Things you wish you had done differently when studying for step 1?

[Saradoc]

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I am just beginning to study for step 1-for those of you who already took it, would you study differently if you were doing it all again? Any great tips for us studying now? Anything you wish you had known before taking it?
Thanks!

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

I'd make sure I'd know everything in First Aid for Step 1 COLD. Like literally, can recite it from memory.

I missed easy points because I THOUGHT I had learned stuff, but had never really tested it. For example, tables with all the second messengers, it's easy to glance at that and say "Oh, I remember this" but when you get into the test and it says something like "Epinephrine binds to to the B2 receptor on the cell...which second messenger is utilized?" you might realize you don't actually remember which one.

EDIT: Originally left out the words "First Aid" to the poster below, YES, memorize First Aid.

 

[Noeljan]

hey there
what would you suggest memorizing? first aid? thanks

 

[Richspiders07]

For most of the 3rd years I've spoken with, they all say do as many questions as possible. Start early.. go over them and take notes to review later and/or annotate first aid with them. You dont have to do lots at a time... but even 15/day early on will add up. Try setting up your questions to cover material you are currently learning, etc.

 

[Noeljan]

thank you!! i agree someone else gave me that advice about questions too....so far i have completed 34% of Q bank. I have an 81% but I only do questions on topics from this year (resp, cardio, neuro and added in musculo from last year) I wamt to get Qbank done before my real studying and then do USMLE world. I know nothing from heme, pharm, etc......yet

 

[Saradoc]

Noel you and i think alike, i am doing qbank now and then will start UWorld when i start my dedicated studying after classes end, i hope that works out for us! I think the more questions we see the better/more we will start to recognize patterns.

 

[Saladin MD]

I wish I had done more questions, and annotated FA with UWorld info. I wish I had known from the beginning that I should just have stuck to FA, instead of wasting a few days staring like a dumbo at Kaplan.

 

[FutureInternist]

Memorize First Aid
Do a small amount of Qs everyday & know why the wrongs answers are wrong. (UW better than Kaplan)
If you have the money & time, I would use Kaplan for the everyday use & then approx 4 weeks before exam switch to UW.
Attached is a handout that I got from this website somewhere where someone wrote out all the UW notes, but ofcourse you still need to do all the Qs yourself.

Good Luck.

 

[Noeljan]

Memorize First Aid
Do a small amount of Qs everyday & know why the wrongs answers are wrong. (UW better than Kaplan)
If you have the money & time, I would use Kaplan for the everyday use & then approx 4 weeks before exam switch to UW.
Attached is a handout that I got from this website somewhere where someone wrote out all the UW notes, but ofcourse you still need to do all the Qs yourself.

Good Luck.

thank you!!!!

 

[betamercapto]

Memorize First Aid
Do a small amount of Qs everyday & know why the wrongs answers are wrong. (UW better than Kaplan)
If you have the money & time, I would use Kaplan for the everyday use & then approx 4 weeks before exam switch to UW.
Attached is a handout that I got from this website somewhere where someone wrote out all the UW notes, but ofcourse you still need to do all the Qs yourself.

Good Luck.

That's fantastic Internist! Many thanks!

 

[pepotonoto]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts... will keep these in mind for sure!
👍

 

[THE armada]

Memorize First Aid
Do a small amount of Qs everyday & know why the wrongs answers are wrong. (UW better than Kaplan)
If you have the money & time, I would use Kaplan for the everyday use & then approx 4 weeks before exam switch to UW.
Attached is a handout that I got from this website somewhere where someone wrote out all the UW notes, but ofcourse you still need to do all the Qs yourself.

Good Luck.

I'd like some input about this. I'm currently still focusing on mainly course work. I listen to Goljan (mostly the organ system we're currently in w/ review of past system's before we reach the path portion of our course) and some other audio sources during driving and exercising. At night when I'm spent from studying I glance over BRS flash cards (pharm, micro, path, biochem).

I can't imagine doing Kaplan Qbank right now cause by the time 7-8 o'clock rolls around I'm spent. That's when I do the mindless flash cards.

So my questions I guess are...1) how beneficial is it to do Qbanks before the 5-6 weeks study period and 2) how mentally challenging is sitting up doing questions?

 

[PepperMD]

So my questions I guess are...1) how beneficial is it to do Qbanks before the 5-6 weeks study period and 2) how mentally challenging is sitting up doing questions?

