MD & DO System-Based Curriculum Advice

[MedicineN'Jazz]

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Hey sdn fam,
New student here with a couple of questions about a system-based curriculum. Would appreciate any input/recommendations!

Some general questions:

Question #1: Which is a more effective studying method (given NBME and cumulative exams)? Anki + handwriting hard facts or 100% handwritting notes? I’m used to the latter, but I feel as if this may not be the most feasible method. Also, it takes me approx 4-5 hours to make cards, is this ok?

Question #2: What outside resources are best given a weak science foundation? I plan to use BnB and BRS, but was just wondering if there was more that I should be doing.

Question #3: Is it a good idea to make every single fact in my lecture into Anki flash cards? Our NBME exams are supposed to be based on lecture notes (but lecture notes do not incorporate clinical correlations yikes).

Question #4: Are there any particular Q-banks that you guys would recommend?

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[theonlytycrane]

Hey sdn fam,
New student here with a couple of questions about a system-based curriculum. Would appreciate any input/recommendations!

Some general questions:

Question #1: Which is a more effective studying method (given NBME and cumulative exams)? Anki + handwriting hard facts or 100% handwritting notes? I’m used to the latter, but I feel as if this may not be the most feasible method. Also, it takes me approx 4-5 hours to make cards, is this ok?

Question #2: What outside resources are best given a weak science foundation? I plan to use BnB and BRS, but was just wondering if there was more that I should be doing.

Question #3: Is it a good idea to make every single fact in my lecture into Anki flash cards? Our NBME exams are supposed to be based on lecture notes (but lecture notes do not incorporate clinical correlations yikes).

Question #4: Are there any particular Q-banks that you guys would recommend?

Thanks ahead of time!

The big question is whether your curriculum is P/F or graded. If P/F, just ignore class materials for the most part. If graded, you might need to memorize more random junk from class lectures. Hopefully your answer to this is P/F.

1. You can make your own Anki cards or just use a pre-made deck (Zanki). The strength of Zanki is that you can just go right into memorizing the cards rather than wasting hours making them.

2. If your curriculum is systems based you can just use BnB / Pathoma and be fine.

3. You won't have time to make every single fact into an Anki card. This isn't undergrad anymore. If your tests are NBME, there won't be a direct correlation between your lectures -> tests. They choose questions out of a pre-set NBME question pool, which follows more with board resources like Zanki, BnB, and Pathoma.

4. Everyone pretty much uses Rx / Kaplan at your stage. Either is fine for practice questions before your NBME block exams.

If you're an upcoming M1 a lot of this won't make as much sense yet. You'll get a feel for your favorite resources / materials pretty quickly though so don't stress about it too much.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

The big question is whether your curriculum is P/F or graded. If P/F, just ignore class materials for the most part. If graded, you might need to memorize more random junk from class lectures. Hopefully your answer to this is P/F.

1. You can make your own Anki cards or just use a pre-made deck (Zanki). The strength of Zanki is that you can just go right into memorizing the cards rather than wasting hours making them.

2. If your curriculum is systems based you can just use BnB / Pathoma and be fine.

3. You won't have time to make every single fact into an Anki card. This isn't undergrad anymore. If your tests are NBME, there won't be a direct correlation between your lectures -> tests. They choose questions out of a pre-set NBME question pool, which follows more with board resources like Zanki, BnB, and Pathoma.

4. Everyone pretty much uses Rx / Kaplan at your stage. Either is fine for practice questions before your NBME block exams.

If you're an upcoming M1 a lot of this won't make as much sense yet. You'll get a feel for your favorite resources / materials pretty quickly though so don't stress about it too much.

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it 🙂 My classes are technically P/F/H...which sucks. I feel you on Anki taking too much time though. I turned our four introductory courses into Anki cards, and it took me a total of like 10 hours with 280 cards. What are your thoughts about Zanki vs FC? Looking through Zanki, I feel as if not every card applies to me. It also looks less learning friendly and more review friendly

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it 🙂 My classes are technically P/F/H...which sucks. I feel you on Anki taking too much time though. I turned our four introductory courses into Anki cards, and it took me a total of like 10 hours with 280 cards. What are your thoughts about Zanki vs FC? Looking through Zanki, I feel as if not every card applies to me. It also looks less learning friendly and more review friendly

I’ll write you a more detailed response in your PM later but I watch the BnB videos for a system first and then do the cards. Zanki isn’t for direct, primary source learning, but is unmatched in pounding the details into your head. After you finish all the new cards for a system (at least for me) it all sort of just clicks and then I fly through the reviews (I set the deck to cram mode a few days before the test and do the whole system deck multiple times). This will be especially helpful if your exams are NBME exams.

