What's your study style?

[Knicks]

Do you go for strict memorization (aka digging your own grave), do you assimilate and tie concepts together? etc?

I know some subjects like micro and pharm do require more memorization than others, but what's your overall study style?

And I know everyone has their own way that works for them,,,, so share with us what works for you?

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[GynGuy1983]

Do you go for strict memorization (aka digging your own grave), do you assimilate and tie concepts together? etc?

I know some subjects like micro and pharm do require more memorization than others, but what's your overall study style?

And I know everyone has their own way that works for them,,,, so share with us what works for you?

Pharm and Micro are straight memorization for me (probably why they were the easiest to improve on) and as for the rest, it's been a slow process of correlating everything together. When I read material now, I try to think of how a test writer may include it in a vignette or how it could be associated with the pathophysiology of another disease. Yes, it is time consuming, but when you start to make the connections, it makes answering the questions somewhat easier.

 

[penguinophile]

I can't "strictly memorize". It has always been a disaster. What I have to do instead is do questions...tons of questions. For school I spent most of the time studying doing back tests, and for Step 1 (taking the real deal on Wed) I have been doing all the questions I can. I am able to conceptualize path and get that through reading, but for pharm and micro I had to do questions, which has included Kaplan Qbank (wish I had switched to UW, but too late for that), the Qs in the books I've read, Robbins review, Kaplan Qbook, First Aid Q & A, and wikitestprep.org. I wish I could just "know" facts, but I need them drilled into me and also to get them wrong enough to where I learn from my mistakes. Good luck with your studying!

 

[BusterDO]

I'm a repetition studier. I have no idea how people can look at things once and have it nailed down. I need to see it a few times, then things start to fall into place. I study with a guy who seems to know/understand/grasp concepts in his first pass, makes me jealous.

I'm also a question guy. I need to see concepts asked from multiple angles, helps solidify the info.

 

[Knicks]

Thanx for the input (all 3 of you).

 

[ShyRem]

questions do best for me. That and talking it out with someone else who knows it differently than I do. I really can't just read - puts me to sleep very quickly. Audio is always good. If I can draw a picture to go along with a table that's good too.

Needless to say, the cytokines are killing me. Pure memorization.

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

For me the best way is questions. I can read something a million times, but unless I do it in real life, or at least do a question about it, I don't learn it.

Come to think of it, I best learn the things I miss questions on, because it forces me to swallow my pride and learn/relearn what I missed. Good thing, seeing as there was a helluva lot of "good learning" going on today thanks to BSS...

 

[osli]

I'm a reader. When I "try to memorize" things, I feel like I'm just wasting time. I tend to get a lot of the conceptual stuff on the first pass and do well on some of the tricker test questions that require a deep understanding and application of knowledge, but then miss a lot of the "easy" questions that are just rote memorization (what artery goes here...). In the end it evens out.

For step 1, I've pretty much stuck to that, but increased the reading to cover a subject multiple times from various sources (i.e., neuro from FA, RR, HY, class notes, CNMRS, etc.). Sometimes I pick up something new I didn't know, but mostly it's for the repetition... seeing the same thing worded a different way, and hoping that more of the details stick.

UW has helped a lot for some of the micro and pharm details that would normally not stick at all, but I swear I can't remember what novobiocin vs. optochin vs. bacitracin differentiates more than an hour or so.

In addition, I have actually made a concerted effort to "memorize" pharm, since there really isn't any better way. I still forget a lot of the details, but hopefully enough of them will stick until after the exam to not hurt me so much.

 

[lilnoelle]

I'm a reader. When I "try to memorize" things, I feel like I'm just wasting time. I tend to get a lot of the conceptual stuff on the first pass and do well on some of the tricker test questions that require a deep understanding and application of knowledge, but then miss a lot of the "easy" questions that are just rote memorization (what artery goes here...). In the end it evens out.

For step 1, I've pretty much stuck to that, but increased the reading to cover a subject multiple times from various sources (i.e., neuro from FA, RR, HY, class notes, CNMRS, etc.). Sometimes I pick up something new I didn't know, but mostly it's for the repetition... seeing the same thing worded a different way, and hoping that more of the details stick.

UW has helped a lot for some of the micro and pharm details that would normally not stick at all, but I swear I can't remember what novobiocin vs. optochin vs. bacitracin differentiates more than an hour or so.

In addition, I have actually made a concerted effort to "memorize" pharm, since there really isn't any better way. I still forget a lot of the details, but hopefully enough of them will stick until after the exam to not hurt me so much.

My schools pharm website helped me tons to for pharm.
http://www.kumc.edu/research/medicine/pharmacology/CAI/newpha.htm

Lots of questions, most with short explanations. I like questions too.... but have a hard time with the question banks, because the explanations are long and detailed (good for understanding) but take a LONG time to get through.

 

[osli]

My schools pharm website helped me tons to for pharm.
http://www.kumc.edu/research/medicine/pharmacology/CAI/newpha.htm

Lots of questions, most with short explanations. I like questions too.... but have a hard time with the question banks, because the explanations are long and detailed (good for understanding) but take a LONG time to get through.

Looks like a pretty good tutorial! There are a few areas where I could use a refresher like that... such as antiarrhythmics and autonomics. I'll add this to my list of "things to do in the last week." Hopefully I get to at least some of the stuff on that list!

 

[lilnoelle]

Looks like a pretty good tutorial! There are a few areas where I could use a refresher like that... such as antiarrhythmics and autonomics. I'll add this to my list of "things to do in the last week." Hopefully I get to at least some of the stuff on that list!

I used that to study for the pharm shelf and managed to pull a 96th % on it.
That has more to do with the value of the material than it does with me. I tend to score average on such tests.

 

[GynGuy1983]

I used that to study for the pharm shelf and managed to pull a 96th % on it.
That has more to do with the value of the material than it does with me. I tend to score average on such tests.

It seems like a good resource for Pharm, but the questions seem a little too easy. Thanks for the link though, I appreciate it.

 

[lilnoelle]

It seems like a good resource for Pharm, but the questions seem a little too easy. Thanks for the link though, I appreciate it.

They are easy, and repetitive. But honestly, I find that more helpful. Lots of repetitive questions. I can go through them quickly - helps me memorize.

Anyway, thats what I prefer, but thats just me.

 

[GynGuy1983]

They are definitely a good resource. I ended up doing more questions and saw that it was actually a very good review of all the drugs that could come up on the exam, with some funky variations of their names, but with the same suffixes Oh those crazy testers!

 

[lilnoelle]

There are a couple of full review exams at the end. No explanations, just the correct answer.

 

[NPR]

I'm a repetition studier. I have no idea how people can look at things once and have it nailed down. I need to see it a few times, then things start to fall into place. I study with a guy who seems to know/understand/grasp concepts in his first pass, makes me jealous.

I'm also a question guy. I need to see concepts asked from multiple angles, helps solidify the info.

Same here. Which could be why Step 1 was such a miserable experience for me.

There's barely enough time to get through all the great resources out there once. Let alone multiple times for my brain to grasp it all.

 

[Helo]

i remember in pictures and concepts, which is why i really enjoyed neuro, anatomy, biochem, path, phys. i find straight up memorization to be impossible and it takes me a few rounds to make a picture of the page (which is the only way i can recall it). pharm def sucked and micro initially sucked when i was taking it during 2nd yr, but by the time i reviewed it for step 1 it wasnt so bad. i had a real bad pharm course during the year so it was like i was learning all these crazy drugs for the first time...let's hope that the hard work pays off in july!