How to study from FA

[katiesb]

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All over this forum people say "I read through FA" or "I did FA with my courses", but what does that actually mean? How do you study from FA? I feel like since it's mostly charts, if I just read it, I won't retain it. Do you quiz yourself, rewrite things, literally just read it, or what? 😕

Thanks in advance! Sorry if this is a dumb question!

 

[time md]

Many people annotate with notes and helpful explanations to help them understand the material when they go back to FA to study. FA is not designed to be a primary study tool, it is designed as a quick study guide that a person who knows the material fairly well can use to freshen up on major topics. There is lots of room in FA for you to make notes, etc.

 

[MrBeauregard]

All over this forum people say "I read through FA" or "I did FA with my courses", but what does that actually mean? How do you study from FA? I feel like since it's mostly charts, if I just read it, I won't retain it. Do you quiz yourself, rewrite things, literally just read it, or what? 😕

Thanks in advance! Sorry if this is a dumb question!

Example:
As I go through GI system, I glance at the GI chapter in FA to see what my class notes say compared to what FA says. I also use it to judge how well I should study a particular aspect of that system. If FA has a large section on a particular disease or syndrome, I know I better know a good bit about it. If there is a two line blip, I can rest assured that a general knowledge of the existence of that topic is enough. It serves as a blueprint for my review later. We received a lecture on drugs for IBD (Crohn and UC) and out of that lecture, only two of the drugs are mentioned in the pharm section of GI system (granted, other drugs are mentioned in other places, like dexamethasone or infliximab); therefore, I realized that I only really need to know two drugs for IBD for Step 1. It's just a way to help you focus your studies and recognize the high yield points of a system. I also take notes in the margin or clarify something in FA based upon my lecture notes. I never study from FA instead of my lecture notes as FA is not intended to teach anything but is instead meant to act as a guide to what you should be familiar with and review for Step 1.