HY Biochem, HY Anatomy (although I do think HY Anatomy is worth at least a day or so)
Click to expand...

Did you prefer the HY behavioral or Kaplan's behavioral? Both seem to have gotten rave reviews from users.
 
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Taus said:
if you want to read that book for the 1 or 2 embryo questions you might see on the boards that can't be directly answered from FA alone......have fun....
Click to expand...

Heh, yeah, I probably won't be doing that. How many embry questions did you see on your exam?
 
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Pewl said:
But do you really need 200 pages dedicated to embryology??
Click to expand...

No, but I find Embryology interesting. I'm crazy like that.

But to be fair, yeah, you're probably perfectly okay with what's in First Aid, unless you felt your your training in Embryology was very poor.
 
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Did you actually watch the dvd while you were studying the kaplan biochem notes? Or are you perfectly fine j ust reading them?
 
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