US students please help

[EdmontonOilers]

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Hey guys,

I am studying medicine in Ireland and hope to write the USMLEs and do a residency in the US. My medical course is lectures-based. Most students over here use each lecture as a template, go to the recommended textbook, and then make notes from portions of the textbook that are relevant to the lecture. Afterwards, we then add info from the lecture not found in the textbook to our set of notes. Basically, we create our own set of notes from the lecture and the textbook.

Lately I’ve become really curious as to how you guys study in the US during your courses. Do you guys get….
1) Lectures and just study the lectures
2) Lectures and supplement with the textbook like us
3) Lectures but don’t bother using them of even attending them and just read the textbooks (seems like a lot – don’t know if this is possible unless using review book or small textbook – could you specify if you are reading review books or actual textbooks – for example, I would consider Guyton a textbook and Costanzo a review book for physiology)
4) Coursepackages (ie. booklets containing notes made by your professors) that you just study and don’t bother at all with textbooks
5) Or does it depend on the course and professor and your study method varies

If you guys could let me know how the material is presented to you guys and how you study that would be awesome. Lately Ive been second guessing the way Im studying because Im thinking maybe I should be studying more like a US student if I am to do well on the USMLEs. If this makes any sense?

Finally, I was hoping you guys could tell me what textbooks you use for the following courses (if you guys use them in your study)….
1) Neuroanatomy
2) Biochemistry
3) Behavioral Sciences
4) Pathology
5) Pharmacology
6) Cell biology and Histology
7) Microbiology and Immunology

Thanks guys. I would really appreciate any help!!!!

 

[babyruth]

It depends on the school and the professor that is teaching each course. We had a lot of note packets for our courses but I would always supplement the material with a textbook. If you are looking to do well on the USMLE, you might also try buying some question texts like Step-up or First aid for the USMLE. Practice the question styles and formats to supplement your learning as well. These books also teach you what common questions are usually always tested and give you a breakdown of what areas to study.

 

[Nate]

Spamming in multiple forums, please feel free to contribute to the open one in allo.