Step 1 studying over summer?

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FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
Has anyone done this or recommend it? I plan on working over the summer part time and Ill probably have some free time, would it be wise to get a start on step 1 studying or should I wait until next December like most people? If I did do this I'm thinking that I would just buy a first aid book and review anatomy, physiology, and maybe biochemistry to get a head start. Any feedback would be appreciated!
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I cannot stress no enough. It will be a complete waste of time.
 
I have no idea why anyone would answer with an emphatic "no." If you really do have free time, reviewing during the summer will make it far easier to recall the info in the middle of 2nd year.
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
That was an ignorant comment, I have plenty of friends in medical school that I go out with and hang with on a regular basis, Ill be back home and have a little extra free time and all I was asking is if was a good idea. Honestly I wanted to do it more for review of important concepts and was just asking if anyone else did it. I still plan on working, visiting friends and family, etc... The extent of my studying would be maybe a few hours everyday, just to make a dent in it, nothing insanely extensive.
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I plan to "make a dent" in something during my free time this summer, but it sure as hell isn't Step 1 studying. :naughty:
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
That was an ignorant comment, I have plenty of friends in medical school that I go out with and hang with on a regular basis, Ill be back home and have a little extra free time and all I was asking is if was a good idea. Honestly I wanted to do it more for review of important concepts and was just asking if anyone else did it. I still plan on working, visiting friends and family, etc... The extent of my studying would be maybe a few hours everyday, just to make a dent in it, nothing insanely extensive.
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You don't know enough of what's important to do any meaningful pre-studying. Biochem and micro are important, but you won't retain enough to make it worth it.

You'd be better off doing some research, shadowing to find out what you might want to do, brown-nosing your way into a PD's good graces, learning a skill, getting ripped, etc, etc.
 
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If studying during the summer after first year is a waste, then isn't studying at all first year a waste? Why do people say work hard studying and that will translate to step 1? Is the summer somehow magically useless and last september was super high yield time?

I plan on looking at all the first aid sections for the material we covered first year over the summer. It's only going to take a little time, and I think it will help refresh things in a stress free environment. It's not like spending an hour a day with a book 5 days a week is going to be any skin off my back. I'll just do it before breakfast and have the rest of the day to party.
 
Textbookversion said:
If studying during the summer after first year is a waste, then isn't studying at all first year a waste? Why do people say work hard studying and that will translate to step 1? Is the summer somehow magically useless and last september was super high yield time?

I plan on looking at all the first aid sections for the material we covered first year over the summer. It's only going to take a little time, and I think it will help refresh things in a stress free environment. It's not like spending an hour a day with a book 5 days a week is going to be any skin off my back. I'll just do it before breakfast and have the rest of the day to party.
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The fact that you eat breakfast during the party time that is the M1 summer (assuming you're not doing research) means our definitions of 'party' are different.

Reviewing FA during your summer is not going to be as high-yield for your residency applications as doing research in your field of interest, or shadowing possible interests in fields you won't have exposure to during M3.
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
That was an ignorant comment, I have plenty of friends in medical school that I go out with and hang with on a regular basis, Ill be back home and have a little extra free time and all I was asking is if was a good idea. Honestly I wanted to do it more for review of important concepts and was just asking if anyone else did it. I still plan on working, visiting friends and family, etc... The extent of my studying would be maybe a few hours everyday, just to make a dent in it, nothing insanely extensive.
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No. No. No. There is more than enough time to do this during second year.

If you have time, and you want to do school related things, focus all your energy and time towards research. That is the only good use of your time. If not, go to the beach.
 
Textbookversion said:
If studying during the summer after first year is a waste, then isn't studying at all first year a waste? Why do people say work hard studying and that will translate to step 1? Is the summer somehow magically useless and last september was super high yield time?

