Those of you who get A's in medical school, how do you study?

[sab3156]

Loved reading all the responses on this! Without wanting to hijack the thread: do you guys recommend Rx over Firecracker? Looking for something with spaced repetition throughout M1 until starting Uworld.

Firecracker is probably the resource with the best content out there. Has everything you need. The problem is the cards are total trash, so if you want spaced repetition, you should look elsewhere. Then again, I know people who got very high Step 1 scores that swear by it.

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[dwights]

Firecracker is probably the resource with the best content out there. Has everything you need. The problem is the cards are total trash, so if you want spaced repetition, you should look elsewhere. Then again, I know people who got very high Step 1 scores that swear by it.

I have heard both, that the cards are trash and that people score high with it but I find it very confusing since the cards is all there is to Firecracker or am I missing something?? I opted to get Rx360 because I'm still an M1 and needed something that I can use along with my classes. You can also use Rx for spaced repetition

 

[sab3156]

I have heard both, that the cards are trash and that people score high with it but I find it very confusing since the cards is all there is to Firecracker or am I missing something?? I opted to get Rx360 because I'm still an M1 and needed something that I can use along with my classes. You can also use Rx for spaced repetition

Firecracker has all these modules that you can read, and these are where the cards actually come from. It has great info, and is basically a single resource you can use for Step 1.

I used to make my own cards based on Firecracker, but with research and whatnot going on, I had very little time for that, so I switched over to Zanki. Making your own cards, if you're good at it, is an incredible way to learn material. But very time consuming, so if you don't have the time, just use a pre-made deck.

I don't know much about Rx360. I will say that the USMLE Rx qbank was horrendous, and a complete and utter waste of my time, lol. Not to mention the huge number of errors in First Aid that may be prevalent in the Rx360 content. I don't trust First Aid products anymore.

 

[dwights]

Firecracker has all these modules that you can read, and these are where the cards actually come from. It has great info, and is basically a single resource you can use for Step 1.

I used to make my own cards based on Firecracker, but with research and whatnot going on, I had very little time for that, so I switched over to Zanki. Making your own cards, if you're good at it, is an incredible way to learn material. But very time consuming, so if you don't have the time, just use a pre-made deck.

I don't know much about Rx360. I will say that the USMLE Rx qbank was horrendous, and a complete and utter waste of my time, lol. Not to mention the huge number of errors in First Aid that may be prevalent in the Rx360 content. I don't trust First Aid products anymore.

Oh no not very reassuring that First Aid has that many errors! What I like about Rx is that you can watch the express videos and do flashcards, as well as questions corresponding to it right after. I'm also adding content we have learned to my study stream. That is basically a qbank you can adjust based on what you have learned. So far, I like it but I will report back once I have more experience.
I love making my own cards but unfortunately, most times I end up not having enough time to go through them. We have an extremely busy block schedule. I was planning on starting Zanki during the summer after M1

 

[sab3156]

Oh no not very reassuring that First Aid has that many errors! What I like about Rx is that you can watch the express videos and do flashcards, as well as questions corresponding to it right after. I'm also adding content we have learned to my study stream. That is basically a qbank you can adjust based on what you have learned. So far, I like it but I will report back once I have more experience.
I love making my own cards but unfortunately, most times I end up not having enough time to go through them. We have an extremely busy block schedule. I was planning on starting Zanki during the summer after M1

If it's truly helping you, can't argue with that. But I would consider starting Zanki (if you're planning on doing the entire thing and getting the most out of it) sooner rather than later - it's a big deck, not even including the lolnotacop micro/antimicrobial pharm deck.

 

[slowthai]

Firecracker has all these modules that you can read, and these are where the cards actually come from. It has great info, and is basically a single resource you can use for Step 1.

I used to make my own cards based on Firecracker, but with research and whatnot going on, I had very little time for that, so I switched over to Zanki. Making your own cards, if you're good at it, is an incredible way to learn material. But very time consuming, so if you don't have the time, just use a pre-made deck.

I have always heard that Firecracker has amazing content. If someone could make a Firecracker deck, we might have a new contender for the best step 1 Anki deck.

 

[dwights]

If it's truly helping you, can't argue with that. But I would consider starting Zanki (if you're planning on doing the entire thing and getting the most out of it) sooner rather than later - it's a big deck, not even including the lolnotacop micro/antimicrobial pharm deck.

I would love to start earlier. I'm just not sure I can handle the time commitment. We're on a block schedule; have mandatory classes from 8-12 and then we have labs most afternoons. Quiz every week and exam every 2 or 3 weeks. How do you guys manage to keep up with class work and so additional decks without sacrificing sleep? Teach me your waaaaays!!!

 

[Ho0v-man]

I would love to start earlier. I'm just not sure I can handle the time commitment. We're on a block schedule; have mandatory classes from 8-12 and then we have labs most afternoons. Quiz every week and exam every 2 or 3 weeks. How do you guys manage to keep up with class work and so additional decks without sacrificing sleep? Teach me your waaaaays!!!

