I can't learn anything from First Aid. It's not enough. Please Help!!...

[Disimpact22]

I've just started board study and am having a lot of trouble finding someone at my school who can give me solid advice. I'm a non-trad and really didn't learn much from the lectures up until now. So essentially I'm starting almost from scratch with board prep. I have some info and terms in my head but it's all disjointed. I've done ok in school but not exceedingly well until this last block when I finally figured out how to study (Lit major in med school). BUT then came boards and I'm back to square one.

Think you can share some of the wisdom you learned from your ultimately successful struggle with USMLE/COMLEX?
I'm taking the test early July but I have to also take a COMLEX ( I'm DO) at the end of May. My goal is to get 210-230. I just want to pass at this point and move on. I'm going into IM, peds or fam med and know I'll do much better 3rd year and with step 2.

I'm going through FA now and using RX but FA is NOT a good source to learn from. I'm at a total loss as to what I need to use to actually understand the material before doing the questions. I saw someone recommend doing Pathoma then FA then questions and annotating FA from Pathoma and the questions. The fewer resources the better but memorization alone doesn't work for me. If I dont understand something I have a hard time moving on and end up wasting a lot of time looking for explanations. I'm trying to find a book or books that can help me flesh out some of the subjects that require thorough understanding.

1) Where do I start given my time?
2) Where can I find some advising? DIT has a service but I dont know anything about it. My school has essentially said you're on your own.
3) Am I boned?
4) What worked for you in the end?
5) What additional resources besides Pathoma and FA did you use to flesh out the skeleton/outline that is FA?
Thank you so much ( I hope the growing panic isn't too evident in my post

edit: I just found this page: http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/Students/USMLE/resources.html
helpful but still so many resources.

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[notbobtrustme]

FA isn't supposed to be learned from, it's supposed to remind you of what's important. There are too many connections to be made in medicine but FA boils down what you absolutely should be aware of for the boards. It's not for someone who needs to learn from the ground-up. It's for someone who needs to hammer in the details that make all the difference. You should have a decent conceptual understanding before hitting the board review books, if not, look at some of the more comprehensive resources (eg BRS physio, Blumenfeld Neuro, Pathoma) to brush up on the concepts before hitting the details.

FWIW, I'm just using Goljan, Pathoma, BRS Physio and FA as my primary book resources and Rx/Uworld as qbank resources.

 

[MudPhud20XX]

I would start using Firecracker. I find this really helpful.

 

[dysdiadochokinesia]

This is like me, honestly - law grad trying to pass step 1 ha

I really really like pathoma - but I imagine you will struggle less with pathology. It's still v useful nonetheless.

I'm dithering over USMLERx express vids to force me through first aid. I have loads of books too - I think identify your weak areas then find something that makes it as easy as possible until you have an aha moment and suddenly it falls into place/becomes easier from then on. eg I hated pharm until I read a nursing book :-o

 

[Polymyxin]

FA isn't supposed to be learned from, it's supposed to remind you of what's important. There are too many connections to be made in medicine but FA boils down what you absolutely should be aware of for the boards. It's not for someone who needs to learn from the ground-up.

I second that 100%. FA is a REVIEW book, meaning you should already be familiar with the material before you look at it. I starting studying for step 1 towards the end of my PhD, after several years post-MS2. My knowledge base was very low. FA just looked like random words. After a few months of studying...now at least some chapters make 'sense'-I still have a long way to go. Exam in early June.

Aside from mastering all the needed material, figuring out HOW to study for step 1 is quite a challenge. Every one has a different opinion - and that is because everyone is approaching step 1 with a different knowledge base. The key to finding the right material is dictated by how much time you have and your existing knowledge base. For example, Firecracker is an amazing product, you'll learn a lot, but you need about 1 year to get through it - too late for you. You can subscribe to the USMLE express videos and cover ALL of first aid in about 50 hours....but it won't make much sense if you knowlege base is weak? How much time do you have know on a daily basis?

I can say what has been working for me:
Physiology: BRS physiology by costanzo (actually my knowledge base was so weak, I couldn't make sense of this book and ended up reading Costanzo's book titled "Physiology"....a lot longer)
Pathology: Pathoma Pathoma Pathoma! Cannot emphasize enough how great this is.
Biochem: Kaplan videos (they are very long).
USMLE Rx Qmax question bank: once I've studied the path/phsio for an organ system I go through the corresponding topic in Qmax. This has helped me cover the pharm for each organ system.
Thats all I got so far. I'm still trying to figure what to use for Micro, Neuro, Behavioral. Suggestions anyone?

I don't have personal experience with DIT. But it might be a good balance between FA Express (50 hours) and Kaplan (tons of hours). I wouldn't recommend doing the whole Kaplan video program given your timeline - its pretty long.

 

[dysdiadochokinesia]

Thank you for the link!

You are not boned and you don't need to pay for advice, you can work it out from online etc

Do you learn visually? have you looked at picmonic?

I definitely rate pathoma, I also rate BRS physio, high yield neuro ... identify your real sticking point and then target with a separate review resource that suits you

 

[Ismet]

Thats all I got so far. I'm still trying to figure what to use for Micro, Neuro, Behavioral. Suggestions anyone?

Upperclassmen at my school suggested BRS Behavioral. I haven't used it yet personally, but I got a copy. For Micro, which was one of my weakest subjects, I'm using FA, Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple (I think this will help a lot...discovered it too late in my Micro course to make a big difference, but what I did learn and retain from this book was much better than what I learned from class), and Lippincott Microcards. I'm starting my dedicated study period on Monday with Micro, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[DermViser]

I've just started board study and am having a lot of trouble finding someone at my school who can give me solid advice. I'm a non-trad and really didn't learn much from the lectures up until now. So essentially I'm starting almost from scratch with board prep. I have some info and terms in my head but it's all disjointed. I've done ok in school but not exceedingly well until this last block when I finally figured out how to study (Lit major in med school). BUT then came boards and I'm back to square one.

Think you can share some of the wisdom you learned from your ultimately successful struggle with USMLE/COMLEX?
I'm taking the test early July but I have to also take a COMLEX ( I'm DO) at the end of May. My goal is to get 210-230. I just want to pass at this point and move on. I'm going into IM, peds or fam med and know I'll do much better 3rd year and with step 2.

I'm going through FA now and using RX but FA is NOT a good source to learn from. I'm at a total loss as to what I need to use to actually understand the material before doing the questions. I saw someone recommend doing Pathoma then FA then questions and annotating FA from Pathoma and the questions. The fewer resources the better but memorization alone doesn't work for me. If I dont understand something I have a hard time moving on and end up wasting a lot of time looking for explanations. I'm trying to find a book or books that can help me flesh out some of the subjects that require thorough understanding.

1) Where do I start given my time?
2) Where can I find some advising? DIT has a service but I dont know anything about it. My school has essentially said you're on your own.
3) Am I boned?
4) What worked for you in the end?
5) What additional resources besides Pathoma and FA did you use to flesh out the skeleton/outline that is FA?
Thank you so much ( I hope the growing panic isn't too evident in my post

edit: I just found this page: http://jeffline.jefferson.edu/Students/USMLE/resources.html
helpful but still so many resources.

Contrary to popular advice on SDN. First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 is a not a source to "learn" the information. It's more a tool for recall of information. The test writers at the NBME know very well about this resource, and thus, the questions on the exam are application of the information, to 2nd even 3rd order, not direct regurgitation of information, the way your basic science professor exams are.

There's a reason in going through your basic science coursework a good review book for each subject is key. It's so you can learn it well.