I may not have the best insight as I'm pretty much where you are in terms of prep, but I started Kaplan Qbank early in February doing 20 Q's per day so that I would end up finishing right about when my intensive studying should start (then I will switch to UW). So far I'm finding it doesn't take that much time out of the day and I'm hoping just having some exposure to some of the material will be beneficial. My performance has generally been subpar considering I haven't really begun studying most of the stuff, but I think it gives you a good baseline for your strengths and weaknesses so when you get to that final 4-5 week stretch you know what to focus on.

 

[FutureInternist]

I guess it depends on how you study. I can never learn anything from flashcards since I need everything to be in some sort of context rather than just plain facts. With that in mind, I did Kaplan Qs in the months leading up to the Step. Hopefully your school GPA is high enough that you can handle a couple of B's etc & hence use that time to do the 15-20 Qs a day. Even if you cannot finish them all, atleast hit the topics that you are weak in so you get a good boost before going into UW.

Obviously everyone has a different study plan & so many people got great scores using so many different methods. You just really have to pick one & STICK WITH IT. If you decide on Kaplan & then UW...make sure you do it. If you decide to just do UW when the exam is a bit nearer then do that. As long as you are consistent & gaining new knowledge everyday you should be OK.

 

[Akamu]

So what would you say the best resource is for micro?

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

So what would you say the best resource is for micro?

Micro Made Ridiculously Simple. If you can't stomach it's cutesy style...the next best thing I had were our class notes.

 

[Saladin MD]

So what would you say the best resource is for micro?

I agree with Johnny. I read MRS once, then FA section of micro a few times. I thought it was a solid combo. MRS made FA much easier to understand.

 

[igottaquestion]

is fa all the detail we need for micro?

 

[Saladin MD]

is fa all the detail we need for micro?

Yes.

 

[SomeDoc]

My edition (its an older one) has no mention of important diagnostic findings like koplik spots, and other important key facts found in CMMRS. Definitely supplement w/ CMMRS or another comprehensive source you're familiar with.

 

[DoctaJay]

is fa all the detail we need for micro?

First Aid alone, No. I would combine it with High Yield Micro or CMMRS (my choice). Every one of our micro tests at my school actually come directly from the NBME online, and that combo (FA + CMMRS) has helped me to do very well on them. Some people like the condensed but still good aspect of HIgh YIeld, so its up to preference.

 

[Saladin MD]

I think MRS is necessary to properly understand FA (without which FA can be cryptic), but near the exam, just ditch MRS and drill FA into your head.

 

[maybepsych]

So I'm wondering how important it is to know if a virus is DNA or RNA.

I have a hard time remembering this.

 

[ENThopeful]

very important! memorize it.

it took me a very long time in the beginning, but spend just 3 hours staring at those two pages in FA, you start to see patterns, like coronavirus is the only ss+ linear, helical virus and that all other ss+ viruses are icosahedral, all other helical viruses are ss-... i feel like they love to test on things like that

use mneumonics too..

 

[THE armada]

very important! memorize it.

it took me a very long time in the beginning, but spend just 3 hours staring at those two pages in FA, you start to see patterns, like coronavirus is the only ss+ linear, helical virus and that all other ss+ viruses are icosahedral, all other helical viruses are ss-... i feel like they love to test on things like that

use mneumonics too..

Have you taken the test?

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

So I'm wondering how important it is to know if a virus is DNA or RNA.

I have a hard time remembering this.

If you want to pass, this isn't absolutely required.

If you want to do well, I'd put in the time to learn this. I got a straight up "Which virus is single/double stranded DNA/RNA encapsulated/unencapsulated?" on mine.

 

[Captopril]

If you want to pass, this isn't absolutely required.

If you want to do well, I'd put in the time to learn this. I got a straight up "Which virus is single/double stranded DNA/RNA encapsulated/unencapsulated?" on mine.

I can't imagine someone not spending the extra 1-2hrs it would take to memorize a table like that, especially if it's in FA.

 

[Saladin MD]

I can't imagine someone not spending the extra 1-2hrs it would take to memorize a table like that, especially if it's in FA.

 

[Richspiders07]

I can't imagine someone not spending the extra 1-2hrs it would take to memorize a table like that, especially if it's in FA.

If you have CMMRS, there's a nice pedigree-esque chart that's way easier to memorize if you are a visual person...

 

[maybepsych]

It isn't so much the RNA vs. DNA that is giving me the problems. But I don't feel like I will ever remember if the RNA is + sense or - sense.

Usually you can halfway determine if it is encapsulated or naked depending on the route of infection and how hardy the virus is.

