MSI/MSII summer Step I study schedule

[PoorMD]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am debating how much to study this summer, and how to most efficiently make use of the free time to get ready for Step I. We have about 8 weeks off, and I figured biochem and phys are the most high yield topics from year 1. Currently I am planning a schedule using BRS with class notes:

Week 1: BRS Physiology Chapter 1, 2
Week 2: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 1, BRS Physiology Chapter 3
Week 3: BRS Physiology Chapter 4, 5
Week 4: BRS Physiology Chapter 6, 7
Week 5: -- open --
Week 6: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 2, 3
Week 7: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 4, 5
Week 8: Beach trip (no textbooks allowed)

Any suggestions?

Biochem and Phys are foundational for a solid score on Step I, considering both get 10-15% of the total questions, 20-30% combined. I don't know about adding Behavior or Neuro to the review sessions. Just curious if anyone else has a similar study plan or improvements to modify my own..

PoorMD

 

[Lion-O]

You know those things that make you a little pessimistic and depressed about humanity? Things like war, or child molesters, or people who pop their collars? I'd have to add studying for Step 1 after first year to that list. Dear God, if any of my classmates did that last year, I sure as hell hope I don't learn about it and have to quit being their friend.

I am debating how much to study this summer, and how to most efficiently make use of the free time to get ready for Step I. We have about 8 weeks off, and I figured biochem and phys are the most high yield topics from year 1. Currently I am planning a schedule using BRS with class notes:

Week 1: BRS Physiology Chapter 1, 2
Week 2: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 1, BRS Physiology Chapter 3
Week 3: BRS Physiology Chapter 4, 5
Week 4: BRS Physiology Chapter 6, 7
Week 5: -- open --
Week 6: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 2, 3
Week 7: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 4, 5
Week 8: Beach trip (no textbooks allowed)

Any suggestions?

Biochem and Phys are foundational for a solid score on Step I, considering both get 10-15% of the total questions, 20-30% combined. I don't know about adding Behavior or Neuro to the review sessions. Just curious if anyone else has a similar study plan or improvements to modify my own..

PoorMD

 

[nrosigh]

Whatever, it's not the end of the world - some people actually enjoy learning.

My advice to the OP is to read what you're interested in. Biochem is probably going to be a complete waste of time, however, because that information is very volatile and is not used much second year. Physiology would definitely be useful to know really well before second year, but since it's probably still relatively fresh for you it shouldn't take too much time to brush up.

Don't even think about reading ahead in second year subjects - you will just make yourself dizzy and it will be very inefficient.

Whatever you do, be sure to spend some time relaxing and enjoying the summer!

You know those things that make you a little pessimistic and depressed about humanity? Things like war, or child molesters, or people who pop their collars? I'd have to add studying for Step 1 after first year to that list. Dear God, if any of my classmates did that last year, I sure as hell hope I don't learn about it and have to quit being their friend.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I am debating how much to study this summer, and how to most efficiently make use of the free time to get ready for Step I. We have about 8 weeks off, and I figured biochem and phys are the most high yield topics from year 1. Currently I am planning a schedule using BRS with class notes:

Week 1: BRS Physiology Chapter 1, 2
Week 2: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 1, BRS Physiology Chapter 3
Week 3: BRS Physiology Chapter 4, 5
Week 4: BRS Physiology Chapter 6, 7
Week 5: -- open --
Week 6: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 2, 3
Week 7: Lippincott's Biochem Chapter 4, 5
Week 8: Beach trip (no textbooks allowed)

Any suggestions?

Biochem and Phys are foundational for a solid score on Step I, considering both get 10-15% of the total questions, 20-30% combined. I don't know about adding Behavior or Neuro to the review sessions. Just curious if anyone else has a similar study plan or improvements to modify my own..

PoorMD

Um don't study. You'll forget it all anyway. Take the summer off---it's your last one ever.

