USMLE Rx Flashcards

[SpoiledMilk]

Does anyone have experience using the Rx flashcards to study FA in preparation for Step 1? I've tried just reading FA, but it has not worked. There are 14,850 Rx flashcards and I wanted opinions whether going through all of them will be thorough enough in lieu of reading FA cover to cover for the xxxth time...

I've tried Anki, but it has not worked for me. Rx has it's own repetition algorithm on Study Stream that I will be using the flashcards on. I'll also be using UFAPS for Step 1.

Thanks in advance.

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[Blueprint Med School]

Hi DV-T,

Have you tried making your own flashcards? I recommend to all my students to make their own Anki flashcard decks as they go through UWorld questions. These can be brief or vignette-style that highlight the main take-away points and/or concept they didn't know. I personally believe that making your own flashcards is more effective than using other pre-made flashcards because you are much more likely to understand/process a flashcard that you wrote yourself. This is because you know it's an important concept because it came up in a UW question and it is in your own thoughts/words. Plus, you can add your own mnemonics and pictures to it as well. Furthermore, the actual act of typing up/writing up a flashcard is a learning process in itself. You are forced to think about the concept or question again while you are physically creating the card. PS I recommend sticking with electronic flashcards (typing is much more time efficient than writing).

Below is an example of a card that I wrote up recently while studying for Step 3:
Front: 39 yo f with SLE presents with chest pressure and palpitations. While in the hospital she sustains cardiac arrest w documented V fib and dies. Cause of death?
Back: Coronary atherosclerosis. SLE is a big risk factor for developing premature coronary atherosclerosis and CAD in young women.

Hope that helps!

- Annette G, MD, MPH - USMLE Tutor and Residency Advisor at Med School Tutors

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Hi Annette,

Thanks for the reply and suggestion. However, I tried to make my own Anki cards during MS1 for foundations and that process took soooo long that I ended up abandoning it after 2 modules. I know one gets better and faster at making cards if one sticks to it. I didn't and abandoned Anki altogether when I was using it to study CV and the day before the exam while reviewing the decks, a bunch of cards that I had never seen before during the last 3-4 weeks of studying showed up. I concluded Anki was just not for me, even the pre-made decks like Zanki and Light-Year, etc.

I appreciate your reply though.