Should I start now?

[Doc driven]

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Thanks for your time. I will be starting DO school in August. I am just wondering if I should buy review books now and start preping for the COMLEX and USMLE or should I just wait at least until first year is over? I appreciate your wisdom.
Thanks,
Doc driven

 

[TrustDrDice]

Thanks for your time. I will be starting DO school in August. I am just wondering if I should buy review books now and start preping for the COMLEX and USMLE or should I just wait at least until first year is over? I appreciate your wisdom.
Thanks,
Doc driven

I will not offer advice because this is truly a stupid question. Take the summer off because once school starts you won't have a life anymore. Anything you so-called study right now won't mean jack in a few months, let alone two years from now when you take the boards. Congrats on getting into DO school by the way.

 

[Doc driven]

Thanks a lot. I meant what books should I buy. Are there any good review books you recommend? I am just collecting ideas right now, especially for the comlex.

 

[DO it right]

Thanks a lot. I meant what books should I buy. Are there any good review books you recommend? I am just collecting ideas right now, especially for the comlex.

they're called 'review' books for a reason..for now focus on learning the basics from your lectures and good texts...so you could 'review' later

 

[AK_MD2BE]

I respect your ambition. However...relax. What you could/should do is buy the 2008 First Aid in the fall and read it along with your coursework.

 

[MedLover25]

Thanks for your time. I will be starting DO school in August. I am just wondering if I should buy review books now and start preping for the COMLEX and USMLE or should I just wait at least until first year is over? I appreciate your wisdom.
Thanks,
Doc driven

a lot of people will tell you not to study, relax, etc.

however, if you feel the need, I suggest going to your school's forum (here on sdn) and ask people what books they purchased for first semester, if anyone could send you notes for the first week of classes, etc.

do NOT study 10 hours a day until school starts...but say if once or twice a week you wanted to read some of a chapter or glance at some notes for an hour or two, there's absolutely no harm in that.

it may help to lower some anxiety/stress about not knowing what to expect, and it may give you a leg up for the first week.

and just to forewarn you - welcome to the realm of people who will offer you advice left & right when you ask a question - take it all with a grain of salt. do what has worked for you in the past, make improvements on those methods, and you'll be fine.

 

[darkmansaad]

this is just my opinion but i dont agree with the above post. i read some of my anatomy textbook to "get a leg up" before i went to school....yeah that didnt work and anatomy somehow resulted in the worst grade of my med school career, actually only passed by 3 points. enjoy your summer, take care of work when school comes and if you learn the basics the first time around you'll have that much less to review intensely for your boards. trust me, you'll be fine people have gone to medical school for years without studying before getting there and getting A's and 240+ on the boards.

 

[GBFKicks]

Thanks for your time. I will be starting DO school in August. I am just wondering if I should buy review books now and start preping for the COMLEX and USMLE or should I just wait at least until first year is over? I appreciate your wisdom.
Thanks,
Doc driven

Go on a very long vacation, go out and get hammered every night, read non-science books, watch movies till your DVD player goes up in flames.... do whatever you want--just don't study.

Seriously--just do whatever you enjoy doing, because your "free time" will probably be what you value most in the next couple of years

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Go on a very long vacation, go out and get hammered every night, read non-science books, watch movies till your DVD player goes up in flames.... do whatever you want--just don't study.

Seriously--just do whatever you enjoy doing, because your "free time" will probably be what you value most in the next couple of years

👍

Don't start preparing for M1 classes now and certainly don't start studying for the boards. Honestly you're not going to get anything productive done, and you're going to lose out on your last real free time before school starts. Also, don't focus on board prep in your first year. Instead focus on doing the best you can in your classes.

 

[Doc driven]

Thanks for all the advice. It's a relief to know I don't have to do much now.
Doc driven

 

[HIJay]

dont burnt out before any fire is lit

 

[Pascal8]

Thanks for all the advice. It's a relief to know I don't have to do much now.
Doc driven

get a girlfriend/ boyfriend - thats what u should be doing

 

[HIJay]

get a girlfriend/ boyfriend - thats what u should be doing

yea...i wish i did! now i dont have time to look for a gf and no money!

 

[osli]

Thanks for all the advice. It's a relief to know I don't have to do much now.
Doc driven

Following the advice above, don't do anything this summer. And during your first year, don't do anything with the intent of "preparing for the boards."

