Have you started studying for STEP1?

[monkeyMD]

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I am a second year and I have NOT yet started studying for Step1. But it seems a good number of people in my class have already started. 😱

I am not sure if I am falling behind, making a smarter choice, or just simmering in my own ignorance. But does any current M2s or those who have already gone through the process of Step1 have any suggestions what an M2 should be doing right now (ie., October).

Any regrets? Suggestions? Tips? Advice in general?

 

[Stellar Clouds]

I am a second year and I have NOT yet started studying for Step1. But it seems a good number of people in my class have already started. 😱

I am not sure if I am falling behind, making a smarter choice, or just simmering in my own ignorance. But does any current M2s or those who have already gone through the process of Step1 have any suggestions what an M2 should be doing right now (ie., October).

Any regrets? Suggestions? Tips? Advice in general?

My advice: enjoy second year without thinking about step 1 until at least January.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

My advice: enjoy second year without thinking about step 1 until at least January.

+1

Learn things well now, so that when you start your Step 1 review, it's truly a review. Plus, a lot of things make more sense once you get through more of pathology/pathophysiology anyways.

 

[Etorphine]

My advice: enjoy second year without thinking about step 1 until at least January.

+2

Here's a summary of advice from 2 M3's I personally know, one of which is going into surgery:

Start in January.

 

[HLxDrummer]

I'm really bad at cramming so I am doing Firecracker with my classes. It is really bogging me down and hurting my grades but I am shooting to have it done by Jan. Then I can casually do UWorld, get ready for the wedding, etc. while reinforcing anything I haven't nailed down yet with FC. Plus I am expecting to crush the shelves we take which a lot of students struggle with and some people fail the year because they failed them (no dedicated time to study for them).

 

[notbobtrustme]

I have FC, but I use that more for classes than Step I. I don't have any review books other than BRS Physio and RR Pathology. Haven't bought FA yet, I'm gonna buy the 2014 edition.

 

[HLxDrummer]

I have FC, but I use that more for classes than Step I. I don't have any review books other than BRS Physio and RR Pathology. Haven't bought FA yet, I'm gonna buy the 2014 edition.

Problem for me is my teachers want us to know extra stuff in some subjects and less in others so it doesn't help me much of my tests. For example one teacher only wants us to know that Kawasakis messes up kids coronarys but another teacher wants us to know 40 chemo drugs, a lot of which are not on FC.

 

[PharMed2016]

Problem for me is my teachers want us to know extra stuff in some subjects and less in others so it doesn't help me much of my tests. For example one teacher only wants us to know that Kawasakis messes up kids coronarys but another teacher wants us to know 40 chemo drugs, a lot of which are not on FC.

The amount of material in Kaplan is more than enough for pharmacology. (From the Shelf Perspective). I think I'm going to start studying in November.

 

[yehhhboiii]

im doing usmlerx on a recommendation from a ms3

 

[Stellar Clouds]

im doing usmlerx on a recommendation from a ms3

+1...usmlerx is great for the pharm shelf

 

[LondonBridge]

My school recently switched to all NBME exams this year so I guess I've already started studying for Step 1. For each exam, I've been using First Aid along with firecracker and UWorld for questions. I like it better this way because I feel like I'll be better prepared next year when I start reviewing all of the material. I haven't studied material from M1 yet though.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I started USMLE-RX for a while, then stopped. My school uses a traditional curriculum, so a lot of the questions don't really stack up well with what I've learned so far. Maybe it will get better come december/january though.

 

[NeuroLAX]

I'm trying to incorporate USMLE-Rx into my schedule, but I'm having some difficulty adding it into studying for systems courses, pathoma, and goljan. I'm not worrying about it yet.

 

[Ismet]

My advice: enjoy second year without thinking about step 1 until at least January.

+2

Here's a summary of advice from 2 M3's I personally know, one of which is going into surgery:

Start in January.

How about schools that take Step 1 early? We have to take it by the end of April, and we're done with classes at the end of February, so we have several weeks completely off to study. Would starting in Dec/Jan still be enough time?