 

[Goro]

Go dig up my post on guide to med student succesd

 

[Dox4lyfe]

The big question is whether your curriculum is P/F or graded. If P/F, just ignore class materials for the most part. If graded, you might need to memorize more random junk from class lectures. Hopefully your answer to this is P/F.

1. You can make your own Anki cards or just use a pre-made deck (Zanki). The strength of Zanki is that you can just go right into memorizing the cards rather than wasting hours making them.

2. If your curriculum is systems based you can just use BnB / Pathoma and be fine.

3. You won't have time to make every single fact into an Anki card. This isn't undergrad anymore. If your tests are NBME, there won't be a direct correlation between your lectures -> tests. They choose questions out of a pre-set NBME question pool, which follows more with board resources like Zanki, BnB, and Pathoma.

4. Everyone pretty much uses Rx / Kaplan at your stage. Either is fine for practice questions before your NBME block exams.

If you're an upcoming M1 a lot of this won't make as much sense yet. You'll get a feel for your favorite resources / materials pretty quickly though so don't stress about it too much.

For a true P/F, do we then supplement lecture notes with FA/pathoma to make sure we aren't focusing too much on the random details? I'm worried about ignoring class materials because I'm not sure how easy it'll be to actually pass. Is it better to wait until after the first exam to get a feel for it?

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

For a true P/F, do we then supplement lecture notes with FA/pathoma to make sure we aren't focusing too much on the random details? I'm worried about ignoring class materials because I'm not sure how easy it'll be to actually pass. Is it better to wait until after the first exam to get a feel for it?

Yeah, I had the same concern. I’ve been told to focus on lecture notes, but NBMEs don’t quite parallel PhD lecture notes. Half of me wants to follow my class materials, the other half of me is like “is this necessary?” I’m probably going to end up doing both, but still using FC and BnB as much as possible. Fingers crossed for not bombing my first NBME

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Holy crap, just bought FC. All the topics are so neatly organized! Is it bad that I selected all content vs high yield?

 

[Apothecary Aquinas]

Holy crap, just bought FC. All the topics are so neatly organized! Is it bad that I selected all content vs high yield?

If you're an M1 then "All Content" is for you. I was told directly by a FC rep that "High Yield" is for people who are only a few months from their test date as it will cut some of the content out and make it faster to speed through.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

If you're an M1 then "All Content" is for you. I was told directly by a FC rep that "High Yield" is for people who are only a few months from their test date as it will cut some of the content out and make it faster to speed through.

That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying!

 

[theonlytycrane]

For a true P/F, do we then supplement lecture notes with FA/pathoma to make sure we aren't focusing too much on the random details? I'm worried about ignoring class materials because I'm not sure how easy it'll be to actually pass. Is it better to wait until after the first exam to get a feel for it?

I would wait until after your first exam(s) to get a feel for what you need to do to pass.

But it really depends on how you're tested. If your tests are made by your instructors then you'll need to memorize junk from your lectures notes (sadly). If your tests are NBME (they just select questions from an NBME question pool), then I would ignore class lectures and just use boards materials (especially if you're on a systems-based curriculum).

IMHO, the ideal pre-clinical setup would be anatomy -> followed by a P/F systems based curriculum with all NBME tests (so that all lecture material after anatomy can be ignored).

 

[Shigaliketoxin]

If you're wanting spaced repetition flash cards + a Q-bank, I would strongly suggest a free trial of Osmosis. I found it end of MS1 and wish I had it earlier. In MS2 my classmates and I made a shared workspace and I used a combo of the Osmosis flashcards (they've already incorporated Bros + in house cards) and the Step 1 questions they provide... plus we wrote lecture-specific cards, MCQs, etc. Seriously an amazing resource that I feel like not enough med students know about. And cheaper than FC I think. They have sales frequently and I straight up emailed and asked for a discount code and got one.