I don't get it when ppl say...

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Lotsof77

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I don't get it when people say "study for the boards not for the course, marks will come". And how about this: "don't just study for marks, as marks don't matter, study so that you really know the stuff really well".

Um, logic flaw: If you get a bad mark in a course, that means you don't know the stuff? If you get a good mark in the course, that means that you know your stuff and will probably ace the boards?

So what am I missing here? Are those people pulling my leg? So you're telling me that the guy who got 96% in anatomy will probably suck at the anatomy board or that 3% of the USMLE that deals with anatomy?????? Logic????? Comon sense?????

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Wow, anatomy only makes up 3% of the USMLE step 1? Damn. I thought learning all this stuff was going to be clutch for the boards, but I guess not.

Oh, and I sort of agree with you, that the people who learn stuff for class really well will know it best for the boards. However, it's not always true that the guy with the 95% knows his stuff better than anyone else - for example, he mught have knowledge worth 85% and crammed in facts for the extra 10. Of course, he'd immediately forget the crammed stuff within a day or two after the exam.
 
Those guys who can cram overnight for 10 more points are relatively rare. And take my word for it, as I've actually met one, those people are super geniuses! They are not likely to bomb the boards or USMLE.

Yeah, anatomy only makes up 3% of the USMLE, but beware... Slack off now and you'll pay dearly for it during the clinicals.... Muahahahaahaha!
 
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There's a difference between studying to know the material and studying to do well on the test. The latter involves a lot of worrying about how your particular instructor asks her/his questions. It's very easy to know anatomy quite well and still not perform accordingly on exams if you're not well acquainted with your instructor's exam style. I find that the difference between, say, an A and a B comes from studying "to the test," i.e., studying the instructor's testing habits, rather than any major increase in actual anatomy knowledge.
 
Lotsof77 said:
I don't get it when people say "study for the boards not for the course, marks will come". And how about this: "don't just study for marks, as marks don't matter, study so that you really know the stuff really well".

Um, logic flaw: If you get a bad mark in a course, that means you don't know the stuff? If you get a good mark in the course, that means that you know your stuff and will probably ace the boards?

So what am I missing here? Are those people pulling my leg? So you're telling me that the guy who got 96% in anatomy will probably suck at the anatomy board or that 3% of the USMLE that deals with anatomy?????? Logic????? Comon sense?????

When it comes to studying and doing well on boards, tests etc, you will find that everyone has advice, and all of it will work sometimes and for some people but there will be no uniform rule of thumb, and the same advice will not be good advice for everyone. You can know a ton of stuff and not get good marks, by virtue of the fact that schools can only test on a small subset of the material in a course like, eg. anatomy. And the corollary to this is that there will always be people who get eg the 96% in anatomy who will suck at that portion of the boards because they were able to key in on the material actually tested in their school, but perhaps didn't really know a big percentage of anatomy in the broader sense. Plus there's a ton of time that's going to pass between anatomy and the boards, and so even if at one time you did know a ton, depending on how well it got ingrained into your head, you could be starting from close to scratch when studying for the boards. As such, there are going to be people who got great grades in anatomy who quickly forgot it all and will have no advantage over those who did lousy when taking the course, but in some cases with another couple years of maturity, have improved their study habits substantially. So no, your common sense and logic isn't going to hold up universally - but will work in many cases. You need to figure out what works for you, and ignore all the other advice.
 
It is very easy to know your "stuff" and still manage to get an 80% or even a 75% it just depends on HOW the questions are asked and what was asked...that is why folks tell you learn the material to "know" it versus to get the highest grade possible which is like someone stated knowing the professors' approach to the material. Medical school is very intense and getting 100% is extremely difficult for the most part but that does in no way mean that you do NOT know your stuff...
 
people use the phrase "study for the boards, not for the course" when a course is not designed to test high yield info, or if there is no time to completely learn the material well (How much time are you willing to spend on a single class?).

It's a phrase that people use to reassure you that bombing a test doesn't mean you'll do poorly on the usmle.

It's a phrase that tells you that it probably isn't wise to study all the minutia for the course.

But if you learn fast, memorize fast, go ahead and cover all the nookes and crannies of whatever material you're learning.
 
It might be hard to understand "just study for the boards" for those just starting med school, but it really does make sense.
1. This is psychological, just focus on learning the essential information and not the minutae. I found when I didn't really focus on trying to get honors but just wanted to learn the material I did much better and honored many more classes. It might take you the first block to get your feet wet.
2. You will learn that certain professors test their own special interest like what their research focus is. Not everybody that lectures gives you the essentials that you need for the boards. Medschool is a different ballgame, nobody is going to spoon feed you everything you need to know for the boards. Many schools will state they don't teach to the boards but they give you what they think is important. Get a First Aid book and look at it as you go through first and second year, it will give you an idea of the important ideas.
3. Anatomy is kink of in its own world. Anatomy is barely represented on the boards, skim First Aid and you will see what the main points you need to retain. You just basically have to put up with anatomy, think of it as more of a right of passage.
4. Don't freak out and get some exercise.

Good Luck

Skialta MSIII

2.
 
Skialta said:
It might be hard to understand "just study for the boards" for those just starting med school, but it really does make sense.
1. This is psychological, just focus on learning the essential information and not the minutae. I found when I didn't really focus on trying to get honors but just wanted to learn the material I did much better and honored many more classes. It might take you the first block to get your feet wet.
2. You will learn that certain professors test their own special interest like what their research focus is. Not everybody that lectures gives you the essentials that you need for the boards. Medschool is a different ballgame, nobody is going to spoon feed you everything you need to know for the boards. Many schools will state they don't teach to the boards but they give you what they think is important. Get a First Aid book and look at it as you go through first and second year, it will give you an idea of the important ideas.
3. Anatomy is kink of in its own world. Anatomy is barely represented on the boards, skim First Aid and you will see what the main points you need to retain. You just basically have to put up with anatomy, think of it as more of a right of passage.
4. Don't freak out and get some exercise.

Good Luck

Skialta MSIII

2.


I second this - :thumbup:
 
Lotsof77 said:
I don't get it when people say "study for the boards not for the course, marks will come". And how about this: "don't just study for marks, as marks don't matter, study so that you really know the stuff really well".

Um, logic flaw: If you get a bad mark in a course, that means you don't know the stuff? If you get a good mark in the course, that means that you know your stuff and will probably ace the boards?

So what am I missing here? Are those people pulling my leg? So you're telling me that the guy who got 96% in anatomy will probably suck at the anatomy board or that 3% of the USMLE that deals with anatomy?????? Logic????? Comon sense?????

I kinda agree with you. If you know your stuff well enough to do great in class, you probably won't have a problem with the boards. However, that's ONLY if you study to understand and learn the material (and your school tests on UNDERSTANDING and not minutiae).

However, do remember that if you don't pass the course, you can't take the boards and go onto third year. Sometimes studying for the boards just isn't enough for some med school exams.

I tend to think that if you understand everything you learn in class first and second year and you can recall certain things, then you will do well in class and on the boards. However, that might be because a lot of my classes are geared towards board material -- I don't know how other schools work.
 
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