I plan on looking at all the first aid sections for the material we covered first year over the summer. It's only going to take a little time, and I think it will help refresh things in a stress free environment. It's not like spending an hour a day with a book 5 days a week is going to be any skin off my back. I'll just do it before breakfast and have the rest of the day to party.
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You will understand when the people who do research or just partied in the summer do just as well or better than you on Step 1.
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
That was an ignorant comment, I have plenty of friends in medical school that I go out with and hang with on a regular basis, Ill be back home and have a little extra free time and all I was asking is if was a good idea. Honestly I wanted to do it more for review of important concepts and was just asking if anyone else did it. I still plan on working, visiting friends and family, etc... The extent of my studying would be maybe a few hours everyday, just to make a dent in it, nothing insanely extensive.
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Go do research. You'll forget most of what you studied during the summer and be at the same point everyone else is at the start of the dedicated prep time.

You can do whatever you want. The fact is that people get 250+ without studying a second during the summer. Work hard during your dedicated period and study hard for your classes. Do research or make connections in your future field of choice during the summer. If you spend all summer just studying step and get a 250 while some other dude does research and gets a few pubs and then studies his ass during the dedicated period and gets a 250, who do you think looks better to PDs?
 
JP2740 said:
You will understand when the people who do research or just partied in the summer do just as well or better than you on Step 1.
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It's not about them doing better than me (or me doing better than them), it's about me feeling less stressed starting year 2. And I hate research. I'll write a couple case reports third year and call that good.

I dunno it just doesn't make much sense what you guys are saying. If reviewing a bit over the summer (which really, takes like 5% of the time commitment I'm using now for school) is useless then all the studying I'm doing now is 10x as useless.

If it's such a bad idea, then I'm guessing none of you tried it? How then can you be so convinced it's a terrible idea?
 
M1 material counts for like 10% of what's on the boards. You'll review the stuff you need to know when you start studying for real in Janurary of 2014.

Just enjoy your last summer off. If you want to be a gunner *******, go do some research.
 
Textbookversion said:
It's not about them doing better than me (or me doing better than them), it's about me feeling less stressed starting year 2. And I hate research. I'll write a couple case reports third year and call that good.

I dunno it just doesn't make much sense what you guys are saying. If reviewing a bit over the summer (which really, takes like 5% of the time commitment I'm using now for school) is useless then all the studying I'm doing now is 10x as useless.

If it's such a bad idea, then I'm guessing none of you tried it? How then can you be so convinced it's a terrible idea?
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If you want to waste what little of a last free summer you have then go for it. Do a search, this question gets asked in allo ten times a year. There are people who have tried summer studying and have regretted it. Just do a search.

Doing well in m1 classes will certainly help for boards but its not like the sole purpose of m1 is to prepare you for boards. Study hard now so you'll be a good doctor, not just a good step 1 taker. It's not a waste of time to study hard now in classes.
 
Guys, he's clearly already decided he's going to try to study this summer and no one is going to change his mind. He only started this thread to find people to validate this decision.

He'll realize how wrong he was soon enough.
 
notbobtrustme said:
M1 material counts for like 10% of what's on the boards. You'll review the stuff you need to know when you start studying for real in Janurary of 2014.

Just enjoy your last summer off. If you want to be a gunner *******, go do some research.
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armybound said:
First year info is not heavily represented on Step 1. It would be a waste of your time.
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Some schools start Pathology in 1st year, so this generalization does not always apply.
 
If you love studying so much that it sounds better than doing whatever else you could do with your free time, go right ahead. It's just unlikely to be very useful by the time Step 1 comes around. It seems crazy to think that everything you learned during year 1 isn't all that represented on Step 1, but that's the fact. You may have even learned a fair amount of pathology your first year, but you'll learn that it was for the purpose of understanding the normal way things work. Year 2 is a gauntlet of diseases, and that's what Step 1 tests most heavily.

If you are looking for something useful to do with your time during the summer, then as everyone else has said do research. I didn't during the summer and now I wish I had.
 
Textbookversion said:
It's not about them doing better than me (or me doing better than them), it's about me feeling less stressed starting year 2. And I hate research. I'll write a couple case reports third year and call that good.

