Having trouble doing this. I really can't just sit there, read some dense material, then regurgitate it later on. I feel like I need to be doing something else...just not sure what that something is. Does anyone have any tips for getting first aid down and memorized?
How to memorize First Aid?
- Thread starter surfguy84
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No one is asking you to memorize First Aid. First Aid is simply a resource that provides a concise list of things that are high yield for the boards, but you dont have to sit there and memorize it. I know that I cant. What I can do, is understand the conceptual reasons behind certain trends - for example, you dont have to memorize which class of drugs are effective against which bacteria, if you simply understand that some drugs have a mechanism of action or of entry that is blocked by a thick cell wall, you know that those are effective against gram negatives.
Only memorize the facts that you cant conceptualize for yourself. If you sit there and try to rote memorize 100% of the book you will do poorly, but instead if you are able to understand and reason out 50% of the book, you will know more of it in the future.
Also do UWorld questions, because the questions have answer explanations which can help with the understanding of first aid topics.
There are people who can memorize the entire book, but just because someone somewhere is able to do it, doesnt mean its right for you, you need to understand the kind of learning you excel at, and focus on applying those strategies to your studying ( I suck at memorizing, but concepts agree with me, so while I will memorize alot, I wont have to memorize everything because I will be able to understand and reason out significant amounts of everything).
Good luck
Only memorize the facts that you cant conceptualize for yourself. If you sit there and try to rote memorize 100% of the book you will do poorly, but instead if you are able to understand and reason out 50% of the book, you will know more of it in the future.
Also do UWorld questions, because the questions have answer explanations which can help with the understanding of first aid topics.
There are people who can memorize the entire book, but just because someone somewhere is able to do it, doesnt mean its right for you, you need to understand the kind of learning you excel at, and focus on applying those strategies to your studying ( I suck at memorizing, but concepts agree with me, so while I will memorize alot, I wont have to memorize everything because I will be able to understand and reason out significant amounts of everything).
Good luck
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Do Rx Qbank and read the explanations fully along with the attached copies of FA pages. If you do so, you'll master all the important facts in FA.
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Try bros deck if you can use anki.
I used bro's deck for a while, but it just ended up seeming like way too many cards and discrete facts without any real tie in. I bought USMLE Rx flash facts so will be trying that to get first aid down... seems more manageable and better use of time. Just not sure how long I should plan to get through all of those...
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On a related note..I saw you posted in a previous thread a while back that you spent your dedicated doing 2 blocks of UW and another block of kaplan (?) each day. A few questions for you if you have a sec...
Did you feel this was a good plan in retrospect? What else did you do during these days? How long did you spend doing and reviewing a single UW block?
Thanks for your help!
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My original plan was to do 2 UW blocks and 1 Rx. However, I decided to do only UW. I did 3-4 blocks daily during my dedicated (that was my second pass). Every 4-5 days I'd take an assessment test, either UWSA or NBME. Also did a pass of Pathoma during the dedicated time.
Each UW block took me an hour to finish (timed random) and an hour to review. It was much faster going through it second time around because I had done detailed reading of their explanation during my first pass.
I am content with my performance and wouldn't change anything
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Trying to memorize Frist Aid is outright stupid.
What you should do go through and see what's in there that is familiar. But keep in mind that FA is the bare-bones minimum that you need for Boards.
There's published data that top performers on Boards use a variety of resources for Boards prep.
What you should do go through and see what's in there that is familiar. But keep in mind that FA is the bare-bones minimum that you need for Boards.
There's published data that top performers on Boards use a variety of resources for Boards prep.
