Starting board from day one?

[LUCPM]

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Sorry if I sound like a gunner for asking this kind of question as a premed but I was given some advice here on SDN to start board prep early like from day one of med school.

How does one start studying for board if he/she hasn't learned anything yet?

Someone suggested one could use FA (First Aid for USMLE?) but having never seen the content of the book and better yet, having never taken a single class in med school, I'm clueless as far as how to go about doing this. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[peroxidase]

one simply does not review something they havent learned

 

[sylvanthus]

Agreed. Not sure why this topic keeps coming up. Same with buying FA first year, I just don't understand it.

OP- learn the material well the first time, review LATER after you have learned the material.

 

[shan564]

Well, starting med school is exciting, but you can't really start studying for Step I before your classes start.

You should definitely buy a copy of First Aid 2012. If you want to start immediately, read the first section in First Aid... it's about 50-60 pages long and it explains everything you need to know about the test.

If you're really keen, you could start on the Behavioral Sciences section in FA without too much background knowledge. And depending on your undergrad background, you might even be able to read some of the biochem and microbiology, although you won't understand a lot of it yet.

As you go on, just make sure that you know everything in First Aid as you study it in med school. I don't know how your school does its curriculum, but it's usually not too difficult to do both in parallel.

Also, get your hands on the Goljan audio. Either google it and download it or ask one of the upperclassmen (they'll all know what it is, and they'll all have a copy). Again, Goljan isn't all that useful in your first few days of med school, but I thought that it was a great thing to revise along with my course material.

 

[sylvanthus]

Well, starting med school is exciting, but you can't really start studying for Step I before your classes start.

You should definitely buy a copy of First Aid 2012. If you want to start immediately, read the first section in First Aid... it's about 50-60 pages long and it explains everything you need to know about the test.

If you're really keen, you could start on the Behavioral Sciences section in FA without too much background knowledge. And depending on your undergrad background, you might even be able to read some of the biochem and microbiology, although you won't understand a lot of it yet.

As you go on, just make sure that you know everything in First Aid as you study it in med school. I don't know how your school does its curriculum, but it's usually not too difficult to do both in parallel.

Also, get your hands on the Goljan audio. Either google it and download it or ask one of the upperclassmen (they'll all know what it is, and they'll all have a copy). Again, Goljan isn't all that useful in your first few days of med school, but I thought that it was a great thing to revise along with my course material.

Ahh I see, this explains how this advice keeps getting perpetuated. Really? Listen to goljan first year and FA? This is not only pointless because the student hasn't learned the material yet to be REVIEWING it. But, it is dangerous. I have seen many students assume that if it isn't in FA/Goljan, it isn't important and then they blow it off.

Best thing to do is learn the material in your classes the best that you possibly can and THEN hit the review hard during 2nd year.

 

[JOHNNYCAGE]

gunner training

 

[jatt12]

Sorry if I sound like a gunner for asking this kind of question as a premed but I was given some advice here on SDN to start board prep early like from day one of med school.

How does one start studying for board if he/she hasn't learned anything yet?

Someone suggested one could use FA (First Aid for USMLE?) but having never seen the content of the book and better yet, having never taken a single class in med school, I'm clueless as far as how to go about doing this. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated.

Concentrate on MS1 and MS2 material first. Trust me it will help you long way, if you really want to add some extra study material then add GT, and you can review those flash cards after your lecture like for anatomy, histology etc. Stay away from any board series till you start your MS2.

Good luck

 

[ipizzy]

Concentrate on MS1 and MS2 material first. Trust me it will help you long way, if you really want to add some extra study material then add GT, and you can review those flash cards after your lecture like for anatomy, histology etc. Stay away from any board series till you start your MS2.

Good luck

This. By far the most helpful thing in boards studying for me was learning the material really well the first time around through classes. It may sound crazy, but your school is likely going to try to teach you some things you need to know to be a doctor 😉

 

[USCMPH2012]

Sorry if I sound like a gunner for asking this kind of question as a premed but I was given some advice here on SDN to start board prep early like from day one of med school.

How does one start studying for board if he/she hasn't learned anything yet?

Someone suggested one could use FA (First Aid for USMLE?) but having never seen the content of the book and better yet, having never taken a single class in med school, I'm clueless as far as how to go about doing this. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated.

