Summer between M1-M2

[fishsticks2629]

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I plan on studying for USMLE this summer. Any advice on which books to start with? I was thinking BRS physio (just for a short review), then BRS path and if any time left start with FA. Any suggestions out there?

Thanks!

 

[Phloston]

I plan on studying for USMLE this summer. Any advice on which books to start with? I was thinking BRS physio (just for a short review), then BRS path and if any time left start with FA. Any suggestions out there?

Thanks!

Start immediately with BRS Pathology. This is one of the most important books you'll need to memorize during second-year. That being said, I feel the two most overall important Step1 texts are BRS Pathology and FA, so if you can "memorize" the entirety of BRS Path earlier than later, you'll give yourself extra time to tackle FA (since FA becomes much more tractable after you've finished BRS Path). I personally wouldn't recommend spending your extra time studying physiology unless you feel you're particularly weaker in that area. You should think of first- and second-years as being your physio and path years, respectively. You're done with first-year, so it's time to start path and don't look back. Get BRS out of the way. Read it during your course as well as before if you have time. Read a corresponding FA section after you've covered it in BRS.

 

[JackShephard MD]

Start immediately with BRS Pathology. This is one of the most important books you'll need to memorize during second-year. That being said, I feel the two most overall important Step1 texts are BRS Pathology and FA, so if you can "memorize" the entirety of BRS Path earlier than later, you'll give yourself extra time to tackle FA (since FA becomes much more tractable after you've finished BRS Path). I personally wouldn't recommend spending your extra time studying physiology unless you feel you're particularly weaker in that area. You should think of first- and second-years as being your physio and path years, respectively. You're done with first-year, so it's time to start path and don't look back. Get BRS out of the way. Read it during your course as well as before if you have time. Read a corresponding FA section after you've covered it in BRS.

I thought Goljan RR was the premium review of path?

 

[fishsticks2629]

Great thanks! Any other suggestions?

 

[fishsticks2629]

I thought Goljan RR was the premium review of path?

I've heard both are very good and interchangeable

 

[lrkoehle]

I'm a fan of gunner training. The spaced review system will force you to review the areas you're weak in and not waste time with strong areas. You can bank all of first year over the summer and then continue during second year.

 

[shan564]

Depends on your weaknesses. If I could go back in time, I'd spend more time in 1st/2nd year working on micribiology (maybe with microbiology MRS and/or Microcards) and biochemistry (maybe with RR biochem or Lippincott biochem).

 

[JJMrK]

There's a reason review books are called review books. If you haven't learned the concepts yet you're wasting your time with the details. I'd look at FA for first year subjects and start listening to Goljan at the gym. Any more than that is probably pushing it. You'll have plenty of time to review and study as you go during second year.

 

[ballerz]

Please do not go overboard on board studying during basically the last summer of your life! Go to the beach, met a girl/ guy, drink alot and party hard. It's one of the few moments you will have some freedom, use it wisely, be cool not a lame gunner 😎

 

[Phloston]

Please do not go overboard on board studying during basically the last summer of your life! Go to the beach, met a girl/ guy, drink alot and party hard. It's one of the few moments you will have some freedom, use it wisely, be cool not a lame gunner 😎

Nice. Very true. But do both. It's important to do research, studying or some kind of work during the M1-M2 summer, but as Ballerz has pointed out, since it's not the actual school year, make sure a few tequilas are also on the agenda.

 

[shan564]

Please do not go overboard on board studying during basically the last summer of your life! Go to the beach, met a girl/ guy, drink alot and party hard. It's one of the few moments you will have some freedom, use it wisely, be cool not a lame gunner 😎

Most people have already considered that option. The OP was asking how to study, not whether to study.

 

[JackShephard MD]

Please do not go overboard on board studying during basically the last summer of your life! Go to the beach, met a girl/ guy, drink alot and party hard. It's one of the few moments you will have some freedom, use it wisely, be cool not a lame gunner 😎

I'm not advocating summer board studying, but I do find it funny that one can be a lame gunner if they open a book for 2 hours a day during the summer, but a guy doing 10 hrs of research a day is just a cool medical student. Man med students have this unexplainable disdain for any elective improvement.

