Annoyed by my school's low-yield curriculum...

[cellsaver]

Me looking at this thread

What page number in FA is that gif? That might justify buying FA for that image alone.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Affiche]

What page number in FA is that gif? That might justify buying FA for that image alone.

No way, man. The whole episode is gif'ed in big Robbins. Aren't you literate?

 

[68PGunner]

I'm seriously adopting Foot method myself for this block. I'm getting tired of PhDs teaching me supposedly medicine when none of them have touched a pt in their entire career.s I consistently score above average in the in house exams but I don't feel like that I have retained much in the grand scheme of things.

Right now, it's all about making Anki FA flashcards, doing Bro deck, and more ANKIng Sketchy. Afterward, I will hit the USMLERX q-bank quests too.

 

[cellsaver]

No way, man. The whole episode is gif'ed in big Robbins. Aren't you literate?

LOL!! Good one!!! Made me smile.

Where is the torrent found?

 

[dempty]

Here are a few, but I can't pin down the one of I was thinking of!

A Predictive Model for USMLE Step 1 Scores

Preparing to take the USMLE Step 1: a survey on medical students' self-reported study habits. - PubMed - NCBI

and naturally, here's one that goes against what I was discussing!
Student USMLE step 1 preparation and performance. - PubMed - NCBI

I haven't really looked much at the others, but the first paper is pretty poor from a methodology perspective. Hard to tell with the others since I'm too lazy to get access to them.

 

[Foot Fetish]

I'm seriously adopting Foot method myself for this block. I'm getting tired of PhDs teaching me supposedly medicine when none of them have touched a pt in their entire career.s I consistently score above average in the in house exams but I don't feel like that I have retained much in the grand scheme of things.

Right now, it's all about making Anki FA flashcards, doing Bro deck, and more ANKIng Sketchy. Afterward, I will hit the USMLERX q-bank quests too.

Yup. You're making the right choice I think. My only regret is not having started this much sooner. My grades are taking a nosedive, but it doesn't even matter, so #YOLO. All that matters is boards.

 

[Slack3r]

Yup. You're making the right choice I think. My only regret is not having started this much sooner. My grades are taking a nosedive, but it doesn't even matter, so #YOLO. All that matters is boards.

Aren't you shooting for derm? Hate to tell you, but it all matters.

 

[ERDOC555]

Yup. You're making the right choice I think. My only regret is not having started this much sooner. My grades are taking a nosedive, but it doesn't even matter, so #YOLO. All that matters is boards.

I disagree in general, but agree in your specific case. AOA is super important for derm (more so than most people think), and anyone at a ranked school should care a lot about pre-clinical grades since they typically factor heavily into AOA.

 

[Goro]

I disagree in general, but agree in your specific case. AOA is super important for derm (more so than most people think), and anyone at a ranked school should care a lot about pre-clinical grades since they typically factor heavily into AOA.

Agree heartily. Med students might be amazed, but preclinical training doesn't stop after Boards.
Where your preceptors pimp you, it won't be with multiple choice questions.

 

[cellsaver]

Agree heartily. Med students might be amazed, but preclinical training doesn't stop after Boards.
Where your preceptors pimp you, it won't be with multiple choice questions.

nope. talk about dragging yourself off of the floor and running away.

I have a mentor who is a true professor and true clinical sub-specialist physician within IM, an MD-PhD...and a foreigner though now a US Citizen. He is a physician's physician. He has over 100 articles published with his name on them, a PI too many times to count, bats away pharma offers and loves more than anything to teach..and it shows.

He tells me he spends 20% of his time reading the basic medical sciences. He says he needs to review because he forgets. He also reads to learn what has been discovered. He is the most level headed physician I know and yet, he can rattle off signaling pathways, proteins, receptors, activators, inhibitors, kinases, yada yada yada within one breath so effortlessly. I just want to genuflect when he speaks because he is so darn smart. If he has to read basic medical sciences regularly 20% of his time, then clearly that is the bar. True genius of the Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee type.

 

[Foot Fetish]

Aren't you shooting for derm? Hate to tell you, but it all matters.

I go to a true/pass fail school, so in my case it actually doesn't matter.

I disagree in general, but agree in your specific case. AOA is super important for derm (more so than most people think), and anyone at a ranked school should care a lot about pre-clinical grades since they typically factor heavily into AOA.

Yeah, AOA is based solely on third year clerkship grades at my school. That's when ranking starts too; it's based only on the # of Honors you get. So yeah, at this point in time, Step 1 is my only priority.

