My favorite thing about first year is becoming close to all the people in my mod. The system is great, and I have a constant support system. My fav thing about OU Med is how much freedom we have in our schedule. Other than a few required classes every few weeks, I homeschool (in my mod) and study when ever I want, and it gives me time to run errands and do things in normal business hours or go see my friends. Alot of the other colleges on campus have their schedule so structured they can't even make it to the bank!
University of Oklahoma -- all peeps -- part 2
- Thread starter Doctor Bagel
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My favorite thing about first year is becoming close to all the people in my mod. The system is great, and I have a constant support system. My fav thing about OU Med is how much freedom we have in our schedule. Other than a few required classes every few weeks, I homeschool (in my mod) and study when ever I want, and it gives me time to run errands and do things in normal business hours or go see my friends. Alot of the other colleges on campus have their schedule so structured they can't even make it to the bank!
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i'm intrigued by the homeschool thing. did you start doing it from the beginning or did you attend class for a while before you tried? are you always one day behind listening to lectures due to the time it takes to get them online? do you mostly use sylabi, textbooks, ppts, or lecture to study from? (i know probably all, but what do you find most of your time focusing on?) sorry for all the ?'s!
thnaks
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I'm a homeschooler, too, as are most of the SDN people. 🙂 I sorta homeschooled first semester in that I never went to biochem after about the first two weeks (come on -- 8 am five days a week). We had to go to anatomy to get points (don't know how that will work for you guys), and of course, you have to go to anatomy lab, which was 1 to 2 times a week. This semester, I've gone to class maybe 7 times.
You do have to wait at least a day after the lecture to get powerpoints, notegroups and the mp3s, but I'm always behind anyway, so that's a non-issue for me. However, the syllabus is your best studying tool anyway, so you can be caught up on that. One thing to note about mp3s -- I don't listen to them because I don't think they're very time efficient. I don't see much of a point of skipping class and still having to listen to hours of lectures most days. Instead, I read the powerpoints and look to notegroups for anything I'm unsure about. If the notegroups were bad for that lecture, I might maybe begrudgingly try to listen to that one section of the mp3, but that's my last resort. 🙂
I know that Jordan C. mentioned stuff like this in his platform. Are you guys going to be implementing any changes into the unofficial guide? It did get a little irritating to have every class section in the one last year tell you that you need to go to class, which really isn't true. Also, I think it'd be nice to get perspectives on a class from the person who didn't have the highest grade because we're not all shooting for that. If anything, I think sometimes the advice in the unofficial guide just needlessly ramped up my stress levels.
I went to class for the first test block, but not at all for the second and did better, so that was pretty much it for me. I do get up every morning to an alarm and get dressed and go study. Class just wears me out even though I'm sure I miss some stuff and miss my friends!
i'm usually a week or two behind, and then I do double or triple listening to make it up. I'm pretty lucky and people in my study group write down all the nuggets they get from text books, so I only use the syllabi and power points. I generally cover all available material two times and the syllabus three times when I do well. Then the night before each exam, we talk about all the hard stuff. I think I would definitely need to study more if I didn't have the crazy studiers who help me so much.
You will get very detailed and varied opinions sometime in June when the Guide is done. I never missed class in undergrad, so it's wierd that I homeschool now. Just seems to give me more free time.
I saw both sides to the advice in the guide. For lots of classes I had to do much more to do 'well' as they say, and half as much in some. I think we're going to rank our advice with how it may correlate with a letter grade since there's a big difference in studying for a 90 vs a 99. (or a 70)
Telling people they do or don't have to do things to do well is so subjective, we're mainly going to try to get rid of that and just offer more concrete things that worked and some that didn't (ie test questions)
This week everyone and anyone who has something they would like to add to the guide will get their chance to volunteer to edit or add in a section. Every section will be redone, so we will need lots of help. O'Don hopefully will write his section for Anatomy, and we might just follow up to mention to know everything he says not to.
I listen to mp3s in double time, so I have to listen pretty intently to get much from it. Most people do share your opinion at this point.
