MS II: Step 1 studying along with classes

[DrDrToBe]

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Hey all,
So I officially have 12 more weeks of classes, then on to Step 1 studying 😱 I am thinking of doing some review along with classes, primarily reading FA 2011 in it's entirety so it will be familiar before time to really study. I also have Goljan RR Path and BRS Phys, but I don't think I'll have enough time to read them along with classes. Anyone else in the same position, and what are your pre-study schedules (meaning what will you do between now and your dedicated study period)? Any suggestions on what to do from folks who have already taken the exam?
Thanks!

 

[WellWornLad]

Depending on how your school teaches, I would follow along with RR Path rather than read FA for pathophysiology. FA just regurgitates information, which is great for review but redundant for learning. RR Path does a great job of both organizing the material (something some course directors have a very difficult time doing) and integrating it with other disciplines so you get a wider picture. In the latter case I just think you end up understanding more instead of memorizing, and that's what you want to be doing at your stage.

 

[C5toC9]

How is FA 2011 compared to 2010? Worth getting?

 

[DrDrToBe]

I don't have FA 2010 and haven't really gone through 2011 as yet, so I can't compare them.
Back to the original question: what are all the second years doing at this point? Anyone?

 

[Mace1370]

This is a really hard question to answer. Obviously the more you study the better you will do. My plan right now is to:

1) Spend 6 hours a week on FA
2) Do 10 questions from USMLERx a day and one 48 question block a week (probably on weekends)
3) Read RR along with my path class (I usually go through each goljan chapter 3 times along with course work)
4) Review 1 old RR chapter each week (probably on weekends)

My goal is to get through FA by spring break. I will start my UWorld subscription around then and go from there.

 

[DrDrToBe]

This is a really hard question to answer. Obviously the more you study the better you will do. My plan right now is to:

1) Spend 6 hours a week on FA
2) Do 10 questions from USMLERx a day and one 48 question block a week (probably on weekends)
3) Read RR along with my path class (I usually go through each goljan chapter 3 times along with course work)
4) Review 1 old RR chapter each week (probably on weekends)

My goal is to get through FA by spring break. I will start my UWorld subscription around then and go from there.

That seems like a great plan, thanks for sharing. I think I will try to do something similar, except reviewing old chapters of RR as I think that will be hard to fit in my schedule.

 

[Mr hawkings]

This is a really hard question to answer. Obviously the more you study the better you will do. My plan right now is to:

1) Spend 6 hours a week on FA
2) Do 10 questions from USMLERx a day and one 48 question block a week (probably on weekends)
3) Read RR along with my path class (I usually go through each goljan chapter 3 times along with course work)
4) Review 1 old RR chapter each week (probably on weekends)

My goal is to get through FA by spring break. I will start my UWorld subscription around then and go from there.

I've been Doing 1 &2 since we broke for the holidays and will keep doind so through the spring semester but tailoring the USLMERx questions to the blocks we've covered already. My subscription runs out in march, at which point i will switch to USMLEworld till june when i take step 1.
I find that i am reviwing old material faster when i do the questions than when i just do an isolated review.
I dont think my class grades will suffer that much from the extra 1hr a day that i'm taking to review FA and do Rx questions from previous blocks (at least i hope it wont affect it). we'll see.

 

[ucsfstudents]

Follow along the class lessons with your review books. Stick to 1-2 review books.