 

[Mr Roboto]

I go to a true/pass fail school, so in my case it actually doesn't matter.




Yeah, AOA is based solely on third year clerkship grades at my school. That's when ranking starts too; it's based only on the # of Honors you get. So yeah, at this point in time, Step 1 is my only priority.

As long as only remembering FA gets you through 3rd year, then yeah solid plan.

 

[Gorne]

Damn, you on that carrib school curriculum over at your school.

 

[intubesteak]

Where are you getting the concepts from? unless you are somehow learning the "why" behind all the high yield factoids you're not going to remember them very well, anki or otherwise.

 

[Goro]

nope. talk about dragging yourself off of the floor and running away.

I have a mentor who is a true professor and true clinical sub-specialist physician within IM, an MD-PhD...and a foreigner though now a US Citizen. He is a physician's physician. He has over 100 articles published with his name on them, a PI too many times to count, bats away pharma offers and loves more than anything to teach..and it shows.

He tells me he spends 20% of his time reading the basic medical sciences. He says he needs to review because he forgets. He also reads to learn what has been discovered. He is the most level headed physician I know and yet, he can rattle off signaling pathways, proteins, receptors, activators, inhibitors, kinases, yada yada yada within one breath so effortlessly. I just want to genuflect when he speaks because he is so darn smart. If he has to read basic medical sciences regularly 20% of his time, then clearly that is the bar. True genius of the Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee type.

After reading some of the posts int his thread (and definitely NOT yours, cellsaver), why do I get the sick feeling in my gut that in a month or so, we'll be seeing threads entitled "Just failed Step I...what do I do now?"
????

 

[bananafish94]

I actually enjoy learning all of the details that might not be as relevant to the boards. I think that they will help me in the long run. For example, even though I can no longer describe all of the intricate pathways and enzymes that I once learned in college molecular biology classes, having learned it once absolutely gives me a greater understanding of the material and allows me to learn relevant material better. It just wouldn't be the same learning some SparkNotes version of it. I believe the same principle applies to medical school material.

 

[cellsaver]

... why do I get the sick feeling in my gut that in a month or so, we'll be seeing threads entitled "Just failed Step I...what do I do now?"
????

Lack of passion. Lack of vocation. No mojo

My favorite formula in Physics: [W = F * d]. It has application on many realms.

Earning an MD Degree requires expending Force over a set distance. Ours is a journey of delayed gratification (wut dat?). It involves choosing daily to generate great deal of effort and push over a long distance where one can not see the end. That is a very tough message to sell in today's world.

It takes intellectual rigor to put yourself in check and correct your trajectory. Eventually we all lose our way, but few are those who choose to self-correct. That is what is so cool about human physiology. Apoptosis. granular enzymes. self-regulation, evoked potentials, receptors, transmembrane channels, complement systems and feedback mechanisms. All of these occur in spite of our awareness. The human body does what our behavior is unwilling to do. Think about that.

Look at the responses on this thread and elsewhere. Pretty grim, you say. They will wash out. If they make it through the board exams, the third party payers and CMS will grind them. They lack stamina because they loathe W = F * d. oh well.

On a brighter note, there are MD students who get it. Many before me have shown me a better way. For my first year I had a few senior medical students give me, for free, their textbooks to help me financially. I even had a Neuro professor give me a problems based neuro textbook for free because it was going to help me with cementing concepts that I found difficult to comprehend with our course textbook (Siegel). I hated Seigel Neuroscience. I found Purves much better. I will never forget the generosity of those senior students and faculty. Medical textbooks are very expensive. It helps to visit the medical school library and see if they have that texts on the shelf. Not surprisingly many of the hardcore textbooks are in the medical school library and unused. That is where the rub off code comes in handy. With permission from the library staff, I ask if I can scratch off the sticker on the front cover of the text so as to reveal the code in the book that leads you to the online ebook version (e.g. Inkling). Works like a charm.

DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology

The Devita text (I have referenced Devita on SDN a couple of times) is really expensive. The individual chapters are amazing: rich in data, broken down in a language that any serious medical student can wrap their head around, and it is a text that provides insight on the current understanding of cancer. The book is huge, weighs a ton, and very pretty. I am all about pretty. My husband couldn't believe no one at my school had checked it out. I was able to keep renewing it after it was due for almost a year. That's pretty sad no body wanted this classic text. But it was great for me!

