Step I study group summer after M1

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dartmed

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Hey y'all,

The Deans at our medical school highly recommended that we review all of 1st year of medical school during the summer before our M2 year. So, I thought it would be nice to have people from here be in a study group over the summer to answer questions and such. I think it would be great to have like a 2-3 hour Skype study session each week to make clinical correlations/bring topics together/share notes/answer each other's questions.

I will essentially be taking my own notes from review books while correlating the notes I take with FA. Here are the following subjects we have covered and what books I plan on using to review them starting Saturday:

Anatomy - primarily FA and Netter's
Embryology - High Yield
Biochemistry - High Yield/FA
Physiology - BRS and BRS Cases and Problems
Neuroanatomy - High Yield/FA

My goal is that if I can take my own notes from review books and correlate them with FA, I will have a much easier time as we go through M2 year. I can review M2 1st semester's material along with my M1 year notes I took over the summer during Winter break. Hopefully when the end of my second year rolls around, I will have gone through FA 2 or 3 times and will be prepared to take practice exams.

I will also be doing questions from UWorld and Kaplan during my studying this summer as well. Personally, I don't plan on doing questions before I review the subject entirely but I plan doing a couple questions just to get an idea about how to approach my studying.

Here's my study schedule for the first couple of weeks if anyone's interested in joining me over Skype:

May 31st - Embryology - to page 25
June 1st - Embryology - to page 50
June 2nd - Embryology - t0 page 75; Skype session?
June 3rd - Neuroanatomy - to page 25
June 4th - Break, Skype session?
June 5th Neuroanatomy - to page 50
June 6th - review notes from Embryology and Neuroanatomy so far/make correlations
June 7th Embryology - to page 100
June 8th Neuroanatomy - to page 75
June 9th - finish Embryology, Skype session?
June 10th - catch-up day/break
June 11th - catch-up day/break
June 12th - review Neuroanatomy notes, Skype session?
June 13th - Neuroanatomy - to page 100
June 14th - Neuroanatomy - to page 125
June 15th - review all of neuroanatomy covered so far (Skype session?)
June 16th - catch-up/break
June 17th - finish neuroanatomy

June 18th - 22nd - do as many questions as possible and review the answers

I don't want to exhaust all the questions yet from UWorld, so probably focus on Kaplan more...

By June 22nd, I should two really nice packets for Embryology and Neuroanatomy. If this works well, hopefully, I can carry it forward to Anatomy and Physiology before M2 begins in September!

Disclaimer: if you don't like what I posted and think we are gunning, please refrain from your cynical comments. However, if you have constructive input, please feel free to comment.
 
dartmed said:
Hey y'all,

The Deans at our medical school highly recommended that we review all of 1st year of medical school during the summer before our M2 year. So, I thought it would be nice to have people from here be in a study group over the summer to answer questions and such. I think it would be great to have like a 2-3 hour Skype study session each week to make clinical correlations/bring topics together/share notes/answer each other's questions.

I will essentially be taking my own notes from review books while correlating the notes I take with FA. Here are the following subjects we have covered and what books I plan on using to review them starting Saturday:

Anatomy - primarily FA and Netter's
Embryology - High Yield
Biochemistry - High Yield/FA
Physiology - BRS and BRS Cases and Problems
Neuroanatomy - High Yield/FA

My goal is that if I can take my own notes from review books and correlate them with FA, I will have a much easier time as we go through M2 year. I can review M2 1st semester's material along with my M1 year notes I took over the summer during Winter break. Hopefully when the end of my second year rolls around, I will have gone through FA 2 or 3 times and will be prepared to take practice exams.

I will also be doing questions from UWorld and Kaplan during my studying this summer as well. Personally, I don't plan on doing questions before I review the subject entirely but I plan doing a couple questions just to get an idea about how to approach my studying.

