when to start studying for step 1

[jon0013]

i'm starting med school this fall so i still have 2.5 years to go before step 1....i just graduated last month so i've pretty much got a semester to mess around...saw a step 1 review book while at barnes and noble and bought it....

i pretty much have no idea about this test but was wondering if you are supposed to just keep up with every class as you take em as a MS1 and MS2 and just review along the way or how does everything work because it seems like you've got at most 1 month to study for it....

i'd like to get aquainted with this exam before med school starts so i know how to keep up and such...

thanks for helpin a clueless noob...

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[Rogue_Leader]

First off, it's not worth doing any studying specifically directed for the boards until spring semester of your second year, and even that's really getting a head start on things. Most people will say that you don't need to begin your concentrated boards studying until about 2 months before hand, and most schools give you the month off before the boards to do nothing but study.

Second, it's not worth doing any studying for med school until you actually begin med school.

 

[SarahGM]

While I do agree with the second point, I DO think that getting some board review books (especially FA and those that correspond with your first year classes) during first year is a good idea.

I just invested in BRS physio, and how I wish I had taken notes in the margin while I was learning it first year. Everything would be much clearer and relevant if I had added in personal notes as I was learning it. Now it's like having to learn it a second time over, instead of reviewing it.

 

[OSUdoc08]

i'm starting med school this fall so i still have 2.5 years to go before step 1....i just graduated last month so i've pretty much got a semester to mess around...saw a step 1 review book while at barnes and noble and bought it....

i pretty much have no idea about this test but was wondering if you are supposed to just keep up with every class as you take em as a MS1 and MS2 and just review along the way or how does everything work because it seems like you've got at most 1 month to study for it....

i'd like to get aquainted with this exam before med school starts so i know how to keep up and such...

thanks for helpin a clueless noob...

Start studying in the spring semester prior to the summer you are taking step I. (2nd semester of your 2nd year.)

 

[Pox in a box]

Just know that hindsight is 20/20. You'll kick yourself if after you take the exam, you wish you had started before your spring semester of 2nd year.

 

[mrdowntoearth]

Use FA, BRS Phys, Micro Made Ridiculously Simple as supplements during your first year. Focus more on your classes! since you need to have good grades (if your school has percentage rankings)

 

[THP]

My school requires us to take step I by April 7th. They give us 1/2 of Feb and all of March off to study. I will probably take it towards the end of March. I have not done one second of board study and here it is midway through Jan. We will see . . .

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Just know that hindsight is 20/20. You'll kick yourself if after you take the exam, you wish you had started before your spring semester of 2nd year.

 

[VincentAdultman]

i'm starting med school this fall so i still have 2.5 years to go before step 1....i just graduated last month so i've pretty much got a semester to mess around...saw a step 1 review book while at barnes and noble and bought it....

i pretty much have no idea about this test but was wondering if you are supposed to just keep up with every class as you take em as a MS1 and MS2 and just review along the way or how does everything work because it seems like you've got at most 1 month to study for it....

i'd like to get aquainted with this exam before med school starts so i know how to keep up and such...

thanks for helpin a clueless noob...

I hate gunners.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I hate gunners.

I second that.

Off to the Casino.

 

[BigRedZippo]

I'm about to graduate. I'd spend the next few months before med skool starts doing as little school stuff as possible and enjoying yourself as much as you can. You'll thank me later.

 

[jon0013]

thanks for the feedback...since i graduated in december i've been sitting around doin nothing...been goin to the bars 4-5 times aweek and getting wasted but its starting to get old...i even signed up for an elective at my undergrad this semester to keep me a little busy...but yah, i know i'll look back a few years from now and prob wish i woulda just sat on my ass and chilled but right now i just needa stay a bit occupied.....

 

[beponychick]

While I do agree with the second point, I DO think that getting some board review books (especially FA and those that correspond with your first year classes) during first year is a good idea.

I just invested in BRS physio, and how I wish I had taken notes in the margin while I was learning it first year. Everything would be much clearer and relevant if I had added in personal notes as I was learning it. Now it's like having to learn it a second time over, instead of reviewing it.

Thank you Sarah. I dont think you are necessarily a "gunner" if you want to have an idea of what you are getting yourself into. I think it can only help.

 

[marcus_aurelius]

Are you kidding me,

you havent even started med school and you want to start studying for Step 1!

I'd say get a life, but then again, you dont want to fail the exam so go for it.

 

[MeowMix]

before med school:
please relax and enjoy yourself. If you must do something, focus on building a strong support network and coping skills, and learning useful things that you won't have time to learn in med school (e.g. Spanish). In other words, focus on the non-medical but very important aspects of the rest of your life. Attend to health problems. Attend to car problems. Attend to weird personality issues. Learn to communicate better. Build skills in conflict resolution. There's lots to do.

once you start school:
I think it depends a lot on what kind of curriculum you're in. If you have the traditional MS1 normal/MS2 pathology split, then it helps to make some notes in e.g. Costanzo BRS phys while you are using it for your course work, especially for points that you find confusing; when you go back in second year pathophys, the notes will be there to remind and help. But most of the important path and pathophys board material will not make any sense at all until you get to it in second year. And you probably won't have time for it unless you are a super student.

On the other hand, if you have a newer integrated curriculum where you only see the material once, you are effectively covering what used to be 2nd year material in 1st year. I would use a different approach but focus on making a good set of reference notes that I'd be able to go back to in a year and still understand perfectly. Not on everything, just the major important stuff. You can figure out what some of this stuff is by looking in First Aid and seeing whether it's covered.