I did not memorize the book - impossible. I have forgotten much of what I read in the few chapters I studied. However, it taught me minutiae that was relevant for board exams, case review with faculty, grand rounds, and pimping.

there is much more material in medicine that can be captured in FA, Pathoma, Anki, etc. Dr Sattar of Pathoma impressed me as a genius in his videos. He teaches from a position of knowledge and power. He didn't get those from FA. Additionally, the core material serves as the bedrock on which future medical diagnostic/treatment paradigms will be built. The 2011 article Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation by Hanahan and Weinberg is a classic in oncology. You better know Histology to grasp it. It is also dated by today's standards. Today's clinical trials in oncology revolve around the circuits in the Hanahan/Weinberg article. I told my mentor it looked like a Subway Map of NYC. He told me not to get too bothered about it: "most physicians don't know these circuits either".

I haven't memorized it but I can get around it. It took work. Im still trying to understand it.

The image was taken from Devita's text.

You can either soar with the eagles or wallow in the dung with the hogs. We all have those choices.

And this marks my one long post for today on SDN because I've got things to do. My break is over.

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming" - Dory

 

[Foot Fetish]

Where are you getting the concepts from? unless you are somehow learning the "why" behind all the high yield factoids you're not going to remember them very well, anki or otherwise.

I usually don't have trouble with concepts. I have a solid foundation in physiology, so the facts just click most of the the time. For anything that doesn't make sense, I will do some background reading on Wikipedia or something. I like to keep reading to a minimum though, as bad as that may sound. It might just be my weird brain, but I find that if I memorize enough facts, the concepts just sort of fall into place afterwards. It's like, if you know where enough individual trees are, you start making a mental map of the forest even if you've never seen a map or aerial view of it. Plus, if you look through FA, half or more of it is stuff that just needs to be rote memorized. There's no conceptualization needed to memorize things like tumor markers, molecule names, modes of inheritance, etc etc. These things won't get any easier to memorize, so the earlier you start the better.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

People want to ace their clerkship and SubIs but aren't interested in the learning the pathophysiology of disease? That seems like an unrealistic expectation. Even if some attendings choose not to pimp you, most attendings can tell if you have a deeper understanding of the material relevant to clerkship. Fund of knowledge is always an important part of any clerkship and SubI grade.

 

[Lawpy]

People want to ace their clerkship and SubIs but aren't interested in the learning the pathophysiology of disease? That seems like an unrealistic expectation. Even if some attendings choose not to pimp you, most attendings can tell if you have a deeper understanding of the material relevant to clerkship. Fund of knowledge is always an important part of any clerkship and SubI grade.

That's why it never made sense to me when people study from board materials during preclinical years. Initially I thought the best way to study was straight from the lectures (unless the professors are garbage who teach mostly from their research which no one cares about), and use the few weeks before dedicated period to transition into board materials. It makes sense to establish the essential foundation first as it makes board review much easier.

 

[Goro]

That's why it never made sense to me when people study from board materials during preclinical years. Initially I thought the best way to study was straight from the lectures (unless the professors are garbage who teach mostly from their research which no one cares about), and use the few weeks before dedicated period to transition into board materials. It makes sense to establish the essential foundation first as it makes board review much easier.

At my school, we've found that the worst performing students only use Board review materials for their coursework.

 

[Affiche]

That's why it never made sense to me when people study from board materials during preclinical years. Initially I thought the best way to study was straight from the lectures (unless the professors are garbage who teach mostly from their research which no one cares about), and use the few weeks before dedicated period to transition into board materials. It makes sense to establish the essential foundation first as it makes board review much easier.

Lol Lawper you aren't even in medical school yet. People study from board materials because the volume of material forces you to prioritize the high-yield information, then get to the lower yield stuff if you have time. Lectures are diluted with information that will just slow you down, either because they contain out of scope info or just take too many slides to get a point across. Either way, lectures give just about the worst return on score increases per hours put in. People use board materials because you can skim through them, get enough high yield information to pass, then double down on details later. The first priority is obviously getting to point of passing, mastery comes after.

 

[68PGunner]

That's why it never made sense to me when people study from board materials during preclinical years. Initially I thought the best way to study was straight from the lectures (unless the professors are garbage who teach mostly from their research which no one cares about), and use the few weeks before dedicated period to transition into board materials. It makes sense to establish the essential foundation first as it makes board review much easier.

Great insight, from a PRE-MED.

