Getting my life together for Step studying

[futuremd327]

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Hi everyone,

I am an MSII who has been getting average to low pass grades on most exams (first and second year). Part of my problem has been due to serious personal issues, but if I am completely honest with myself I must admit that I have not worked as hard as possible.

Now Step I is approaching, and I really want to give it my best shot and not half-@$$ it like I have done for a lot of med school. I know that I am probably somewhat lacking in background knowledge given that my grades haven't been great. Assuming that I am able to "suck it up" and improve my study habits, what are some things that I could be doing now to prepare for Step 1? I am planning on taking step I in late June and am willing to start putting in some extra work now to make up for what I have missed. Essentially I'd like to start laying a foundation for the hard-core studying that will commence once MSII classes are over.

If you were me, how would you start supplementing a less than ideal knowledge base? What areas would you start with (patho, physio, etc)? I know there probably aren't concrete answers to this question, but any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. Please don't give me sarcastic answers - I know that I haven't handled med school in the best way, and I'm definitely feeling the effects now. I am trying to set things right to the best of my ability (better late than never) and I am looking for CONSTRUCTIVE advice on how to do that.

Thanks so much!

 

[StIGMA]

If you are passing then you are doing good enough. What I did was plan what I wanted to do during my step studying, and I went through that material slowly. I did not cover everything. I did not use a question bank, but if I had more time I would have. For instance, I went through about half of first aid at a slow pace and added my own notes (from class notes, wikipedia, other step 1 study materials) to places where I had a poor background. This saved me a lot of time when I began studying and helped set a foundation. It would also help you to learn intro path/immuno very well.

 

[futuremd327]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Your advice sounds good. I'm going to pick a weak subject area and try to dive in this week.

 

[DrBowtie]

And for the serious personal issues, if they are external, remove yourself from the situation. Go live somewhere else, live at home, live with a friend for the months and just pound away.

 

[futuremd327]

And for the serious personal issues, if they are external, remove yourself from the situation. Go live somewhere else, live at home, live with a friend for the months and just pound away.

The personal issues were much more of a problem first year and I am handling them much better now! Thanks for the input though🙂

 

[Nellyakgo]

If you feel you need to improve your foundation, Fist Aid is NOT going to do it. First Aid is a summary of the summary and is suitable for someone who KNOWS the subject and is just listing the high yield facts. For the subjects you need to improve on, I would suggest using any manageable/highly rated USMLE oriented textbook.