 

[VincentAdultman]

you are dumb

Oh, and if you like learning, there's millions of things out there non-medical. Expand your mind b$#%!

 

[PoorMD]

im just interested in doing well on Step I. 3 weeks will not be enough for me to get ready for the exam at the end of 2nd year, so I would like to keep this stuff as fresh as possible. I don't really consider it my "last summer ever", I would put that sometime in high school before I turned 16 and started working every summer anyway...

 

[ColdChillin]

Dude, drop what you're doing and go to the beach or something. I don't know how you study, but I would seriously not study for Step I or anything at all right now. For one, you will remember absolutely none of it. I can't remember one damn enzyme, mechanism of action, side effect, or whatever from that test. I would recommend not studying for Step I for more than like 4-5 weeks. After a month, you get totally burnt and are basically trying not to forget things than learning anything new. If you're one of those people who likes to do a little bit at a time then I don't know what to tell you because I cannot relate. Hope this helps.

 

[chintu]

I would disagree w/ some of the ppl on this post. I admit I studied a couple of hours/day of step I review material from 1st year like biochem, some anat, and genetics and micro during summer b/w M1 and 2. I will be taking step I in a couple of weeks and I can say that studying the same stuff over again makes your life so much simpler. In this limited 6 wks of studying I only got to read each subject once and then practice questions but I remember most of it because I kept looking at it over and over. I am not suggesting to waste you entire summer studying step I but a few hours/day as a refresher wouldn't hurt.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I would disagree w/ some of the ppl on this post. I admit I studied a couple of hours/day of step I review material from 1st year like biochem, some anat, and genetics and micro during summer b/w M1 and 2. I will be taking step I in a couple of weeks and I can say that studying the same stuff over again makes your life so much simpler. In this limited 6 wks of studying I only got to read each subject once and then practice questions but I remember most of it because I kept looking at it over and over. I am not suggesting to waste you entire summer studying step I but a few hours/day as a refresher wouldn't hurt.

I took (and did well on) Step One and I can tell you that people who think studying between years 1 and 2 will help are deluding themselves.

Most of the 1st year material (not physio) is low yield. You'll forget all of it anyway after the avalanche of material you learn 2nd year. Don't get me wrong, Step One is important, but I just don't undrstand why people want to devote so much of their life to this damn test. You have the rest of your life to be overworked and to lose all of your free time. So why start early?

 

[Psychopathology]

Reviewing over the summer after first year can only help your performance on the exam, although I'm not sure by how much. Phys, biochem, and microbio are the ones to hit. You could probably fly through costanzo, a biochem book, and micro made simple. This may also help you out in second year organs systems classes.

I chose NOT to review after my first summer. Glad I didn't and not sure I sacrificed too many points by abstaining, but I can understand that other people have different priorities. To be honest, the summer after your first year is the only solid vacation you'll have for a while. Second year is rough and I saw it coming.

Can't make the decision for you, but it seems like you're compromising a little bit (mixing play and study together). I was involved with an academic project over the summer but I had quite a bit of time for myself thrown into the mix. Second year is burn-out-central. Just whatever you do, don't go crazy studying this summer. There's only so much one can take and I'm sure you know your limits.

Good luck with whatever you decide! Don't listen to people who'll put you down for it. They act like you're some kind of geek for studying hard and trying to do well in school, but remember that they were once the student sitting in the front of the classroom, with their hand raised to ask the teacher if there were any "extra-credit" assignments available. Ha ha, 99.9% of medical students were THAT person at one time or another. How the beast changes people.

To each his own. Good luck!

 

[PoorMD]

I took (and did well on) Step One and I can tell you that people who think studying between years 1 and 2 will help are deluding themselves.

Most of the 1st year material (not physio) is low yield. You'll forget all of it anyway after the avalanche of material you learn 2nd year. Don't get me wrong, Step One is important, but I just don't undrstand why people want to devote so much of their life to this damn test. You have the rest of your life to be overworked and to lose all of your free time. So why start early?