 

[Lawpy]

Lol Lawper you aren't even in medical school yet. People study from board materials because the volume of material forces you to prioritize the high-yield information, then get to the lower yield stuff if you have time. Lectures are diluted with information that will just slow you down, either because they contain out of scope info or just take too many slides to get a point across. Either way, lectures give just about the worst return on score increases per hours put in. People use board materials because you can skim through them, get enough high yield information to pass, then double down on details later. The first priority is obviously getting to point of passing, mastery comes after.

Great insight, from a PRE-MED.

Nah not a premed. Just a vagabond using a public library computer to read/comment stuff online.

Honestly I have no idea the best mode for preclinical studying given that some people here who scored high on boards and excelled in clinical years repeatedly said to focus on learning from lecture materials/textbooks/class notes etc. to establish the foundation and then use the board review materials to review for the boards. Seems to work for them apparently which goes against the commonly suggested advice here to combine both board review materials and lecture notes that seem like a lot of work.

 

[68PGunner]

Nah not a premed. Just a vagabond using a public library computer to read/comment stuff online.

Honestly I have no idea the best mode for preclinical studying given that some people here who scored high on boards and excelled in clinical years repeatedly said to focus on learning from lecture materials/textbooks/class notes etc. to establish the foundation and then use the board review materials to review for the boards. Seems to work for them apparently which goes against the commonly suggested advice here to combine both board review materials and lecture notes that seem like a lot of work.

And there are also many high Step 1 people advising to make class lectures secondary to board materials. It's really about the structuring on your class curriculum. After seeing the correlation between preclinical grades and board scores from my school, my decision has already been made.

 

[Lawpy]

And there are also many high Step 1 people advising to make class lectures secondary to board materials. It's really about the structuring on your class curriculum. After seeing the correlation between preclinical grades and board scores from my school, my decision has already been made.

ah okay thanks. so in the end, there is no one way to study best for preclinical years. it depends on the specific school curricula and personal preferences.

 

[Mr Roboto]

And there are also many high Step 1 people advising to make class lectures secondary to board materials. It's really about the structuring on your class curriculum. After seeing the correlation between preclinical grades and board scores from my school, my decision has already been made.

Your school gives students that information? Jealous

 

[WindChaser]

Does anyone have any experiences to chime in with using Bros Deck right off the bat in M1? I go to a traditional curriculum, so I don't know how well Bros works for that, since I've heard it being helpful to systems based curriculums. Thanks!

 

[NickNaylor]

Didn't read the entire thread, but I think focusing on "high-yield" information without really trying to learn the material is missing the forest for the trees. It's certainly something I wish I appreciated more during medical school; my myopic focus on "high-yield" information has had a detrimental impact on my overall knowledge base.

That being said, I get it - there's so much information and only so much time to learn it. That being said, I would try to learn as much as you possibly can and not being satisfied with only the "high-yield" information. If all you do is learn what's in First Aid, you're not doing it right.

 

[Foot Fetish]

If all you do is learn what's in First Aid, you're not doing it right.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but the current system rewards those who "don't do it right." People will say that Step 1 is a "critical thinking" test. Sorry, but I don't buy that. No one is going to convince me that an exam that has an 800 page tome of minutiae (First Aid) as its bible is anything other than a giant test of memorization, plain and simple. The fact of the matter is that the more random facts you can memorize from First Aid, the higher your score will be. What people refer to as "integration" on the exam just means that instead of recalling 1 random fact, you will need to recall 2-3 random facts in order to get to the correct answer. For example, a typical question on the real thing may give you vignette of a patient with a pituitary tumor, hyperparathyroidism, and multiple peptic ulcers, and then ask you "The function of the mutated gene is most similar to which other gene on this list: a. myc, b. ras, c. brca, d. bcl2." Is this a critical thinking question? Not really. You just need to have memorized the following: 1. Tumors associated with the MEN's. 2. Mutated gene in MEN1 is menin, a tumor suppressor. 3. brca is also a tumor suppressor, while the others are oncogenes. The questions on Step 1 are tough, but not because they require any magic of critical thinking or advanced reasoning. They're tough because you really just need to memorize a bunch of facts and be able to pull them up in your brain. This isn't like the MCAT where you could rely on critical reading to find the answer hiding in plain sight in the question stem. The tiniest 3 word sentence in First Aid that you glossed over thinking it was trivial could easily become a question on the real thing, and then you're S.O.L. A thing I've heard reiterated time and time again from high scorers is that every word of FA is gold. Anyone can get a global picture of the major diseases. What separates the high scorers is their commitment to memorizing the random details.

