starting second year--what should I be doing?

[Abby_Normal]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm about to begin second year and trying to figure out how to approach studying for the boards. My plan is to begin serious studying/qbanks in January and to annotate First Aid and subject review books throughout the year ( started with BRS last semester as help reviewing for exams.

I was wondering if there is anything else I should be doing during the first half of second year. I'm not the best test taker, largely due to anxiety, so I feel like I should do what I can to "normalize" the boards as much as possible over the course of the year.

 

[Chaoticsheath]

I would just really focus on learning 2nd year material really really well. That's prep also. Just go above and beyond what you normally do in terms of prep for med school exams. focus on the WHY. Why different diseases happen. keep the info that you learn in the context of patient care. LEARN THOSE DRUGS. they come back to bite you in the butt. big time. especially mechanisms and toxicities. you'll have your hands full just doing that for the first half of 2nd year. Your plan for later on sounds good.

 

[futuredoctor10]

My advice: use FA and also do QUESTIONS: either from a Qbank if you buy one before summer (or) from resources like WebPath, Robbins.

Questions are not only important for learning, repetition, integration, application but (if Qbank) provide an avenue into the styles of questions that are on Step 1. This is important because in my experience sometimes you will study towards your school style of testing or teaching and that does NOT always reflect emphasis of material on Step 1.