But yeah, guess I need to put more time in.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[scube]

Use CMMRS for virus stuff. they break them down with mnemonics for all the details that are important. actually FA has most of the mnemonics too. just add the ones that are missing drill it into your head. use UW to reinforce it. BOOM no missed virus questions.
I had to add that.

 

[studentcarl]

Memorize First Aid
Do a small amount of Qs everyday & know why the wrongs answers are wrong. (UW better than Kaplan)
If you have the money & time, I would use Kaplan for the everyday use & then approx 4 weeks before exam switch to UW.
Attached is a handout that I got from this website somewhere where someone wrote out all the UW notes, but ofcourse you still need to do all the Qs yourself.

Good Luck.

How much of this will stick with you after step 1? I have a tendancy to forget everything I memorize very quickly after I test on it, especially if its not built upon later. How much of this do you actually need later on?

 

[studentcarl]

very important! memorize it.

it took me a very long time in the beginning, but spend just 3 hours staring at those two pages in FA, you start to see patterns, like coronavirus is the only ss+ linear, helical virus and that all other ss+ viruses are icosahedral, all other helical viruses are ss-... i feel like they love to test on things like that

use mneumonics too..

Do mnemonics help very much? All I've ever done with them is something like Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492... Are there specific things like that, or just general ideas?

 

[tallash]

bump for all those from this spring/early summer

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

This is a good thread... I'll throw in my 2 cents.... Id throw all the bullsh%t books out and just concentrate on doing FA and WORLD over and over. If you can do WORLD three times... you'll going to blow up a 240+

If I had to pick one book other than FA, id probably go with BRS physio rather than Goljan... I thought FA and WORLD were more than enough for path

and the number 1 thing Id change is doing 2 NBMEs back to back under timed conditions each weekend three weeks before the test to try and simulate the real deal.... I was scoring mid 220s on NMBEs and 232 on free 150 but scored a 210 on the real deal because I wasn't used to taking a 7 hr mind crunch... I burnt out quick, especially around block 5. By block 7 I was so burnt that I was having trouble answering the easy questions. good luck

 

[tallash]

This is a good thread... I'll throw in my 2 cents.... Id throw all the bullsh%t books out and just concentrate on doing FA and WORLD over and over. If you can do WORLD three times... you'll going to blow up a 240+

Do you just reset it?

 

[McGillGrad]

Do you just reset it?

I don't want to be judgmental but you should take anyone's advice with a grain of salt. I agree that too many resrouces are a waste of time, but FA is not enough if you don't understand the pathophysiology of every symptoms involved in disease. That's where RR comes in.

With that being said, you can reset UW and go through it again. I actually recommend it because feeling comfortable with the interface is half of the battle. I would also recommend flashcards for pharm and biochem and micro (professional ones) to flip through a couple times a day to keep you fresh on easy points you'll see on your exams.

 

[FreakofMeds]

With that being said, you can reset UW and go through it again. I actually recommend it because feeling comfortable with the interface is half of the battle. I would also recommend flashcards for pharm and biochem and micro (professional ones) to flip through a couple times a day to keep you fresh on easy points you'll see on your exams.

How do you reset it?

 

[McGillGrad]

How do you reset it?

You can reset it one time only.

You need to go to the utilities tab and then choose the reset tab from there. You need 6 month or more subscription to qualify for it.

 

[FreakofMeds]

You can reset it one time only.

You need to go to the utilities tab and then choose the reset tab from there. You need 6 month or more subscription to qualify for it.

Ah damn... it would be cheaper to let the month expire and buy an entirely new one on a new account.

 

[studentologist]

I don't want to be judgmental but you should take anyone's advice with a grain of salt. I agree that too many resrouces are a waste of time, but FA is not enough if you don't understand the pathophysiology of every symptoms involved in disease. That's where RR comes in.

With that being said, you can reset UW and go through it again. I actually recommend it because feeling comfortable with the interface is half of the battle. I would also recommend flashcards for pharm and biochem and micro (professional ones) to flip through a couple times a day to keep you fresh on easy points you'll see on your exams.

Did you make your own flashcards for pharm and biochem using only FA?

 

[McGillGrad]

Did you make your own flashcards for pharm and biochem using only FA?

I am not a big fan of flashcards. I am even less of a fan of making flashcards. With that being said, the commercially available flash cards worked well for me because they were easy, quick and required recall (instead of recognition) to answer the question. That means I had to know them cold, not just recognize them after I read them.

BUT if you have the time and patience, flashcards of items in FA would be a great idea. I learned some obscure stuff from the review cards that I didn't need and that would be eliminated by making your own.