That said, I'm not saying that this is a good system. I think Step 1 has become sort of a monstrosity. Regardless, that's the system we're given, and we have to deal with it. In light of that, a student would be foolish to spend their precious time poring over their professor's lecture notes when FA has more minutiae than they could ever dream of, all of which is fair game for the most important exam of their life. If you can do both, then props to you; you must be some sort of savant. For the mere mortals like me, focusing on First Aid is best strategy.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but the current system rewards those who "don't do it right." People will say that Step 1 is a "critical thinking" test. Sorry, but I don't buy that. No one is going to convince me that an exam that has an 800 page tome of minutiae (First Aid) as its bible is anything other than a giant test of memorization, plain and simple. The fact of the matter is that the more random facts you can memorize from First Aid, the higher your score will be. What people refer to as "integration" on the exam just means that instead of recalling 1 random fact, you will need to recall 2-3 random facts in order to get to the correct answer. For example, a typical question on the real thing may give you vignette of a patient with a pituitary tumor, hyperparathyroidism, and multiple peptic ulcers, and then ask you "The function of the mutated gene is most similar to which other gene on this list: a. myc, b. ras, c. brca, d. bcl2." Is this a critical thinking question? Not really. You just need to have memorized the following: 1. Tumors associated with the MEN's. 2. Mutated gene in MEN1 is menin, a tumor suppressor. 3. brca is also a tumor suppressor, while the others are oncogenes. The questions on Step 1 are tough, but not because they require any magic of critical thinking or advanced reasoning. They're tough because you really just need to memorize a bunch of facts and be able to pull them up in your brain. This isn't like the MCAT where you could rely on critical reading to find the answer hiding in plain sight in the question stem. The tiniest 3 word sentence in First Aid that you glossed over thinking it was trivial could easily become a question on the real thing, and then you're S.O.L. A thing I've heard reiterated time and time again from high scorers is that every word of FA is gold. Anyone can get a global picture of the major diseases. What separates the high scorers is their commitment to memorizing the random details.

That said, I'm not saying that this is a good system. I think Step 1 has become sort of a monstrosity. Regardless, that's the system we're given, and we have to deal with it. In light of that, a student would be foolish to spend their precious time poring over their professor's lecture notes when FA has more minutiae than they could ever dream of, all of which is fair game for the most important exam of their life. If you can do both, then props to you; you must be some sort of savant. For the mere mortals like me, focusing on First Aid is best strategy.

Completely agree with everything you've written here. Unfortunately, crushing step 1 does not a good physician make. I would argue that the people that do very well on step 1 are able to understand both the bigger picture of things while also being able to cram a whole bunch of minutia from First Aid during their study period. I would argue that memorizing minutia without context is unlikely to provide the pre-clinical information that's necessary to do well in the clinical setting. And while step 1 is important, I do think that it's also important to remember that you go to medical school to learn how to become a physician, not ace step 1. The two are not necessarily inclusive of one another.

This is easy for me to say after graduating, of course, but I think it's true nonetheless.

 

[cellsaver]

You pontificate about what it takes to be a high scorer.

Yet your scores are taking a nosedive and, oh, what the heck, YOLO

Hubris anone?

Anyone can get a global picture of the major diseases. What separates the high scorers is their commitment to memorizing the random details.../QUOTE]

Yup. You're making the right choice I think. My only regret is not having started this much sooner. My grades are taking a nosedive, but it doesn't even matter, so #YOLO. All that matters is boards.

 

[operaman]

I will use this opportunity to remind everyone that FA is a student-produced work and the scope of Step 1 goes well beyond its tiny handful of pages. If you're going to use it, use it to broaden your reading in areas your school may not cover. I would caution people to avoid using it to narrow your focus too early unless your definition of high score is different than mine.

Personally, never bought a FA. Saw quite a few things on boards that other people swore wouldn't be there. Was very thankful I'd actually learned the material over the prior two years, and that fund of knowledge has continued to serve me well even today. Studied a little less than 2 weeks for step 1, about 8-9 hours for step 2, and fewer than 4 hours for step 3. 260+ across the boards (pun intended).

However you study, do yourself a favor and really learn the material. There are no shortcuts.

 

[Foot Fetish]

You pontificate about what it takes to be a high scorer.

Yet your scores are taking a nosedive and, oh, what the heck, YOLO

Hubris anone?

