"Wasting" step resources...is there such a thing?

[Biofilm]

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Although it has been encouraged to implement resources such as First Aid/Pathoma with M1 curriculum, is incorporating UWORLD during first year really a waste of this resource?

I've done a thorough search on this and a chuck of people say "No, don't touch it, it's one of the most important resources for Step 1 and should be used second year". Others say "If I could go back in time, I would've incorporated it first year". I've also come across a number of folks on SDN that did quite well in Step 1 and encouraged the use of UW during M1.

TLDR; Is implementing UWORLD during first year a waste of precious resource or is this merely a myth?

Seeking feedback from folks that have taken Step 1 or are in the process of doing so. Thank you in advance.


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[Brorthopedic]

I know these types of threads get old, but you've gotta admire the degree of type A personalities that medicine attracts

 

[Pacna]

The types of questions uworld asks are not usually answerable without M2 knowledge. Some are.

If you wanna be that guy, just memorize a page of First AID per day. (aka for the first 3 days then give up until second year like everybody does)

 

[Psai]

Following along in first aid with your organs helps a little. The focus should be on learning class material. You don't know enough yet to have uworld be productive so why waste the money

 

[The Kraken]

Yeah, I don't remember a single step question that I glanced over 1st year when I thought it could help. It didn't help with testing and there's such much stuff you learn second year that whatever you "gained" will be without a doubt forgotten. Memorize every drug side effect (phuck farm) or something if you want to gun, or just do well in classes.

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[seminoma]

Although it has been encouraged to implement resources such as First Aid/Pathoma with M1 curriculum, is incorporating UWORLD during first year really a waste of this resource?

I've done a thorough search on this and a chuck of people say "No, don't touch it, it's one of the most important resources for Step 1 and should be used second year". Others say "If I could go back in time, I would've incorporated it first year". I've also come across a number of folks on SDN that did quite well in Step 1 and encouraged the use of UW during M1.

TLDR; Is implementing UWORLD during first year a waste of precious resource or is this merely a myth?

Seeking feedback from folks that have taken Step 1 or are in the process of doing so. Thank you in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

I believe in the wasted resource idea, but the bigger issue is the amount of time you'd be wasting on a resource that you're not ready for. There are stages of learning and various resources have maximal utility at different points in your education. The information in UW is the same whether you look at it during MS1 or 5 weeks before Step 1. Your ability to comprehend, learn, and retain the information is what matters. And UW to an MS1 is like calculus to a kid still learning addition and subtraction.

 

[operaman]

The only resources you could waste are the official nbme exams. These are usually the best way to gauge your potential score; using them too early would make them less predictive in the future.

Beyond that, world is not something you can waste. It may not be a great use of your time, but it won't lessen the future benefit of that product in any way.

 

[ortnakas]

I've heard people say that they wished they'd done First Aid first year, and Pathoma, but I've never heard anyone say that about UWorld.

 

[gregoryhouse]

It would be a waste in terms of the fact you won't know nearly enough in MS1 to competently answer questions in Uworld. While you may learn from it, you won't necessarily be using it as a tool properly. IMO I don't think anyone should do UWorld until they have mastered everything else. For me the part of Uworld that benefited me the most was not the information but preparing me to think analytically about how to answer the questions. If you know the material, doing Uworld questions becomes less about whether you know or dont know an answer but if you are able to apply that knowledge appropriately to answer the question. But if you don't know the material well then there is no way you can analyze the question because you will be completely lost.

 

[sloop]

Using UWorld during first year would be pointless because you won't remember enough about what you learn through the questions by step 1 to be worth it.

I started UWorld about half way through second year (timed random) and, while there was a lot I still hadn't learned, I learned from the questions and remembered it for step 1, so I don't think that is a waste. There's a limit to this philosophy, though. First year definitely hits the limits of this philosophy.

 

[pd1112]

One thing that hasn't been addressed so far is the money - $600 for 2 years compared to $300 for 180 days which is what most people get.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Imo once you've answered a question it then loses most of its practice value. When I do second passes I find myself simply remembering what the answer was as opposed to actually recalling the material and reasoning through it.

Obviously this isn't the case for everyone, but what I personally recommend is to save uworld for dedicated and do something like usmlerx during ms2. No need to do anything during ms1

 

[Goro]

Let's put it this way.

You see some information or a practice question and it 100% doesn't make sense.

Is it:

A) because you had the material and don't remember it?
B) because you have had the material yet?

Because it's more likely to be B at this point in time, board study stuff is indeed mostly a waste of time. At best , go through First Aid or some of the other materials on the material you've already had and see if it seems familiar.

Although it has been encouraged to implement resources such as First Aid/Pathoma with M1 curriculum, is incorporating UWORLD during first year really a waste of this resource?

I've done a thorough search on this and a chuck of people say "No, don't touch it, it's one of the most important resources for Step 1 and should be used second year". Others say "If I could go back in time, I would've incorporated it first year". I've also come across a number of folks on SDN that did quite well in Step 1 and encouraged the use of UW during M1.

TLDR; Is implementing UWORLD during first year a waste of precious resource or is this merely a myth?

Seeking feedback from folks that have taken Step 1 or are in the process of doing so. Thank you in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[Dave89]

Save UWorld for M2. But getting in the groove of answering MCQs is actually helpful, so go nuts with Pretest books and the like.

 

[gregoryhouse]

I will say I used FA + usmlerx during my first 2 years (organ based systems) and I thought it helped. But yea definitely not uworld