I'm entering in August also and have received the same advice as you but I've interpreted differently. I don't think they meant to start studying the material literally. I'm pretty sure it means dedicate yourself to your classes and to commit and understand the material rather than cramming it.

 

[JackShephard MD]

I'm entering in August also and have received the same advice as you but I've interpreted differently. I don't think they meant to start studying the material literally. I'm pretty sure it means dedicate yourself to your classes and to commit and understand the material rather than cramming it.

Nope. I definitely recommend cramming. Everybody crams.

 

[shan564]

Ahh I see, this explains how this advice keeps getting perpetuated. Really? Listen to goljan first year and FA? This is not only pointless because the student hasn't learned the material yet to be REVIEWING it. But, it is dangerous. I have seen many students assume that if it isn't in FA/Goljan, it isn't important and then they blow it off.

Best thing to do is learn the material in your classes the best that you possibly can and THEN hit the review hard during 2nd year.

I don't know, I guess it depends on your curriculum. I learned FA/Goljan-type material in first year. I thought that Goljan was one of the most useful tools for studying for my first-year exams, and FA was a great tool for looking up random facts.

Maybe it worked better for me because I was always a "bare minimum" type of student, so I thought it was great that I could skip all of the lectures and then just learn the very basics from FA and Goljan. But it worked for me.

 

[sylvanthus]

I don't know, I guess it depends on your curriculum. I learned FA/Goljan-type material in first year. I thought that Goljan was one of the most useful tools for studying for my first-year exams, and FA was a great tool for looking up random facts.

Maybe it worked better for me because I was always a "bare minimum" type of student, so I thought it was great that I could skip all of the lectures and then just learn the very basics from FA and Goljan. But it worked for me.

Except that you haven't taken the board exam yet if your post history is correct.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

gunner training

LOL...

Enjoy medical school and have a sense of humor. I know it is a oxymoron but it can be fun. It should be an exciting journey not a tortuous one. That being said, pay attention in class and try to "understand" the material rather than "memorize"

 

[shan564]

Except that you haven't taken the board exam yet if your post history is correct.

When I said "it worked for me", I meant that it got me through first and second year without failing.

 

[Munchen]

Sorry if I sound like a gunner for asking this kind of question as a premed but I was given some advice here on SDN to start board prep early like from day one of med school.

How does one start studying for board if he/she hasn't learned anything yet?

Someone suggested one could use FA (First Aid for USMLE?) but having never seen the content of the book and better yet, having never taken a single class in med school, I'm clueless as far as how to go about doing this. Any suggestion or advice would be much appreciated.

The fact that you are thinking ahead is a good thing and only shows that you want to do well. What you need to understand is that the Step 1 of the USMLE tests everything you will be learning in your first and second year. Which means you need to know anatomy, biochemistry (include genetics, cell and molecular biology and nutrition), physiology, behavioural science (include epidemiology and psychiatry), and your second year subjects, namely pharmacology, microbiology and pathology. Don't worry about the second year subjects right now. Focus on learning your first year material well. Understand the objectives and the goals of each topic that you're required to learn. I am sure you will be taught a few clinical correlates as you study each topic in each subject. Try and attempt to understand these clinical correlations well. So say if you're studying anatomy you will find that whichever book you're using will mention some related diseases in a given topic and will talk about certain signs and symptoms or even pathogens and treatments. Understand well these few pathologies as you move along from one topic to another. Same goes with biochemistry and physiology.

The first few chapters in a subject or the starting few pages in a chapter might seem boring to you at first but you must understand that what you read in these chapters are the foundation on which the ensuing chapters are built on. So read them and understand them well. You have to learn the normal very, very well right now because as you progress it is this knowledge of the normal that you will be required to apply when you learn the abnormal. And if you're also trying to understand the clinical correlates as you're studying the normal workings of the human body, you'd be training your mind to think in the way that the USMLE wants you to think. As a first year, you're in an awesome position to learn the material you will be taught really well. When you're studying, try and imagine as much as you can how the knowledge you're acquiring can be practically useful. You could make mindmaps and take random notes as your imagination makes you seek interesting ways in which to use what you're learning. You will find that you can connect what you study in biochemistry to what you're studying in physiology and even anatomy. This will all help your understanding which in turn will help your retention and recall.