 

[gravitywave]

RR vs BRS for path is a matter of personal preference. they will both get you to the same place if you spend enough time with them. i liked RR, myself - but i do think its importance is overstated. also, the lectures are astoundingly low-yield until 4-6 months before your exam, at the earliest.

obviously i will put in another plug for Gunner Training. you could bank everything from MS1 over the summer very comfortably, especially if you are in a traditional curriculum. it's an incredibly powerful tool if you are disciplined about it, although it does seem as though some people have trouble with that once they get to MS2.

but yeah, whatever you do, don't spend all summer in the library. or the lab. take lots of time for yourself (another reason to recommend GT: you don't have to spend all day with it, yet it yields tangible results)

 

[fishsticks2629]

Most people have already considered that option. The OP was asking how to study, not whether to study.

👍

 

[MrBeauregard]

I personally do not think you should look at material you have yet to cover (i.e. start reading all of BRS Pathology or RR Pathology). I don't think that would be beneficial to you nor would it be the best use of your time. However, once you begin second year, I would absolutely read RR Pathology along with each of your blocks. This will ensure that you at least get through RR one time during the year, and can get through it again during board time. I haven't sat for the Step yet, but I think RR Pathology is a highly valuable book.

If I could do it over again, I would still do the research that I did, but I would absolutely add on Gunner Training. Since I am currently studying for boards, I am quickly realizing the importance of first year topics that I considered (at the time) to be low-yield. I was wrong. If I were you, I would absolutely nail down pharmacology basic concepts, microbiology basic concepts, physiology until your eyes bleed, pathology basic concepts, etc. You don't need to do a systems-based approach to your summer studying. You simply need to ensure that you have the basic concepts down solid and that you feel comfortable adding new information to that base. You will be swamped with so much pathology during second year that I (again, personally) don't think summer pathology studying of yet-to-cover material would be the best use of your time.

I loved pathology second year. It is my absolute favorite subject to study, learn and read about. It is also widely considered to be the most important topic on Step 1. I wish I had re-read the basics before I began my systems-based pathology classes second year. It wasn't that I really needed them to understand the material (and many times I didn't), but I should have refreshed myself on these, especially now that I'm studying for boards (pathology core concepts regarding cellular injury, cell death, inflammation, etc. are definitely important). For example, certain disease processes cause specific types of inflammation, and when reading a question stem, you can easily rule in/rule out various disease processes based solely on the type of inflammation.

Bottom line: The things I would do differently if I could repeat MS-1/MS-2 summer:
1. Buy First Aid: this is not to study First Aid. Actually, I wouldn't even let any of your classmates know you bought it. The only thing I would have used it for would be to run through the chapters in the front and make sure I knew all that they were talking about in those chapters. This is to make sure that during dedicated board studying time you aren't trying to actually learn things you never learned the first time. Looking through First Aid early on should allow you to recognize things your school didn't cover during your first year and ensure that these things don't go unnoticed until your dedicated board studying time.

2. Gunner Training: No, I never actually did it. I took the free trial and should have signed up, but I'm cheap. From the raves GT has received on SDN, this will really help enforce those basic concepts from first year.

3. Read any other texts for first year material. Again, personally, I would not recommend attempting to cover any material you have yet to learn. This is for the basics.

4. Do research or something to pad your CV (I did this, but I am just reiterating its importance).

5. Rest.

Sorry for rambling and I hope this helps. I think boards is so important that I want to give honest advice to those who ask what they should do. This is an honest appraisal of what I wish I had done differently, and I hope it helps you figure out what is best for you to do.

MrB

 

[JackShephard MD]

nm

 

[mdeast]

I would not study over the summer for Boards. It's just a waste of your time, you're going to forget all of it anyway. Major boards studying should not really be done until January of your second year.

Some here might disagree with me. But it's really hard to retain old material when you have the pressure of needing to learn new material from your second year classes. I'd personally suggest to make sure you use boards materials (i.e. Costanza BRS Phys, First Aid, Pathoma) along with your second year courses to make sure you learn all the high yield points on your first pass through during lectures.

