Is this study strategy okay?

[StevensBibi]

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I'm an M1 and have slightly changed the way I study. Now, I usually make one pass through the lecture material (watch the lecture, annotate, etc). After that, I usually read the corresponding lectures in a board review book. Then I might watch some videos to solid concepts and then end up doing practice problems from BRS series.

This is unlike other people who make multiple passes through the lecture material alone. I want to know if it's okay to do this or I should stick to lecture material and have faith the material will line up exactly with USMLE material. The issue with my study method is that I do end up missing little points that were mentioned in lecture but not in the board review books. Or that I end up "wasting" time learning some concepts not mentioned in lecture material.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Short answer: You are still an M1. Focus on learning HOW to study and stay afloat in medical school before focusing heavily on Step 1. It is fine to supplement your lectures every now and again, but you will cover a majority of the Step 1 content when learning organ systems as an M2.

Long Answer: In my experience, lecture material usually missed some key points that were considered HY for step.

Contrary to what many people think, unless you are shooting for AOA, preclinical grades are not that important. Unless you have big red flags (multiple F's), residency programs will look at your Step 1 score and consider it a summary of your preclinical knowledge.

Back to your question. Great job supplementing your lecture content with BRS! I always used Step 1 study materials as my FIRST pass through lecture topics get a broad overview (example: Reading The Neoplasia chapter of Pathoma before reviewing cancer lectures). I then went through lecture content in great detail to do well on my med school exams. Some topics in my old med school lectures, considered low-yield by me at the time, ended up still appearing on my Step exam!

Doing well on Step 1 often means studying material outside of your medical school's lectures, such as FA, UWORLD, and Pathoma. Do not worry if you cannot cover all the minutia mentioned in 1 med school lecture, just search for the topics that you see repeatedly! (CHF, renal failure, lethal drug side effects, etc.)

 

[StevensBibi]

Short answer: You are still an M1. Focus on learning HOW to study and stay afloat in medical school before focusing heavily on Step 1. It is fine to supplement your lectures every now and again, but you will cover a majority of the Step 1 content when learning organ systems as an M2.

Long Answer: In my experience, lecture material usually missed some key points that were considered HY for step.

Contrary to what many people think, unless you are shooting for AOA, preclinical grades are not that important. Unless you have big red flags (multiple F's), residency programs will look at your Step 1 score and consider it a summary of your preclinical knowledge.

Back to your question. Great job supplementing your lecture content with BRS! I always used Step 1 study materials as my FIRST pass through lecture topics get a broad overview (example: Reading The Neoplasia chapter of Pathoma before reviewing cancer lectures). I then went through lecture content in great detail to do well on my med school exams. Some topics in my old med school lectures, considered low-yield by me at the time, ended up still appearing on my Step exam!

Doing well on Step 1 often means studying material outside of your medical school's lectures, such as FA, UWORLD, and Pathoma. Do not worry if you cannot cover all the minutia mentioned in 1 med school lecture, just search for the topics that you see repeatedly! (CHF, renal failure, lethal drug side effects, etc.)

Thanks of the response! So you are saying that it is okay if I only make 1 pass through lecture material and then focus on board review books? I think I've figured out how to study and stay afloat, but that was only using lecture material.

 

[allojay]

Thanks of the response! So you are saying that it is okay if I only make 1 pass through lecture material and then focus on board review books? I think I've figured out how to study and stay afloat, but that was only using lecture material.

I completely agree with the comment above. But I would advise making more than one pass through lecture material if you can. I'm not sure how busy you are but even as an M2 using board resources with classes, I find the time to review lecture material stuff 3 times before an exam. But one time is better than none.

 

[futuremdforme]

How's it working for you? I'd test it in one course, see how it goes, and continue from there.

 

[asdf123g]

is it worth committing to memory info not covered in your lecture on a topic during MS1? Wont you just forget it?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

is it worth committing to memory info not covered in your lecture on a topic during MS1? Wont you just forget it?

Most high-yield topics get covered in Lectures/Med School Exams/NBMEs/Step Resources ad nauseam throughout first and second year. Minute facts may be forgotten if you only see them once, but major topics are incorporated into long-term memory because you see it repeatedly.

 

[asdf123g]

Most high-yield topics get covered in Lectures/Med School Exams/NBMEs/Step Resources ad nauseam throughout first and second year. Minute facts may be forgotten if you only see them once, but major topics are incorporated into long-term memory because you see it repeatedly.

i just cant wrap around my head how someone can memorize 200 slides a day on top of reading something like FA too on the topics covered....is that what people do or am i just wrong?

 

[Stagg737]

i just cant wrap around my head how someone can memorize 200 slides a day on top of reading something like FA too on the topics covered....is that what people do or am i just wrong?

If the lectures are relevant to boards, then FA should hit the high-yield stuff from the lectures and should be almost entirely review. That being said, FA will probably have info that you won't cover until 2nd year. I didn't use it at all first year and did pretty well in most sections. I've started taking notes in it this year, but still focus mostly on class material for now.

 

[mxmd]

I'm an M1 and have slightly changed the way I study. Now, I usually make one pass through the lecture material (watch the lecture, annotate, etc). After that, I usually read the corresponding lectures in a board review book. Then I might watch some videos to solid concepts and then end up doing practice problems from BRS series.

This is unlike other people who make multiple passes through the lecture material alone. I want to know if it's okay to do this or I should stick to lecture material and have faith the material will line up exactly with USMLE material. The issue with my study method is that I do end up missing little points that were mentioned in lecture but not in the board review books. Or that I end up "wasting" time learning some concepts not mentioned in lecture material.

Great idea reviewing everything with a review book like BRS.. I especially recommend BRS anatomy and embryology!

I'm just going to add this -- Because there's just so much to learn in medical school, and you just started it, you may want to take advantage of spaced repetition build it into your studying habits -- the concept is that when you first learn something you'll forget it rapidly over the next few days. Come back to it in a few days and review it again, this way you'll remember more of it. It's how I learned those pesky cranial nerves.

I actually wrote an article on developing a study strategy on my blog, that may help you. (http://bluescrubsmd.com/10-point-strategy-to-study-better-and-ace-your-tests/). Good luck! 🙂