How much do you read?

[thechad]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if you actually read all the books word for word or not. I've been in school for 2 weeks now and I just can't seem to keep up with the reading. I've been told by many students that you have to, "filter," information. However, how am I supposed to know what information is important and what information isn't?

Using anatomy as an example; I only seem to find enough time to read the clinical sections (which I hear is the current trend in anatomy, being more clinically based), and not the regular text. I read the chapter summaries too, but I fear that I might no be getting all the information I need to pass the step one (or be a good doctor for that matter).

I guess I should also mention that I am going to a Caribbean school, which tend to have a lower pass rate for the step one than U.S. schools. Well, I hope to hear from current basic science students (hopefully, Caribbean and U.S.), as well as clinical science students who have already taken step one (once again, Caribbean and U.S.).

For those of you who have taken step one already, I would like to know how med school prepared you for the test. Do you think you could've taken the test (and passed) without other resources (i.e. kaplan, UW, etc.). Do you think that a live course is better than self study?

Thanks for the replies.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ZagDoc]

Do you have a syllabus with lecture notes/powerpoints? That's all I read, unless I need to reference a textbook for clarification.

I laugh at the "assigned reading" noted in the syllabus.

 

[njbmd]

Hey guys, I was just wondering if you actually read all the books word for word or not. I've been in school for 2 weeks now and I just can't seem to keep up with the reading. I've been told by many students that you have to, "filter," information. However, how am I supposed to know what information is important and what information isn't?

Using anatomy as an example; I only seem to find enough time to read the clinical sections (which I hear is the current trend in anatomy, being more clinically based), and not the regular text. I read the chapter summaries too, but I fear that I might no be getting all the information I need to pass the step one (or be a good doctor for that matter).

I guess I should also mention that I am going to a Caribbean school, which tend to have a lower pass rate for the step one than U.S. schools. Well, I hope to hear from current basic science students (hopefully, Caribbean and U.S.), as well as clinical science students who have already taken step one (once again, Caribbean and U.S.).

For those of you who have taken step one already, I would like to know how med school prepared you for the test. Do you think you could've taken the test (and passed) without other resources (i.e. kaplan, UW, etc.). Do you think that a live course is better than self study?

Thanks for the replies.

Reading is not a matter of "word for word" but a matter of figuring a way to cover the content that you need. I did very well on USMLE (all steps) and never read with the idea that my reading was for these standardized tests.

My course syllabus guided my text reading. For most of my classes, I didn't read every word in a textbook but made sure that I covered the content that would be covered in my lectures. Previewing the material in my text/syllabus was my preparation for lecture.

I would listen to the lecture/reviewing the Powerpoint materials which gave me an idea of the most important points. I also learned how to key in on the concepts that were likely to be tested. This didn't take word for word reading or memorization. It actually took an understanding of how the material is presented and how I could best assimilate it into my knowledge base.

Even today, as a practicing academic physician, I have a minimum of "free time" that I can use for reading and thus I am very selective as to the material that I read. I usually find that I read 20 to 30 journals weekly that are relevant to my practice. This was a habit that I honed in residency (keeping up with the literature of practice).

When I started medical school, I made sure that I read the New England Journal of Medicine regularly. At first, it was difficult to understand some of the articles but quickly, I was able to efficiently cover what I needed. This became invaluable to me in terms of reviews and case studies. This was my "jump off" point.

In short, I used my texts as tools selectively choosing what I needed that would supplement (or clarify) my lecture and syllabus information. My main focus was the course material which more than prepared me to do well on board exams without paying for a review course. (For Step I, I didn't have a huge amount of time anyway because of a fellowship).

I will definitely tell you that if you are looking for one source, one textbook, one course or one review that is going to give you everything that you need for USMLE, you are not going to find it. You have to have a solid knowledge base (should come from those expensive courses that you are paying tuition for) and a solid review of that course material before you take your board exams. This is why most students who take the time to master their coursework in the first place, can review for their exams and do well. The key is that you review for boards but study and learn your coursework. You cannot review what you haven't learned in the first place.

In order to become the most efficient learner of coursework, you have to strike a balance between your text reading (if any), your course lecture notes and your course syllabus. After mastery of those things, it's on to USMLE review.