 

[surrender903]

i didnt like what i wrote because it made me look like a bigger ass than i already am

 

[jon0013]

if you knew you were going to med school you should have been studying for boards when you were studying for the MCAT, and you should have been studying for THAT when you were studying for your SATs... in essence what im saying is that you needed to be born with Doogie Howser like intelligence and hopefully none of his aesthetics...

honestly i just wanted to get an idea of whats goin down and what to expect....some ms1s have said its useful to pick out the review books to go along with classes so you can use them as a guide as you take the class... but no, im not gonna really study this semester

 

[jennyboo]

Agreed that you don't REALLY start studying at least until the 2nd semester of 2nd year. But here's what I'd suggest:

1. Buy yourself a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (FA). As you're learning anatomy, take a casual glance at the anatomy chapter in FA. As you're learning histology, take a casual glance at the histo chapter. Etc.

2. Buy a copy of BRS Physiology. Although it's "not enough text" for most people and they find themselves needing a more detailed textbook to learn from, again take a casual read through each chapter as you learn it in physiology class.

3. Buy a copy of BRS Pathology. Again, read casually as you study the corresponding chapter in pathology or pathophysiology class.

Note that I used BRS physiology and pathology to study for Step 1. Some people on this forum use Goljan. I am not familiar with Goljan -- BRS worked well for me so I always tell other people about it. Ask someone else about Goljan.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Agreed that you don't REALLY start studying at least until the 2nd semester of 2nd year. But here's what I'd suggest:

1. Buy yourself a copy of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 (FA). As you're learning anatomy, take a casual glance at the anatomy chapter in FA. As you're learning histology, take a casual glance at the histo chapter. Etc.

2. Buy a copy of BRS Physiology. Although it's "not enough text" for most people and they find themselves needing a more detailed textbook to learn from, again take a casual read through each chapter as you learn it in physiology class.

3. Buy a copy of BRS Pathology. Again, read casually as you study the corresponding chapter in pathology or pathophysiology class.

Note that I used BRS physiology and pathology to study for Step 1. Some people on this forum use Goljan. I am not familiar with Goljan -- BRS worked well for me so I always tell other people about it. Ask someone else about Goljan.

Wait until the 2006 edition of Rapid Review Pathology (Goljan) comes out in the fall. It is a duplicate of his Kaplan notes, and is the newest update. It will contain 100 additional pages and 200 added color images since the previous version.

However, you do not need to be purchasing these books until the summer after your first year.

If you start spending time on pathology now, then you will be wasting your energy, which should be spent on anatomy & histology.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Wait until the 2006 edition of Rapid Review Pathology (Goljan) comes out in the fall. It is a duplicate of his Kaplan notes, and is the newest update. It will contain 100 additional pages and 200 added color images since the previous version.

However, you do not need to be purchasing these books until the summer after your first year.

If you start spending time on pathology now, then you will be wasting your energy, which should be spent on anatomy & histology.

Agreed....at most, you should look through FA as you're studying respective class stuff. This is probably me biggest regret in the whole process. Don't study 2nd year stuff 1st year. Not very productive. Step One is important, but sometimes I seriously think people forget they're in med school to learn how to be a doctor, not pass Step One.

 

[BlackNDecker]

i'd like to get aquainted with this exam before med school starts so i know how to keep up and such...

thanks for helpin a clueless noob...

If you haven't completely memorized First Aid by your sophomore year of undergrad then you can only hope to score mediocre at best on the step. Most people who didn't memorize FA during undergrad end up having to take the step multiple times...the overall pass rate is an abysmal 57%.

It's probably a little late for you now. Maybe you can take a year off b/w med school and concentrate on memorizing FA and the BRS series. You should probably go ahead and take all the med school classes at your university as well, just to have a foundation to build on...

Honestly, I wish I had gone to med school before I went to med school...it would've been so much easier that way. Oh well.

 

[SarahGM]

Obviously, there are several students on here who are having a little bit of a tough time remembering what it was like to plunge head first into a pool as deep, dark and intimidating as medical school.

It's really sad to watch the downward spiral of your colleagues into cynicism, conceit, and just plain disregard for others' feelings.

Help those who are following in your footsteps. You would have appreciated it.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Obviously, there are several students on here who are having a little bit of a tough time remembering what it was like to plunge head first into a pool as deep, dark and intimidating as medical school.

It's really sad to watch the downward spiral of your colleagues into cynicism, conceit, and just plain disregard for others' feelings.

Help those who are following in your footsteps. You would have appreciated it.

Lighten up & get a sense of humor.

 

[SarahGM]

Lighten up & get a sense of humor.

I'm sorry, I just didn't see the point in yet another "get a life" post to the OP.

 

[BlackNDecker]

Obviously, there are several students on here who are having a little bit of a tough time remembering what it was like to plunge head first into a pool as deep, dark and intimidating as medical school.

Plunge?? He hasn't even put his goggles and bathing suit on yet... Read the first post(HE HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET).

How does using adjectives like "Deep," "Dark," & "Intimidating" help?

It's really sad to watch the downward spiral of your colleagues into cynicism, conceit, and just plain disregard for others' feelings.

Tell us about it...you can't even laugh anymore!! You're like so many people in my class who get all riled up for somebody else!!

Help those who are following in your footsteps. You would have appreciated it.

I'm trying sweetheart. I'm trying to show him that some people manage to keep a sense of humor. Unfortunately, people like you make it a very unconvincing arguement.