So I didn't do too hot this year (yr 1)...Lemme hear your success tips for second year! 
How to do well in second year?
- Thread starter azzarah
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Although this may seem simplistic- study your freakin' butt off. Read the transcripts (if you have a notes service), read the syllabus (ONLY if it is GOOD), read textbooks for clarification or if they are good (i.e. Lilly for Cardio kicks major butt),and use old exams in order to see if YOU ARE really learning the material.
I've also posted this so many times before- USE FIRST AID starting day 1. Don't use it to study, simply annotate it so that it will be readable as a study resource for step I. Use the BRS books- simply read through them (not study) so that you are used to the format when crunch time rolls around (step 1).
I did so crappy first year, but I did, overall, very well second year with the exception of two classes (and that was for reasons beyond my control). Doing well in your classes second year will help you immensely when you are studying for step I.
Congrats on finishing first year!
I've also posted this so many times before- USE FIRST AID starting day 1. Don't use it to study, simply annotate it so that it will be readable as a study resource for step I. Use the BRS books- simply read through them (not study) so that you are used to the format when crunch time rolls around (step 1).
I did so crappy first year, but I did, overall, very well second year with the exception of two classes (and that was for reasons beyond my control). Doing well in your classes second year will help you immensely when you are studying for step I.
Congrats on finishing first year!
Thanks Daisygirl for the reply.
What is your general study strategy in terms of studying the class notes...do you just read your notes or do you also take notes off your notes? I started doing this towards the end of the year and my grades went way up.
What is your general study strategy in terms of studying the class notes...do you just read your notes or do you also take notes off your notes? I started doing this towards the end of the year and my grades went way up.
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azzarah said:
I would read them first and highlight (I was one of those who basically highlighted everything 🙄 ), then I'd read it again and make notes everywhere, and I would say stuff out loud. I basically drilled the crap into my head. I would also read the transcripts/my notes over about four times before a test. However, keep in mind that I did not go to class. Anyhow, my grades went up dramatically once I did this.
Another thing- IGNORE your professors recommendations for texts if upperclassman tell you that those recommendations suck. I'm not kidding. I think professors are nuts sometimes. I personally found that the following books were great for second year: Costanzo's physiology (not the BRS book- I'm referring to the purple text), Ridiculously simple for Microbiology (this book is awesome and most professors hate it!), Robbin's path for pictures and baby Robbin's to read, Lilly for Cardio, Lippincott and the pharm cards for pharm, and essential haematology for blood (this was the only book recommended by a professor that was good and it is rich in wonderful pictures).
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I second the recommendation for annotating in FA during 2nd year. I didn't and am having some major regrets as Step 1 gets closer. As for general tips for 2nd year: learn when class is helpful and when it is a waste of your time. I don't know about your school, but our 2nd year profs were pretty poor lecturers overall. I stopped going entirely after x-mas break but that's partly due to the distance i live from school.
I usually studied by reading over my notes again and again and again. I "rewrote" of lot of class notes 1st year to help the material stick, but there was way too much material 2nd year to keep that up. I made my own Pharm cards b/c i didn't like the real ones as much (too detailed). I used MMRS, BRS Path, and Robbins. Wheater's occasionally to refresh structures when i was learning Path. That's about the gist of it. Second year is just a lot of time and effort no matter how you do it. You'll get better at recognizing what's important to learn as the year goes on, but it's still very time consuming to commit it all to memory.
Not sure if that helps any. Good luck and congrats on getting one year down.
I usually studied by reading over my notes again and again and again. I "rewrote" of lot of class notes 1st year to help the material stick, but there was way too much material 2nd year to keep that up. I made my own Pharm cards b/c i didn't like the real ones as much (too detailed). I used MMRS, BRS Path, and Robbins. Wheater's occasionally to refresh structures when i was learning Path. That's about the gist of it. Second year is just a lot of time and effort no matter how you do it. You'll get better at recognizing what's important to learn as the year goes on, but it's still very time consuming to commit it all to memory.
Not sure if that helps any. Good luck and congrats on getting one year down.
Thanks for the replies you two!
So here is my plan so far based on your recommendations....I am going to buy first Aid as soon as the new edition comes out. Also Microbio ridic. simple. I have baby robbins...I am waiting for the new edition of Robbins path to come out.
I heard from some third years that our notes for pharm are pretty good, so I guess I'm going to wait before buying anything for that. Our handouts for histology were also okay this year, so I'm going to wait and not buy wheater's just yet. 🙂
We don't really have transcripts since all the lectures get videotaped. We do get lecture notes though. So basically I am going to read and highlight, then take notes, and then outline and memorize my own notes as much as possible.
Daisy...I wasted so much $$ this year on big books our professors recommended...I never used any of them!
So here is my plan so far based on your recommendations....I am going to buy first Aid as soon as the new edition comes out. Also Microbio ridic. simple. I have baby robbins...I am waiting for the new edition of Robbins path to come out.
I heard from some third years that our notes for pharm are pretty good, so I guess I'm going to wait before buying anything for that. Our handouts for histology were also okay this year, so I'm going to wait and not buy wheater's just yet. 🙂
We don't really have transcripts since all the lectures get videotaped. We do get lecture notes though. So basically I am going to read and highlight, then take notes, and then outline and memorize my own notes as much as possible.
Daisy...I wasted so much $$ this year on big books our professors recommended...I never used any of them!
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azzarah said:
That is it. It's about 300 pages. I have the fourth edition. So, yeah it is long, but I never buy a text thinking I'm going to read the whole thing. I read portions of it and it is very well written, but the best part of it is all of the colorful pictures.
