Overload of resources, please give suggestions

[nonick123]

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Hi, I have been following this forum for some time. I am an IMG, currently 3rd year out of 6. I started preparing for step 1 a few months ago. I started used Goljan pathology, Lippinncot pharm, CMMRS. Then I found the first two too hard to understand/study so I switched to Katzung review book and Pathoma(really liked them). Then found the DIT program and used it for biochem and found it OK. Also tried to use Bro's anki deck but I felt it was inefficient because I had no context. I need to revise anatomy+embryo,physio,maybe some more biochem and statistics from my previous year. I tried Kaplan and Najeeb but found them too time consuming.
So my question is what resources do you recommend to study? I don't have a really strong base and have around 8-9 months till the exam. I just don't want to be torn between too many resources because I will fail that way.

 

[Inventor of Post-Its]

Did you forget to list First Aid or have you really not been using it??

 

[TheOther]

You have two conflicting statements: "I don't have a strong base" and "these resources are too time consuming".
The reality is: it's going to take time to build a strong base.

If you have access to Kaplan or Najeeb, pick one and stick with it for the next 6 months until you have a strong base of knowledge. I personally use Boards and Beyond for weaker areas, but that's just extra money if you have the others already. As you're going through the material, you should supplement it the high-yield resources:

Path: Pathoma
Phys: BRS is solid
Micro/Pharm: Sketchy videos and images
Everything: First Aid

Those 6 months should be plenty of time to cover all the material thoroughly. You can also use Rx and/or Kaplan Qbanks for the first few months. These will help solidify your foundation.
You can gauge when to start, but you'll want to start doing UWorld questions several months out, aiming to get through it all twice. This should finalize your prep -- in addition, this is where you'll do most of your assessment exams to make sure you're where you need to be.

This is my personal opinion. Others can chime in. I'm studying for Step 1 currently so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[OlgaW007]

In my opinion, Lippincot pharma has a way too much info. I would start to think about uworld purchase for at least 6 months and use it as a study tool. Go through it twice. Then reset it. Continue DIT, Pathoma. I used pathoma and found it as good source but I also used Goljan. Goljan helped me to boost my score. It's a difficult book and it took about a month to go through it but it was worth it. And get a FA and make sure that you undestand all concepts from it. Do not just memorize it.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[medstu99]

I would recommend FirstAid and Uworld for sure. I am imagining that you are already studying with First Aid, in case you arent then you should. Uworld i am sure you have heard plenty about already.
I will also recommend Lecturio if you wanna build your base stronger: you can check out couple of their videos on Youtube and see if Lecturio is for you or not.
And don't stress, find out what works the best for you and then you will have an easier time with the prep.

 

[doc-Oc]

if you dont have a solid base in physio should one jump into BRS physio? getting 40% on uworld on just physio. should i jump into BRS physio or do something else?

 

[TheOther]

if you dont have a solid base in physio should one jump into BRS physio? getting 40% on uworld on just physio. should i jump into BRS physio or do something else?

BRS phys definitely condenses points and doesn't give detailed descriptions so if you're weak, I recommend using a lecture like Youtube videos, Kaplan or Physeo (new resources that uses the Pathoma style) and use BRS + First Aid alongside it.

 

[Med student 18]

A good program that is not too overbearing and time-consuming is Lecturio. They have lectures from MCAT topics, STEP 1 and STEP 2. Their videos are straight to the point and clear. I got to know about them relatively late in the game (I wish I would have heard about them before), and have used them to cover not understood basic science concepts as well as study companion during my rotations. So check them out, they have a free trial and you can cancel in case you aren't that into them.

As for what you mentioned I only know about lippinncots pharm and I liked it.

Hope this helped. Good luck.