Studying during R1

[Steve_Zissou]

Hey all, I’m going to be starting my R1 year here in 3 or so months and was hoping to hear about peoples approaches to studying during residency and how they would have changed things.

I’ve heard/read a broad swath of opinions including “start with CTC” to “don’t read CTC and stick to H&B.” I’ve heard “study one hour a day” to “study as much as you possibly can.”

Thoughts on approaches/resources to use?

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[Cognovi]

I studied as much as I possibly could. I never read CTC, B&H, or Core. I looked everything up on Radiopaedia and journal literature search and made Anki cards.

 

[PhysMatMan]

Just read the relevant chapter in core radiology and do radprimer questions. I also supplemented with ACR case in point and aunt minnie case of the day for approximately 1 year starting in mid R1. I wouldn't stress about the hours per day, but try to get through all of the Core radiology section per 1 month rotation and make a dent in radprimer. You can save CTC and intermediate radprimer for R2 and beyond.

 

[Womb Raider]

Hey all, I’m going to be starting my R1 year here in 3 or so months and was hoping to hear about peoples approaches to studying during residency and how they would have changed things.

I’ve heard/read a broad swath of opinions including “start with CTC” to “don’t read CTC and stick to H&B.” I’ve heard “study one hour a day” to “study as much as you possibly can.”

Thoughts on approaches/resources to use?

Most important thing is to develop a system that is somewhat consistent. Don't go the whole year without studying, but don't study yourself to death.

Starting out on each new rotation is hard as an R1. First priority should be getting the anatomy down, because you can't know abnormal until you know normal. Get a subscription to e-anatomy. Hopefully your institution has some way of introducing R1s to the section (e.g. basic anatomy and search patterns for the bread and butter CTs) but if they don't, ask an upper level on your first day for a quick rundown. Most of your learning will come from looking things up as you go. Look them up on radiopedia or statdx.

As for pathology, do as much "basic" radprimer as you can. Starting out it can take a while because the explanations are very detailed and you just don't know anything. Core radiology is extremely basic and quick, and may be a good place start before starting a new rotation. Use radiologyassistant.nl - this website is VERY good for learning. Brant and Helms sucks - it's extremely dry and takes forever to slog through, no one in my entire residency liked it. Some of my R1s have CaseStacks and love it, although I didn't try it myself. Radiographics is excellent but the complexity varies wildly, and it's one of those things that becomes more useful the more you know. There's a million different ways to skin a cat - I wouldn't sweat it too much during R1 year. You're going to feel like an idiot no matter how much you study. (FWIW I would 100% avoid CTC as an R1.)

One more thing - don't try to be perfect and spend an hour dictating one CT. It won't help. Read as many as you can. You're expected to miss stuff as an R1. Develop a search pattern, and refine it. You need to get normal burned into your brain and there's a lot of different kind of normal. Many R1s underestimate the importance of volume.

 

[Steve_Zissou]

Fantastic! Thank you all, these suggestions will give me a good place to start.

My wife and I are hoping to have a child during R1, so my current plan is to try and hit the studying 4 days during week (Ideally Monday through Thursday) and then an hour or so on Sundays while chilling with the fam. Hoping that should be enough to at least get a good start for building knowledge base and eventual board prep.