Step I/First Aid question

[hookaman]

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What percentage of questions on Step I would you say are not covered by First Aid? i.e. Could I get a >240 score just by knowing First Aid (and BRS Path) backwards and forward? Thank you

 

[trouta]

1. Hard to give any guarantees.
2. I dont think BRS Path adds much to FA. If you are going to add just one book add BRS Phys.

That being said... knowing FA back and forward I bet you could score 240 (if you really knew it ALL). But, I wont put any money on it.

 

[automaton]

it's almost impossible to memorize everything in FA unless you read other material first. FA will summarize a page worth of crap into one up or down arrow. if you didn't read the relevant text there's no way you're going to memorize which way some random arrow goes on page 403. i guess if you have a photographic memory then FA is all you need, but then again if you have a photographic memory you'd probably read everything just because you'd retain it all with no effort. hell i don't even know why you'd review, just read it once during classes and you're set.

 

[carrigallen]

If you have done 90% or better in your 1st/2nd year classes, then I would guess you have a good chance of doing well. For some reason, I don't think that studying in a frenzy during the month before the test will actually impact your score much, especially in the higher ranges.

It seems like the step exam mostly tests fundamental concepts. I think FA is really useful for refreshing your memory, but not memorizing firsthand.

 

[Wrigleyville]

it's almost impossible to memorize everything in FA unless you read other material first. FA will summarize a page worth of crap into one up or down arrow. if you didn't read the relevant text there's no way you're going to memorize which way some random arrow goes on page 403.

This is exactly right. First Aid is just a checklist of things you need to know and understand. Memorizing it won't do you a whole lot of good. Flip through it, and when you see something you don't recognize or understand, find a more thorough review book that explains the concepts and why things happen.

If you understand why something happens (pathogenesis/pathophysiology/mechanism), you will stand a much better chance of remembering that piece of information. You can cram random facts into your brain on the last couple of days, but if that is your primary study strategy I don't see how you could hope to get a good score.

 

[trouta]

If you have done 90% or better in your 1st/2nd year classes, then I would guess you have a good chance of doing well. For some reason, I don't think that studying in a frenzy during the month before the test will actually impact your score much, especially in the higher ranges.

I have to disagree... I took the NBME basic science test before I started studying, studied for 4 weeks and scored >40pts higher on the real thing. I know that the bulk of this came from cramming. Its true that if you did a good job of learning things the first time it is easier to cram, but I am 100% positive that you can boost your score a lot during that short period of intense studying before the test.

 

[ForceField]

I have a question about how exactly to use and integrate First Aid into my boards studying.

I have heard different things from different people about how they studied, but I just wanted to get some your opinions on what worked for you when you used First Aid.

Some people say that you should transcribe a lot of your own little notes into First Aid. When I read through Kaplan Notes, BRS books, etc. I find myself highlighting text, looking up information in more lengthy resources if I'm confused, and perhaps writing some down; however, after spending a few hours studying a BRS book, I would find it very time consuming to then refer to First Aid and then write in all sorts of notes. Also, it seems like every topic in a BRS or Kaplan book somehow finds its way into First Aid.

Other people have said that they would annotate First Aid with questions and answers from QBank, which seems like a more efficient use of time, in that you would remember questions and such if you annotate. More specifically, for questions you missed or for those which you didn't understand the answer, after reading the answer explanation, students can write down the stuff they're rusty on into First Aid.

Any advice? Your help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

FF

 

[automaton]

I have a question about how exactly to use and integrate First Aid into my boards studying.

I have heard different things from different people about how they studied, but I just wanted to get some your opinions on what worked for you when you used First Aid.

Some people say that you should transcribe a lot of your own little notes into First Aid. When I read through Kaplan Notes, BRS books, etc. I find myself highlighting text, looking up information in more lengthy resources if I'm confused, and perhaps writing some down; however, after spending a few hours studying a BRS book, I would find it very time consuming to then refer to First Aid and then write in all sorts of notes. Also, it seems like every topic in a BRS or Kaplan book somehow finds its way into First Aid.

Other people have said that they would annotate First Aid with questions and answers from QBank, which seems like a more efficient use of time, in that you would remember questions and such if you annotate. More specifically, for questions you missed or for those which you didn't understand the answer, after reading the answer explanation, students can write down the stuff they're rusty on into First Aid.

Any advice? Your help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

FF

i personally don't think it's feasible to write everything down from BRS and qbank. what i do is a mix. on short HY books like immuno, embryo, biochem, etc, i write down key facts that either aren't diagrammed well in FA, aren't mentioned, or whatever. for qbank, i use the Opera browser and copy/paste stuff onto a word file so that i could quickly read it. 50 question blocks take up anywhere from 4-10 pages depending on how many i get wrong. 🙂 for things like physiology or pathology i bite the bullet and just highlight without worrying about transferring all that to FA, and study off the review books instead.

so for about a week before the exam i'm flipping through ONLY FA for all the subjects like anatomy, embryo, histo, biochem, micro, pharm, etc. for path and phys i'm flipping through BRS. and for qbank i'm reading the text files i made.

that's just the way i'm doing it. no idea if this is good or not but it makes sense to me.