If it's such a bad idea, then I'm guessing none of you tried it? How then can you be so convinced it's a terrible idea?
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Umm yes, that is what it's about. It's all about your score. It isn't about being prepared for year 2. It's what the score reads on your report, and the summer doesn't make a difference to that score.

Your score probably won't go down if you study over the summer. It won't go up either. It's a waste of time. Everyone I know who did well on step 1 didn't study in the summer. My friend got in the 270s and didn't study in the summer.
 
guywhodoesstuff said:
guys, he's clearly already decided he's going to try to study this summer and no one is going to change his mind. He only started this thread to find people to validate this decision.

He'll realize how wrong he was soon enough.
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+1
 
D elegans said:
If you love studying so much that it sounds better than doing whatever else you could do with your free time, go right ahead. It's just unlikely to be very useful by the time Step 1 comes around. It seems crazy to think that everything you learned during year 1 isn't all that represented on Step 1, but that's the fact. You may have even learned a fair amount of pathology your first year, but you'll learn that it was for the purpose of understanding the normal way things work. Year 2 is a gauntlet of diseases, and that's what Step 1 tests most heavily.

If you are looking for something useful to do with your time during the summer, then as everyone else has said do research. I didn't during the summer and now I wish I had.
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I keep seeing comments like this and they all confuse me...we have been doing systems-based learning and every time we finish an organ block, I consult FA and find that almost everything within that specific block in FA was covered in my lectures (which leads me to believe that I am learning most of the embryology, pathology, pharmacology, etc related to that block that I need to learn for Step 1). All of our exam questions are structured the exact same way as the questions that I find in widely distributed Step 1 resources. How can you say that reviewing what you have already learned and what will likely be covered on Step 1 is a waste of time? I am not trying to sound like a tool and I hope I am not coming off as one, I am sincerely curious.
 
Acetabulous said:
I keep seeing comments like this and they all confuse me...we have been doing systems-based learning and every time we finish an organ block, I consult FA and find that almost everything within that specific block in FA was covered in my lectures (which leads me to believe that I am learning most of the embryology, pathology, pharmacology, etc related to that block that I need to learn for Step 1). All of our exam questions are structured the exact same way as the questions that I find in widely distributed Step 1 resources. How can you say that reviewing what you have already learned and what will likely be covered on Step 1 is a waste of time? I am not trying to sound like a tool and I hope I am not coming off as one, I am sincerely curious.
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Just do it and report back to us after step 1 if it helped or not.
 
Acetabulous said:
I couldn't help but notice that your response included a glaring absence of an actual answer.
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Maybe tiedydddog is upset at him/herself for not having done it :smuggrin:
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSIKBliboIo[/YOUTUBE]

I am sorry dave, but I am afraid studying for step 1 over the summer will not help you.
 
Study if you want. I did research between first and second year. Got paid, weekends off, worked like 6 hours a day, it was nice. One of the other girls in the same lab did bring First Aid with her and would occasionally read it.

Moral of the story, study if you want. Since you sound like you really want to, you must be a gunner. So if you are gunning, make your summer worth it. Make sure you do something else such as research during your time, or shadowing in some specialties you want exposure too (attending gets to know you, bam you got a letter writer after you rotate with them in 3rd/4th year). Also research is easier to do and get something published during the last summer of your life than 3rd year of med school.
 
what did I just watch
 
GuyWhoDoesStuff said:
Guys, he's clearly already decided he's going to try to study this summer and no one is going to change his mind. He only started this thread to find people to validate this decision.

He'll realize how wrong he was soon enough.
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Yeah. I'd listen to this guy. He is a beast. Step 1 ~260, derm research, derm match number 1 choice. No joke. And he definitely did not study during his last summer off ever.
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
Has anyone done this or recommend it? I plan on working over the summer part time and Ill probably have some free time, would it be wise to get a start on step 1 studying or should I wait until next December like most people? If I did do this I'm thinking that I would just buy a first aid book and review anatomy, physiology, and maybe biochemistry to get a head start. Any feedback would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

I travelled and read First Aid (read Biochem, microbiology, neuro, and Heme/Onc chapters )

I literally remembered less than 10 facts from that. It was a huge waste of time and took away from my travelling experience. DO NOT STUDY. You will not remember much.