Your reading comprehension is lacking. My scores in worthless in-house school exams are taking a nosedive, simply because I don't give a damn anymore and am spending 95% of my time studying board review materials lol. Plus, I go to a true pass/fail school , so it literally does not matter. Moreover, I'm still doing at or above class average , so it's all good

School = Low yield, sorry not sorry

 

[RogueBanana]

Is medical school now a test prep program or something? Thought it was for learning how to take care of patients or some crap like that

Please come back to us

 

[Amba]

I'm not disagreeing with you, but the current system rewards those who "don't do it right." People will say that Step 1 is a "critical thinking" test. Sorry, but I don't buy that. No one is going to convince me that an exam that has an 800 page tome of minutiae (First Aid) as its bible is anything other than a giant test of memorization, plain and simple. The fact of the matter is that the more random facts you can memorize from First Aid, the higher your score will be. What people refer to as "integration" on the exam just means that instead of recalling 1 random fact, you will need to recall 2-3 random facts in order to get to the correct answer. For example, a typical question on the real thing may give you vignette of a patient with a pituitary tumor, hyperparathyroidism, and multiple peptic ulcers, and then ask you "The function of the mutated gene is most similar to which other gene on this list: a. myc, b. ras, c. brca, d. bcl2." Is this a critical thinking question? Not really. You just need to have memorized the following: 1. Tumors associated with the MEN's. 2. Mutated gene in MEN1 is menin, a tumor suppressor. 3. brca is also a tumor suppressor, while the others are oncogenes. The questions on Step 1 are tough, but not because they require any magic of critical thinking or advanced reasoning. They're tough because you really just need to memorize a bunch of facts and be able to pull them up in your brain. This isn't like the MCAT where you could rely on critical reading to find the answer hiding in plain sight in the question stem. The tiniest 3 word sentence in First Aid that you glossed over thinking it was trivial could easily become a question on the real thing, and then you're S.O.L. A thing I've heard reiterated time and time again from high scorers is that every word of FA is gold. Anyone can get a global picture of the major diseases. What separates the high scorers is their commitment to memorizing the random details.

That said, I'm not saying that this is a good system. I think Step 1 has become sort of a monstrosity. Regardless, that's the system we're given, and we have to deal with it. In light of that, a student would be foolish to spend their precious time poring over their professor's lecture notes when FA has more minutiae than they could ever dream of, all of which is fair game for the most important exam of their life. If you can do both, then props to you; you must be some sort of savant. For the mere mortals like me, focusing on First Aid is best strategy.

Lol please tell me more about the intricacies of Step 1 from your highly experienced M1 perspective.

I memorized FA cold with Anki. You could open to any random page and quiz me and I would know it. Yes, I scored very well in the end. But the exam was nothing like what you are envisioning. There were only a handful of questions (out of ~280) where I felt 100% confident in my answer. The majority of questions, I was taking educated guesses based off of my knowledge base. There were maybe a half dozen questions where I couldn't even make an educated guess - I was basically choosing a random letter. Step is nowhere near as straightforward as you think, and it's not just memorizing. It does a really good job of making you infer and guess on concepts you are not familiar with using prior knowledge recall.

Honestly, I don't think grades or Step or even research will keep you out of Derm. But your inability to take advice from those much more experienced than you might.

 

[Foot Fetish]

Lol please tell me more about the intricacies of Step 1 from your highly experienced M1 perspective.

I memorized FA cold with Anki. You could open to any random page and quiz me and I would know it. Yes, I scored very well in the end. But the exam was nothing like what you are envisioning. There were only a handful of questions (out of ~280) where I felt 100% confident in my answer. The majority of questions, I was taking educated guesses based off of my knowledge base. There were maybe a half dozen questions where I couldn't even make an educated guess - I was basically choosing a random letter. Step is nowhere near as straightforward as you think, and it's not just memorizing. It does a really good job of making you infer and guess on concepts you are not familiar with using prior knowledge recall.

Honestly, I don't think grades or Step or even research will keep you out of Derm. But your inability to take advice from those much more experienced than you might.