However, a lot of people do the following during their first two years of med school, and it might be something to keep in mind:

Buy First Aid for the USMLE, BRS Physiology, and Rapid Review Pathology. These are good resources that many students use for board preparation, and are also very helpful in reviewing for various system and/or subject tests. The goal would be to read relevant chapters/sections along with school to help solidify the things you are learning - not as a primary source of information. And by reading through them during coursework, you will be much more familiar with them when boards comes around.

Keep in mind that when I read through a chapter of RR Pathology for a particular system block, it takes about an hour or so for 6 weeks worth of class, so what I'm suggesting isn't putting a great deal of time into utilizing these resources. You'd be spreading them out over two years, with the primary goal being to know what is and isn't in them when you are ready to start board prep way down the road. Also, a lot of people find BRS Physiology and RR Path to be particularly useful at shoring up general concepts during their classes.

 

[Doc driven]

Following the advice above, don't do anything this summer. And during your first year, don't do anything with the intent of "preparing for the boards."

However, a lot of people do the following during their first two years of med school, and it might be something to keep in mind:

Buy First Aid for the USMLE, BRS Physiology, and Rapid Review Pathology. These are good resources that many students use for board preparation, and are also very helpful in reviewing for various system and/or subject tests. The goal would be to read relevant chapters/sections along with school to help solidify the things you are learning - not as a primary source of information. And by reading through them during coursework, you will be much more familiar with them when boards comes around.

Keep in mind that when I read through a chapter of RR Pathology for a particular system block, it takes about an hour or so for 6 weeks worth of class, so what I'm suggesting isn't putting a great deal of time into utilizing these resources. You'd be spreading them out over two years, with the primary goal being to know what is and isn't in them when you are ready to start board prep way down the road. Also, a lot of people find BRS Physiology and RR Path to be particularly useful at shoring up general concepts during their classes.

I really appreciate the recommended readings; I'll check them out.
Regards,
Doc driven

 

[Red Beard]

I wouldn't say you should start studying now, but I would recommend getting BRS physio and Rapid Review Pathology when school starts and make sure you read the appropriate chapters along with your classes. That way when winter of your second year hits and you want to start your boards studying, you won't be seeing them for the first time.

As far as First Aid is concerned, a little anecdote: A lot of people in my class bought first aid during the first semester of first year, and not many people opened it--that was the 2006 edition. Now that we are all starting to study for the boards, a bunch of us all decided we better get the newest edition (2008) so basically had to buy it twice. Realistically its not much different, but it can be somewhat annoying to sit and wonder what little gold nugget may have been added over the last two years that you could miss...

 

[SoCuteMD]

Honestly, trying to prepare for Step 1 prior to beginning medical school is like trying bail out a sinking rowboat with a teaspoon. You will have to put in a lot of work to still not make it very far. Your time prior to medical school is best spent relaxing, outfitting your new apartment, earning some extra money. Spend a little time ordering your books for 1st semester classes prior to the beginning of school so that you have them on day 1.

As for First Aid, I used mine during the first two years and not very much when studying for the boards (go figure). It did come in handy the first two years, though. I agree that BRS Physiology is a must-have, so order it now or later but you'll wind up getting it at some point. You can hold off on Rapid Review Pathology until 2nd year, it won't help very much for the first year.

 

[Doc driven]

Thanks again.
Doc driven

 

[Ferrismonk]

I'm in a similar boat as you, but I've been doing a LOT of non-fiction medicine related reading to help me better understand the process of medical school, both physically and mentally. One nugget of info that people mention as a good idea is to get the First Aid review book and go through each subject as you come across it in school like someone already mentioned in this thread.

I would also add that if you make your flashcards for class based on the review book and hold onto them, you've saved a LOT of time when you are ready to begin studying in earnest for the step 1 during your second year. People waste a lot of time re-making all their old flashcards just for the COMLEX/USMLE.

 

[LocutusofBorg]

I feel more pressure to study ahead for my medical subjects and for Step 1. I'll be starting med school in June in the Philippines, and it will be up to me to ensure that my education there covers everything I'll need for Step 1.

In my case, i think studying ahead is appropriate. Im wondering if any current first or second year med students have had any topics they felt they had insufficient time to really understand.... these are the ones I'd like to preview first.

Thanks.