 

[Fatalis]

My last term here is mostly review so I have been watching DIT videos that go along with what was covered in class and annotate into my first aid+ do 10 uworld questions a night and annotate anything in my first aid that I missed; I feel like iam getting more organized than actually studying for the boards.

 

[Brain Bucket]

My last term here is mostly review so I have been watching DIT videos that go along with what was covered in class and annotate into my first aid+ do 10 uworld questions a night and annotate anything in my first aid that I missed; I feel like iam getting more organized than actually studying for the boards.

If you don't remember the material and are just making annotations - you are merely getting organized. Make an active effort to remember it and find some way to be tested on it.

 

[Apoplexy__]

I'm only "studying for boards" now because I'm using Firecracker to supplement my studying. I'm in a PBL curriculum, where each test covers 35-40 chapters in books that we all read twice on average. The problem is, those reads are spaced so far apart during test intervals that repetition before the 2nd read is necessary. Firecracker does a great job of doing that, plus highlighting the high-yield stuff (super-important when you're reading big Robbins and stuff). So it's not too hard to also throw in a little relevant Anatomy, Neuro, and Endocrine in my GI block for board review purposes.

I'd really recommend Firecracker if you're facing a similar situation. I broke my record for highest score last test, and in the 4 weeks of studying for it, I spent 66 hours total on Firecracker.

 

[Shjanzey]

I have started playing around with FC as well. I found the school's daily curriculum online so I can get a head start, which will make the transition into a full schedule that much easier. I am all about making life easier at this point. If that translates into Step I preparedness then more power to me.

 

[Fatalis]

If you don't remember the material and are just making annotations - you are merely getting organized. Make an active effort to remember it and find some way to be tested on it.

Well I do have to remember the material for my exams which cover the topics I am going over; what I meant was I am not 100% concentrated on first aid/board studying

 

[Brain Bucket]

Well I do have to remember the material for my exams which cover the topics I am going over; what I meant was I am not 100% concentrated on first aid/board studying

That's more than enough.

 

[alpinism]

How about schools that take Step 1 early? We have to take it by the end of April, and we're done with classes at the end of February, so we have several weeks completely off to study. Would starting in Dec/Jan still be enough time?

eh depends on what kinda score you're trying to get. If you wan't to really kill the boards, most people suggest studying a few hrs a week starting 6 mos prior (ie Jan for Jun, or in your case: Nov for Apr). I would at least start going over FA and Pathoma along with your classes.

 

[Ismet]

eh depends on what kinda score you're trying to get. If you wan't to really kill the boards, most people suggest studying a few hrs a week starting 6 mos prior (ie Jan for Jun, or in your case: Nov for Apr). I would at least start going over FA and Pathoma along with your classes.

Yep I've been doing Pathoma and FA with my classes. Tried firecraker, wasn't a fan. I just wasn't sure when to start the real studying plus qbanks and everything, and it seems like my classmates are all doing completely different things. And getting different advice from upperclassmen haha. I'm not looking for a super competitive score, pretty much considering peds or maybe EM

 

[Bancrofti]

2nd year. Not intentionally in that I consider myself to be attempting to improve my score already. But I've started working on Kaplan Qbank, have Firecracker, and use Pathoma to supplement my Path course. FK I use for just flat out memorization of some details, whereas the Qbank is more for exam prep. I find that, with either platform, if something comes up that wasn't mentioned at all in my course I just glance at it, but don't attempt to try and commit it to memory. Have enough on my plate already, so to try to keep my sanity and maintain having a life, I just stick to what's relevant.

 

[loltopsy]

Every M1 in the country has been studying for Step 1. It's called 'classes'.

 

[Brain Bucket]

Every M1 in the country has been studying for Step 1. It's called 'classes'.

 

[Ismet]

I took it May 1st and didn't start studying at all until Jan/Feb. You'll be fine, especially if you're already annotating Pathoma with your classes. If you're using FA with class, DON'T annotate with class notes...it's a waste of space.

Sounds great! And yeah, I never understood why some people write so much in FA that there's zero blank space anywhere...

