MS-1 Summer advice from upperclassmen

[dr.sartorius]

I undertand studying over summer for boards is useless from what I hear, but how about reviewing old material that was taught during MS-1? I'm no gunner, I pass my classes with ok scores, probably in the bottom 50% of the class , did poorly on MCAT. I don't want to make that mistake again, I don't want to barely pass my boards and have little options on what I can do. Anyone have a similar background and have advice? Or anyone think reviewing old material (lightly) over summer an ok idea? Thanks

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[001100010010011]

Whatever you do, don't play Pathoma backwards while syncing it with The Wizard of Oz on mute.


Edit:

Honestly, it's not wise to study over M1 summer. You won't get much out of it. When M2 year starts, you can read First Aid alongside courses in order to get acquainted with the text. Rapid Review is a nice text and the Goljan lectures accompany it pretty well (listen to them after a unit or alongside a unit--otherwise, you won't really get much out of them).

But...if you feel like you really need to do something then I guess you should just review any relevant M1 material that is in FA. That way, you'll have a better understanding of stuff you should already know.

Have fun!

 

[sinombre]

One exception might be if you know for sure your curriculum is weak in a certain area. For some reason my school does a terrible job at teaching pharm, and so most upperclassmen here suggested we try and learn some of it on our own either alongside classes next year or during the summer.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

One exception might be if you know for sure your curriculum is weak in a certain area. For some reason my school does a terrible job at teaching pharm, and so most upperclassmen here suggested we try and learn some of it on our own either alongside classes next year or during the summer.

Hmm, this might explain why I've had two MS1s suggest I buy the Histo book and start learning it on my own. ?

 

[Flamen04]

Enjoy your summer. Don't be a nerd.

 

[Wordead]

Either publish something (real research, not some public health BS) in a field of your interest or go have fun. Studying can wait until M2.

Learning histo in your free time is probably the stupidest thing you could possibly do. At least physio or micro or something would be somewhat high yield.

 

[dr.sartorius]

Thank you for responses, I don't have any fun plans for summer and a lot of my friends work full-time jobs. That's also another factor as to why I thought about lightly studying.

 

[PL198]

Either do research or don't and chill

 

[HLxDrummer]

If you like the concept of firecracker you could flag a few first year topics on there. Or do research. Or play video games all day. Depends partially on what specialty you wanna do and how we'll you can cram.

 

[@JackShephard]

Everyone wants to believe that if they work enough they can reach some pinnacle.

The reality is, those who do well know how to work well in spurts and take breaks.

How you spend your summer will have little to do with your Step 1 score, your success as an M2 or on the wards.

The best analogy I could give would be asking how important the pre-season games are in football. They simply aren't that important. It's going to be how you prepare and work week by week during the season - and your natural skills and abilities you've built from birth until now.

In other words: Enjoy your summer and work hard when it's time to work. Rest when it's time to rest. Find something you enjoy or do some research.

 

[Nivens]

Rising MS4 here. I am a HUGE proponent of the "go enjoy your last summer" advice- it's what I did, and I don't regret it for a second. I think it's particularly a great time to exercise/make it a HABIT, indulge hobbies that are about to get seriously neglected, etc.

There is one caveat to all of this though. IF you have any serious interest in doing orthopedics, derm/optho or plastics, do some research with intent to publish something. As in, be very straight with potential PIs that you want to get a case report/small paper DONE BY THE END OF THE SUMMER. This will take enormous pressure off of you come third/fourth year. I hate that it has to be that way, but with so many of my classmates taking additional years off to get into these specialties, it's something you should know.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Publish something. "MS4 You" will thank you.

 

[JJMrK]

Agree with much of what has been said. If you're shooting for a competitive field or are interested in an academic residency program, you need to do research. Otherwise do whatever you feel like doing.

 

[jockdoc97]

What about doing a mission trip or something? I'm hoping next summer to go to South america or maybe Africa? I think that sounds cool and would be good exprience. Would that look better than doing something else? What about like a TA position for a summer course?

 

[dr.sartorius]

Thank you all for the advice, I'll be taking it easy by the pool this summer.

 

[PL198]

What about doing a mission trip or something? I'm hoping next summer to go to South america or maybe Africa? I think that sounds cool and would be good exprience. Would that look better than doing something else? What about like a TA position for a summer course?

Do those if you want to. If you're looking for something to look good, do research. That's basically my thoughts. Do research for your CV, do anything else for yourself.

 

[Packman2003]

Everything gets more competitive every year. You should absolutely get involved in research, and don't let people here tell you different. Not only is it the best time to publish, it's the best time to establish connections for future projects. As far as studying goes, it's unnecessary and you won't remember it by the end of next year - 1 (maybe 2) exceptions...you should pretty much know Phys cold at this point. It is the basis for everything in M2. The second maybe would be immuno, not necessarily every detail, but at least the basics. That said, make sure you have time to relax or you will burn out. Set aside a good week or two for uninterrupted vacation, and take weekends off unless you have something specific that needs to be done in your lab (taking care of cell cultures, etc).

 

[NickNaylor]

If you've got your mind set on studying, my advice would be to know physiology cold as it will likely be the most useful course for you going into second year. Anatomy, biochemistry, etc. is less important and is the kind of stuff you'll cram for during your dedicated study period.

Agree with others recommending to do research if you want to be productive. If you want the best of both worlds, try to get in on a clinical project or something that doesn't require you to be in the lab 8 hours a day; that way, you can be sitting by the pool AND gettin' 'dem pubs.

 

[studocplsignore]

Hmm. Was planning to study all of First Year's stuff on Firecracker during the summer. Not sure how much I'll be able to do that. Physiology does sound like a good bet though.

 

[Psai]

Hmm. Was planning to study all of First Year's stuff on Firecracker during the summer. Not sure how much I'll be able to do that. Physiology does sound like a good bet though.

The thing about firecracker is that it's just memorizing a bunch of facts. Useless without context. There are so many things I realized during my dedicated study period that I didn't understand before because I didn't have the background from the other systems. Don't waste your time.

 

[studocplsignore]

I'll agree to that, I was trying to work on it and it was hard to memorize because it wasn't associated with anything. usually I study lectures and Anki in conjunction with each other.

 

[dr.sartorius]

whats the easiest way to get into some sort of clinical research that I can continue through second year without too much time dedicated getting in the way of my studies? I don't even know where to start.

 

[boogaloo]

whats the easiest way to get into some sort of clinical research that I can continue through second year without too much time dedicated getting in the way of my studies? I don't even know where to start.

Go to student affairs, and find out who the research coordinator is.

 

[DermViser]

Hmm, this might explain why I've had two MS1s suggest I buy the Histo book and start learning it on my own. ?

If you want to study the absolutely lowest yield basic science subject on USMLE Step 1, then yes, Histology is perfect.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

If you want to study the absolutely lowest yield basic science subject on USMLE Step 1, then yes, Histology is perfect.

I actually misread the OP, I thought he was talking about pre-MS1 studying.

 

[Psai]

If you want to study the absolutely lowest yield basic science subject on USMLE Step 1, then yes, Histology is perfect.

Man 70% of the time I just answer the question, I don't even look at the picture. Small, dark circular blobs? Probably lymphocytes but who cares?

 

[DermViser]

Man 70% of the time I just answer the question, I don't even look at the picture. Small, dark circular blobs? Probably lymphocytes but who cares?

Most of the time it's not the key to answering the question on Step 1. Obviously if you know what it is, then it helps.