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I recommend reading over the next day's lecture materials in the respective texts and review books before you actually get to lecture. That way, you can sit there and test yourself on how much you picked up, plus you can jot down anything the lecturer mentions that you didn't come across in your reading. So it's kinda like having a non-credit quiz every day in your courses.
Staying one step ahead in all my courses also freed up some extra time for me, so there might be other perks as well
Staying one step ahead in all my courses also freed up some extra time for me, so there might be other perks as well
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i did well by not going to lecture unless i absolutely had to. this gave me free time to do what i wanted and i studied when i wanted. also, i did a lot of questions while studying for regular exams. this has helped in studying for the boards too. resources: jawetz lange micro review book (awesome test section in the back for micro and immuno), webpath (saved me $$ on a path/histo atlas), a pharm site i found while bumming on the web
http://www.pharmacology2000.com/learning2.htm#Chapter
and i used the baby lange pharm book (katzung and treavor) for questions too. And if your school seems to love robbins as much as mine, you better get the robbins question book and do those too. I learn from questions, can you tell? 😀 I stopped reading big robbins and used it only for the pictures. our last section, i didn't even finish baby robbins (BRS path all the way!)
also, i noticed i did better in some of our systems based units if i accidently had reviewed the physiology (i say accidently because i never did it on purpose, just happened over it a few times). and for the love of bozo, annotate the crap out of First Aid!! i found 2nd yr a lot easier in terms of what i had to learn, but harder in terms of the amount i had to learn. good luck!!
http://www.pharmacology2000.com/learning2.htm#Chapter
and i used the baby lange pharm book (katzung and treavor) for questions too. And if your school seems to love robbins as much as mine, you better get the robbins question book and do those too. I learn from questions, can you tell? 😀 I stopped reading big robbins and used it only for the pictures. our last section, i didn't even finish baby robbins (BRS path all the way!)
also, i noticed i did better in some of our systems based units if i accidently had reviewed the physiology (i say accidently because i never did it on purpose, just happened over it a few times). and for the love of bozo, annotate the crap out of First Aid!! i found 2nd yr a lot easier in terms of what i had to learn, but harder in terms of the amount i had to learn. good luck!!
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To the OP:
If you didn't do so well 1st year, then I wouldn't keep many of your same study habits around. This is hard to break from since those are probably the same study habits you had in undergrad, and they may have paid off nicely for you in that environment.
You can't expect better results if you don't change things, so although your gut may tell you to hang on to your "tried and true" study methods, ditch them and test out new methods for one or two exam periods.
If you didn't do so well 1st year, then I wouldn't keep many of your same study habits around. This is hard to break from since those are probably the same study habits you had in undergrad, and they may have paid off nicely for you in that environment.
You can't expect better results if you don't change things, so although your gut may tell you to hang on to your "tried and true" study methods, ditch them and test out new methods for one or two exam periods.
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azzarah said:
that book didnt help me much...but it isnt very thick..bollocks
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When you guys say annotate FA, what do you mean by that? Can you give an example? Thanks.
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i can tell you from studying for boards, that not everything that is necessary is in first aid (although a huge portion of it is). Some drugs that i've seen more than once in questions aren't in FA pharm, so i added them. Some of the physio was wasn't enough for me, so i wrote in what i understood from BRS. If there was a pt i saw during the year that helped me understand, i made a note. I found FA to be kinda haphazard in organization, so i'm also using step up and annotating that as well. I mentioned doing questions in my original post. When i get one wrong, I underline in FA the point i didn't get, or if it wasn't in FA, I add it. Basically make FA the only book you need to go over, and over, and over again when you're studying for boards. and during clerkships, if (more like when) i forget something, hopefully i will have enough info in FA that can jog my memory.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!
lindyloohoo , thanks...I'm going to order first aid...did you write everything in the book or did you make a separate binder? I added that site to my favorites. I learn by doing practice questions too! 🙂
ItsGavinC, I guess I didn't need to study much in college and that didn't work out too well in the begining of the year. Once I started studying though my grades went up. I just want to make sure I am prepared for second year and don't slack off in the begining. 😀
ericdamiansean...I think I'll just buy it and if I don't use it, I'll just sell it on half.com or something! 😉
Stinger86 Good advice! I have to make sure I do that from the very begining...if I fall behind then it's harder to do that! 😛
daisygirl...thanks! I am going to buy that book for sure.... I think we are starting out studying blood stuff next year, and I don't want to f up again, so I'm buying it and not taking any chances!
dancelover thanks again for the advice! 🙂
Thanks you guys...if you have any more advice that might be helpful in any way please do not hesitate to post!
lindyloohoo , thanks...I'm going to order first aid...did you write everything in the book or did you make a separate binder? I added that site to my favorites. I learn by doing practice questions too! 🙂
ItsGavinC, I guess I didn't need to study much in college and that didn't work out too well in the begining of the year. Once I started studying though my grades went up. I just want to make sure I am prepared for second year and don't slack off in the begining. 😀
ericdamiansean...I think I'll just buy it and if I don't use it, I'll just sell it on half.com or something! 😉
Stinger86 Good advice! I have to make sure I do that from the very begining...if I fall behind then it's harder to do that! 😛
daisygirl...thanks! I am going to buy that book for sure.... I think we are starting out studying blood stuff next year, and I don't want to f up again, so I'm buying it and not taking any chances!
dancelover thanks again for the advice! 🙂
Thanks you guys...if you have any more advice that might be helpful in any way please do not hesitate to post!
