Review for Step 1 by Organ System or Subject???

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GAdasooka

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I am from a school that did its first two years by organ system instead of by subject. How are most people studying for the boards? I was thinking of preparing for Step 1 ( I have 5 weeks... ) by reviewing the subjects by organ system. Is there anyone out there who has already taken it that knows the pros and cons????

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I shared your question with Dr. Samir Mehta, author of Step-Up, A High-Yield Systems-Based Review for Step 1. Here is his response:

there are pros and cons of both studying methods ...

the biggest pros of studying systems-based are:
1) that's the way the exam is
2) synthesis of all information

the cons of systems-based is:
1) many schools don't teach that way
2) paucity of resources that are systems based (with the exception of Step-Up and a few other titles)

the pros of subject-based:
1) many people are familiar with this technique
2) LOTS OF RESOURCES (both and good and bad)
3) likely, this is the way you were taught in medical school

the cons of subject-based:
1) too compartmentalized
2) no synthesis of info
3) not the way the exam is


Ultimately, I think that students have to find a combination of systems-based and subject-based studying ... they shouldn't focus on just one way -- try and see and read things from many different perspectives.

I hope this helps.

Scott
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
[email protected]
 
As a part of my masters degree I took almost the entire first two years of medical school at a "Systems based " MD school. Now in medical school I am taking the curriculum again in a "Subjects based" DO curriculum. Here is what I have found:

Most schools that are on systems based, are not really on a well-thought out, fully integrated systems based approach. Most just haphazardly throw together a syllabus that is the exact same material, but now all intermixed. For example, in the morning you'd have some introductory biochem, later some unrelated histo, then some pharm all in the same day. Normally these classes would be divided up into subjects. But all they did is get the same lecturers, same lecture notes, and throw them all into a new order. You'd have a "block" of classes rather than readily identifiable subjects.

Personally I feel that this "Systems" curriculum is extremely confusing. It was hard to know what class each lecture was from or what book or textbook relates to what lecture. It was hard to take in all the info and organize it in your brain effectively. Sometimes you would not know if the class was histo, or biochem, or physio... hence... it was impossible to find resources to study with. Granted, this is probably only a problem at medschools that just changed approaches, but I feel it was more confusing than otherwise helpful.

Now under a subjects approach..... I feel more comfortable. I know exactly what subject I am studying and what classes go with which books. It's easier to compartmentalize and organize information. And it is very easy to integrate info from one subject to another, because it is not all jumbled together.

I feel that reading separate and combined texts will be helpful in integrating even more info for board study. Besides, you know what part of your brain to find teh information in.

Hope that helps. I'd be happy to discuss this further. Becuase of my experiences as a journalist and as a student in both systems, I have been asked to write a paper critiquing both approaches and comparing the DO to the MD education. Granted, two schools out of 150 are not representative, but it's better than nothing.
 
Having taken Step 1 (with a pretty good score), I suggest using both approaches by using both First Aid and Step Up or Boards and Wards. First Aid will give you everything you need to know in a subject-based format, and Step Up/Boards and Wards will give you everything you need to know in an organ-system based format.
Good luck to everyone!
 
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