More Important/Useful summer after MS-I - board study or research

[DotheDo]

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Hello,
I have landed a really great reseach assignment for the summer...but I wanted to also study a decent amount for the boards -- i feel like i didn't learn a lot of hte materail that well or have forgotten....what do you think would be best...but if i do the reserach...i will lose on a lot studying for the boards and practice problems..etc. what do you think?

 

[NSMedStudent]

I think you should definitely take the research position. Research can be extremely useful on your CV when you apply for residency. I did research that summer as well, but I also considered studying for boards. The thing about that is that studying hard that summer for boards really won't help you that much. Particularly with things that require memorization (as opposed to purely understanding concepts, like phys), you probably won't remember it a year later anyway. You will have nights and weekends to study a little if you wanted, and my suggestion would be to get some board review books that you know you'll use next year for board study, and just go over the subjects you've had your first year. This will help you fill in the holes that you didn't cover or maybe didn't learn very well. It will be particularly helpful for things like immunology, neurobiology and physiology especially. Then when you study the following year, you'll be able to take off from more solid ground. Just don't waste a lot of time trying to memorize hard-core facts because you'll just forget them again anyway. Take time to enjoy your summer as well. Good luck! 🙂

 

[klubguts]

I agree...take the research position and strenghten your CV for residency apps. IMHO, studying for the boards after MS1 year is largely a waste of time (please don't flame me, just my 0.02). You also want to enjoy your free time this summer...trust me, you'll spend a large portion of your summer break next year studying for that exam anyway. Best of luck.

 

[Blake]

Try doing both, mainly focusing on research though. That's what I'm doing this summer. Have fun !

 

[thackl]

You guys kill me 🙄 I picked up an Aprilia Mille SLR last Thursday (Italian hand-built motorcycle for those who don't follow that type of thing). That's what I'm doing (along with a few family vacations). A bunch of my friends are backpacking through Europe and a few are doing 4wk preceptorships then relaxing. Enjoy the summer padding your resume.

 

[MeowMix]

I've had a difficult MS1 year and did OK but not great in many classes; I had minimal bio background.

I was advised by a very senior faculty member (former dean of students at 2 excellent med schools) to spend 2 hours/day this summer reviewing material from this year. The idea is to increase confidence going into next year and to solidify things I didn't really learn this year. This person has worked with med students for 30 years and saved me when I was failing everything in the winter, so I take their advice pretty seriously.

This is not resume-padding or a board-prep trick; it is just recognizing that some of us need a little more work than others do. I will not be doing any research or other high-quality resume-padding this summer. 😀

 

[felipe5]

You guys kill me 🙄 I picked up an Aprilia Mille SLR last Thursday (Italian hand-built motorcycle for those who don't follow that type of thing). That's what I'm doing (along with a few family vacations). A bunch of my friends are backpacking through Europe and a few are doing 4wk preceptorships then relaxing. Enjoy the summer padding your resume.

yeah man, i'm in your boat....I'll be traveling throughout the summer. It will be the one of our last free summers, so screw studying biochem