I would rather be overworked and lose all my time in a residency of my choice, at an institution of my chouce, rather than scramble tuesday to find a residency in psych or family med at some random hospital.. I mean that's a bit extreme, but poor Step I scores lead to poor match results. That is not a myth or any secret, ya know?

The residency programs I am looking at are moderately competitive, limited space, so a reasonable (220+) Step I is my goal.

PoorMD

 

[nrosigh]

If you're a good student, you will not have a problem breaking 220, even without studying during the summer.

MUCH more important than summer studying (which I am not opposed to if done lightly and intelligently) is studying hard during 2nd year.

If you honor your second year classes you can get 220+ without even studying for step 1.

I would rather be overworked and lose all my time in a residency of my choice, at an institution of my chouce, rather than scramble tuesday to find a residency in psych or family med at some random hospital.. I mean that's a bit extreme, but poor Step I scores lead to poor match results. That is not a myth or any secret, ya know?

The residency programs I am looking at are moderately competitive, limited space, so a reasonable (220+) Step I is my goal.

PoorMD

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

I would rather be overworked and lose all my time in a residency of my choice, at an institution of my chouce, rather than scramble tuesday to find a residency in psych or family med at some random hospital.. I mean that's a bit extreme, but poor Step I scores lead to poor match results. That is not a myth or any secret, ya know?

The residency programs I am looking at are moderately competitive, limited space, so a reasonable (220+) Step I is my goal.

PoorMD

If this is your goal, then you should spend summer working on, and publishing, a research paper. This is a better use of summer time than studying for boards if vacation is not in your blood.

 

[MeowMix]

OK, if you want to spend some time preparing, here's a suggestion.

There are 2 big pieces to Step 1 prep, after the class work/learning: organizing the material, and then integrating/solidifying/memorizing. You could spend some time on organizing this summer and feel good about getting stuff done, without wasting time re-learning stuff that you will re-forget. Much of what you need to know for the exam will only make sense in the context of your second year courses.

Here's what I'd do to organize, if I really wanted to spend time preparing this summer and I was a big organizer (which I am): cut up First Aid by page, punch holes, put in 3-ring binder. Put labeled tabs on outside of each section so I could find stuff in a hurry. Look at material covered this year and unlikely to see next year (e.g. biochem). Instead of trying to memorize/relearn, look at areas where First Aid has very crappy diagrams or summaries (e.g. reactions like glycolysis, TCA, gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis). Go back and look at my notes and see what I used to learn the most important details of these reactions (i.e. rate-limiting steps with enzymes, reactants and products of those specific steps, nothing more than that). Make those diagrams nice and clear and specific. Add mnemonics that already worked for me. Note diseases that are created by enzyme deficiencies, etc. Put them in First Aid. And so on.

Other things I could have made after first year that would have been nice additions to FA: a chart with vitamin excess/deficiency symptoms etc. The format they have was hard for me to get anything from. Embryo timelines and pictures (LITTLE detail); again, the material I made for first-year exams was great for review, but I had to spend precious time digging through my notes to find those great diagrams and charts. I had great charts for the big genetic diseases that show up over and over again (sickle cell, CF, thalassemias), and those went straight into my first aid binder. This all depends on what you covered in first year. I would not move forward into anything you haven't seen yet.

You can do index cards or Step Up or something else instead, but the organizing is what takes time, and being able to find things in a hurry when you're annotating your master study notes. Organizing your first-year notes so you can find those review charts and pictures is useful, instead of knowing that you had something good but it's buried in a big pile in the closet.

All of this could be done in a week or less, leaving plenty of time for the keen student to learn Spanish, improve his/her interpersonal skills, and develop the relaxed, positive attitude so important for happiness and wellbeing in second year.

 

[VincentAdultman]

a reasonable (220+) Step I is my goal. PoorMD

ONLY 220? If that's the case then you are overrating Step One.