Go travelling minus the studying, its one of your last chances to travel
 
GuyWhoDoesStuff said:
Guys, he's clearly already decided he's going to try to study this summer and no one is going to change his mind. He only started this thread to find people to validate this decision.

He'll realize how wrong he was soon enough.
Click to expand...

Some people start studying for step 3 in high school. What's wrong with studying step 1 right after M1 ? LOL
 
docnotsopc said:
I travelled and read First Aid (read Biochem, microbiology, neuro, and Heme/Onc chapters )

I literally remembered less than 10 facts from that. It was a huge waste of time and took away from my travelling experience. DO NOT STUDY. You will not remember much.

Go travelling minus the studying, its one of your last chances to travel
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Ahhh alright, that's kind of what I was thinking. If people were advising against studying simply based on the premise that first years haven't covered any useful material, I would wholeheartedly disagree. But when you say that retention is the real reason, that makes a heck of a lot of sense.
 
as someone who is currently studying for step 1, I say avoid it until you have to do it. Plus I wouldn't think your retention would be amazing (assuming you are taking it the summer after your MS2 year). besides, its your LAST FREE SUMMER. Please enjoy it for those of us who can't.
 
Acetabulous said:
Ahhh alright, that's kind of what I was thinking. If people were advising against studying simply based on the premise that first years haven't covered any useful material, I would wholeheartedly disagree. But when you say that retention is the real reason, that makes a heck of a lot of sense.
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It also depends on your curriculum. But everyone does biochem first year, which is sheer memorizing little things. It can be relearned a month or so before your actual board exam.

Retention is one thing....

Coming into 2nd year burned out is another thing. You do not want this. A few people in my class did DIT or read all of first aid (before we had learned most of it) during the summer. They got destroyed by courses first semester because they were exhausted (even though they "learned" the material already by teaching it to themselves during the summer).

Enjoy, relax, and recharge yourself before 2nd year. You will have plenty of time to study and re-learn things in second year:)
 
hownowmauvecow said:
as someone who is currently studying for step 1, I say avoid it until you have to do it. Plus I wouldn't think your retention would be amazing (assuming you are taking it the summer after your MS2 year). besides, its your LAST FREE SUMMER. Please enjoy it for those of us who can't.
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Agree! I would travel if your budget allows, maybe a Spanish immersion program. I did one during my fourth year in Ecuador that was pretty awesome: http://www.cachamsi.com/

Best wishes!

Jack
unfailingspring.com
 
In the middle of Step 1 studying right now. You know what helps remembering M1 material for Step 1? Knowing the organ system physiology and pathology from M2 so you have a context to build in all the basic science information. Do not study in your post-M1 summer. Go do research so you can get something to present in a warm sunny place in the winter of M2!
 
I take Step 1 in three months and I have no intention of studying over spring break next week. It's certainly debatable whether that's a smart decision. However on the futility of studying during M1 summer, there appears to be consensus.
 
FlyyyGuyyyTyyy said:
Has anyone done this or recommend it? I plan on working over the summer part time and Ill probably have some free time, would it be wise to get a start on step 1 studying or should I wait until next December like most people? If I did do this I'm thinking that I would just buy a first aid book and review anatomy, physiology, and maybe biochemistry to get a head start. Any feedback would be appreciated!
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I did this...

Actually I started before medical school started. It was a waste of time.
 
If you are an MS1 at an accelerated 1.5 year preclinical curriculum, would it be smart to review Costanzo and Goljan during summer or just some board stuff. We would have finished some of second year stuff like cardio, pulm, renal, endo, GI. Im kinda afraid ill just forget stuff when i start school after summer. of course i plan just enjoying my break too
 
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