Incoming MS 1 at a new public MD School...Questions on resources

[slowthai]

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Big Costanzo?

Yep

 

[7331poas]

Big costanzo.

BnB is okay, but half the videos are him just reading out of first aid.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Big costanzo.

BnB is okay, but half the videos are him just reading out of first aid.

First aid must have changed then because there is a lot of stuff I have to jot into my first aid that he says that isn’t in there. My first aid looks like the ramblings of a psycho.

 

[deleted1005514]

Big costanzo.

BnB is okay, but half the videos are him just reading out of first aid.

What’s your opinion on Guyton & Hall vs Costanzo? I like textbooks, and I always do better with them than without them.

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

What’s your opinion on Guyton & Hall vs Costanzo? I like textbooks, and I always do better with them than without them.

Anking is basically big Costanzo in flash card form and takes a lot of the diagrams from there. It makes sense to read it if you want a greater depth of understanding as you're doing the cards if bnb videos aren't cutting it which unfortunately was the case for me. Plus, at the time I was covering the material the anking deck wasn't tagged to the videos that aligned with my lectures so it just made sense to do the cards along with reading Costanzo. I'm glad I did because I was never much of a textbook person myself but in this case she just made everything so much easier to understand, especially those conceptually dense topics in cardio/pulm/renal. There's no fluff and everything is explained in a very straightforward manner.

Guyton-Hall is overkill imo but they do have a decent practice qbank review book separate from their textbook. I recommend doing those along with BRS phys (little Costanzo) to prepare for your in-house exams.

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[slowthai]

Anking is basically big Costanzo in flash card form and takes a lot of the diagrams from there. It makes sense to read it if you want a greater depth of understanding as you're doing the cards if bnb videos aren't cutting it which unfortunately was the case for me. Plus, at the time I was covering the material the anking deck wasn't tagged to the videos that aligned with my lectures so it just made sense to do the cards along with reading Costanzo. I'm glad I did because I was never much of a textbook person myself but in this case she just made everything so much easier to understand, especially those conceptually dense topics in cardio/pulm/renal. There's no fluff and everything is explained in a very straightforward manner.

Guyton-Hall is overkill imo but they do have a decent practice qbank review book separate from their textbook. I recommend doing those along with BRS phys (little Costanzo) to prepare for your in-house exams.

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Couldn't agree more.

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

Going through lecture materials makes me want to push daggers into my eyes, but the opportunity cost of not passing is just too high, lol. Hoping that I'll be able to coast off the strength of step studying next year.

The lecture material is just too divergent from third party resources. In houses for the loss

Bro sometimes I think we go to the same school but it's probably the case that M1 is universally a cess pool of LY **** that makes you want to push daggers into your eyes. I heard from M2s that it gets much better for us doing anking. There won't be as much "juggling" so to speak.

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Bro sometimes I think we go to the same school but it's probably the case that M1 is universally a cess pool of LY **** that makes you want to push daggers into your eyes. I heard from M2s that it gets much better for us doing anking. There won't be as much "juggling" so to speak.

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I’m just happy preclinical is only 1.5 years at my school. I don’t know how people do this for 2 solid years. I guess if I actually got a summer break and not just a week off, it’d be easier.

 

[slowthai]

Bro sometimes I think we go to the same school but it's probably the case that M1 is universally a cess pool of LY **** that makes you want to push daggers into your eyes. I heard from M2s that it gets much better for us doing anking. There won't be as much "juggling" so to speak.

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Hahaha yeah, I think it's pretty widespread. That's awesome, really look forward to that.

 

[altblue]

I’m just happy preclinical is only 1.5 years at my school. I don’t know how people do this for 2 solid years. I guess if I actually got a summer break and not just a week off, it’d be easier.

Yeah, the two year preclinical for us is pretty rough. More minutiae than you can imagine

The relative flexibility compared to the clinical years is nice, though. I can have steady hobbies for another year, so there's that

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yeah, the two year preclinical for us is pretty rough. More minutiae than you can imagine

The relative flexibility compared to the clinical years is nice, though. I can have steady hobbies for another year, so there's that

Yeah it’s nice getting an extra 6 months of rotations. And I guess since we don’t get a summer break we are doing the same amount of material. We just finish and go to rotations earlier. But man I’m ready for that week off haha.

