When to Start Studying and such

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PreMedAdAG

I am so smart. S-M-R-T :)
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Okay... gunner central.... I know!!!

Anyway, I'm trying to avoid peeing my pants when it comes down to grind time...so I'm asking now..

when the heck should I start studying for boards. I feel like the MCAT was so awful and I'm like borderline ******ed at reading so the verbal was a nightmare for me the first time I took it..... I'm nervous that I will perform badly on the boards for the same reason. I know there is a thread about "experiences" and such, but can a few people respond about WHEN to start studying and with what? I was planning on buying the 6 mo. Q Bank at some point and i have a first aid and a ton of review books (mainly high yield, lippincotts, brs and some goljan lectures) and of course pharm cards and micro cards... i'm just so overwhelmed with classes that I can't even imagine studying for boards on top of this! I have all these beautiful books, but no time to read them,!

Should I just start with bedtime reading and then about 6 months before just start going nuts on board questions. I feel like the more questions I do , the higher I'll score..

PS. If you're like the 'don't have to study much to get an A' type, please don't respond. I'm like the " I have to study my ass off to get a 90" type, so if you understand that feeling, I'd love to hear from you

peace

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now.

you can set aside 1.5 hours a day until new years, focusing mainly on ms2 stuff, and then hit the gas
 
I'm the same way as you as far as studying goes....and have been following posts and talking to upperclassmen for a while....winter break at the earliest...really crank it up around spring break time....that should be more then enough for anyone
 
Taus said:
I'm the same way as you as far as studying goes....and have been following posts and talking to upperclassmen for a while....winter break at the earliest...really crank it up around spring break time....that should be more then enough for anyone


:rolleyes: loser
 
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Realize that doing well in your 2nd year is preparing you for the Boards. Most of your preparation is already done by the end of 2nd year. The last 4-8 weeks when you're studying 8-15 hours/day is cosmetic. That being said, in your second year, try to learn things properly the first time. Own the information rather than superficially memorizing lists.

Pathology:
I found BRS Pathology, Robbins Review (MCQ Pathology book) and Kaplan Q-bank when Organ-Based Pathology hits, very helpful. Lange flashcards for pathology and webpath are also nice.

Pharm:
As far as pharm, your professors may require you to know a lot more than boards do so focus on knowing names of drugs, indications, interesting contraindications/adverse reactions (i.e. not N/V, pruritis), and MOA. Some people in my class liked BRS Pharm cards. I never bought them but they look nice and simple. Probably won't be enough for your course but are sufficient for Boards. Obviously, knowing physiology cold is helpful. If you already do, then you're ahead of the game. If not, use pharm studying as a time to also review physio. Having a good grasp of the basics will serve you well in pathology as well.

Micro: no suggestions, I never owned the information...just memorized--forgot--memorized--forgot

Medicine: Our school had medicine in the second semester...basically step 2 & 3 stuff to prepare us for wards. I didn't know about this book at the time but wish I did. Step-Up to Medicine is really great. Pretty much covers everything the lecturers covered and also a great resource for Medicine clerkship.

Good luck!
 
I have been listening to the Goljan lectures that go along with my path class and using a couple of board review books (for path and pharm), so hopefully these will be really familiar when it comes time to study this spring. But I have been told over and over that the best way to study for step I is to learn everything 2nd year the first time around (rather than just memorizing)-- that way it will be easier to review.

Right now my plan is to start hard core after spring break (which is the 2nd week of Feb)-- we take the test in June.
 
The "learn it well the first time" advice is on the money. However, annotating board review books (BRS, First Aid, etc.) and flashcards is also a great idea.
Several months before the exam, you can start building up your testing endurance by taking timed blocks of practice questions. Endurance is key on test day.
 
PreMedAdAG said:
Okay... gunner central.... I know!!!

Anyway, I'm trying to avoid peeing my pants when it comes down to grind time...so I'm asking now..
ok well seriously, if you might pee your pants...(1) get depends brand adult diapers and (2) make sure u tell ur attending that when you do Surgery, because you will never make it with a bladder like that

more importantly, you're just starting MS2, so RELAX...if you start studying now, 70% of the testable info had NOT been given to you yet...and a lot of MS1 info is still in your head...make sure you learn MS2 info REALLY well the first time, it will make studyin a lot easier when times comes for it

i started studying for Step 1 about a week before school got out for me...and then over the 4 weeks I had, i spent anywhere from 4-8 hrs/day studying...most days around 5 hrs...and got a 242...and that's not because i just dont care or found it easy...but by focusing on learning the stuff well the first time...you will do better than expected when crunch time comes...more importantly...it's a MARATHON NOT A SPRINT...if you go too hard now, you will burn out beyond belief when it matters most...enjoy MS2, learn the stuff well...take your time...take breaks...go out...cuz MS2 is hard, and without that...you will NOT score as well as you want come Step 1 time

and p.s. i sucked in verbal too (7 or 8, i forget) and still got a 242 (which is good...contrary to what SDN posts would seem)
 
Mye Eye said:
ok well seriously, if you might pee your pants...(1) get depends brand adult diapers and (2) make sure u tell ur attending that when you do Surgery, because you will never make it with a bladder like that

more importantly, you're just starting MS2, so RELAX...if you start studying now, 70% of the testable info had NOT been given to you yet...and a lot of MS1 info is still in your head...make sure you learn MS2 info REALLY well the first time, it will make studyin a lot easier when times comes for it

i started studying for Step 1 about a week before school got out for me...and then over the 4 weeks I had, i spent anywhere from 4-8 hrs/day studying...most days around 5 hrs...and got a 242...and that's not because i just dont care or found it easy...but by focusing on learning the stuff well the first time...you will do better than expected when crunch time comes...more importantly...it's a MARATHON NOT A SPRINT...if you go too hard now, you will burn out beyond belief when it matters most...enjoy MS2, learn the stuff well...take your time...take breaks...go out...cuz MS2 is hard, and without that...you will NOT score as well as you want come Step 1 time

and p.s. i sucked in verbal too (7 or 8, i forget) and still got a 242 (which is good...contrary to what SDN posts would seem)
Thanks for such honest advice (from everyone actually).. yea I think my big thing is that I am a good student, I have good work ethic, I study a lot.. but I'm not that person that's like "wow, they don't read and they just got a 98%" you know? 98% for me is like 18 hour library days... which I guess is fine. Anyway, i got the books, now I'll just wait til I finish this summer session, go on a cruise and then get it crackalackin!

Damn it's late... Derm or sleep?

:sleep:
 
I studied for the boards in systems, even though my school doesn't do it that way. Whenever I hit GI pathology in class, for example, I would look up BRS Pathology sections that matched the syllabus and study BRS Phys GI. Pharm matches up nicely too, as does Goljan and Q-bank.

To make up for what I didn't learn by not going to class/reading their syllabus, I did as many old tests from my school as I could 1-2 weeks before each test. (They're available to the general public, but there are few repeats. The concepts, however, are generally the same). The first tests were generally daunting, but towards the end, everything would come together. I would rock Pathology block tests like I wrote them myself.

As a disclaimer, I enjoyed the risk of creating my own study program. It was a novelty to shun the curriculum of an institutional machine and "do my own thang." It was new to me, but I anticipate having to do a lot of it for CME credit after residency in order to keep up with medical science progress.

I have learned that most of medicine can be taught to oneself, save for procedures and the like in years 3 and 4. Some lecturers were awesome, so I came to class when I felt like a lecturer could teach me more than I could do for myself. I only wish I had done this strategy during 1st year instead of figuring it out 2nd year.:cool:
 
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