Here's my study schedule for the first couple of weeks if anyone's interested in joining me over Skype:

May 31st - Embryology - to page 25
June 1st - Embryology - to page 50
June 2nd - Embryology - t0 page 75; Skype session?
June 3rd - Neuroanatomy - to page 25
June 4th - Break, Skype session?
June 5th Neuroanatomy - to page 50
June 6th - review notes from Embryology and Neuroanatomy so far/make correlations
June 7th Embryology - to page 100
June 8th Neuroanatomy - to page 75
June 9th - finish Embryology, Skype session?
June 10th - catch-up day/break
June 11th - catch-up day/break
June 12th - review Neuroanatomy notes, Skype session?
June 13th - Neuroanatomy - to page 100
June 14th - Neuroanatomy - to page 125
June 15th - review all of neuroanatomy covered so far (Skype session?)
June 16th - catch-up/break
June 17th - finish neuroanatomy

June 18th - 22nd - do as many questions as possible and review the answers

I don't want to exhaust all the questions yet from UWorld, so probably focus on Kaplan more...

By June 22nd, I should two really nice packets for Embryology and Neuroanatomy. If this works well, hopefully, I can carry it forward to Anatomy and Physiology before M2 begins in September!

Disclaimer: if you don't like what I posted and think we are gunning, please refrain from your cynical comments. However, if you have constructive input, please feel free to comment.
Click to expand...
With all due respect, since when do medical students listen to Deans of medical schools when it comes to anything, much less reviewing for the USMLE Step 1? Whatever. Since you're convinced of doing this charade regardless, replace HY Biochemistry with Rapid Review Biochemistry, use the bigger Physiology book by Costanzo, and High Yield Gross Anatomy for Gross Anatomy.
 
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This whole plan seems incredibly low yield and poorly conceived. Do your Deans troll SDN by any chance? I think I finally realize who starts all those "OMG should I study First Aid over the summer??" threads.

Get hooked in with some research (although that's something you should've started planning out a while ago), join a softball or kickball league, and live it up.
 
lol I can't really think of anyone that would know less about studying for step 1 than our dean.
 
Here's my constructive input: if I told my dean of such a study plan, he would say "wtf are you doing? Go out and get wasted ... just don't arrested."

In all seriousness, studying MS1 subjects without learning the pathology is a low-yield endeavor. Sadly, your dean doesn't know wtf he is talking about. Use your summer for more high yield activities like research, volunteering, etc., and get some good time to relax as well.
 
CherryRedDracul said:
Here's my constructive input: if I told my dean of such a study plan, he would say "wtf are you doing? Go out and get wasted ... just don't arrested."

In all seriousness, studying MS1 subjects without learning the pathology is a low-yield endeavor. Sadly, your dean doesn't know wtf he is talking about. Use your summer for more high yield activities like research, volunteering, etc., and get some good time to relax as well.
Click to expand...
I could maybe (and that's a small maybe) understand if the OP went to a medical school in which the preclinical curriculum is coordinated from the beginning as organ system blocks in which you get to see the full picture and thus integrate across basic science subjects. Sucks that she goes to a school that grades H/HP/P/MP/F in the first years. Right now she has only half the picture with nothing to integrate it with.

Based on her prior threads, it seems like this strategy for the summer is possibly fear-induced based on a not so great performance in Anatomy. Even then, the ultimate yield of this strategy with respect to Step 1 is questionable at best. I realize, however, there is probably no way to convince the OP otherwise.
 
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This idea always gets met with a lot of disdain here but I think there's at least a little merit to it. I spent some time that summer reading through anything in FA that was covered during the first year, just as a way to get familiar with the book and refresh my memory a little. But I probably spent like 10 minutes a day, tops, doing this. Mostly just sat around and did whatever I wanted that summer. The study plan outlined in this theead does seem a bit too ambitious

Not sure how beneficial that particular strategy was but in general I took an early prep route to studying for Step 1 and it made my dedicated studying much less painful and I scored nearly 260.
 
dartmed said:
Hey y'all,

The Deans at our medical school highly recommended that we review all of 1st year of medical school during the summer before our M2 year. So, I thought it would be nice to have people from here be in a study group over the summer to answer questions and such. I think it would be great to have like a 2-3 hour Skype study session each week to make clinical correlations/bring topics together/share notes/answer each other's questions.