 

[CaptainZeki]

Yeah it’s nice getting an extra 6 months of rotations. And I guess since we don’t get a summer break we are doing the same amount of material. We just finish and go to rotations earlier. But man I’m ready for that week off haha.

my preclinicals are also 1.5 years but we do have a short summer break b/w MS1 and 2. I also take STEP1 after some clerkships.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

my preclinicals are also 1.5 years but we do have a short summer break b/w MS1 and 2. I also take STEP1 after some clerkships.

We do that too. We get two weeks off, but not in a row thanks to the covid. We also take step halfway through third year.

 

[CaptainZeki]

We do that too. We get two weeks off, but not in a row thanks to the covid. We also take step halfway through third year.

Wow our schools are oddly similar lol


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[Medical_studies]

I'd get B&B and FA for your first year, watch B&B and Pathoma as you learn the material in class and use Rx along side. This will give you a SOLID foundation which is really the key to passing Step. Doing questions is the key to 250+ on top of the good foundation. I did Rx and B&B as I was learning, and then saved Kaplan to start during 40 question blocks during 2nd year (maybe in like...December I started doing 40 question blocks). Also, I didn't start using Zanki until January of year 2 and although I wish i started using it sooner, I'm kind of glad I was able to relearn with Zanki because it really stuck in my head while I wasn't far away from Step 1. If I had done Zanki earlier, I feel like I would have matured the cards for a specific topic a long time ago and maybe wouldve forgotten it. That's just me though

Also, I can't emphasize enough how important sketchy micro/pharm is. I just took Step 1 on wednesday and it felt like the questions were literally taken directly out of the sketches. Anyone who doesnt use sketchy because they "aren't a visual learner" is really missing out IMO. Watch the sketches when you learn micro, rewatch near dedicated, do the relevant Zanki cards for each video after you watch them the second time around.

I didn't do ANY of this stuff first year and it worked out ok but, the foundational education in first year is more important than doing questions. Get yourself a solid background, learn the details first year and youll thank yourself later. Good luck!

Also, to address your last question, I'd get the most updated or 1 year old version of FA, not much older than that. The other resources are all online so youll automatically get the most updated when you buy it.

This is perfect advice. Especially if the test isn't pass/fail before you take it. The only thing I would advice is add is a Likebook Mars e-ink ereader to study all these resources on. It's a $200 kindle that can play videos. You'll have to adjust some fonts in zanki, etc, but you can be on it 18 hours a day without getting fatigued, or use it on the beach, etc. It will also read your class slides, qbank apps, anything. Also glows in the dark for night time studying. You will feel like you're reading a book. Attached is a sample

edit: I forgot uworld updated their app and its not compatible anymore. I run uworld from a chrome browser on the e ink reader. If you spend a couple hundred more, you can get nicer readers with newer versions of android, or at $850 a 13.3 one with a superprocessor and a stylus to take notes on slides (Onyx Boox Max 3).

 

[premeddestiny]

Hi yall
I accepted an offer at a new MD school in my state. As such, I will not have upperclassmen to guide me in my first year in terms of resources and what is available.

So here are my questions that I hope someone can help me figure out:
1) I understand there is a range of resources such as Amboss, World, FA, B&B, Pathoma...Which resources should I invest in (school stated during interview day that they will purchase a resource for STEP 1 prep but did not state which one)?

2) When do I use these resources? Are they used in conjunction with class during the first block? Or do I save them for MS2/summer before MS2? Do I refer to these resources during the block?

3) Is it wise to purchase these resources now and have them ready to use when school starts? Or how does everyone else get access to these resources? (I know upperclassmen typically share them...that will not be the case with my school)

If you have any tips, they would be greatly appreciated!!

1) I found First Aid and Pathoma to be useful, although my classmates also found Amboss, Firecracker, Boards and Beyond and Sketchy useful as well.

2) You can certainly start using First Aid in first-year as a supplement to the lecture materials. Considering that Step 1 will now be pass/fail for you, you don't have to be as obsessed with First Aid as the previous classes.

3) Certainly as additional resources to help guide your learning.