The fact that you memorized FA and did extremely well on Step 1 supports the notion that memorization is critical. I'm not saying the exam will have a bunch of first-order recall questions from FA. I do realize it's much harder than that, and "wtf" questions that weren't covered in UFAP are inevitable. However, it's no mystery that the highest scorers consistently memorize FA cold, just like you did. In light of that, I think it's disingenuous to say that it's not a test of memorization. To memorize word-for-word a super dense 800 word text is no easy feat. Understanding and knowing how to apply what you've memorized is the other half of the puzzle, and that's where q banks come in. Memorization is the foundation for that though. You gotta learn the alphabet before you can read. The way some people talk about Step 1 would have you believe that it's some sort of glorified IQ test that involves only basic content knowledge. I don't know about other schools, but if I followed only my school's curriculum and didn't open up FA until dedicated, I would be totally screwed. There would be a nearly impossible amount of minutiae to memorize in 6 weeks. I think most people operate under the assumption that "it's not a test of memory" and just ignore a bunch of little details in the book. If your preparation is average, your score will be too...That's all I'm saying.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Footsie, your grade report is going to be the single most anticipated post in SDN history.

 

[mcloaf]

Footsie, your grade report is going to be the single most anticipated post in SDN history.

Maybe. There was another poster who pretty much spent all of preclinicals saying class material was dumb as hell and that they'd kill step 1...wasn't quite how it worked out. I say this as someone pretty far on the "use step materials" end of the spectrum.

 

[DirtySouthM3]

The fact that you memorized FA and did extremely well on Step 1 supports the notion that memorization is critical. I'm not saying the exam will have a bunch of first-order recall questions from FA. I do realize it's much harder than that, and "wtf" questions that weren't covered in UFAP are inevitable. However, it's no mystery that the highest scorers consistently memorize FA cold, just like you did. In light of that, I think it's disingenuous to say that it's not a test of memorization. To memorize word-for-word a super dense 800 word text is no easy feat. Understanding and knowing how to apply what you've memorized is the other half of the puzzle, and that's where q banks come in. Memorization is the foundation for that though. You gotta learn the alphabet before you can read. The way some people talk about Step 1 would have you believe that it's some sort of glorified IQ test that involves only basic content knowledge. I don't know about other schools, but if I followed only my school's curriculum and didn't open up FA until dedicated, I would be totally screwed. There would be a nearly impossible amount of minutiae to memorize in 6 weeks. I think most people operate under the assumption that "it's not a test of memory" and just ignore a bunch of little details in the book. If your preparation is average, your score will be too...That's all I'm saying.

lol I'm not a very active poster but soon to be M4. You can see my post history (which shouldn't take long to sort through) to see about my Step 1 experience. I basically just use SDN to lurk the radiology forum and see what new ridiculous thing you have posted with zero experience. I've been silent for too long.

I have a classmate who had the same exact plan as you. He performed poorly in class because, "Class isn't high yield, I can just memorize FA." He wanted to to do derm as well before he got his score back. He is currently trying to figure out which IM specialty has the life style most similar to derm.

 

[Foot Fetish]

lol I'm not a very active poster but soon to be M4. You can see my post history (which shouldn't take long to sort through) to see about my Step 1 experience. I basically just use SDN to lurk the radiology forum and see what new ridiculous thing you have posted with zero experience. I've been silent for too long.

I have a classmate who had the same exact plan as you. He performed poorly in class because, "Class isn't high yield, I can just memorize FA." He wanted to to do derm as well before he got his score back. He is currently trying to figure out which IM specialty has the life style most similar to derm.

Yeah, one thing I've realized is that people have vastly different definitions of "memorizing First Aid." The people I know who literally memorized it all scored 250+. You could name any topic in the book, and they could recite all the related content word for word..every sign and symptom of every disease, every tumor marker, every drug reaction, etc...By no stretch of the imagination is this level of mastery of FA common. Most people who claim to have memorized FA are kidding themselves. I would estimate that less than 1% of students go into the exam with truly comprehensive memory of FA.

Furthermore, my plan isn't just to attempt to memorize FA. FA is just phase 1. I plan on completing at least 2 question banks plus all the NBME's as well.

Footsie, your grade report is going to be the single most anticipated post in SDN history.

Here's hoping I don't become @failedatlife 2.0 lol

 

[intubesteak]

Yeah, one thing I've realized is that people have vastly different definitions of "memorizing First Aid." The people I know who literally memorized it all scored 250+. You could name any topic in the book, and they could recite all the related content word for word..every sign and symptom of every disease, every tumor marker, every drug reaction, etc...By no stretch of the imagination is this level of mastery of FA common. Most people who claim to have memorized FA are kidding themselves. I would estimate that less than 1% of students go into the exam with truly comprehensive memory of FA.

