First Aid concomitantly with M1/M2 - best practices?

[HybridEarth]

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Hi guys,

I'm an incoming M1 shooting (gunning?) for Ortho, which I understand depends heavily on Step 1. I've read a few threads discussing the usefulness of reviewing First Aid prior to exams between M1 and M2. I understand that it is specifically a Step 1 review tool, but the consensus seems to be that using it throughout M1 and M2, especially prior to exams, helps retain concepts especially for Step 1. Maybe I'm wrong and that consensus has changed over the past year or two, as most threads are several years old. I wouldn't know.

For students that have done this with success, what is/was your method of using it alongside your M1/M2 coursework? Would you use it prior to exams, annotate the book as you go, or use another method? Are there other review books that you think would work better?

Before I get flamed (because a few people on here have a reputation of doing so, unfortunately) I have a unique track record in Ortho research and have some connections in the field. I want to get as far as I can go here, and Step 1 is the great equalizer as they say. Thank you kindly in advance for any helpful advice

 

[sliceofbread136]

Do your M1 and M2 grades count? If so then your focus should be on your grades, but you can still skim FA along with the subjects you are learning. It won't really help you retain anything, but you will be more familiar with FA when you start studying more seriously.

If your grades don't count then feel free to focus much more stringently on FA.

 

[Redpancreas]

Hi guys,

I'm an incoming M1 shooting (gunning?) for Ortho, which I understand depends heavily on Step 1. I've read a few threads discussing the usefulness of reviewing First Aid prior to exams between M1 and M2. I understand that it is specifically a Step 1 review tool, but the consensus seems to be that using it throughout M1 and M2, especially prior to exams, helps retain concepts especially for Step 1. Maybe I'm wrong and that consensus has changed over the past year or two, as most threads are several years old. I wouldn't know.

For students that have done this with success, what is/was your method of using it alongside your M1/M2 coursework? Would you use it prior to exams, annotate the book as you go, or use another method? Are there other review books that you think would work better?

Before I get flamed (because a few people on here have a reputation of doing so, unfortunately) I have a unique track record in Ortho research and have some connections in the field. I want to get as far as I can go here, and Step 1 is the great equalizer as they say. Thank you kindly in advance for any helpful advice

EDITED FOR CLARITY:

I think it's best to have it open on the side but not to actively read it. Focus on your classes. This helps when you're thrown endless minutiae in your course pack and then you see this table with Tanner Stages for Growth & Development and you skip over it at the time only to realize its in First Aid too when you glance over at it. I think that's where First Aid in first year can help. Also, there are some ways it makes anatomy easier as a first year that I wish I would have used because I hated anatomy and am bad with visual-spatial stuff. One big problem with medical school teaching at my school is there's no one to consistently tell us what's high yield and what's not. The instructors know which minutiae are important because they get access to the NBME subject exams that kind of have the same benchmarks as the USMLE. Oftentimes, we'll have an above average professor tell us something like "this will show up on your board exams or"this is a buzzword/characteristic of this disease". Most often, however, it's left up to us and that's why you can benefit by buying and referring to First Aid during your first year! Don't feel ashamed for asking that 🙂 This is especially the case if your curriculum is organ system-based early on.

In second year, consider using the Brosephelon ANKI deck concurrently with classes or Doctors in Training #expensive! ANKI essentially goes through First Aid via Cloze deletions (google it) so it's not too hard to answer the flash card questions, and soon enough stuff starts to stick pretty. Doctors in Training is hella expensive and it gets a lot of criticism for being a resource that just goes through first aid, but oftentimes when they explain subtle things, it really clicked better in my head!

 

[deleted746658]

^ I believe he is referring to bro's anki deck... Can be found on reddit


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[HybridEarth]

Sweet. Thanks so much, this was helpful!

 

[Redpancreas]

^ I believe he is referring to bro's anki deck... Can be found on reddit


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I've had trouble finding it there for my friends, lol. I think it's best to just go to Anki and search shared decks and look for the one with like 14K cards and see the preview that has First Aid stuff on it.