Forgetting when you learn something new?

[housemd]

I feel like Homer Simpson, with only limited amount of space in my brain. I spend time on a subject, like microbiology, then move on to another subject, and totally forget all the micro that I thought I had just learned. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Any suggestions to help you actually retain the information?

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[UTKB]

I have the same problem. So far the only thing that works for me is repetition and qbank questions to hammer it in. Boo-urns.

 

[mesoderm]

When that happens to me, I break out my "crutches". Hooked On Mnemonics, Works For Me! The ones in FA are pretty good.

 

[smalley]

i too have the same problem......thinkin of using fa as much as possible

 

[kate0834tkjn]

Me too....only thing that helps a little bit is piling on the qbank (ie what i just learned + everything i learned previous to that). Nonetheless, I am absolutely hemorrhaging information. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. Also, for the seasoned step I takers, did you guys walk into the exam feeling like you knew as much as you did for each of your tests in school? Like, when I walk into a test at school, I know the info inside and out, but I can't imagine possibly knowing this information as well....

 

[blz]

I also feel like the info is oozing out of my head. Luckily, I just officially finished going over all the material today and I have 3.5weeks to go all out cram session on this baby and hopefully have all this crap memorized (plus questions galore). BTW, goljan's book is pretty nice - I feel like I can't forget a lot of what was presented in there because he explains the pathophys so well on everything he mentions. That limited a lot mindless memorization for me. Pharm, however, is another story...

 

[kate0834tkjn]

How long did Goljan take you to get through? I have 2 weeks blocked off to do nothing but Goljan and am hoping it's enough...

 

[blz]

I did it in 10-11 days - but I also read BRS phys in the morning, then finished the day reading Katzung pharm. I just did each organ system a day. The hardest day is Hematology because for some strange reason he has five chapters on this topic. That was a long and hard day. So you could probably do it quicker if all you were doing was Goljan. BRS phys and pharm was pretty quick for me to get through, but I took extra time reading goljan because I wanted to really synthesize his information in my head. His book is also a good general review because he goes over the other systems at various points when applicable.

 

[BlondeCookie]

I did it in 10-11 days - but I also read BRS phys in the morning, then finished the day reading Katzung pharm. I just did each organ system a day. The hardest day is Hematology because for some strange reason he has five chapters on this topic. That was a long and hard day. So you could probably do it quicker if all you were doing was Goljan. BRS phys and pharm was pretty quick for me to get through, but I took extra time reading goljan because I wanted to really synthesize his information in my head. His book is also a good general review because he goes over the other systems at various points when applicable.

How much is a full day of studying for you? 6 hours, 8 hours, more? I get really stale at about the 5 hour mark.

 

[blz]

How much is a full day of studying for you? 6 hours, 8 hours, more? I get really stale at about the 5 hour mark.

i was doing 14hrs/day during that phase. I take 30mins for lunch and I eat dinner whlie reviewing. I also have some friends to goof off with during some downtime. I have a very firm belief that if you want a high score, by all means suck it up and get it done no matter how many hours it takes.

If you can only do 5 hour sessions, break the day up into two 5hr sessions where you do something to revitalize you half way (like going to the gym and getting in a nice workout).

 

[mountainman123]

I had the same problem and repetition was the key for me. For the pure memorization things like Pharm and Micro I would spend a few days straight on each and get them done and then spend an hour or so a night with say Gram + one night, then Gram -, or a night on Antibiotics as I was on other topics during the day. I also broke my studying into two blocks getting though everything once in the first few weeks and then doing it all again the second half.
And no, you will not feel as prepared as you would for a normal test. No matter how hard you study you will still need to take some pepto, tums, maalox, or whatever helps to keep from crapping yourself from nerves.
I also agree with Blz that in order to get the score you want it takes a LOT of time and sacrifice and sitting there on days you do not want to. I did 10-12 hour days pretty much 7 days a week for 9 weeks to get my score. In the end, it is a distant memory and the doors to all specialties stay open.

 

[Prodigy]

I had the same problem and repetition was the key for me. For the pure memorization things like Pharm and Micro I would spend a few days straight on each and get them done and then spend an hour or so a night with say Gram + one night, then Gram -, or a night on Antibiotics as I was on other topics during the day. I also broke my studying into two blocks getting though everything once in the first few weeks and then doing it all again the second half.
And no, you will not feel as prepared as you would for a normal test. No matter how hard you study you will still need to take some pepto, tums, maalox, or whatever helps to keep from crapping yourself from nerves.
I also agree with Blz that in order to get the score you want it takes a LOT of time and sacrifice and sitting there on days you do not want to. I did 10-12 hour days pretty much 7 days a week for 9 weeks to get my score. In the end, it is a distant memory and the doors to all specialties stay open.

What did you score?

 

[mountainman123]

What did you score?

251 (99).

 

[PhatGtDmB]

251 (99).

baller

 

[FotoFusion]

OP Yeah: I have this same problem. It's so frustrating, innit? I don'ty have a solution for you, short of memorizing the @#$% out of FA the last 5 days so the little details are fresh in your mind.

I feel your pain...big time.

 

[ginger60]

I definitely felt frustrated about forgetting things as well. Goljan RR and mnemonics are great, but one other thing that I felt really helped me remember as much as possible was doing random questions every day. By doing random questions and looking up every answer in FA, you not only get really familiar with FA but you get constant reminders of material you might otherwise forget. After looking at the same page a couple times per week, things start to stick even if you haven't studied them yet or you studied them a while back. Also, studying the hell out of a single subject in a day can cause everything in that subject to just blend together, and doing questions that cover other topics as well as that subject at some point during that day helps prevent that.

Regardless of how much you study, you are not going to feel nearly as prepared for step 1 as you would like or as you felt for your school exams. In fact, you will probably feel quite unprepared, which is not a pleasant feeling to have going into the biggest test of your life. However, despite how crappy I felt going into my exam, now that its been 2 months since my step 1 exam I'm amazed at how much information I was actually able to stuff into my brain then that I have completely forgotten now. Just try to keep motivated, study hard, and take a few practice exams along the way to prove to yourself that you are actually retaining information!

 

[kate0834tkjn]

Anyone considering taking a day to review? I feel like I've lost so much of what I started with, despite having done questions, that I want to take a day to review some stuff I covered last week. I'm wondering if it's better to just push through and get through the material once first before reviewing. Did anyone take review days before finishing everything?

 

[housemd]

Thanks for all the advice guys...I was thinking about taking a day to review but just dont have the time. I wish I had more time.

 

[Cholinergic]

This is SO me. I've never been a good memorizer (which is sort of a problem here). I'm freaking out about micro! But I'm just going to get the micro cards and hammer it out.