Step 1 study advice for 1st years?

[mikedc813]

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Hey everyone, I'm going to be a 1st year in August and was reading over the USMLE forums, which have no gotten me wondering what is the best way to approach studying for Step 1. I know that class is obviously preparing you, but are there other little things people might recommend? I guess I want to start out on the right foot and get the highest score possible. For instance, is it a good idea to buy some step 1 review books and supplement regular class material during 1st year? ANY and all advice is greatly appreciated.... 😀

 

[newbie5]

I would use first aid and high yield anatomy, neuro and embryo along with lippincott's biochem in the first year and then brs path and boards/wards for the 2 year along with robbin's big path.
but ultimately it comes down to your long term memory potential and recall, because you get the info in med school but these books don't cover everything and plus you won't remember little thing. So i would really pay attention and understand the concepts rather than the facts.

 

[sundevil1]

Hey, take first year as first year and don't worry about boards until second year. Even, don't worry until second semester second year. Try to learn the material first year rather than just memorizing it as much as possible. Sometimes this can't be avoided. I've memorized the menstrual cycle at least 6 times but it won't stick in my head. If you want, buy the BRS that accompanies your classes, especially phys and path. Read these, many times this is good enough to perform well in your classes and whether you know it or not, you'll be learning the stuff that is important for boards. There really isn't that much you can do during your first year, you just won't know enough yet. Plus, most stuff covered is from second year requiring integration from first year stuff, so make sure you learn and not memorize. Good luck in school.

 

[Jalby]

Here you go:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=122867

 

[barone ROCKS]

if you wanna know what to do first year, ima tell you right now. TAKE IT EASY, and dont let med school beat the life outta you. i partied my m1 year and had a good time. you have the whole of second year to worry about boards

 

[DarksideAllstar]

if you wanna know what to do first year, ima tell you right now. TAKE IT EASY, and dont let med school beat the life outta you. i partied my m1 year and had a good time. you have the whole of second year to worry about boards

I second this. 2nd year is what really counts in the end. Path will probably make you re-learn a lot of physio and anatomy, and a little cell bio as well. My suggestion is to really kick ass in Path, Micro, and Pharm. This strategy (not really a strategy, just happened to work out this way) worked for me.

Definitely buy BRS Physio and Lippincotts Biochemistry to use for your courses and annotate First Aid as you go through each subject (Anatomy, Embryo, Histo, etc).

Finally, remember to have a good time. I think that I felt a little less burnt out than some of my classmates when 2nd year rolled around.

 

[IlianaSedai]

To start with, I often bought a textbook and a review book/outline for each course, to help me out with the lecture notes. So were I to do everything again from 1st year, I would:

1. Go to SDN or poll a large number of students to research what's the best review book for that subject (e.g. anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc) BEFORE buying a review book.

2. DO buy a review book during M1 that will be suitable for you to (re)study from during the last month before the exam. DON'T buy these books and start reading them new the last month before the exam -- it's best if you just use them to supplement your studying as you go.

3. Be aware that during the last month before the exam, when you're hardcore studying, you may not be able to read 10 or 12 review books. General consensus is that:

a) Tier 1: You should definitely get First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, BRS Physiology and BRS Pathology. These are the ONLY three books that most people concur you should read cover to cover during that last month. (Note that BRS Physio is "not enough" for a lot of people during M-1 when taking physiology for the first time. That's okay, but I don't think you'll be able to escape it when studying for Step 1.)

b) Tier 2: Many people agree that BRS Behavioral Science is very close to the material on the exam and recommend using this for your school's behavioral science class. I did not personally find it that useful, but this is the general consensus. Definitely do not buy a huge textbook or the DSM-IV to study for your school's behavioral science class. For Step 1, most of this material is already in First Aid. High Yield Neuroanatomy is also very good (some people use Neuro Made Ridiculously Simple instead, which looks decent too) -- for neuro, I would not recommend BRS unless you're a masochist, because that thing is 400 pages long and undigestible for Step 1 crunch time.

c) Tier 3: Books with more variable opinions. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple is a student favorite; I hated it so I used BRS and it worked fine for me. Lippincott's Biochemistry - I used to clarify confusing points, but found First Aid sufficient for the most part.

Most people find First Aid sufficient for Anatomy and Embryology if you learned and understood it well the first time. Otherwise, High Yield is the shortest and quickest reviews you can get, but anatomy and embryo are really very SMALL and LOW YIELD topics on Step 1, so it's almost not worth bothering.

 

[mikedc813]

Great advice - I will certainly use all of it.

As for the First Aid review book, or I guess any of these books you have recommended, is it vitally important to get the most current editions? I briefly looked at prices, and even 1 year old editions are much cheaper. I'm sure you understand my fiscal woes.... Thanks again.

 

[IlianaSedai]

Some people get First Aid from the very beginning; on the other extreme, I found it to be pretty useless and didn't get it until January of my second year. (I did, however, get and use most of my review books early on.) If you get it now (beginning of 1st year) it would do you well to get a new one, since by the time you get around to really studying for Step 1 it will already be two years old. 🙂 Maybe a happy medium would be to get it September of second year -- that's probably what I'd do if I were to do it again.

When you're doing anatomy during first year, First Aid is really not enough. There is a hell of a lot more anatomy than the twenty pages First Aid devotes to it. So I don't know how useful it will be to you in that regard. You'll understand when you go to the bookstore and actually look at the book -- it's like a bullet list and for first year material it is largely not comprehensible if reading the first time through. 😎

There are apparently going to be new editions of BRS Physiology and BRS Pathology in 2005. I think you can do just fine with the old editions of these. The only subject I would be really cautious of getting an old edition book for is Pharmacology. (Note that most people think First Aid is sufficient pharm review for Step 1, although probably not sufficient for your class exams.)

 

[inositide]

The best way to study for step 1 for an incoming first year:
1) relax, enjoy the summer. Once school starts, you will wish that you had enjoyed your vacation even more.
2) once school starts, do well in the first 2 years. Try to do well in every class, and learn the material. You could cram physiology one or two nights before the exam and still pass the phys exams, but your understanding of phys wont be good and that will probably hurt you when reviewing for the step 1.
3) Dont even think about step 1 until you are well into 2nd year.

Bottom line: The best preparation for the boards is to do well the first two years.

 

[automaton]

Some people get First Aid from the very beginning; on the other extreme, I found it to be pretty useless and didn't get it until January of my second year. (I did, however, get and use most of my review books early on.) If you get it now (beginning of 1st year) it would do you well to get a new one, since by the time you get around to really studying for Step 1 it will already be two years old. 🙂 Maybe a happy medium would be to get it September of second year -- that's probably what I'd do if I were to do it again.

When you're doing anatomy during first year, First Aid is really not enough. There is a hell of a lot more anatomy than the twenty pages First Aid devotes to it. So I don't know how useful it will be to you in that regard. You'll understand when you go to the bookstore and actually look at the book -- it's like a bullet list and for first year material it is largely not comprehensible if reading the first time through. 😎

There are apparently going to be new editions of BRS Physiology and BRS Pathology in 2005. I think you can do just fine with the old editions of these. The only subject I would be really cautious of getting an old edition book for is Pharmacology. (Note that most people think First Aid is sufficient pharm review for Step 1, although probably not sufficient for your class exams.)

thanks for the advice so far. for pharmacology, will the pharm section on older editions of first aid be out of date for step1 purposes too?