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everyone has a different system. i basically stopped going to class after bidichandani finished his biochem part, which was about early-mid september. some people recommend going to the first day of each new lecturer to get a feel for whether or not class is worthwhile. for me, it is never worthwhile, my attentions span is lecture is about 15 minutes. the unofficial guide should give critiques of each lecturer and the relative merits of attending their class. anatomy lecture in the fall is mol required bc of the quizzes every day. all labs are required. all clinical correlations are required (in the fall). all pbls are required. pcm is required. in addition, there is one HB prof that gives bonus points for class attendance, so that might be worthwhile. all in all there is a lot more required class time in the fall compared to spring.
not everyone who homeschools listens to lectures online. if you want to listen to them, they are ususally posted immediately after the lecture, so if class is at 8, the lecture will be available to listen to at 9. so really you dont get behind at all (if you are disciplined). i personally almost never listen to lectures. my main study aide is the syllabus (except in anatomy, i used BRS for that class). basically if i know the syllabus cold i can do well. some classes will have additional material presented in class (hb and parts of phys come to mind first) and for that i supplements the syllabus with powerpoints and notegroups (the student note taking service). if i see that notegroups do not match up with the powerpoint, i might at that point listen to part of the lecture. this has happend less than 5 times for me.
other people have different strategies. some swear by costanzo for phys. some use a text for biochem. some people study the syllabus or moore's for anatomy. some listen to every lecture while others listen to none. the most important thing i can tell you is that once you find a stratgey that works, do not become flustered that other people have an entirely different perspective. i routinely walked into my mod during test block and heard all the reviews and materials people were studying from and feared that i had not covered everything i should have. but time and again i did fine until i finally had condfidence that the study system i used would work for me. that crappy thing is, it took until after TB2 in the fall for me to feel confident, but que va.
long response but its better than studying phys. also i would like to get this forum back to what i originally used it for, which is questions and concerns about the upcoming year for all you entering MS1s.
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I'd say about 40% of the class consistently goes to class, and the rest consistently home-schools. It really depends on your learning style. I go to most lectures, but not all. Some lecturers are more gifted than others, but I would recommend going to each lecturer at least once to get a feel for them and there expectations. If you're not very disciplined it can be easy to get behind and if you go you have at least heard the material once. Outside of the lab atlas the texts are just expensive references for the most part. If you know the syllabi which are texts in and of themselves you know what you need to be successful. The mp3s and power points are great to go back and hit tough material, but as it was stated earlier it takes a long time to go through them all. Notegroups can definitely be hit or miss but they are improving overall.
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Good idea on the anatomy section. I went to the gross anatomy course review earlier this semester, and I think it's worthwhile to reiterate this: He is taking over as course director and is completely overhauling the course. New schedule, new dissection rotations/groups, etc. It will be completely revamped and designed to correlate with PCM from the get-go.
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For those interested:
John Weber and I played phone tag last night and then talked today for about 20 minutes. This was much nicer than the email stuff from logan and even nicer than what John told me to go do to myself on SDN. I know, how can THAT get any nicer...well it happened. He apologized for the whole ID-gate thing and for the wording he used on SDN. I likewise apologized for the wording of some of my statements. We both agreed the whole thing about the IDs was all bullsh*t and the admins should've handled it themselves if they believed anything wrong was done.
We then hugged, cried, braided each other's hair, and snorted some meth I learned how to make in HB last month. 👍
(that last part was a joke in case anyone out there is gasping...I only snort meth with Freeze)
So at this point the issue is closed (again) for me as far as John Weber is concerned. He apologized and I believed him and accepted it.
I'm now returning to the peaceful calm of screaming at my Physio book while Neuro is bangin on my door...with Histo showing up with a pregnancy test saying "we should talk". 😱
Johnny
The Bald Guy
John Weber and I played phone tag last night and then talked today for about 20 minutes. This was much nicer than the email stuff from logan and even nicer than what John told me to go do to myself on SDN. I know, how can THAT get any nicer...well it happened. He apologized for the whole ID-gate thing and for the wording he used on SDN. I likewise apologized for the wording of some of my statements. We both agreed the whole thing about the IDs was all bullsh*t and the admins should've handled it themselves if they believed anything wrong was done.
We then hugged, cried, braided each other's hair, and snorted some meth I learned how to make in HB last month. 👍
(that last part was a joke in case anyone out there is gasping...I only snort meth with Freeze)
So at this point the issue is closed (again) for me as far as John Weber is concerned. He apologized and I believed him and accepted it.