If you study your ass off 2nd year, organize your time that Spring, and study effectively, breaking 220 is a moot point.

But fine, I shouldn't even be saying anything. If you want to waste your summer reviewing stuff you're only going to review again in a year, that's your perrogative. I assure you however that late into 3rd year you will wish you had done something better with your time.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I would rather be overworked and lose all my time in a residency of my choice, at an institution of my chouce, rather than scramble tuesday to find a residency in psych or family med at some random hospital.. I mean that's a bit extreme, but poor Step I scores lead to poor match results. That is not a myth or any secret, ya know?

The residency programs I am looking at are moderately competitive, limited space, so a reasonable (220+) Step I is my goal.

PoorMD

I don't think it's reasonable to start making goals about Step I scores when you haven't even started your second year of medical school.

You are not going to significantly affect your score this summer, since the second year is designed to be a review of first year, anyway.

 

[PoorMD]

I don't think it's reasonable to start making goals about Step I scores when you haven't even started your second year of medical school.

You are not going to significantly affect your score this summer, since the second year is designed to be a review of first year, anyway.

i was rooting for the mavs until you made this post
first year accounts for roughly 40% of the Step I, why would it be unreasonable to try and master that portion of the exam? I am not trying to get ahead of the game by studying micro or path, I just want to review phys and possibly some neuro/biochem to keep it fresh. It never hurts to recycle this stuff through our minds..

 

[OSUdoc08]

i was rooting for the mavs until you made this post
first year accounts for roughly 40% of the Step I, why would it be unreasonable to try and master that portion of the exam? I am not trying to get ahead of the game by studying micro or path, I just want to review phys and possibly some neuro/biochem to keep it fresh. It never hurts to recycle this stuff through our minds..

I just took Step I.

Trust me, it's all about cramming the several months before the exam. Since you haven't taken it, you don't really know how it works. If you study over the summer, you won't retain the information anyway. Either way, your pathology course should cover most of it throughout the school year.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

I just took Step I.

Trust me, it's all about cramming the several months before the exam. Since you haven't taken it, you don't really know how it works. If you study over the summer, you won't retain the information anyway. Either way, your pathology course should cover most of it throughout the school year.

This is true. You can review physiology during summer if you want, but pathology will reinforce the concepts of physiology, and you can always look up something if you don't remember it.

 

[PoorMD]

I just took Step I.

Trust me, it's all about cramming the several months before the exam. Since you haven't taken it, you don't really know how it works. If you study over the summer, you won't retain the information anyway. Either way, your pathology course should cover most of it throughout the school year.

ive taken practice tests, so do us all a favor and come down off that soap box.

 

[OSUdoc08]

ive taken practice tests, so do us all a favor and come down off that soap box.

Do yourself a favor, and listen to those who have been through it already.

P.S. How helpful can a practice test be if you've only learned half the material?

 

[gonakillmcat]

Start studying everyday over the summer. Start at 7:00 am and go until about 11:00 pm. If you don't you WILL NOT break 220. Good luck.

 

[PoorMD]

Do yourself a favor, and listen to those who have been through it already.

P.S. How helpful can a practice test be if you've only learned half the material?

I listen to people who have taken it already. But those with outrageous advice (i.e. "don't study") are generally ignored or otherwise disregarded. see yourself

 

[beastmaster]

Just curious if anyone else has a similar study plan or improvements to modify my own..

We have a systems curriculum, so we've covered general path, systems path for various systems, and basic science for those same systems. After two week of experimenting, my summer approach is basically to begin with dr. goljan's audios. I do one lecture per day; and every disease, condition, mechanism he mentions I cross-reference with FA, robbins, etc. Kind of just branching out, making connections between concepts. Studying biochem/physio in isolation would drive me bonkers, but figuring out the mechanism and physio of a disease is quite fun. Here and there I try to cycle some bugs and drugs through my brain. Again, if I didn't have fun doing what I'm doing, I wouldn't.

