Most relevant M1 classes?

[NTF]

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So what would you say are the most relevant M1 classes going forward for Step1 and our clinical years?

The reason I ask is that my school pays M2's to be tutors and small group leaders for M1 classes. I feel like it's a good way to not have all that material completely vanish from my head.

We take histo, gross, physio, biochem, brain/behaviour, and clinical skills during M1.

 

[DrBowtie]

Physiology.

 

[Eta Carinae]

The thing I "love" about the NBME is that they are masters of coming out of left field.

I spent a lot of time preparing for the step focused on embryology/biochem because based on my USMLEWorld percentile breakdowns, I felt I needed to work on those areas.

My actual Step 1 exam however, was heavy path and rads. Lots of AnatomicalPath Slides and CT scans.

I think your focus should be a great foundation in physiology but for the Step, consistently the students with 99s almost uniformly honored EVERY preclinical course.

 

[Eta Carinae]

So what would you say are the most relevant M1 classes going forward for Step1 and our clinical years?

The reason I ask is that my school pays M2's to be tutors and small group leaders for M1 classes. I feel like it's a good way to not have all that material completely vanish from my head.

We take histo, gross, physio, biochem, brain/behaviour, and clinical skills during M1.

I already love your school 👍

 

[howelljolly]

The thing I "love" about the NBME is that they are masters of coming out of left field.

I spent a lot of time preparing for the step focused on embryology/biochem because based on my USMLEWorld percentile breakdowns, I felt I needed to work on those areas.

My actual Step 1 exam however, was heavy path and rads. Lots of AnatomicalPath Slides and CT scans.

I think your focus should be a great foundation in physiology but for the Step, consistently the students with 99s almost uniformly honored EVERY preclinical course.

Maybe it might have seemed that way in hindsight? We all seem to remember the test being heavy in whatever it is we remember. And we usually remember the things that surprised us or made us think waaay too much. Even though Ive taken two of these bloody tests as well, I might agree that the USMLE balances the subjects pretty well.

You might remember seeing a lot of CT scans and pathology slides because of the "oh crap" value. The commercial Step1 review people say that the questions which have images are generally easier, and can be answered without actually looking at the picture for the most part. I found that to be completely true for my test.

Anyway, yes know everything. My step1 was definitely systems based. The question stem would be pathology and the question would be about the biochem of they type of cell in the pathology. Or, the stem would set you up with physiology and then asks you the side effect of the drug which acts on this feedback loop. They didnt stay in the same subject and ask an associated second-step question (like I had prepared for). I remember that they did not ask "high yield" topics. No cardiac or renal physio, no ANS drugs, no bacteriology...

Physiology will take you the farthest.... it makes pharmacology much easier, and comes up in clinical years more than any other M1 class.

oh the memories

 

[Eta Carinae]

You might remember seeing a lot of CT scans and pathology slides because of the "oh crap" value. The commercial Step1 review people say that the questions which have images are generally easier, and can be answered without actually looking at the picture for the most part.

No, no "oh crap" value.

I had no embryology whatsoever on my test.

the CT scans were very hard to decipher. the imaging questions are not automatically easy to figure out.

 

[NTF]

So sounds to me like physio and gross are the early consensus.

I think I'd really enjoy being a physio group leader. It's probably my favorite class. Being a gross tutor would be painful for me. I don't really relish having to spend more time in the lab, though having additional time with the radiology would be pretty useful.

Thanks for the input!

 

[NTF]

I already love your school 👍

I like it. The previous years numbers for the Steps are pretty good. I'm sure having the M2's involved in M1 instruction is a part of it.

 

[howelljolly]

No, no "oh crap" value.

I had no embryology whatsoever on my test.

the CT scans were very hard to decipher. the imaging questions are not automatically easy to figure out.

Eh, my CT scans were hard to decipher too. So I ignored them and answered the question. Then I "confirmed" with the CT scan.