I'm now returning to the peaceful calm of screaming at my Physio book while Neuro is bangin on my door...with Histo showing up with a pregnancy test saying "we should talk". 😱
Johnny
The Bald Guy
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What is this..."Kill a thread day"
talk you phukkers.
anyway...
Has anyone taken the Physio practice tests on hippo...
I took the GI absorption...and the GI motility ones and pretty much blew them both...
wondering how others did.
talk you phukkers.
anyway...
Has anyone taken the Physio practice tests on hippo...
I took the GI absorption...and the GI motility ones and pretty much blew them both...
wondering how others did.
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Does one snort meth? I thought you smoked it... hmm this seems like something I should've learned in HB... or maybe I should have just gone to a cooler high school
I'm pretty sure weed was about as crazy as anyone ever got at my high school 
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Does one snort meth? I thought you smoked it... hmm this seems like something I should've learned in HB... or maybe I should have just gone to a cooler high school
I don't think meth even existed when I was in HS.
But I think you can snort it...smoke it...use it for athlete's foot...
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It did -- it was just called crank. 🙂 I knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who used it.
I haven't taken any of the practice tests yet because I'm so woefully behind. 😳
And instead of studying, I looked up meth on wikipedia. Yep, it can be snorted, and it's super old but didn't become illegal in the US until 1983.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine
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Reminds me of an H&P I did a couple of weeks ago on my last patient for PCM II. I asked her if she'd ever used any recreational or illicit drugs. Her response? "Well, they weren't illegal when I took them."
"What does that mean?", I asked.
It turns out, her doctor prescribed amphetamines to her in the 50s and 60s, so she could lose weight after her children were born. Nice. Reminds me of the cigarette ads that said something about 3 out of 4 doctors preferring Camels or some such nonsense.
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Yeah, I think lots of women in that time were prescribed amphetamines to lose weight. Of course, doctors also handled out valium like candy. I guess Anna Nicole Smith's doctor still does that. 🙄
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I knew you were a wild woman underneath that proper demeanor
Yeah, my wild days at Stillwater High School. 😉
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I'm sure that is your only concern...🙄 More likely you're concerned with how this is going to look on your CV and hope you don't get questioned as to why you were only in office one year when you're interviewing for that derm residency. Better start making up a good reason now...
Probably not wise to hop into the drama debates before we're even med students... probably best not to make enemies before we've made friends.
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WTF? Why did everything have to become illegalized. That is lame... had I been born a few years sooner, I could have been legally doing meth as a kid! 👎 Hmmm apparently cocaine was banned back in 1914... coke was banned way sooner than meth. That's funny.
Also got to say boo about the lack of drinking at disorientation. For some reason, I've had the impression that it was a big party that one of the previous year's MS-1'ers throws for all the outgoing 1st years with incoming 1st years. Maybe it was the name itself 🙄 . Eh... If I am back in time from Washington DC then I will make it. If not, I will make it to the bars afterwards
. That's why I am going to med school = bar tours! I haven't signed up yet for the lifesaver course we have to have. I should get on that, huh?
Only two more undergraduate final exams left and then I never have to take them again! YAY!!!!!!!!!
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WTF? Why did everything have to become illegalized. That is lame... had I been born a few years sooner, I could have been legally doing meth as a kid! 👎 Hmmm apparently cocaine was banned back in 1914... coke was banned way sooner than meth. That's funny.
Also got to say boo about the lack of drinking at disorientation. For some reason, I've had the impression that it was a big party that one of the previous year's MS-1'ers throws for all the outgoing 1st years with incoming 1st years. Maybe it was the name itself 🙄 . Eh... If I am back in time from Washington DC then I will make it. If not, I will make it to the bars afterwards
I haven't signed up yet for the lifesaver course we have to have. I should get on that, huh?
Only two more undergraduate final exams left and then I never have to take them again! YAY!!!!!!!!!
There's no alcohol at the formal disorientation, but I'm pretty sure there's a large group that goes out afterwards. I wouldn't know. 😉
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Since I got a lot of funny looks for being the guy who knew that notegroups touting 2.5 oz joints as "AVERAGE" as being, well, just a little OFF, I'll refrain from any other further discussion about any knowledge I may or may not have about the past legality, nomenclature, or methods of use of any addicting substance that isn't partaken with sugar and cream.