I’m sure there’s some magically exceptional people out there who can crank through 1,500 cards/day, work out 2 hours/day, party every weekend, cook elaborate meals every evening, and never get behind. But the reality for most of the die hard Zanki crowd is that we just put in 2+hours more everyday compared to our classmates. Toward the end of preclinical I was pushing 5-6 hours of just reviews everyday.

You get used to it after a while because it works extremely well.

 

[ZhivagoMD]

I don't attend class unless its a mandatory "clinical case" perspective or something along those lines. I watch the lectures and make anki cards as I go through. Number depends on the content, however I'd say I make more than some of the guys I study with. I'll generally supplement with BnB or pathoma. For pharm I did sketchy, it's so good it's basically cheating. I will do cards basically everyday unless I have other obligations. 1-2 days before the exam, Ill review the powerpoints blasting through making sure I didnt miss anything on the cards I made, if I do I write it down and compile a sheet of paper with anything missed. Any clinical questions you can find in textbook's such as Netter's when we did anatomy, will greatly increase retention.

With this method, I'm usually on campus in the library 9-5/6 during the weekdays with an hour lunch BSing with my friends. I hardly ever study at home past this time unless an exam is coming up, then Ill study for a few hours on the weekends. I've gotten mostly high B's and A's on exams. Actually pulled a few 100's on anatomy exams. This is what works for me!

Also for the record, I wouldn't consider myself smarter than my peers. Had a very mediocre MCAT. Just found a method that works very well for me.

 

[dwights]

Thank you @ZhivagoMD and @Ho0v-man I guess I have to reevaluate what I'm doing right now and just squeeze some Zanki time into my schedule!

 

[sab3156]

I have always heard that Firecracker has amazing content. If someone could make a Firecracker deck, we might have a new contender for the best step 1 Anki deck.

It would hands down be the greatest Anki deck for Step 1 - no need for anything else.

Oh no not very reassuring that First Aid has that many errors!

I forgot to mention - you can actually access a list of errata on the First Aid website. It should help keep the errors to a minimum and prevent you from learning something incorrect:

https://firstaidteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ERRATA-2019-First-Aid-for-the-USMLE-Step-1-FINAL.pdf

 

[dwights]

It would hands down be the greatest Anki deck for Step 1 - no need for anything else.



I forgot to mention - you can actually access a list of errata on the First Aid website. It should help keep the errors to a minimum and prevent you from learning something incorrect:

https://firstaidteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ERRATA-2019-First-Aid-for-the-USMLE-Step-1-FINAL.pdf

Thank you!!

 

[Norwood-Sano]

When should you start doing practice questions? I’m an OMS I who started Zanki but was wondering if I should start some Kaplan questions as well and then save UWorld for later?

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

When should you start doing practice questions? I’m an OMS I who started Zanki but was wondering if I should start some Kaplan questions as well and then save UWorld for later?

Do practice questions as soon as you finish a system in Zanki. As an MS1, I prefer targeted questions like the ones in BRS or the Guyton-Hall review book. If you can filter the questions in Kaplan to what you've covered in class then definitely do those as a way to test yourself before an exam. Save UWorld for second year.

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[Norwood-Sano]

Do practice questions as soon as you finish a system in Zanki. As an MS1, I prefer targeted questions like the ones in BRS or the Guyton-Hall review book. If you can filter the questions in Kaplan to what you've covered in class then definitely do those as a way to test yourself before an exam. Save UWorld for second year.

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Thanks!

 

[Dhooy7]

Watch BnB, hammer zanki, hammer the in house PPs the few days before the test. Rinse and repeat. When you start systems throw in Q banks.

what Qbanks do you recommend for MS1 with inhouse exams? I've personally been struggling to find Qbacks and practice questions that correlated with my school's in-house exams.

 

[Mr. D.O.five]

Got a decent amount of A's in preclinical (also got a decent amount of Bs too hehe). What I did was learn board material first by section (since it's typically more broad, less detailed, and a bit more high yield in my school), then run through class material by section.
Ex. Lets say we are on GI path. I would do Pathoma and/or BnB for a particular section like Upper GI path, then do Zanki. Next day would be reinforcement of board-related material + adding in school-related lectures for that section in Zanki. I would make my own cards based on school lectures if certain topics aren't found in Zanki. Rinse and repeat.
This actually took quite a long time so I never went to class and usually started studying around 6-7am. I felt my method also helped with retention of the material as dedicated approached and was worth it in my experience!

 

[4thtimeretaker]

Got a decent amount of A's in preclinical (also got a decent amount of Bs too hehe). What I did was learn board material first by section (since it's typically more broad, less detailed, and a bit more high yield in my school), then run through class material by section.
Ex. Lets say we are on GI path. I would do Pathoma and/or BnB for a particular section like Upper GI path, then do Zanki. Next day would be reinforcement of board-related material + adding in school-related lectures for that section in Zanki. I would make my own cards based on school lectures if certain topics aren't found in Zanki. Rinse and repeat.
This actually took quite a long time so I never went to class and usually started studying around 6-7am. I felt my method also helped with retention of the material as dedicated approached and was worth it in my experience!

How long did you end up studying to if you started at 6/7 am? I want to do something similar my upcoming neuro block.