I will essentially be taking my own notes from review books while correlating the notes I take with FA. Here are the following subjects we have covered and what books I plan on using to review them starting Saturday:

Anatomy - primarily FA and Netter's
Embryology - High Yield
Biochemistry - High Yield/FA
Physiology - BRS and BRS Cases and Problems
Neuroanatomy - High Yield/FA

My goal is that if I can take my own notes from review books and correlate them with FA, I will have a much easier time as we go through M2 year. I can review M2 1st semester's material along with my M1 year notes I took over the summer during Winter break. Hopefully when the end of my second year rolls around, I will have gone through FA 2 or 3 times and will be prepared to take practice exams.

I will also be doing questions from UWorld and Kaplan during my studying this summer as well. Personally, I don't plan on doing questions before I review the subject entirely but I plan doing a couple questions just to get an idea about how to approach my studying.

Here's my study schedule for the first couple of weeks if anyone's interested in joining me over Skype:

May 31st - Embryology - to page 25
June 1st - Embryology - to page 50
June 2nd - Embryology - t0 page 75; Skype session?
June 3rd - Neuroanatomy - to page 25
June 4th - Break, Skype session?
June 5th Neuroanatomy - to page 50
June 6th - review notes from Embryology and Neuroanatomy so far/make correlations
June 7th Embryology - to page 100
June 8th Neuroanatomy - to page 75
June 9th - finish Embryology, Skype session?
June 10th - catch-up day/break
June 11th - catch-up day/break
June 12th - review Neuroanatomy notes, Skype session?
June 13th - Neuroanatomy - to page 100
June 14th - Neuroanatomy - to page 125
June 15th - review all of neuroanatomy covered so far (Skype session?)
June 16th - catch-up/break
June 17th - finish neuroanatomy

June 18th - 22nd - do as many questions as possible and review the answers

I don't want to exhaust all the questions yet from UWorld, so probably focus on Kaplan more...

By June 22nd, I should two really nice packets for Embryology and Neuroanatomy. If this works well, hopefully, I can carry it forward to Anatomy and Physiology before M2 begins in September!

Disclaimer: if you don't like what I posted and think we are gunning, please refrain from your cynical comments. However, if you have constructive input, please feel free to comment.
Click to expand...

No. No. No.

(To all 3 = wasting your summer studying embryo and neuroanatomy, using Skype to study, and doing UWorld and Kaplan questions)

This is your last summer. Go have fun. Spend time with friends and family. Travel. Read books. Watch Netflix. Whatever.

If you really must do something med school related do some research and get a publication for your CV or shadow some doctors in subspecialties your interested in since you may not get enough exposure during 3rd year.

Your deans are idiots.
 
I mean if you're going to be neurotic, you might as well get into the path so you can make connections and build something that actually lasts. Remembering that the tributaries of the long thoracic artery is probably not going to help you nearly as much as getting a precursory look at path. But seriously, the dean? Personally I don't really worry about what my school says in terms of step 1, but there is truly no one who knows less about step 1 and studying for it than your dean. There's no reason for them to.
 
I think I forgot to mention that we have a comprehensive exam in August that we are required to pass in order to matriculate into our 2nd year. We can take it as many times as we want, but we need to pass it to move on. Hence the intense studying.
 
dartmed said:
I think I forgot to mention that we have a comprehensive exam in August that we are required to pass in order to matriculate into our 2nd year. We can take it as many times as we want, but we need to pass it to move on. Hence the intense studying.
Click to expand...
Yes and it also says for the comprehensive exam, "A passing score is not required for promotion to the second year..." They're likely not even NBME questions.
 
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Lol can't tell if OP is a troll or serious
 
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