Caffeine, the Christian drug!
Brownie points for whoever knows why it used to be called CRANK,,, without the help of wiki/google......
Caffeine, the Christian drug!
Brownie points for whoever knows why it used to be called CRANK,,, without the help of wiki/google......
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A 2.5 oz joint?
Sure, at a party...maybe. Sorta like an average beer is 75 liters (keg'ish). Even the bro off of Scarey Movie don't do em that big.
I thought they called it crank cuz it cranked ya up...but I was just assuming. I guess there's a real reason.
I'm sooooooooo excited about going to school tomorrow...
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There is nothing addictive about marijuana, no matter what that crazy HB guy said... his was one of my favorite lectures because you could just SMELL the bullsh*t a mile away... "no scientific study backs this up, but I've observed...", "withdrawal symptoms are often very mild and include very non-specific symptoms, which are totally different from user to user..." etc. etc. I couldn't stand it. I answered every marijuana question on the HB exam with fury boiling in my bones... suffice it to say you should unlearn everything he said when it comes to board review, as the USMLE doesn't tend to ask questions about non-evidenced based "feelings" of lecturers.
Furthermore, 2.5oz as AVERAGE??? That's insane!! No pothead I know could ever afford that... when you smoke two joints in the morning, you smoke two joints at night, and you smoke two joints in the afternoon to make you feel alright, you're looking at 15 ounces per day... even if you share, that is an absolutely non-maintainable habit. Have I mentioned how much I hate that lecturer? 😛
Also, somebody tell me they caught the reference to the best band in the world...
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a 2.5 oz joint of kb would cost $750 according to my friend.
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I was like 😱 then I went back to the mp3; I think what he was actually thinking was 2.5 mg of THC in a joint, but he said marijuana I think, which got twisted to 2.5 oz. but before I did all that I did some dimensional analysis and figured a 2.5 oz J might cost you a chunk of your MSI computer budget, but it would make his lectures bearable. Except for that whole time slowy downy thing. You are SO right! Rhett Jackson would whip out his Harrison's and be like, "BEGONE! You anecdotal LIE spreader!!"
Now, I must go lie in my plastic bed, and think about how things weren't so cool to me....
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What's the old saying? Who needs enemies when you've got friends like...
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A 2.5 oz joint?
Sure, at a party...maybe. Sorta like an average beer is 75 liters (keg'ish). Even the bro off of Scarey Movie don't do em that big.
I thought they called it crank cuz it cranked ya up...but I was just assuming. I guess there's a real reason.
I'm sooooooooo excited about going to school tomorrow...
So why are you going to school today? The integrative phys thing isn't required, is it?
Even though if it is, I guess that answers my question about whether or not I can up my grade.So about the marijuana thing, yeah, the lecturer obviously had a bias, but I've met people who have seemed addicted to pot. My husband's cousin does the wake and bake thing every day of his life and has tried to cut back and failed, so he meets the CAGE thing. 🙂 I guess it could just be more of a compulsive behavior thing instead of a true physiological drug addiction -- kind of like people who are "addicted" to sex or rage or binge eating.
I certainly don't think marijuana addiction is a huge issue, and the whole gateway drug thing is total bs and says absolutely nothing about marijuana. If anything, alcohol's the gateway drug.
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And you'll have very limited contact with MS2s next year, so it's not like it really matters.
So are you MS3s going to abandon the hippo message boards, too? You guys are a lot more entertaining than my class. 🙁
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I get the feeling we won't have a choice.
Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs? I think it got talked about somewhere in HB 1 if not in an undergraduate psychology class. I'm pretty sure posting witty/funny/inflammatory messages on the discussion board will take a back seat to what ever magnificence that awaits us. 😉
You'll be fine without us.
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So why are you going to school today? The integrative phys thing isn't required, is it?
So about the marijuana thing, yeah, the lecturer obviously had a bias, but I've met people who have seemed addicted to pot. My husband's cousin does the wake and bake thing every day of his life and has tried to cut back and failed, so he meets the CAGE thing. 🙂 I guess it could just be more of a compulsive behavior thing instead of a true physiological drug addiction -- kind of like people who are "addicted" to sex or rage or binge eating.