Furthermore, my plan isn't just to attempt to memorize FA. FA is just phase 1. I plan on completing at least 2 question banks plus all the NBME's as well.




Here's hoping I don't become @failedatlife 2.0 lol

I don't understand how you can just memorize all of FA. That sounds boring AF dude.

 

[Blob229]

Yeah, one thing I've realized is that people have vastly different definitions of "memorizing First Aid." The people I know who literally memorized it all scored 250+. You could name any topic in the book, and they could recite all the related content word for word..every sign and symptom of every disease, every tumor marker, every drug reaction, etc...By no stretch of the imagination is this level of mastery of FA common. Most people who claim to have memorized FA are kidding themselves. I would estimate that less than 1% of students go into the exam with truly comprehensive memory of FA.

Furthermore, my plan isn't just to attempt to memorize FA. FA is just phase 1. I plan on completing at least 2 question banks plus all the NBME's as well.




Here's hoping I don't become @failedatlife 2.0 lol

I'm actually a pretty big supporter of bros or other similar spaced repetition, active learning (bros, Zanki, firecracker, etc). Though I'm biased toward anki (bros, zanki).

I think starting a deck like Bros/Zanki between m1 and m2 is ideal. That said, I think the idea of blowing off m2 lecture content is dangerous. You're not wrong that there is an incredible amount of material you may be called upon to regurgitate for step 1 (basically pure memorization and very few people actually have it all in their head). But there are also questions that will absolutely hit stuff you've never heard of. Having a good understanding that lets you navigate a novel situation and rule out answers will improve your odds way more than rote memorized facts. Though, I may have no idea what I'm talking about since I'm taking the exam in 2-3 weeks. I'll let you know if I'm way off point.

Based on your posts, I see no reason that you couldn't add bros at a reasonable pace with class while simultaneously learning class material damn well. Especially if you get the head start you plan to this summer. Just something to consider. I was very much a kid who prioritized school with bros as a supplement. Don't worry, you'll hear if I bomb step 1 before m2 starts, So you'll know if you can ignore my advice.

 

[68PGunner]

I'm actually a pretty big supporter of bros or other similar spaced repetition, active learning (bros, Zanki, firecracker, etc). Though I'm biased toward anki (bros, zanki).

I think starting a deck like Bros/Zanki between m1 and m2 is ideal. That said, I think the idea of blowing off m2 lecture content is dangerous. You're not wrong that there is an incredible amount of material you may be called upon to regurgitate for step 1 (basically pure memorization and very few people actually have it all in their head). But there are also questions that will absolutely hit stuff you've never heard of. Having a good understanding that lets you navigate a novel situation and rule out answers will improve your odds way more than rote memorized facts. Though, I may have no idea what I'm talking about since I'm taking the exam in 2-3 weeks. I'll let you know if I'm way off point.

Based on your posts, I see no reason that you couldn't add bros at a reasonable pace with class while simultaneously learning class material damn well. Especially if you get the head start you plan to this summer. Just something to consider. I was very much a kid who prioritized school with bros as a supplement. Don't worry, you'll hear if I bomb step 1 before m2 starts, So you'll know if you can ignore my advice.

As I'm going into full First Aid prep like Foot, I also realize that First Aid is really superficial in content and generally just provide an outline of what you need to know for Step. I think full memorization of First Aid will probably bang a 210-225 score. However, if you want to hit the 250-260 score, I think you need to understand the materials outlined by First Aid at a deeper level, which can be augmented by class materials, Uptodate, and Sketchy. I am utilizing class lectures, Uptodate, Sketchy, and Pathoma with my class lecture nowadays. Hopefully, it will translate into a great Step 1 score in a year.

 

[Blob229]

As I'm going into full First Aid prep like Foot, I also realize that First Aid is really superficial in content and generally just provide an outline of what you need to know for Step. I think full memorization of First Aid will probably bang a 210-225 score. However, if you want to hit the 250-260 score, I think you need to understand the materials outlined by First Aid at a deeper level, which can be augmented by class materials, Uptodate, and Sketchy. I am utilizing class lectures, Uptodate, Sketchy, and Pathoma with my class lecture nowadays. Hopefully, it will translate into a great Step 1 score in a year.

Yeah, the most important thing is that you learn things well. The method itself isn't that important.

The advantage of spaced repetition is that you won't forget as much. It sounds silly, but without it it's incredible how much you forget. Or at least how much drops from active recall to ~recognition.