Every M1 in the country has been studying for Step 1. It's called 'classes'.

🙄 good one

 

[mcloaf]

Every M1 in the country has been studying for Step 1. It's called 'classes'.

I've been banking FC stuff as we go along and it's actually been fairly helpful for my quizzes and exams. Not sure if this counts as Step 1 studying though.

That being said, I'm only like 5% banked after 2 months of school and I can easily see how this would get onerous once you start banking things more quickly second year.

 

[Dires]

I've been banking FC stuff as we go along and it's actually been fairly helpful for my quizzes and exams. Not sure if this counts as Step 1 studying though.

That being said, I'm only like 5% banked after 2 months of school and I can easily see how this would get onerous once you start banking things more quickly second year.

What is this firecracker stuff? Flashcards or just a giant med qbank?

 

[mcloaf]

What is this firecracker stuff? Flashcards or just a giant med qbank?

Essentially a glorified step 1 anki deck.

 

[Ismet]

What is this firecracker stuff? Flashcards or just a giant med qbank?

until recently, it was called Gunner Training. and yeah, it's kinda like Anki with the whole scheduled learning thing. several of my classmates have been using it, but i think it demands so much attention and time to keep up with the cards that it's really hard to devote ample time to both the syllabus and firecracker.

you can sign up for a free month to check it out. they have MS1 material on there.

 

[Brain Bucket]

Please don't think you can replace your texts with FC. It's essentially FA flashcards.

 

[Dires]

I've already annotated all of first aid and stolen random pages out of my classmates books. I guess, FC is the next logical step for me.

 

[evilbooyaa]

All I will say is that do NOT annotate FA with your class notes. It is worthless. Annotate with Pathoma/Goljan/Kaplan/UWorld, but NOT with your useless class notes.

Also ^^ - WTF? Troll?

When MS2 ends and you get into serious board studying time, do not ever look back at your class notes. They are dead to you. FA is your bible.

 

[Lydian]

I am a second year and I have NOT yet started studying for Step1. But it seems a good number of people in my class have already started. 😱

I am not sure if I am falling behind, making a smarter choice, or just simmering in my own ignorance. But does any current M2s or those who have already gone through the process of Step1 have any suggestions what an M2 should be doing right now (ie., October).

Any regrets? Suggestions? Tips? Advice in general?

The people in your class are *****s. They have no idea what it means to have an effective study strategy, and they are doing nothing but turning their wheels, getting nowhere, and wasting focus and time away for new class subjects.

People who review before December, think they are smart, but are dumb.
Spend every second of your study time learning, you aren't done learning, there is stuff you still don't know.

Your best chance at success is giving the MOST time to each subject, while you are doing it, not random time here and there, that does nothing for you.

It's a form of denial, and distraction, makes them feel better like they are doing something that will help them later on step. Let em learn the hard way. They are the ones learning during their dedicated study period, instead of reviewing.


It's hard but just ignore it when people are like, "I've been doing Uworld since novemeber" that **** just makes me laugh now.

 

[HLxDrummer]

The people in your class are *****s. They have no idea what it means to have an effective study strategy, and they are doing nothing but turning their wheels, getting nowhere, and wasting focus and time away for new class subjects.

People who review before December, think they are smart, but are dumb.
Spend every second of your study time learning, you aren't done learning, there is stuff you still don't know.

Your best chance at success is giving the MOST time to each subject, while you are doing it, not random time here and there, that does nothing for you.

It's a form of denial, and distraction, makes them feel better like they are doing something that will help them later on step. Let em learn the hard way. They are the ones learning during their dedicated study period, instead of reviewing.


It's hard but just ignore it when people are like, "I've been doing Uworld since novemeber" that **** just makes me laugh now.

Yes I am sure there is more stuff to learn - but how relevant/high yield is it for step 1? I could sit and memorize every drug and every CYP isoform it uses/inhibits/stimulates or learn which drugs have vomiting v. diarrhea but how useful is that? I would rather lose points on my block exams with crap like that and nail home high yield stuff (and be reviewing high yield stuff we already covered).