First Aid Unnanotated

[cassieandcheeta]

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Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be taking the USMLE this June, but I've never annotated my First Aid ever because I've never found it helpful in studying for my school exams. But now I realize annotating it as I went along is absolutely crucial...or is it? I'm just getting paranoid that I'm already a few steps back in terms of preparing for the Boards....Has anyone had to start First Aid from scratch after school was over and still did fine?

thanks a bunch!

 

[DragonWell]

I wouldn't worry about it. There are plenty of people who are against annotating, arguing that essentially you are diluting a high-yield into a low-yield one. Pretty good argument...

Personally, I am annotating, but I didn't do much at all the first time I went through info during class. It's too hard to know what's really important. Now, as I read a review book or do a q-bank, I have FA handy and if there is a concept I'm fuzzy on or something I want to review later that's not in FA, I make a note of it. Once you get used to the layout of FA, you may find that it's actually more complete than you might think, although sometimes it's difficult to find the info you're looking for. I've also downloaded/scanned some pictures and diagrams that I added to FA.

Don't know if that helps...😀

 

[lord_jeebus]

Not crucial. What's important is how well you learned the material during your classes, not how much you recorded.

I only wrote in it to correct errors.

 

[HIJay]

ppl annotate to make life easier as there are less sources to go to during the usmle review

 

[hasha100]

I started annotating First Aid 1 week before classes ended and I am continuing to annotate it as I study. I don't think it's necessary, but I like to have everything in one place. I even had my First Aid unbound and hole-punched into a binder, this way I can include other sources. By the time I have 1-2 weeks left till D-day, I want my only source to be my annotated First Aid.

 

[Cards21aceking]

By the time I have 1-2 weeks left till D-day, I want my only source to be my annotated First Aid.

👍 I think this is a pretty well established practice among many of the SDNers who have scored well. Good choice in adopting the same approach.

 

[hasha100]

Thanx. I hate dealing with too many sources. I think unbinding my First Aid and placing it in a binder was the best piece of advice I got from SDN

 

[cassieandcheeta]

Thanx. I hate dealing with too many sources. I think unbinding my First Aid and placing it in a binder was the best piece of advice I got from SDN

thanks for all your feedback guys! Yeah, I guess it's too late to start now, but I plan on annotating and making it a "bible" once I get started after my school finals!