how long did it take to go through 1st aid?

[Yogi Bear]

For those who've already taken the boards, how long did it take to go through FA? what was your approaces? Just read through it and memorize stuff, or use it w/ after doing pratice questions?

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[greets fr. nyc]

7 weeks to study/cram= end result: kicked butt on exam! = *relief* *wipe beads off sweat*

1) beginning attitude = i wanted really learn the material for the material's sake... to consolidate the first 2 years of med school and feel a sense of resolution for the basic science years. after revisiting the material, i found a bunch of stuff on step 1 is actually kinda useful after the test on the wards/beyond = this "knowlege for my own education's sake" got me over the hump initially....
later phase attitude = MEMORIZE MEMORIZE MEMORIZE the freakin' FA, the first few chapters of BRS Path, key mechanisms in BRS Physio, to score high-yield points. this got me over the bloody last 3.5 weeks bf the exam.

2) went thru FA once in first 3-4 weeks; using other texts to "bone up" on topics present in FA but which i had forgotten or never learned (Fabry Dz is a good example)

3) made lots and lots of mnemonics for pharm/micro/path/anatomy etc =some of the best advice from graduating 4th year = very helpful for the many stupid nit-picky details which do in fact turn up one way or another on exam.
<good thing is these mnemonics still stay with me during 3rd year... still!)

YOU WILL FIND, INVARIABLY, THAT A LOT OF THE STUFF YOU READ/LEARNED IN FA WILL BE FORGOTTEN AFTER 2 days- 2 WEEKS time !!! = MUCH FRUSTRATION bf exam = you must come up with a way to really get the facts in FA INTERNALIZED in your mind = for me it was lots of repitition and lots of mnemonics and creating mini charts and self-test questions.

4) after 3 week initial basic workup; piled thru FA (3+ more times depending on suject matter i had friggin' forgotten) AND very importantly, q-bank for the last four weeks of school. made sure i understood high yield subject/questions/explanations such as physio, micro, pharm, path (i focussed less so on neuro and anatomy, for good reason: it's not really tested in depth). also did the q-bank questions over a 2nd or 3rd time to make sure previous errors/misunderstandings were clarified.

finally, in week before test, did the official released USMLE practice tests to see how i faired (3 blocks; 150 questions total)

5) in summary:
First, i tried to cover the core step 1 knowlege in 3-3.5 weeks.
Next I did a) lots and lots of USMLE style questions AND b) worked hard to drill the basic FA facts into quick-reflex memory (not slow-reflex memory!!!).

ok, that's it for now.
good luck!

 

[superdood]

i did more of my step 1 studying outside of first aid. i read bits of pieces of first aid during that time, but i went cover to cover the week before my test.

 

[bigfrank]

To go through and *memorize* FA and be able to apply it during test-taking situations, I found it took studying it for 4-6 months approx. 2-3 hours/day on average.

 

[IlianaSedai]

The FIRST time through could take anywhere from weeks to months, depending on the student...

The LAST time through took me a week -- that is, the final week before the exam.

Some students on this forum say it takes them about 2 days to go through First Aid toward the end. I found I couldn't pull that one off -- so I gave myself 5-7 days at the end to make my final pass through FA. It was about right for me. Maybe I am slow, but I'll bet I'm not the only slow kid.

 

[utlonghorn50]

it took me a few months the first time through

 

[Pril]

It took me three days to go through all of it a couple of weeks before the exam, but I was reading it from day one of second year. I also did alot of other things.
I would not recommend doing only First Aid. FA is the bare minumum that any exam taker should know.