MSII - When to start studying???

[ANCAdoc]

I will be an MSII in the fall and was wondering when I should start preparing for STEP 1. Do most people start during the school year or wait and study during their ~month off after MSII?

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[marr]

I'm starting 2nd yr next week but I'm not studying for step I until spring of next year. Path is taught this semester along with micro,immuno,viro,parasitology at LSU-NO so it doesn't make much sense to study for step I until you have these classes under your belt. I will probably just reviewed first year stuff this fall while concentrating to do well with path and such.

 

[Mye Eye]

I'm starting 2nd yr next week but I'm not studying for step I until spring of next year. Path is taught this semester along with micro,immuno,viro,parasitology at LSU-NO so it doesn't make much sense to study for step I until you have these classes under your belt. I will probably just reviewed first year stuff this fall while concentrating to do well with path and such.

I agree with you

having taken Step 1...I feel that you honestly could get a 230+ if you got 100% of the info you learn from MSII right and 0% of the MSI info right (obviously this would never happen)

make sure you learn your MSII stuff, then get to studying around Jan/Feb (light studying), march(a little more), april/may (focus on your shelf exam(s)), and then do your real studying after shelfs...cuz studying for shelf exams is basically the same as studying for Step 1...i relearned all the pharm I forgot when studyin for shelf

 

[CUMD]

I can't stress enough that the best way to prepare for Step 1 is to bust your ass during your M1 and M2 classes. Step 1 tests basic CONCEPTS, MECHANISMS of disease, and PRINCIPLES of pharm/therapeutics. There is some random minutia that you memorize but this is all short term stuff that is drilled during the 4-6 weeks of boards review before you take Step 1. It would be useless, in my opinion, to try and remember the minutia 10 months before your exam.

You might not realize it, but you are studying for Step 1 when you are attempting to master the basic concepts, mechanisms, and principles during the first two years of medical school. Once you have this stuff down cold, REVIEWING for 4-6 weeks before Step 1 is much easier and you really maximize your score.

If you absolutely INSIST on doing specific step 1 review during the year, the only thing you should really do is review some physiology, cell bio, and biochem that is relevant to the organ system or module that you are currently studying. So, if you are on your cardiovascular module, it would be a prudent to review CV physiology, cardiac myocyte histo, etc. before you started reading robbins, pharm, etc. This way, you refresh your mind with a lot of the 1st year material while really nailing down the 2nd year material. Another thing that helped me out was reviewing some immunology throughout the year while learning micro, since it seems that these subjects inevitably go hand in hand. Again, immunology is chock full of fundamental concepts and would be good to review while you are learning basic pathology and micro.

Basically, learn things right THE FIRST TIME and you'll have a much, much easier time the second time around (i.e. boards review in the spring).

PM me with any questions. Godspeed, M2s!

 

[anubus]

If you actually spend the time this coming year on understanding the concepts behind path, pharm (goes w/ physio), and even micro (although a lot of it is memorization), studying in the spring should be fairly straightforward since you won't have to rememorize a lot of infp.

Also, if you're thinking of doing the Kaplan prep course, buy it immediately once they give you the 9 month early bird special (sometime in Nov) so you can get the books early in Dec and annotate them as you go along w/ 2nd year. If not, buy some other recommended review books for path and pharm and annotate them as you go along through the year. This way most of the "busy work" should be done by the time you start studying and you can spend the majority of the time doing questions.

 

[Bubb Rubb]

i agree with the others: study for step 1 by learning the material for your classes. do note that step 1 has a fair bit of basic science material, what with biochem, cell and nerve physiology...

 

[kito]

Also, if you're thinking of doing the Kaplan prep course, buy it immediately once they give you the 9 month early bird special (sometime in Nov) so you can get the books early in Dec and annotate them as you go along w/ 2nd year. If not, buy some other recommended review books for path and pharm and annotate them as you go along through the year. This way most of the "busy work" should be done by the time you start studying and you can spend the majority of the time doing questions.

Excellent advice.