Talked to a few upperclassmen, all questions and FA

[aashkab]

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Hi,

i'm trying to figure out how to study for my step 1's, and also throughout the year when i can before my crazy 2 months.

i talked to a few upperclassmen and casually peruse these boards.

i've heard some suggestions of JUST DOING first aid and world. and maybe read/listen to goljan path.

Some pros

1) first aid plus world can cover up to 95% of the material. i doubt even if i devote myself to this much info i could truly master it, so why worry about the 5%?

2) strength of repetition, if i can get through first aid 20+ times and get through the world q bank a few times, i'd hope to know it pretty well. not to mention the USMLE mental toughness training i'll gain along the way.

3) simplicity of my schedule and methods - do a question, read the explanation, read the FA section about it, annotate it, read the goljan about it, and move on. 12 hours a day for 2 months = good score hopefully?

4) i'm a problem based learner and suck at reading. i have to apply anything before i can memorize it or learn it. its low yield for me to even read a high yield book. i have to "get burned" or "screw up" before i learn something. i hope i'm not alone !!...

so my plan was to brush up on the path again, and some of the more memory intense sections in first aid (biochem, pharm, micro) the first week, then JUMP into questions for 7 weeks. random subjects -> tutor mode and learn from them and my first aid?

what do you think? I'd like to break 240 with this method. i feel i can understand things well but i'm also one to quickly forget (yeah, i should have been a quarterback for a football team). i can also get to kaplan perhaps.

i know this isnt for a lot of people but ARE there people who have done it this way and done well? did you have any regrets? I feel that this method suits me (one who is prone to panic, bad memory, ADD, and a problem-solver)

 

[DrBowtie]

How do you plan on getting through FA 20 times?

 

[aashkab]

sorry that was probably just an exaggeration. but i go through it for our tests several times (system based approach, so its only like 20 pages per test). and then maybe at the beginning of the summer a few times, and then as i annotate, etc. i'm sure it will add up, "hopefully."

basic idea is First Aid repitition, questions, goljan

from what i've heard that you can find nearly everything in first aid. it may be one small word or a fine print caption of an image but most of it is all right there. any input is appreciated.

 

[IM Substance P]

I'm just like the OP. I hate memorizing and love doing questions. I used FA to look things up and make some notes, but overall, I found it minimally important overall.

I studied almost exclusively by doing questions from Kaplan Qbank and the Robbins' Review in Pathology book (which can be obtained for pennies on Half.com or Amazon). I actually completed both of those question banks over the course of four weeks and easily cleared 240+.

I like your plan and think it's a good fit for you.

 

[vicinihil]

I'm just like the OP. I hate memorizing and love doing questions. I used FA to look things up and make some notes, but overall, I found it minimally important overall.

I studied almost exclusively by doing questions from Kaplan Qbank and the Robbins' Review in Pathology book (which can be obtained for pennies on Half.com or Amazon). I actually completed both of those question banks over the course of four weeks and easily cleared 240+.

I like your plan and think it's a good fit for you.

I personally love doing questions too. Learn more from doing Review of Path and Webpath than class. However, everyone told me to make sure I read Goljan, FA, etc etc. Do you think by doing questions I'll hit EVERYTHING that I need to know without re-reading the books and JUST doing questions?

 

[aashkab]

i think at least using First Aid is a necessity

 

[footcloud]

I'm using this method as well. How long are you guys spending on the USMLE World question bank? i.e. to clear it once

 

[aashkab]

i ahve no idea how long that would take alogn with reading explanations and first aid annotations.

also, does anyone know where i can find an electronic pdf form of first aid. do the publishers offer an electronic format to buy?

 

[Aceso]

Has anyone used Youel's Jewels for COMLEX Step I prep? I got a set for free and I've been looking through it for a while. Its layout is a little unconventional, but I find it somewhat funny and interesting in how it outlines material. I dig some of the mnemonics it gives, but I don't know if anyone else can rate it. Any advice or comments are appreciated!

 

[Instatewaiter]

When I studied for step 1 I used much more than just FA. Personally I felt there was just too much else out there that FA didn't cover. I would do the same thing again.

If you are going for a bare bones approach I would recommend at a minimum Rapid review path (goljian) and BRS phys + FA + U world.

 

[FMD212]

Hey asshkab,
My approach is the same as yours but I'm using Kaplan MedEssentials and RR. I hope this approach will give me 230+.

Guys I'm going to do all NBMEs and try to work on my weak areas according to each form but I don't really know how to approach this. any suggestions? in other words what is the best way to analyze the forms to figure out your weak areas?

also do you think I can improve 35 points in 2 months? I got 410/195 today form 4

thanks.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Sure. It is not unheard of to go up by as much as 50 points. I did in a bit over 1 month.

 

[FMD212]

Instatewaiter thanks man. How did you use the forms to figure out your weak areas?

 

[medsend]

I personally love doing questions too. Learn more from doing Review of Path and Webpath than class. However, everyone told me to make sure I read Goljan, FA, etc etc. Do you think by doing questions I'll hit EVERYTHING that I need to know without re-reading the books and JUST doing questions?

What is the Review of Path? Is a website with questions? Can you provide the link?

 

[wAyRadikull]

What is the Review of Path? Is a website with questions? Can you provide the link?

http://www.amazon.com/Robbins-Cotra...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264462445&sr=8-1

 

[medsend]

oh thanks. I thought you were referring to a question bank.