 

[epalantequevoy]

the brs books are boring--they're just outlines....so dry. if you really want to do something academic and useful for step 1, i'd print out a bunch of uptodate articles (they have lots of physiology articles on there--like overview of the menstrual cycle, approach to hypercalcemia, etc.), since the articles are well written and pretty easy to read.

you could also read the review articles and case reports in nejm like 1x/day. that wouldn't be too burdensome, even when combined with some other reading.

i think it's good to want to learn over the summer, but i wouldn't study hard like you would for an exam in school or anything. read some articles, look up some physiology if you don't remember it that well/were confused by the articles you read. but i wouldn't systematically review all of physiology.

 

[PoorMD]

the brs books are boring--they're just outlines....so dry. if you really want to do something academic and useful for step 1, i'd print out a bunch of uptodate articles (they have lots of physiology articles on there--like overview of the menstrual cycle, approach to hypercalcemia, etc.), since the articles are well written and pretty easy to read.

you could also read the review articles and case reports in nejm like 1x/day. that wouldn't be too burdensome, even when combined with some other reading.

i think it's good to want to learn over the summer, but i wouldn't study hard like you would for an exam in school or anything. read some articles, look up some physiology if you don't remember it that well/were confused by the articles you read. but i wouldn't systematically review all of physiology.

sounds like good advice 👍 thanks

 

[OSUdoc08]

I listen to people who have taken it already. But those with outrageous advice (i.e. "don't study") are generally ignored or otherwise disregarded. see yourself

You mean like just about every 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year medical student with a brain?

 

[VincentAdultman]

I listen to people who have taken it already. But those with outrageous advice (i.e. "don't study") are generally ignored or otherwise disregarded. see yourself

Wow. Outrageous?

 

[PoorMD]

Wow. Outrageous?

I really didn't ask for advice about whether or not I should study, though it seems that is what you have responded with. I am not going to change my summer plans because a 3rd year suggests I go to the beach. I asked for suggestions about modifying my planned study routine. But thanks for your input, I did in fact read it.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I really didn't ask for advice about whether or not I should study, though it seems that is what you have responded with. I am not going to change my summer plans because a 3rd year suggests I go to the beach. I asked for suggestions about modifying my planned study routine. But thanks for your input, I did in fact read it.

As of yesterday, I'm a 4th year. (What am I still doing here?)

And I already said above, no one can force you to not flush your summer down the toilet. If you want to do that, go for it; you certainly will have earned those extra 5 points on Step One.

But to say that it's "outrageous" to take the summer off is absolutely ******ed, considering it's what the vast majority of people in your position do. It's no problem to score 240+ without doing work after MS1. It's been done. Trust me.

Anyway, whatever you do, good luck.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I really didn't ask for advice about whether or not I should study, though it seems that is what you have responded with. I am not going to change my summer plans because a 3rd year suggests I go to the beach. I asked for suggestions about modifying my planned study routine. But thanks for your input, I did in fact read it.

So are you going into surgery?

 

[PoorMD]

So are you going into surgery?

general

 

[OSUdoc08]

general

Your attitude/personality will fit right in.

Call I call it or what?

 

[manO'war]

Lame!

how abt a spellcheck?

 

[VincentAdultman]

Your attitude/personality will fit right in.

Call I call it or what?

Dude, not cool!

 

[vtucci]

Go for it.

 

[Arctic Char]

You know those things that make you a little pessimistic and depressed about humanity? Things like war, or child molesters, or people who pop their collars? I'd have to add studying for Step 1 after first year to that list. Dear God, if any of my classmates did that last year, I sure as hell hope I don't learn about it and have to quit being their friend.

wow, i do believe that is the best quote ever (the Mike Tyson one . . . i remember that too . . . i got chills from how embarrassed i was for him)