If you really can't desist, you could get yourself a copy of First Aid just to skim through the relevant section that you're studying in class. You will find that FA is bare bones compared to what you cover at school. Your motive should be to get as deep an understanding of whatever it is that you learn, which means you start with learning the terms and definitions well, then you understand the central concept behind it, and then finally, try and apply it. If you do this, you will find that when you're in your second year you already have the correct process of learning in place and everything will be so much more easier.

 

[steel102]

I would say the best way would probably be to read all the supplemental books/chapters that are described in the "TAUS" method of Step 1 studying as you are doing the corresponding topics in class. For example, read clinical microbio made ridiculously simple during your microbio class, read lippincott biochem during biochem, Moore's clinical anatomy during anatomy, etc. This will help you gain a deep understanding of all the topics you cover first year. It's probably not worthwhile to get FA during 1st year.

I think it's kind of analogous to studying for the MCAT - if you studied well in the premed preqs and got a good understanding of the material then, you probably did better on the MCAT than if you had to essentially learn that material for the first time during your MCAT prep.

 

[startoverat40]

gunner training

👍

from day 1 you can start banking topics that correspond with what is being covered in class. Then the spaced review process will drive the material into your long term memory. My school is systems-based, so I plan to start doing Kaplan Qbank from 2nd semester. I would select only the systems which I have already learned about or I'm currently studying in class. Many review books also have usmle-style questions in them, so one can use those too.

 

[gravitywave]

Ahh I see, this explains how this advice keeps getting perpetuated. Really? Listen to goljan first year and FA? This is not only pointless because the student hasn't learned the material yet to be REVIEWING it. But, it is dangerous. I have seen many students assume that if it isn't in FA/Goljan, it isn't important and then they blow it off.

Best thing to do is learn the material in your classes the best that you possibly can and THEN hit the review hard during 2nd year.

this is really, really true. it is completely unnecessary to do anything boards-related during the first year, except to study the course material. i slacked a lot first year by using the rationale that "i'd forget everything anyway," but this was a false economy. you know that the big concepts are on the exam for sure, but what doesn't get as much press is how many of the little details you blew off from school exams actually end up being important if you want to score well on Step 1.

gunner training

LOL...

Enjoy medical school and have a sense of humor. I know it is a oxymoron but it can be fun. It should be an exciting journey not a tortuous one. That being said, pay attention in class and try to "understand" the material rather than "memorize"

i think maybe you misunderstood 😕 this poster was referring to Gunner Training.

👍

from day 1 you can start banking topics that correspond with what is being covered in class. Then the spaced review process will drive the material into your long term memory. My school is systems-based, so I plan to start doing Kaplan Qbank from 2nd semester. I would select only the systems which I have already learned about or I'm currently studying in class. Many review books also have usmle-style questions in them, so one can use those too.

GT is great, but man i don't think i would bank the anatomy or embryo sections, they are just way, way too much. if you do, never rate them any less than a 5 so that they just float to the top of the pile every 90 days and don't start to clog up your daily review on more important stuff.

 

[DoctwoB]

👍

from day 1 you can start banking topics that correspond with what is being covered in class. Then the spaced review process will drive the material into your long term memory. My school is systems-based, so I plan to start doing Kaplan Qbank from 2nd semester. I would select only the systems which I have already learned about or I'm currently studying in class. Many review books also have usmle-style questions in them, so one can use those too.

This is essentially what I did, and I was very well prepared come board studying time (258 on pre-studying NBME). I also worked very hard and did well in classes, for which review materials are no substitute.

If you do supplement other resources, it should be for understanding, not memorization. BRS physiology is a great one for that.

 

[jhamaican]

GT is great, but man i don't think i would bank the anatomy or embryo sections, they are just way, way too much. if you do, never rate them any less than a 5 so that they just float to the top of the pile every 90 days and don't start to clog up your daily review on more important stuff.

🙄 Someone is not a true gunner. My friends and I banked that stuff right after the test, bulldozed it into the ground and never looked back.

 

[senlar]

one simply does not review something they havent learned

Easily the best quote in this thread.