studying before third year

[nevergraduating]

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I did a year of research after M2 and now I'm in the situation that I am done with step 1 and have a month with nothing to do. I was thinking I could start studying for third year and get an early start. What would you look at before third year if you had some time?

 

[smq123]

I did a year of research after M2 and now I'm in the situation that I am done with step 1 and have a month with nothing to do. I was thinking I could start studying for third year and get an early start. What would you look at before third year if you had some time?

What's your first rotation?

I'd also just relax, to be honest. I guess reviewing antibiotics isn't a bad thing (depending on what the first rotation is), but nothing too strenuous.

Reviewing how to write a good SOAP note might be helpful too.

 

[nevergraduating]

Thanks. My first rotation is psych and under normal circumstances I would take a vacation now. However, I just had back surgery which I needed to have before third year so I'm kind of down anyway. Thought I might as well study during that time, hulu lasts only so long. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[smq123]

Thanks. My first rotation is psych and under normal circumstances I would take a vacation now. However, I just had back surgery which I needed to have before third year so I'm kind of down anyway. Thought I might as well study during that time, hulu lasts only so long. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

Ah, I see. That makes sense to do some studying then. Hope your back feels better soon!

Pharm, pharm, and more pharm. Mechanisms of action, which receptors they affect, common side effects, drug interactions, etc. I felt like the psych shelf exam was > 60% pharmacology.

How to administer a mini-mental status exam.

Personality disorders - common features, Cluster A vs. Cluster B vs. Cluster C.

Organic disorders that can mimic psychiatric conditions (ex: hypoglycemia, tertiary syphilis, brain tumor).

Read through Case Files for psych. I like Case Files because it's small chunks, but they're very readable.

Good luck with MS3 and hope you get better.

 

[45408]

Things that will always be useful to an M3/M4/intern:

-fluid management!
-electrolytes or lab values in general
-how to interpret an ABG

these turn out to be a lot harder than you think.