Prepping for P/F Step 1

[frosty42]

I know that we are still very early into Step 1 being Pass/Fail, but I'm wondering if there are different recommendations now for how much you should prepare for Step alongside course content as an M1.

Is it a waste of time to do the Anking deck alongisde my courses? Should I just focus on my actual courses for now and wait until dedicated to look at the majority of Step materials? Or is it still necessary to prep for Step 1 early on in order to pass?

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[Aurarice]

I know that we are still very early into Step 1 being Pass/Fail, but I'm wondering if there are different recommendations now for how much you should prepare for Step alongside course content as an M1.

Is it a waste of time to do the Anking deck alongisde my courses? Should I just focus on my actual courses for now and wait until dedicated to look at the majority of Step materials? Or is it still necessary to prep for Step 1 early on in order to pass?

A strong foundation from STEP1 carries over pretty effectively for STEP2.
AnKing is a great deck to do, but 30 or 40k+ cards is kind of overkill for MS1/2 imo. They do have a high-yield tag that is about 22k cards which, over the course of 2 years, isn't that hard to get through. It's more than possible to pass STEP1 in just a 2-month dedicated period. However, the more you do early on, the less you'll have to do during dedicated. Up to your preference.

 

[aldol16]

Do them longitudinally. Do questions longitudinally to reinforce. Anki or no Anki, most important is doing questions.

 

[Dantes]

Anking deck has become way too big I think. I agree with the high yield suggestion. Do that along with practice questions, and you should be passing practice exams before dedicated even starts. Will help to build a foundation for step 2.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

The fail rate last year for Step 1 went up. Remember, when Step was scored and important, people who studied aggressively still struggled or failed. Don’t take it for granted just cause it’s P/F.

 

[eteshoe]

I'm biased. Anking is a great comprehensive deck. Start it early and it's quite manageable. But if you're not an Anki person, still try to study the material very well since it'll save you the headache of doing a bunch of relearning during m2.

 

[PathNeuroIMorFM]

Do not assume "just passing" is easy. It is still a challenge and future you in dedicated will thank you for keeping up with the material. Keep up with Anki and apply your knowledge with question banks to stay sharp.

The fail rate last year for Step 1 went up. Remember, when Step was scored and important, people who studied aggressively still struggled or failed. Don’t take it for granted just cause it’s P/F.

Has this been confirmed anywhere? I know there's been a lot of hearsay on here and Reddit, and it is very believable, but don't think any official numbers have come out from anywhere reputable.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

This is all true and well, however, pass/fail step studying is now more than ever subject to the law of diminishing returns. Every hour spent on a king above the threshold, is an hour that could be going to research or studying lecture materials to try for AOA

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

The worst advice will be some advice from upperclassman which is "If I had a pass fail step I I wouldn't have even studied". I can't tell you how many times I heard that one and it is honestly a joke and such bad advice. Your preparation to step I should not change knowing that it is now pass/fail. If anything you should be more determined because a first time fail on step I will eliminate you from every competitive and most mid-tier competitive specialties. So there is a lot of pressure on the line for you to not be one of those students.

My preparation during M1 year was to focus mostly on outside resources. I used boards and beyond and ANKI. These were my primary study modalities. I also used sketchy, pathoma, and first aid as supplementation though. I did the bare minimum for classwork as I learned better using Dr. Ryans lecture from Boards than my own professors. Even without doing lecture materials I was still always above average on my class quizzes/tests. I did 6 weeks of dedicated for step I prep and felt pretty good going into the test scoring 80% on my last NBME.

I can tell you as a third year that your preparation to step I and the first two years of medical school carry over to your third year. Although my shelf/STEP II questions are geared towards "how to treat" or "what is the best next step" the underlying principals learned from the first two years are still in the questions and you're expected to know it. They help guide you through the question and eliminate wrong answers.

Goodluck!

 

[Goro]

I know that we are still very early into Step 1 being Pass/Fail, but I'm wondering if there are different recommendations now for how much you should prepare for Step alongside course content as an M1.

Is it a waste of time to do the Anking deck alongisde my courses? Should I just focus on my actual courses for now and wait until dedicated to look at the majority of Step materials? Or is it still necessary to prep for Step 1 early on in order to pass?

If Anki helps you, use it. Otherwise, pick what best suits your study style.

And take board prep very seriously. The current new 3rd year students Nationwide have learned that lesson the hard way

 

[wondervisions]

I would recommend using anki for sketchy micro and pharm at least. Maybe biochem as well. Beyond that, pathology you will mainly learn through uworld.

 

[Chardeemacdennis60]

I am currently an M2, but our dean held a town hall at the end of last year after a significant number of students failed step/pushed step back last year. Allegedly, this was also a trend that the dean claimed was nationwide but I have yet to see any official data supporting that. I am just going to treat it like it is scored and keep studying hard. Won't study like I need a 245+ but will not act like I can walk in and pass after completing pre-clinical.

 

[Kardio]

Study like it’s scored. Step 1 score has a very strong, positive correlation with Step 2 score. I’m not aware of any documented characteristic that better explains a person’s Step 2 score than their Step 1 score. Some could argue that the common variable is a specific type of person (i.e., good test takers or highly motivated students) - but that is speculative and I would not bet my own career on that assumption.

My own experience as an M3 has totally validated my aggressive Step 1 studying over M1/2. I have been pimped by residents countless times on foundational, Step 1 level material. It is significantly easier to learn the diagnostic algorithms and management plans / rationale with a firm grasp on Step 1 material.

 

[Nugester]

Study like it's still graded but not to the point where you don't have any free time. You will still get asked a good number of step 1 info from attendings come third year.

 

[Med Ed]

I know that we are still very early into Step 1 being Pass/Fail, but I'm wondering if there are different recommendations now for how much you should prepare for Step alongside course content as an M1.

Is it a waste of time to do the Anking deck alongisde my courses? Should I just focus on my actual courses for now and wait until dedicated to look at the majority of Step materials? Or is it still necessary to prep for Step 1 early on in order to pass?

My school's failure rate didn't change this year, although we had more people delay than usual. The key difference from previous classes was that a subset of students appeared to sleepwalk through dedicated and then freak out when their practice scores weren't up to snuff. They got themselves through in the end, but they had to reset and essentially repeat dedicated with sufficient intensity.

Not knowing your school's curriculum will limit the usefulness of my advice, but in general there shouldn't be a problem with focusing on your courses while keeping an eye on Step materials. The two should have significant overlap. Good luck.

 

[butidontwantto]

If your curriculum has you take step 1 at the end of your second year, and you’re just starting your first year, I’d say take this semester or at least your first few blocks to get a good footing on your coursework. I know everyone says step matters more than your gpa, but if you start failing in-house exams you won’t get the opportunity to take step.

 

[Kardio]

I did as much AnKing as I could tolerate without losing my mind (didn’t mature it all), USMLERx QBank during M1/2, minimal research, studied BUFAPS almost exclusively, still enjoyed life, finished 60% of UWorld during dedicated. Was comfortably passing by start of dedicated and ended in 230s range before sitting the exam.

 

[AzBasRad]

Agreed with everyone above. Strong Step 1 prep is foundational for strong Step 2 CK prep. However, you don't need to be obsessing over getting 240s or 250s in Step 1 practice tests. Use NBMEs and UWorld Sims to gauge your performance. If you are consistently scoring in the 220s or 230s in the practice exam, you should be ready. You don't need to memorize the nitty gritty biochem/genetics details, but you do need a good understanding of physiology/pathophys of the organ systems.