I certainly don't think marijuana addiction is a huge issue, and the whole gateway drug thing is total bs and says absolutely nothing about marijuana. If anything, alcohol's the gateway drug.
Today wasn't mandatory...it was pretty boring...reminded me of why I don't go unless I have to.
I know a lot of people who act addicted to pot. Need it everyday or think they do. Who knows. Who cares. blah.
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Glad I didn't go then. I've realized that my attention span is way too short for class attendance.
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Ah... summertime... the livin's easy. 🙂
Hmm my sociology/criminology background may come in handy! Tobacco is what sociologists/criminologists all consider to be the "gateway" drug. There have been studies that indicate a larger percentage of people who have tried smoking cigarettes (or maybe they are regular smokers, can't remember) that have tried things like herion and cocaine, compared to a smaller number of marijuana users (or alcohol users) who have tried the hard stuff. Just a little FYI...
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"Hell, this war on drugs is funded by the alcohol and tobacco commissions; it's not what drugs you're strung out on they care about as much as whose..."
-relatively obscure folk singer the Bagel may know of...
Today wasn't a complete waste; Dr. Wiechmann confirmed that it could be possible to confuse the esophagus with the vagina, given that they are made up of the same epithelial lining. Anecdotally, I've found that turning the lights on usually helps with distinguishing between those two tissue types. If he only said something during the practical like, "During fleshy cannulation of this tissue type, the ability to talk is preserved..."
<-------well-qualified to represent the M-dub-C....
-relatively obscure folk singer the Bagel may know of...
Today wasn't a complete waste; Dr. Wiechmann confirmed that it could be possible to confuse the esophagus with the vagina, given that they are made up of the same epithelial lining. Anecdotally, I've found that turning the lights on usually helps with distinguishing between those two tissue types. If he only said something during the practical like, "During fleshy cannulation of this tissue type, the ability to talk is preserved..."
<-------well-qualified to represent the M-dub-C....
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Unless it is me, the Iowa site is already down!! 👍
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Did you have to download a java plugin or something to view those?Unless it is me, the Iowa site is already down!! 👍
It's just showing me a coffee cup.
Maybe it's a sign.
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No plugins...I just get a black "slide",,,,,it was working about an hour ago, when I began pulling screen shots off, which saved my ass last block....thanks to the guy that filled up the email accounts, which everybody GRIPED about. At about 3 in tha' moanin', I thought it was a proactive stroke of PURE genius 👍
But it must be some sort of Java deal, because none of the other sites I frequent with java apps on 'em are working....I didn't change anything though 😕
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Has something to do w/ bikers on the west coast who used to keep/transport meth in the "crank"cases (engine block) of their choppers.
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I guess that makes sense. Freeze should give you an award. 🙂
So did anybody look at the USMLE fees post on hippo on the MS3 section? Probably not since it was on the MS3 section, but it's applicable to us, too, because it has Step 1 fees for 2008. Anyway, it's going to be $480!! 😱 And, Dr. Sparks wasn't exaggerating -- the CS exam is $1025, of course coupled with the trip to Houston. I know that's a ways off for us, but still.
So how do the fourth years pay for that coupled with all their residency interviews? I'm guessing lots of people resort to plastic, which doesn't sound like fun. Or does the school budget you a ton of extra money for your fourth year?
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Your second year budget does not include any step 1 fees or money for board review material 🙄
So here's what I did to get ~$1500-2000 in extra loans. I went to the registration website and printed out the page where it lists the fees, and then I tried to come up with as comprehensive of a list as possible of what board review materials I would be purchasing. I included Kaplan QBank (though I ended up going with the much cheaper USMLE Rx QBank by the First Aid guys, which I'm very happy with), First Aid, and the BRS or HY books for just about all subjects (which is not what I ended up actually going with, and not what I recommend in hindsight, but that's a subject for a different post).
I printed the price page for QBank, and added all the books to a shopping cart on Amazon and then printed that off. Then I just mailed all that in to the finaid office along with a the total of everything I planned on buying and asked for it to be added to my budget. They did it with no trouble (since it's not like it's THEIR money or anything).
