How to use the First Aid book with class

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

atiffarooqi

New Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone, i hope no one has asked this question before otherwise i will appear almost as foolish as i actually am.

I am a first year med student, and i have begun to use some textbooks alongside class, correction, i try to use class alongside textbooks haha. I have also kept the first aid book open as i read, to try and fill it in so when i come back to it i have a semi-complete source to review from. I actually got my FA book de-bound and put into a binder so i can stick loose leaf into it, so if anyone didnt think of that yet, its a really useful idea. Anyway, my question is, is it sufficient to read the text and elaborate on the topics in the first aid book or is it necessary to elaborate on topics that FA never mentioned as well? the reason why i ask this is because i have a very difficult time figuring out what to extract from books, and i felt that the FA gives me a good guideline as to what topics i should elaborate on. An example of what i mean is in a typical neurohisto chapter of a book, itll go into so many technical details about the density of the presynaptic end vs the post, and it goes into depth about retro/anterograde transport, but the FA talks more about supporting cells so i say to myself, okay ill just extract any more info i think is important about supporting cells, so i use the FA as a guide. I hope i have explained my question properly and clearly.

Thank you for your help.
 
Well as a first year just concentrating on classes which will help for boards anyway and gaining valuable experience outside the classroom should be top priorities. FA is just an outline so its good that you're expanding on it. When you go back to it later it should be a quicker read since its your personalized book. In regards on what to focus on just make sure you "understand" the ideas and how all the info in first aids connects with everything else this early on. Qbanks/practice board exams and such will help you understand better than anyone telling you on this forum what is need to know info and where best to put your energy into. hope this clears up a few of your questions
 
I would definitely agree that you should try to start using the book with class early on. The book will give you helpful hints that the profs may not mention in class. Also, if you annotate First Aid from Day 1, you'll have a great resource by the time Step 1 rolls around.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top