Where do you go when you don't understand FA?

[brownie]

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I'm starting my board studying and finding it all too often that First Aid is too concise of a summary. I usually just type in "topic+usmle" into google but I often only get responses in forums where there are 5 wrong guesses for every seemingly right response. If that fails I check on wiki, but it is rarely optimally specific for Step 1.

What do you do?

 

[Alacran]

I go to Rapid Review Goljian, Big Robbins, or wiki

 

[Ionian]

I'm starting my board studying and finding it all too often that First Aid is too concise of a summary. I usually just type in "topic+usmle" into google but I often only get responses in forums where there are 5 wrong guesses for every seemingly right response. If that fails I check on wiki, but it is rarely optimally specific for Step 1.

What do you do?

You can't review what you never knew. Thus you have this problem.

Hitting FA first? Wrong strategy.

You need a primary source for learning.
Say you are starting Cardio:
1. Watch pathoma video
2. Read Rapid review pathology, or pocket robbins
3. Do a crap lot of questions
4. Read FA and beef up all the weak areas of path of which there are many.

Saving that for last, not only will you never come across something you don't understand, in fact you will know more then whats in there and you will know what is important enough to be annotated (because questions you did will likely keep hammering home very specific points)

Its much easier this way then when i see people trying to skip to the end of the story.
"I dont know anything, awwwww" --> #Jumps straight to Uworld/FA. Thats going to work well -.-

 

[brownie]

If my dedicated six weeks starts in two weeks, am I too late to use primary resources?

 

[Ionian]

If my dedicated six weeks starts in two weeks, am I too late to use primary resources?

Wow, its like February. I figured you were "starting board study" with classes. Like 98% of people are doing right now.

Step 1 for me isnt for 5 months.

 

[witzelsucht]

no not too late. learn it right with pathoma or web sources so you arent beating your head against the wall (FA)

 

[sanj238]

You can't review what you never knew. Thus you have this problem.

Hitting FA first? Wrong strategy.

You need a primary source for learning.
Say you are starting Cardio:
1. Watch pathoma video
2. Read Rapid review pathology, or pocket robbins
3. Do a crap lot of questions
4. Read FA and beef up all the weak areas of path of which there are many.

Saving that for last, not only will you never come across something you don't understand, in fact you will know more then whats in there and you will know what is important enough to be annotated (because questions you did will likely keep hammering home very specific points)

Its much easier this way then when i see people trying to skip to the end of the story.
"I dont know anything, awwwww" --> #Jumps straight to Uworld/FA. Thats going to work well -.-

I dont recommend this at all. This may be good if you were already at it from October or even first year of med. but if you are studying for the exam and its soon- you are better off studying first aid. If after reading FA you dont understand then stick with a single resource- goljan wont really make things clearer. Its a good resource only if you already understand the fundamentals. In fact, Id recommend goljan last-

robbins is too detailed and a lot of times you have trouble just figuring it out.


Your best bet is to study FA and whatever you dont understand underline or make a mark somewhere. then do questions. 9 times out of ten your questions will be answered by some qbank. rx is a great place to start as it covers almost all of FA and explains concepts very well- make sure you annotate all the wrong answer explanations and so forth. Then add kaplan qbank and uworld etc to make sure you really get it.

if after you struggle, maybe use kaplan comprehensive as it explains in detail the basics very very well and deeply

goljan really should only be used if you already have read it.

people who say use other big sources- robbins, goljan as primary sources are IMhumbleO blowing hot air.

I'm starting my board studying and finding it all too often that First Aid is too concise of a summary. I usually just type in "topic+usmle" into google but I often only get responses in forums where there are 5 wrong guesses for every seemingly right response. If that fails I check on wiki, but it is rarely optimally specific for Step 1.

What do you do?

 

[Ionian]

I dont recommend this at all.

Yeah, I didnt know he was so close to his test date.

robbins is too detailed and a lot of times you have trouble just figuring it out.

Pocket robbins is so highly concise and specific for any/every question i've had so far, I reference constantly because goljan can drop the ball organization wise sometimes, or not include all the physical diagnosis/morphology.

people who say use other big sources- robbins, goljan as primary sources are IMhumbleO blowing hot air

I always read pocket robbins every time I hit a new system, as well as goljan (which is actually longer/takes up more time). But has only takes a day or two each system I covered.

If you would go check out pocket robbins at your library and just glance at one section, you'd change your opinion.

It's nice to have a source for pathology so well organized, all inclusive, AND DEFINITIVE.

It seems to me like all good USMLE questions I have come across, were written by people using pocket robbins as their reference.