I plan on doing the same thing for step 2 and MS4 interviews. You have to remember that the people in the finaid office do finaid for the entire HSC, not just college of med, so they don't think about things like the USMLE; your budget is just made up of tuition and the same assumed living expenses as all the other colleges. Since some years are more expensive in some programs than others for things like this, you have to request the money on your own if you want it.
All that being said, blah blah blah don't borrow it if you don't need it blah blah blah long-term consequences blah blah blah hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
😀
EDIT: Also, I did this right around this time last year (right after I got my award), so you may want to start working on it. I have no idea how late you can request additional award money, but I suspect that at some point it would actually delay your fall disbursement.
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😉
Thanks for the tips on getting more moolah. I think I'll start working on that.
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👍 The budding anesthesiologist knows his drugs. I'm not sure when "meth" came about, but I'm fairly certain it began as a regional thing. Kinda like soda, pop, and coke. People from the Midwest would call it meth, people around here called it crank, probably because of being on a shipping lane from the West (where the bikers come in...)
WIJG, you have free license to expand on what you would in fact recommend as far as Step I goes; whenever, I know y'all are busy. Sometime before August! Tell your friends! 😉
I hadn't thought of going to financial aid with "demands"; seems like that would definitely take the sting out. I don't know if it'll matter, since we don't have any income to deduct from, but is ANYTHING between now and residency tax-deductible?
I guess my Sublime references were too, well, sublime....😎
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tons of stuff is tax deductible. entire tuition and fees are tax dedutible. im sure if you got creative you could find ways to deduct travel and test expenses. the only problem is as you stated, i dont have any income to deduct from. i only wishes deductions could be deferred until i did have income. also i believe that interest payments on student loans are tax dedcutible up to a certain income level (as in you can deduct it during residency but not afterwards).
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Actually the entire tuition and fees aren't tax deductible. The ability to deduct these directly ended last year (which was capped in the $4000 range anyway, nowhere close to med school rates). Now all that we have left are the Hope/Lifetime Learning Credits. These are credits that can be applied against taxes (if you have them) but they are only in the 15% range (you only get to apply 15% of the tuition and fees against your owed taxes). This is great if you are below a 15% tax bracket but sucks if you are above it as you don't get a 1:1 offset of taxes:tuition.
Now, if you had a previous/current career in healthcare and wanted to bend (not break) the rules you can deduct all of the training that helps increase your skills in your current field (I do think one of the caveats was that this training should not lead to an advanced degree though so one should be careful here).
Note: I am not a CPA...that's what you have NTT for. 😀 However, I have done my own taxes for 7 years during which there has only been 1 year where my wife or myself haven't been in school, so I try to stay pretty current on the tax stuff in relation to tuition deductions.
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Ditto on the wanting to hear some board tips whenever any of you more advanced students have some time. Specifically, I'm wondering when I should buy stuff (and what stuff) and when to start studying.
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Here is oudoc08's advice, so he doesn't have to repeat it...
Ok, guys, here's a breakdown of how I studied for Step 1:
The books aren't probably the exact order, but essentially the idea is this:
1. Study like hell for the MS2 finals. This covers a lot.
2. Read a comprehensive review like First Aid.
3. Read 2 or 3 small individual subject review books like High Yield Anatomy, Road Map Pharm, etc. .
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as many times as you're able before 1 week prior to your test date.
5. 1 week before the test, read nothing but First Aid 2006.
6. Take the day before the test OFF.
Other cardinal rules I followed: Always get at least 6-8 hrs sleep each night, take frequent breaks, don't put in more than 8-10 hours total each day, give yourself at least 1 full day a week completely off. Never pull "all-nighters".
(These were also "rules" I followed in MS1, MS2.)
Anyways, a sample might be the following:
First Aid USMLE 2004 (notice the earlier edition, which is subject based vs. 2006 which is system based (I read that one later for a different perspective)
BRS Path
Road Map to Pharm
BRS Micro and Immun
Step Up to USMLE (Great book if you don't have it)
High Yield Anatomy
High Yield Pharm
BRS Phys
First Aid USMLE 2006
High Yield Neuroanatomy
High Yield Embryo
USMLE Secrets (This is a hidden treasure as well)
First Aid USMLE 2006
If you read First Aid three times cover to cover during your month or so of studying, I'd say you're ahead of the game.
