USMLE Prep while taking classes

[Roy7]

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Hi there, I'm currently an MS1 and wanted to start prepping for my boards while I take classes, i've got some extra time and felt that a couple hours of strictly board work for a specific class while I take it would help.

Any recommendations on question/books to go with? I'm in Biochem now and for the rest of the month, then histology. So, i'd get a book and do only the bio chem problems while i'm in biochem.

Thanks

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

BRS biochem

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Hi there, I'm currently an MS1 and wanted to start prepping for my boards while I take classes, i've got some extra time and felt that a couple hours of strictly board work for a specific class while I take it would help.

Any recommendations on question/books to go with? I'm in Biochem now and for the rest of the month, then histology. So, i'd get a book and do only the bio chem problems while i'm in biochem.

Thanks

I wouldn't really recommend BRS biochem. I'd go with Lippincott's Biochemistry. It's a great book with wonderful illustrations of pathways. Since you're already thinking about the boards (which I think is good, others may disagree), I'd suggest you get a copy of First Aid and use it when you're studying. That way you'll know if a certain topic is "high yield" for the boards. Bookstores may not carry the 2005 copy since the new '06 version is expected to hit the shelves late December/early Jan. So you may have to buy a used one from an upperclassman/women.

As you progress to other classes, I would suggest you do a search on SDN and see what the best review books are for whatever class you're working on. Use them alongside class. When it comes time to buckle-down, you've already read most, if not all, of the review books you'll be using for boards prep. G'luck.

 

[46&2]

Hi there, I'm currently an MS1 and wanted to start prepping for my boards while I take classes, i've got some extra time and felt that a couple hours of strictly board work for a specific class while I take it would help.

Any recommendations on question/books to go with? I'm in Biochem now and for the rest of the month, then histology. So, i'd get a book and do only the bio chem problems while i'm in biochem.

Thanks

Get First Aid and annotate the hell out of it. I thought the book was too basic for review during MS-I and II years, but come Step I time you want that stuff down cold (but you could wait about 6 wk before the Board to do that as well). It contained the majority of stuff from first year I needed and could master for Step I.
Biochem- Brainchip for Biochem (from 2002 and on Amazon, but damn good presentation). Lippincott's is OK, but I found BRS to be too lengthy in certain areas w/o giving you a definitive answer in others.
Histo- High Yield Histo; this is a pretty good book for boards as it coordinates a lot of stuff, esp. molecular bio
Anat- High Yield Anatomy (1st Aid is weak here)
Neuroanat- High Yield Neuro (1st Aid is weak here as well)
Physio- BRS Physio
Microbio- Ridiculously Made Simple (the charts are good but summarized in First Aid to some extent), Lange Micro and Immuno for a referrence textbook
Immuno- How the Immune System Works + Lange

Go to the Compiled Step I experiences thread for more suggestions.

It's interesting because most of the stuff I learned 1st year didn't seem to directly correlate w/ Step I... it's more about building a foundation to help you w/ 2nd year material which then adds disease processes and basic diagnostic exams and treatments on top of normal anatomy/physio/biochem. You gotta know how the car works before you can fix it.

As far as 1st year shelf exams, I sucked at those 😉 .

 

[Roy7]

Okay, I just got first aid as well as lippencotts.

Thanks a bunch - should all the information in lippencotts be learned? A lot hasnt even been touched by my class.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Okay, I just got first aid as well as lippencotts.

Thanks a bunch - should all the information in lippencotts be learned? A lot hasnt even been touched by my class.

Look at what's in FA and know that cold (who the hell came up with phrase "knowing something cold?"). If you're unsure of something or you're consistently missing something when you're doing questions, then hit up Lippincotts. You're right, there is alot in there that we didn't cover either.