Is it worth doing 1x pass of First Aid during MS2 winter break?

[Brahventus]

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I have to admit that I haven't been using FA as much as I wanted to during the first half of MS2 so I was wondering if winter break is a good time to catch up on it. I want to get through FA at least 1-2x before dedicated..

 

[muslimforever]

Before I start, I will make it clear that I have even less experience with med school than you do.

First aid is a thick book with a lot of information. While you might not be able to memorize it in winter break, you could familiarize yourself with the book. One way you could do this is by making the skeleton of a data structure for your brain. What I mean by this is you could find one piece of information on each page that you recognize and then associate that page with that piece of information (i. e. the page that had to do with maternal disomy causing 25% of Parader-Willi). With that skeleton you could incorporate the method of loci into your studying during the dedicated study period as a form of last minute cramming (after all, isn't that what the dedicated study period is all about?).

I am curious to see what other people think though...

 

[Donald Juan]

I think it is worth while studying at this point for step 1...although I started dabbling before winter break, and took winter break mostly off to start ramping it up in January.

I never did any passes of first aid....I planned on it, but fell asleep on page 2 every time I tried going through it. Instead I used it as a reference book when I needed to review broad concepts that I was getting wrong in questions.

So, yes, if you want to, start studying. If you find yourself snoring on the first page, feel free to try some other study tactic for step 1 prep (do questions).

 

[TBV]

Anybody disagree with Donald?

 

[synecdoche]

No, it isn't worth it.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I would just review the areas you have already covered in your medical school coursework. If you run out of material there is always Pathoma as well!

---- I studied during winter break, but not on actual holidays----

 

[smokn]

Same boat as OP. Debating between 1st pass through FA or playing catchup on UW...I might split the time down the middle.

 

[Psai]

I'd just watch pathoma

 

[Brahventus]

Pathoma is the only board resource I've used thoroughly with my classes. What about doing most of a qbank like usmleRx in those two weeks?

 

[Psai]

Pathoma is the only board resource I've used thoroughly with my classes. What about doing most of a qbank like usmleRx in those two weeks?

Good idea but I don't know how much of it you will get through

 

[masaraksh]

Before I start, I will make it clear that I have even less experience with med school than you do.

First aid is a thick book with a lot of information. While you might not be able to memorize it in winter break, you could familiarize yourself with the book. One way you could do this is by making the skeleton of a data structure for your brain. What I mean by this is you could find one piece of information on each page that you recognize and then associate that page with that piece of information (i. e. the page that had to do with maternal disomy causing 25% of Parader-Willi). With that skeleton you could incorporate the method of loci into your studying during the dedicated study period as a form of last minute cramming (after all, isn't that what the dedicated study period is all about?).

I am curious to see what other people think though...

Good reason to just not post.

 

[Señor S]

Pathoma is the only board resource I've used thoroughly with my classes. What about doing most of a qbank like usmleRx in those two weeks?

This is what I would do if you can stomach it.

 

[masaraksh]

Pathoma is the only board resource I've used thoroughly with my classes. What about doing most of a qbank like usmleRx in those two weeks?

Getting through an entire qbank in 2 weeks like that is ambitious.. but definitely possible.

Very possible to do ~2000 questions, but the more consuming part seems to be the review. Thats assuming you review questions you got wrong as well as questions you got right.


Also, you will probably feel pretty burned up after that.

 

[Entadus]

Personally I will be reviewing a single organ system (the first one completed at my school) since it is also the first one I'm forgetting. Winter break will be the perfect chance to go through the Pathoma, USMLE-Rx, and review book for that system.

Spring break is likely when I'll make an attempt at First Aid complete pass #1

 

[smokn]

Spring break is likely when I'll make an attempt at First Aid complete pass #1

I like this idea. Maybe I'll go through the Qbank for the organ systems we covered through the fall over Christmas break. That way, I can knock out the spring systems as we go and I don't have to spend my Christmas break agonizing over dry FA material.

 

[chronicidal]

Winter break is a great time to catch up. I spent the greater part of a week during winter break going through just the cardio chapter, cross-referencing with UptoDate and Lilly, and making Anki cards out of everything.

By the time I took my first NBME in late Jan, I was already hitting the hard edge of the grading curve and was just 11 points away from my final score (in June).

FA 2016 is released January 8. Pre-order on Amazon. Then you really need to hit the book. Waiting until spring break to attempt first pass is what the average student does. You want to be better than average.

 

[DancingDoggie]

I think it's a good idea to read along on FA as you go through MS2, if only to get a good sense of layout of the book and a grasp of what kinds of concepts are covered. When you are actively studying for Step 1, nothing is more frustrating than wasting a lot of time flipping through the book page by page to look up something (index is terrible), or spending 10 minutes writing something in, only to realize that the material is already included 5 pages later.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Winter break is a great time to catch up. I spent the greater part of a week during winter break going through just the cardio chapter, cross-referencing with UptoDate and Lilly, and making Anki cards out of everything.

By the time I took my first NBME in late Jan, I was already hitting the hard edge of the grading curve and was just 11 points away from my final score (in June).

FA 2016 is released January 8. Pre-order on Amazon. Then you really need to hit the book. Waiting until spring break to attempt first pass is what the average student does. You want to be better than average.

If anything, your post argues against studying over winter break... If your step score was at its peak by the end of January, you could have achieved the same grade by studying during your dedicated time.

I'll go against the tide and recommend not exhausting yourself over winter break. By April/May of MS-2 you begin to lose the will to study. Hardcore studying will only make that worse.

 

[Stagg737]

FA 2016 is released January 8. Pre-order on Amazon. Then you really need to hit the book. Waiting until spring break to attempt first pass is what the average student does. You want to be better than average.

