How do you guys do it?

[thecalccobra]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm reading glycolysis, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis from BRS and it's killing me. Seems too overwhelming. It's not helping that the book is about 350 pages and I have to know all that info for the boards- just for biochem 🙁

 

[weightyheart]

keep going. you've only just started!! you still have amino acid synthesis/metabolism and nucleotide synthesis/metabolism 🙁 left to go.

 

[thecalccobra]

Yeah..tell me about it. Wish I had a photographic memory.

 

[Nikki2002]

when I was in biochem I would use a dry erase board to write out the cycles over and over again.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

time, effort, and most importantlly lots of alcohol.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

I'm reading glycolysis, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis from BRS and it's killing me. Seems too overwhelming. It's not helping that the book is about 350 pages and I have to know all that info for the boards- just for biochem 🙁

Maybe try breaking it up into smaller pieces. None of those topics is impossibly difficult on its own, and once you understand one of them, the others fit in with what you already know.

BTW, I found Lippincott to be better - nice big pretty pictures and diagrams.

 

[shreypete]

Lippincotts is the way to go. I did really well in biochem last year, thanks to this awesome book (the book is quite deceiving coz people think it's dumbed down or whatever but it's actually quite detailed and integrates all the metabolic systems together...which is what's ultimately important for the boards or for future.)

 

[meister]

If you don't remember all of the enzymes you will be a terrible physician!!!!








...not.

 

[Blesbok]

I just had a notepad and on top of studying, the way I finished every night was to draw some of the cycles.

I am serious when I say this, learning that crap was the worst part of medical school. Nothing is less mentally stimulating than memorizing those cycles knowing that 99% of practices will have very little use for them in the future other than a few little specific details..

 

[Dral]

I'm not saying it's diminishing returns learning every little detail (I know, it's required for most classes), but there is a higher chance that you'll get a boards question about something that's at least somewhat clinically relevant (the underlying metabolic defect in Tay Sachs for instance), opposed to "What is step blah blah of the giggity giggity cycle?"

 

[MilkmanAl]

I found Lippicott's to be much better for the NBME, but to each his own. You have to keep in mind that the boards have much lower standards than what you're used to. One of our biochem professors mailed out some chart that listed the approximate raw score for each numerical score, and a 500 (average) was about a 60%, if I recall.

 

[ensuii]

Does anyone else feel like theyre in a constant phase of being overwhelemed only to look back at the material you covered two days ago and realizing that it was pretty straightforward? I always feel like I'm tested the exact day before the content starts to make sense for me!

 

[xanthomondo]

Does anyone else feel like theyre in a constant phase of being overwhelemed only to look back at the material you covered two days ago and realizing that it was pretty straightforward? I always feel like I'm tested the exact day before the content starts to make sense for me!

Haha yeah that's how pretty much most of the year went by for me. In the beginning you're going to be blindly memorizing things, and as you learn more you'll see connections that you probably wouldn't have beforehand.

 

[xanthomondo]

I'm reading glycolysis, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis from BRS and it's killing me. Seems too overwhelming. It's not helping that the book is about 350 pages and I have to know all that info for the boards- just for biochem 🙁

Are you studying for the biochem class or are you studying biochem for the boards?

 

[Tiger26]

when I was in biochem I would use a dry erase board to write out the cycles over and over again.

Did this all day long everyday for the entire semester--failed the first test before adopting this strategy and then averaged 92% the rest of the semester on the tests and final exam.

 

[bad virus]

From a biochem major, Lippincott is worth its weight in gold. The people above me who told you to read it are telling the truth. It is probably the best biochem book out there.

The 2nd edition is just fine and you can get it used for 0.08 dollars. WTF, 8 cents for a book . . .

http://www.amazon.com/Lippincotts-Illustrated-Reviews-Pamela-Champe/dp/0397510918