I'm an incoming MS1 so feel free to laugh your a** off at this question but why is it a terrible idea to use class notes (plus some info included from a good text) for usmle study? I study most efficiently when I have a very comprehensive source of info rather than bullet point review (ex. for the MCAT I used berkeley review rather than princeton or kaplan). I also used some of my class notes to study for the MCAT.
Using class notes to study
- Thread starter vashka
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Just study your ass off during the first two years. You don't want to be combing through your highly dense school notes when you're supposed to be reviewing things, otherwise, you'll run out of time. Basically, you want to set the foundation by learning things well, and then come Step study time, you only have to review things here and there (i.e., you don't have to re-read all of the detailed explanations for things because you've already learned them). This should be more efficient than re-reading and using your old class notes, but all that being said, do what you feel will benefit you the most.
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You're gonna be able to answer this question for yourself in a few months.
I don't know why you say you used a review book for MCAT, but then question why people say your class notes are too in depth for Step I. Would you recommend somebody to just take good notes in Bio, Genchem, ochem, and physics and use their textbooks to study for the MCAT? Hell no, you get a brief review book and do an asston of practice questions.
Class notes are fine if you find there is a topic or two you didn't learn in the first place and need to learn it, but they are WAY too much to try and go through all of them.
I don't know why you say you used a review book for MCAT, but then question why people say your class notes are too in depth for Step I. Would you recommend somebody to just take good notes in Bio, Genchem, ochem, and physics and use their textbooks to study for the MCAT? Hell no, you get a brief review book and do an asston of practice questions.
Class notes are fine if you find there is a topic or two you didn't learn in the first place and need to learn it, but they are WAY too much to try and go through all of them.
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It seems like class notes have explanations and minutiae--good references.
But the review books have high yield material and their critical features. Rely on these for boards but use the internet/class notes if you need to delve deeper into something you didn't learn well the first time.
But the review books have high yield material and their critical features. Rely on these for boards but use the internet/class notes if you need to delve deeper into something you didn't learn well the first time.
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I totally agree with what everyone else has said, so let me offer a different take. In the past two years, I've downloaded the audio for every lecture (I'm not a class-goer) so I can tell you that in two years, I've listened to 600 lectures. We get 5 or 6 weeks to study. That's 100 lectures per week, if you give them all equal time. Break that down to 14 lectures per day, which is insane. Or, if you wanted to go by slides-lectures here are generally at least 50 slides. If you worked 10 hours per day, without breaks, that's a little more than a slide per minute. This might actually be within the realm of possibility (though I'd personally freak out within a very short time), but all of that would be spread over information that may or may not be relevant. Alternatively, you can spend all of your time on a review source (which you still won't be able to memorize entirely in that 6 weeks), but it'll all be important information.
That's why nobody studies from lectures. They're good for reference sometimes, though!
That's why nobody studies from lectures. They're good for reference sometimes, though!
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My take is this: If you studied properly the first time...you will be wasting a lot of time if you read all those details over again. You really should only need basics to refresh or jog your memory of most of those concepts. Only when you really didn't grasp something or you need in depth reminder should you go into more detail. Right? Good luck!
Hey man, do you. Whatever works for you works for you.
Come back in two years and see if you feel the same way though. IMO, it's incredibly inefficient to look through class notes for Step 1.
Here's a haystack, find the needle.
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No, throw all your class notes into the garbage. For Step 1, you get a review book and do Qbanks. Depending on where you go for medical school, what you learn in class and what's on the boards can be different material. Like the MCAT, boards questions are much more conceptual than the material you learn in school.
Don't try to learn things your own way if it is not proving to be effective. Use the tried and true way that other successful students have been using. Research shows that while different people have different preferences for learning, everyone's brain works the same way. Even that visual learner vs. auditory learner idea has no scientific backing. Everyone learns the same way.
Don't try to learn things your own way if it is not proving to be effective. Use the tried and true way that other successful students have been using. Research shows that while different people have different preferences for learning, everyone's brain works the same way. Even that visual learner vs. auditory learner idea has no scientific backing. Everyone learns the same way.
I have pdfs of my classnotes on my laptop, that I sometime refer to when I remember something useful from classes or I want a little more detail or clarification. I might refer to them once every couple days for 5-10m. As the primary source? That would be an extremely inefficient use of time. Also, as in depth as the notes are, they have more than first aid and all that, but they do not have everything from first aid. It's just not smart. Have them on hand for reference as needed.
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Just to offer another opinion, I do find that some class notes can be useful.
I might be atypical, but for some things once I learn something from a source, I want to keep seeing that same source to refresh my memory on the topic. This is especially true of pictures or diagrams that I spent a lot of time with.
I have my First Aid in a big binder and after each section I have 3-5 pages or so of select class notes or charts.
I might be atypical, but for some things once I learn something from a source, I want to keep seeing that same source to refresh my memory on the topic. This is especially true of pictures or diagrams that I spent a lot of time with.
I have my First Aid in a big binder and after each section I have 3-5 pages or so of select class notes or charts.
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There is too much info to rely on class notes. Learn as much as you can for 2 years from your classes -- this will be the biggest help for step 1.
Your review should be a review which is why a review book with bullet points is the best.
Just to get an idea of what your class notes are going to look like- I'm just finishing first year and I have a 2 foot high pile of powerpoint notes (4 slides on each side), outlines, etc. Next year will be a similar amount of material and the whole 4 feet of it is going to be on Step 1. Like others have said, learn the material as well as you can the first time around, then use a review book and do practice problems. If there is some concept you really are having a hard time recalling then by all means refer back to the original notes if you think they will help, but do not make them a primary source.