Side question on the bolded: Is it necessary/recommended to buy the 2016 version of FA if I've already got the 2015 version? I haven't used it significantly, but am starting to take all my high yield notes in it and don't want to transfer them to a new book. I really don't see how the test could change that much in 1 year, but am wondering if it's really worth it to buy the latest version.

 

[TBV]

Side question on the bolded: Is it necessary/recommended to buy the 2016 version of FA if I've already got the 2015 version? I haven't used it significantly, but am starting to take all my high yield notes in it and don't want to transfer them to a new book. I really don't see how the test could change that much in 1 year, but am wondering if it's really worth it to buy the latest version.

Advisor at my school says it's absolutely worth it. She keeps a running list of corrections and changes from year to year and the list is substantial. I'm probably going to go for the upgrade.

 

[synecdoche]

If anything, your post argues against studying over winter break... If your step score was at its peak by the end of January, you could have achieved the same grade by studying during your dedicated time.

I'll go against the tide and recommend not exhausting yourself over winter break. By April/May of MS-2 you begin to lose the will to study. Hardcore studying will only make that worse.

You beat me to it! Exactly - a score increase of 11 points from January to June or whatever doesn't mean it's a good idea to study over break. It means that you wasted your break studying.

 

[chronicidal]

If anything, your post argues against studying over winter break... If your step score was at its peak by the end of January, you could have achieved the same grade by studying during your dedicated time.

I'll go against the tide and recommend not exhausting yourself over winter break. By April/May of MS-2 you begin to lose the will to study. Hardcore studying will only make that worse.

There are multiple ways to look at it. As with anything, you get diminishing returns after a certain point. But I was willing to put in the effort to eek out 10 more points. That required front-loading most of my learning and getting past the steep part of the curve by January. I thought I had the endurance, and I was playing the long game with Anki. I think that scheme alone created retention benefits that lasted half way through M3 shelf exams.

 

[ACSurgeon]

There are multiple ways to look at it. As with anything, you get diminishing returns after a certain point. But I was willing to put in the effort to eek out 10 more points. That required front-loading most of my learning and getting past the steep part of the curve by January. I thought I had the endurance, and I was playing the long game with Anki. I think that scheme alone created retention benefits that lasted half way through M3 shelf exams.

I'll never fault anyone for working hard or studying ahead of time to do the best they can. I'm glad it worked for you. I'm just cautioning those who might burn out and end up hurting themselves in the long run. Especially those who won't enjoy their winter break and have little to show for it at the end (ie a lot of attempts to study for step 1 but never really starting).

 

[Doctor Strange]

Winter break is for getting drunk with friends and family. I wouldn't recommend doing FA over break at all.

 

[dfib slim]

Watch the first 3 chapters of Pathoma during the break. Start working yourself up to doing a block a day of questions like Rx or Kaplan then onto UW when you get closer to Step1. You can knock out 10,000 questions comfortably during that 6 months but you have to start out slow and steady. Don't burn out by doing Rx in 2 weeks.

 

[asdf123g]

Watch the first 3 chapters of Pathoma during the break. Start working yourself up to doing a block a day of questions like Rx or Kaplan then onto UW when you get closer to Step1. You can knock out 10,000 questions comfortably during that 6 months but you have to start out slow and steady. Don't burn out by doing Rx in 2 weeks.

Is that feasible? I mean theres still content review AND your classes you gotta pass...

 

[dfib slim]

Is that feasible? I mean theres still content review AND your classes you gotta pass...

It only takes about 2 hours to do a block of questions with review and grades shouldn't take a hit if you have the discipline.

 

[tantacles]

It only takes about 2 hours to do a block of questions with review and grades shouldn't take a hit if you have the discipline.

Really depends on how you review. Each block took me a total of 3-4 hours if I really put in the time to annotate and read every answer, even on the ones I got correct. Definitely operator-specific.

I would say, with regard to the answer to the initial question of the thread, that it's worthwhile to go through first aid over Christmas break depending on your date. I started studying 3.5-4 months out, and it was very helpful.

In addition, I would always stick with the previous year's version of FA. Each year's book is chock full of errors, and the errata are already out for this year's version and can be annotated directly into FA. Myself, I took the exam in 2014 and used FA 2012 with no problems.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

It only takes about 2 hours to do a block of questions with review and grades shouldn't take a hit if you have the discipline.

Like tantacles said, everyone reviews Qbank questions differently. It would take me at least 4 hours to complete and review a whole question set (46 questions at the time).

 

[ortnakas]

How much do you need the updated First Aid? I've been working out of a 2014 version, and will be taking the exam June 2016. Am I better off working out of a version I've already worked on annotating, or starting over with a new one?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

How much do you need the updated First Aid? I've been working out of a 2014 version, and will be taking the exam June 2016. Am I better off working out of a version I've already worked on annotating, or starting over with a new one?

I deliberately chose not to use the new FA for my Step prep because the errata take a few months to be found and published. I used FA 2014 to study for Step 2015 and had no issues.

 

[chronicidal]

I deliberately chose not to use the new FA for my Step prep because the errata take a few months to be found and published. I used FA 2014 to study for Step 2015 and had no issues.

I chose to use the new FA so I could make money finding errata.

I believe FA 2016 will have fewer errata.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I chose to use the new FA so I could make money finding errata.

I believe FA 2016 will have fewer errata.

...and I saved money by only purchasing 1 copy of FA 😉

 

[chronicidal]

...and I saved money by only purchasing 1 copy of FA 😉

Price of book = 2 major and 1 minor errata, or 1 major and 3 minor errata
Learning deep enough to catch errata = priceless