Also in case anyone's wondering when is a good time to test, I took mine June 15th, and thought it was a great compromise. People who took it earlier, seemed to feel rushed. People who tested later were too burned out. After awhile (and I got this way apx. 1 week prior to testing), you're just to the point where your practice test scores start to level out.
Oh yeah, make sure to do the USMLE practice tests that are offered by the NBME (the $45 dollar tests). There are 4, and I recommend doing 1 per week starting 1 month prior to testing. They are SO worth the money, and help you gauge your progress by taking actual USMLE test questions.
Q-Bank? I did it. Harder than the actual test I thought, and too expensive. I got through about 1/2 the questions, and it MIGHT have added a point or two, but the practice tests from the NBME were a MUCH better investment, IMO.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling and grammar, I'm trying to hurry & go study for the peds shelf exam on Fri.
Good Luck!
Oudoc08
Stolen from previous thread...in the interest of efficency...
Ok, guys, here's a breakdown of how I studied for Step 1:
The books aren't probably the exact order, but essentially the idea is this:
1. Study like hell for the MS2 finals. This covers a lot.
2. Read a comprehensive review like First Aid.
3. Read 2 or 3 small individual subject review books like High Yield Anatomy, Road Map Pharm, etc. .
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as many times as you're able before 1 week prior to your test date.
5. 1 week before the test, read nothing but First Aid 2006.
6. Take the day before the test OFF.
Other cardinal rules I followed: Always get at least 6-8 hrs sleep each night, take frequent breaks, don't put in more than 8-10 hours total each day, give yourself at least 1 full day a week completely off. Never pull "all-nighters".
(These were also "rules" I followed in MS1, MS2.)
Anyways, a sample might be the following:
First Aid USMLE 2004 (notice the earlier edition, which is subject based vs. 2006 which is system based (I read that one later for a different perspective)
BRS Path
Road Map to Pharm
BRS Micro and Immun
Step Up to USMLE (Great book if you don't have it)
High Yield Anatomy
High Yield Pharm
BRS Phys
First Aid USMLE 2006
High Yield Neuroanatomy
High Yield Embryo
USMLE Secrets (This is a hidden treasure as well)
First Aid USMLE 2006
If you read First Aid three times cover to cover during your month or so of studying, I'd say you're ahead of the game.
Also in case anyone's wondering when is a good time to test, I took mine June 15th, and thought it was a great compromise. People who took it earlier, seemed to feel rushed. People who tested later were too burned out. After awhile (and I got this way apx. 1 week prior to testing), you're just to the point where your practice test scores start to level out.
Oh yeah, make sure to do the USMLE practice tests that are offered by the NBME (the $45 dollar tests). There are 4, and I recommend doing 1 per week starting 1 month prior to testing. They are SO worth the money, and help you gauge your progress by taking actual USMLE test questions.
Q-Bank? I did it. Harder than the actual test I thought, and too expensive. I got through about 1/2 the questions, and it MIGHT have added a point or two, but the practice tests from the NBME were a MUCH better investment, IMO.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling and grammar, I'm trying to hurry & go study for the peds shelf exam on Fri.
Good Luck!
Oudoc08
Stolen from previous thread...in the interest of efficency...
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Thanks, Freeze -- I think I read that before but forgot it. So it sounds like oudoc didn't do much studying for it until after school got out. At least that's how I'm reading it.
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I am pretty much going with a similar plan. Here are a few differences that seem to be working for me:
I'm using Step-Up + First Aid rather than two different editions of First Aid. I'm honestly not as huge of a First Aid fan as many people seem to be... it's sort of disorganized IMO. I still think it's essential just because it's got so much incredibly high yield info in such a small space, but I'd rather use it and a totally different take ather than buying TWO of a book that's not my favorite.
I don't think I'm using as many of the little books as he is; just trying to really get a handle on First Aid, Step Up, and Secrets. The little books I am using:
*Road Map to Pharmacology (looks like it will be high yield for the comprehensive pharm exam)
Goljan's Rapid Review Path (do yourself a favor and buy this book before 2nd year and use it through IHI... it's fantastic for IHI exams)
*BRS Path
*BRS Phys
BRS Neuroanatomy
*HY Cell & Molecular Biology
I might glance through Lippincott Biochem if I have time (I'm very weak on biochem)
I starred everything that I'm going to really make a priority to get through again before the boards. I'm probably not going to have time to make it all the way through Goljan's, so I'm just going to read over the sections I'm having the hardest time with.
