Medical MS1 worried about study habits, step prep, etc. What should I do?

[MusicDOc124]

Hey guys! So I've come on the site a couple of times & explained my story (1st gen student, nontraditional, minimal familial support MS1 here!) Crazy to think I am almost done with my first semester of medical school. So the first block did not go so well (I go to a pass/fail school) and did enough to earn a few points of the passing threshold. As for the next blocks, I went from averaging B+ to A on exams. So, I do feel as though I am slowly gaining traction but my main concern is I truly feel as though I am not where I am supposed to be.

In many of the conversations with my peers, I come off as disorganized, naive, or ignorant about the necessary steps you need to take to be a competitive applicant for residency. Nearly every day I hear about Step prep from students & faculty members but here I am barely understanding what is going on in the lecture. I did not take anatomy/physiology/histology/etc in undergrad (I was a biochem major; so a lot of this material is so new to me) & I took 3 years off afterward to work & support my family. I came into medical school wanting to learn & I am doing that, but am I setting myself up for failure since I am not preparing or thinking about step. My peers use so many outside resources, but I only have time to review lecture notes & slides. MS2s have told me that the next semester is easier; but I just worry that the same thing will happen to me before (graduated college with no plan/place to go).

I did get involved in electives & clubs that I enjoy; I rarely use anki but would like to start for long-term retention & started to supplement my learning with boards & beyond. Am I just over-worrying, or did others feel the same during MS1 year? thank guys!

Some schools are stronger than others in terms of what they provide in lectures. If you're barely passing using their material, but your classmates are doing fine using outside resources, then you may wanted to consider using outside resources and doing some more active learning (i.e. anki or something else) rather than reading powerpoint slides and learning passively. Barely passing means you're not mastering the material, but just getting by. This doesn't always translate to boards, but it is a good predictive factor.

You certainly don't need to be peeping for boards yet as it is WAY too early for that, but it doesn't hurt to just keep it in the back of your mind, at least for the sake of figuring out how to study properly.

The way you are studying may also be an issue. Have you changed your study habits at all for med school compared to undergrad? Have you changed your study habits at all during med school so far this semester? When I was in your shoes, I changed my study habits AT LEAST 6 or 7 times during the first year to figure out what was right for me to learn and retain, which also included trialing outside resources from reading textbooks, to anki, to pathoma, boards and beyond, etc. I did not keep up with all of those as not all worked for me. You won't know unless you try, and continuing with barely passing suggests you might need a change. Does that mean changed everything at once? No. But you can substitute bits and pieces and see how those work for you and shift things around as needed.

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[Goro]

Read this:

• 1. Goro's Guide to Success in Medical School (2018 edition)
• 1. Agree with my wise colleague that it is WAY too early to be thinking about Boards, much less residency. You need to master med school first.