You'll be better prepared for boards simply by concentrating on doing well in your courses in medical school rather than trying to start so early.

 

[fishsticks2629]

I personally do not think you should look at material you have yet to cover (i.e. start reading all of BRS Pathology or RR Pathology). I don't think that would be beneficial to you nor would it be the best use of your time. However, once you begin second year, I would absolutely read RR Pathology along with each of your blocks. This will ensure that you at least get through RR one time during the year, and can get through it again during board time. I haven't sat for the Step yet, but I think RR Pathology is a highly valuable book.

If I could do it over again, I would still do the research that I did, but I would absolutely add on Gunner Training. Since I am currently studying for boards, I am quickly realizing the importance of first year topics that I considered (at the time) to be low-yield. I was wrong. If I were you, I would absolutely nail down pharmacology basic concepts, microbiology basic concepts, physiology until your eyes bleed, pathology basic concepts, etc. You don't need to do a systems-based approach to your summer studying. You simply need to ensure that you have the basic concepts down solid and that you feel comfortable adding new information to that base. You will be swamped with so much pathology during second year that I (again, personally) don't think summer pathology studying of yet-to-cover material would be the best use of your time.

I loved pathology second year. It is my absolute favorite subject to study, learn and read about. It is also widely considered to be the most important topic on Step 1. I wish I had re-read the basics before I began my systems-based pathology classes second year. It wasn't that I really needed them to understand the material (and many times I didn't), but I should have refreshed myself on these, especially now that I'm studying for boards (pathology core concepts regarding cellular injury, cell death, inflammation, etc. are definitely important). For example, certain disease processes cause specific types of inflammation, and when reading a question stem, you can easily rule in/rule out various disease processes based solely on the type of inflammation.

Bottom line: The things I would do differently if I could repeat MS-1/MS-2 summer:
1. Buy First Aid: this is not to study First Aid. Actually, I wouldn't even let any of your classmates know you bought it. The only thing I would have used it for would be to run through the chapters in the front and make sure I knew all that they were talking about in those chapters. This is to make sure that during dedicated board studying time you aren't trying to actually learn things you never learned the first time. Looking through First Aid early on should allow you to recognize things your school didn't cover during your first year and ensure that these things don't go unnoticed until your dedicated board studying time.

2. Gunner Training: No, I never actually did it. I took the free trial and should have signed up, but I'm cheap. From the raves GT has received on SDN, this will really help enforce those basic concepts from first year.

3. Read any other texts for first year material. Again, personally, I would not recommend attempting to cover any material you have yet to learn. This is for the basics.

4. Do research or something to pad your CV (I did this, but I am just reiterating its importance).

5. Rest.

Sorry for rambling and I hope this helps. I think boards is so important that I want to give honest advice to those who ask what they should do. This is an honest appraisal of what I wish I had done differently, and I hope it helps you figure out what is best for you to do.

MrB

Thanks for the advice

I would not study over the summer for Boards. It's just a waste of your time, you're going to forget all of it anyway. Major boards studying should not really be done until January of your second year.

Some here might disagree with me. But it's really hard to retain old material when you have the pressure of needing to learn new material from your second year classes. I'd personally suggest to make sure you use boards materials (i.e. Costanza BRS Phys, First Aid, Pathoma) along with your second year courses to make sure you learn all the high yield points on your first pass through during lectures.

You'll be better prepared for boards simply by concentrating on doing well in your courses in medical school rather than trying to start so early.

I disagree a little. I think doing well in class AND starting early will best prepare me for boards. Thanks though

 

[jhamaican]

I would not study over the summer for Boards. It's just a waste of your time, you're going to forget all of it anyway. Major boards studying should not really be done until January of your second year.

Some here might disagree with me. But it's really hard to retain old material when you have the pressure of needing to learn new material from your second year classes. I'd personally suggest to make sure you use boards materials (i.e. Costanza BRS Phys, First Aid, Pathoma) along with your second year courses to make sure you learn all the high yield points on your first pass through during lectures.

You'll be better prepared for boards simply by concentrating on doing well in your courses in medical school rather than trying to start so early.

gunner training would like a word