I definitely agree that USMLE Step 1 Secrets is a really great book that doesn't get as much hype as it deserves. The entire book is Q & A format, so you can read it with an index card and try to answer each question before you read the answer. It really helps you distinguish between what you REALLY know, and what you just think you know.
As I said before, I am using USMLE Rx instead of Kaplan QBank. I've never used QBank, so I honestly can't say anything one way or the other about Kaplan, but here's what I can say about USMLE Rx:
1) It's MUCH cheaper (I paid $149 for 3 months, vs. the $449 Kaplan wanted for 3 months)
2) It has the same number of questions as QBank.
3) After you finish a block of questions and you review them, it shows the relevant section of First Aid at the bottom of the page for each question, which helps you annotate your First Aid as you should be doing all through next year.
All in all, I've been pretty happy with it. I've heard from a lot of people that USMLE Rx questions are closer to the actual USMLE than Kaplan, which seems to pride itself on having lots of "difficult" questions which are not vignette oriented and instead ask incredible detail which you will not be asked about on the exam. However, this is obviously hearsay as I've never used it, so take that with a big grain of salt.
I'm happy to answer any other questions, as I'm trying really hard to pretend I'm not taking the comprehensive IHI final in 7 days 😀
I'm using Step-Up + First Aid rather than two different editions of First Aid. I'm honestly not as huge of a First Aid fan as many people seem to be... it's sort of disorganized IMO. I still think it's essential just because it's got so much incredibly high yield info in such a small space, but I'd rather use it and a totally different take ather than buying TWO of a book that's not my favorite.
I don't think I'm using as many of the little books as he is; just trying to really get a handle on First Aid, Step Up, and Secrets. The little books I am using:
*Road Map to Pharmacology (looks like it will be high yield for the comprehensive pharm exam)
Goljan's Rapid Review Path (do yourself a favor and buy this book before 2nd year and use it through IHI... it's fantastic for IHI exams)
*BRS Path
*BRS Phys
BRS Neuroanatomy
*HY Cell & Molecular Biology
I might glance through Lippincott Biochem if I have time (I'm very weak on biochem)
I starred everything that I'm going to really make a priority to get through again before the boards. I'm probably not going to have time to make it all the way through Goljan's, so I'm just going to read over the sections I'm having the hardest time with.
I definitely agree that USMLE Step 1 Secrets is a really great book that doesn't get as much hype as it deserves. The entire book is Q & A format, so you can read it with an index card and try to answer each question before you read the answer. It really helps you distinguish between what you REALLY know, and what you just think you know.
As I said before, I am using USMLE Rx instead of Kaplan QBank. I've never used QBank, so I honestly can't say anything one way or the other about Kaplan, but here's what I can say about USMLE Rx:
1) It's MUCH cheaper (I paid $149 for 3 months, vs. the $449 Kaplan wanted for 3 months)
2) It has the same number of questions as QBank.
3) After you finish a block of questions and you review them, it shows the relevant section of First Aid at the bottom of the page for each question, which helps you annotate your First Aid as you should be doing all through next year.
All in all, I've been pretty happy with it. I've heard from a lot of people that USMLE Rx questions are closer to the actual USMLE than Kaplan, which seems to pride itself on having lots of "difficult" questions which are not vignette oriented and instead ask incredible detail which you will not be asked about on the exam. However, this is obviously hearsay as I've never used it, so take that with a big grain of salt.
I'm happy to answer any other questions, as I'm trying really hard to pretend I'm not taking the comprehensive IHI final in 7 days 😀
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I don't have the time to type out a whole long message right now, but wanted to throw this out there. I bought QBank back in the fall when the representatives came to campus. I bought just Qbank and none of their books. The deal they offered back then got me basically nine months of access to about 3000 questions. Up to this point I've worked through a little over 25% of them, and its been a pretty satisfactory experience. It cost me $399 at the time back in mid-October and I've had access since then that lasts until July 27th if, God forbid, I have to retake it.
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