"Hmmm, seems like they're talking about the pancreas. Is the arrow pointing somewhere near the pancreas??? Maybe.... I'll pick pancreas anyway"

Theres no pre-clinical radiology class (at least in the standard curriculum). You dont have to be able to read a scan for Step1 The way I see it, theyre :
a)trying to make you nervious and
b)expecting you to figure out the answer based on background information, and use the picture to confirm just like in the hospital.

whatever.

 

[Eta Carinae]

Eh, my CT scans were hard to decipher too. So I ignored them and answered the question. Then I "confirmed" with the CT scan.

"Hmmm, seems like they're talking about the pancreas. Is the arrow pointing somewhere near the pancreas??? Maybe.... I'll pick pancreas anyway"

you're speaking my strategy language

 

[HPSPpayissues]

So sounds to me like physio and gross are the early consensus.

No one said anything about Gross. It is least relevant unless you want to be a surgoen or radiologist. Biochem>>>>> Gross for step 1 in high yield. What da heck. Even Behavioreal >>> Groosss

 

[howelljolly]

No one said anything about Gross. It is least relevant unless you want to be a surgoen or radiologist. Biochem>>>>> Gross for step 1 in high yield. What da heck. Even Behavioreal >>> Groosss

Gross is the lowest yield subject ever. Its not even useful for surgery. You'll learn surgical anatomy when you do surgery.

I had TWO gross anatomy questions on step1, and one of them wasn't even gross anatomy.

 

[NTF]

No one said anything about Gross. It is least relevant unless you want to be a surgoen or radiologist. Biochem>>>>> Gross for step 1 in high yield. What da heck. Even Behavioreal >>> Groosss

People referred to radiographs and at my school gross is where all the radiology content is presented. But I'm reassured that Gross is less emphasized cuz I find it the hardest to retain.

 

[45408]

Not that I remember Step 1 very well, but I don't recall the imaging being very hard....


Anyways, I'd say physiology is the highest yield for Step 1.

 

[reedman]

physiology teaches us to think about how the body works. i think that is the most important thing we can learn in m1.

yeah i feel like gross is needlessly tedious and radiology is clearly low priority at my school. its funny because radiology is the main way most physicians use their anatomy knowledge.

 

[njbmd]

In general, path, pharm and physio are the highest yield subject matter. This doesn't mean that there will not be questions on other things. In terms of the OPs question, physio is the most useful however, trying to memorize any one or two particular subjects in isolation isn't going to work very well because the exam is integrated.

I had CT images on my Step I exam. They were very easy to figure out but I was well-grounded in Gross Anatomy when I took that exam. I also had questions that dealt with cell adhesion molecules and receptors which had been covered in immuno, microanatomy and pharmacology too. For the most part, many of the questions on my Step I exam were totally integrated and involved several disciplines.

In short, if you have learned the material in your coursework in the first place, you can recall it with a good review. If you have mastered your coursework in the first place, while you won't recall every single detail, you will recall enough to apply it to solving the problems on Step I. If you are trying to be able to recite stuff from one or two particular courses in isolation, it's going to be low yield for you in terms of improving your score on Step I.

 

[Dral]

For Step I? Physio, physio, and physio. Add in gross for clinical yield. In fact, BRS physio is one of the 5 main things I recommend for people to utilize when studying for Step I, when asked.

 

[howelljolly]

For Step I? Physio, physio, and physio. Add in gross for clinical yield. In fact, BRS physio is one of the 5 main things I recommend for people to utilize when studying for Step I, when asked.

Theres another series .... NMS Physio....? Well, THAT was money....moooonney.

Gross for clinical yield... nah, for rotations whatever random stuff stuck in my head from M1 Anatomy was enough. There wasnt much at all.

Surgery is a different story.... I would have to review anatomy every night, and it wasn't the Step1 stuff either. Step1 gross anatomy is a lot of concepts, and generalizations/principles of structure.... muscle compartments, nerve supply..... blood supply to the forgut/midgut/hindgut. Surgical anatomy was different... details... knowing proxmal and primary blood supply, and collaterals... landmarks...

anyways