Micro

[freesolo]

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micro is one of my weak areas,I want to read micro made ridiculously simple, how do u guys go about reading the whole book in a few days like a bunch of the uslme study schedules say and get anything out of it? Also should i make my own flashcards for micro or is there any that have what we need for step I only, and not a bunch of extraneous material?

 

[drchick331]

micro is one of my weak areas,I want to read micro made ridiculously simple, how do u guys go about reading the whole book in a few days like a bunch of the uslme study schedules say and get anything out of it? Also should i make my own flashcards for micro or is there any that have what we need for step I only, and not a bunch of extraneous material?

Personally I only used FA and thought it was sufficient (I wasn't a fan of ridiculously simple)...if you are really concerned, try some flashcards (either buy or make your own)...you can start with a few each day now and by boards, you will be good to go!🙂

 

[USArmyDoc]

Personally I only used FA and thought it was sufficient (I wasn't a fan of ridiculously simple)...if you are really concerned, try some flashcards (either buy or make your own)...you can start with a few each day now and by boards, you will be good to go!🙂

I am making my own flashcards out of FA....Do you guys think that'll be sufficient for the exam? I can't see myself making cards out of MRS....I am going to read it though. It has some good ways the remember things.

 

[SOUNDMAN]

I was able to read it essentially cover to cover in 2 days. It actually reads VERY fast I thought. It was my second time through it since I used it during micro in the first year. I added some of the things to FA, and a couple of the pictures, but I really felt comfortable with micro after reading it, and going through FA. From here on out, it will be FA only for the rest of my review, and test is in 7 weeks...yikes!

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Micro was by far the most heavily tested subject on my exam. Twice as many micro questions as path or phys questions. Maybe an aberration. Dunno. Couple questions asked about bugs like acinetobacter that I was able to find in Levinson, but not in FA. Lots of questions on specific virulence factors.

 

[HIJay]

my exam, the micro part was heavily focused on the mechanisms of diff toxins of the bugs. it was all in FA.

 

[78222]

Micro was by far the most heavily tested subject on my exam. Twice as many micro questions as path or phys questions. Maybe an aberration. Dunno. Couple questions asked about bugs like acinetobacter that I was able to find in Levinson, but not in FA. Lots of questions on specific virulence factors.

my exam, the micro part was heavily focused on the mechanisms of diff toxins of the bugs. it was all in FA.

*gets that sinking "i'm boned" feeling*

 

[Terpskins99]

micro is one of my weak areas,I want to read micro made ridiculously simple, how do u guys go about reading the whole book in a few days like a bunch of the uslme study schedules say and get anything out of it? Also should i make my own flashcards for micro or is there any that have what we need for step I only, and not a bunch of extraneous material?

Well first off, try actually reading it. Its written to be somewhat humorous and entertaining. It goes by pretty quickly.

But if you feel pressed to stay on super tight schedule, I'd recommend focusing on their charts (better yet, make your own). Know lab tests/identifying features, disease mechanism and most importantly DOC's (be warned, you may need to know more than one for a particular bug).

 

[lankysudanese]

micro is one of my weak areas,I want to read micro made ridiculously simple, how do u guys go about reading the whole book in a few days like a bunch of the uslme study schedules say and get anything out of it? Also should i make my own flashcards for micro or is there any that have what we need for step I only, and not a bunch of extraneous material?

I think that you are quite mistaken if you presume that you could transform your weakness in such a highly-tested subject to a level of knowledge through which every question becomes ridiculously simple, in a few days!

most of the respondants on this threads have not acknowledged the fact that you identified it as a weak area, which means that you have already taken the first step in usmle prep: identifying weak areas.

if you truly want to significantly improve your performance in micro, then my advice would be:
1. study hard during micro course in MS2
2. pick a review book which actually explains info in detail and makes connections/correlations (vital for the 2-step and 3-step questions). I personally liked Kaplan, but my roomate used Lippincott and also scored well.
3. dedicate more than a few days for this (and any other) high-yield subject, especially if it is a weak area.

Good Luck

 

[SoCuteMD]

I liked the Lippincott Microcards. I used them for the course (did well) and for Step 1 (did well). I dedicated 2 days to microbiology principles and basics, and then reviewed about 30 mins to an hour of micro every day for the duration of my Step 1 study (about a month). This method worked well for me.

EDIT: I also liked Case Files Microbiology

EDIT: I agree with lankysudanese. Micro MRS won't transform your micro knowledge, but it may be a good starting point.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I agree with above, if it's a weak area BY ALL MEANS GIVE YOURSELF EXTRA TIME TO GET GOOD. This is one area you can't let hamstring you.

That said, I'd start of giving MMRS a shot. It does read very fast (I think I killed the majority of this book sitting in the backseat over a three day roadtrip. Yes, I'm lame.) Plus I've known some people who "sucked at Micro" who thought this book gave them a great framework for studying ("Better than an entire years micro lectures put together": a friend of mine). But you're going to need more effort than this. I'd suggest flashcards, Q banks, extra books, whatever works for you.

One word of warning though: Don't rely on Kaplan's Qbank for micro. It's got some good questions in it, but some that are so ridiculously low yield you should just skip on by. Any asking about disease you don't read in other books (Rat fever or whatever) just brush it off.

Now if you don't like MMRS, that's okay too. Not everybody tolerates the cutesy picture and style. You're not doomed. Just go on to others sources.

 

[freesolo]

thank u for the good advice, and yes kaplan qbank is ridiculous sometimes i cant find some of this stuff in first aid anywhere..

 

[soon2Bmd2005]

hey do you guys know if protozoa, helminths are heavily tested? i just can't seem to remember any of these. did any of you have these on your exams? thanks!

 

[78222]

I think that you are quite mistaken if you presume that you could transform your weakness in such a highly-tested subject to a level of knowledge through which every question becomes ridiculously simple, in a few days!

most of the respondants on this threads have not acknowledged the fact that you identified it as a weak area, which means that you have already taken the first step in usmle prep: identifying weak areas.

if you truly want to significantly improve your performance in micro, then my advice would be:
1. study hard during micro course in MS2
2. pick a review book which actually explains info in detail and makes connections/correlations (vital for the 2-step and 3-step questions). I personally liked Kaplan, but my roomate used Lippincott and also scored well.
3. dedicate more than a few days for this (and any other) high-yield subject, especially if it is a weak area.

Good Luck

umm, I don't think he's saying he expects to be able to answer micro questions easily in a few days, he said he wants to read "Micro Made Ridiculously Simple" in a few days.