USMLE Summer before MS2 study plan

[deleted674723]

I know there are a few threads out there about this already, but some are pretty out of date. I just finished MS1 and have 8 weeks before MS2. My school is on an organ block system and we take Step 1 early. Tons of other threads say to not study and just enjoy your summer. I WANT to study. I like studying. I want to remember the things I learned in MS1 and I have lots of time.

So, what are the best ways to start preparing for step 1 assuming I've done nothing but passed all of my tests in a pass/fail curriculum for MS1? I have FA 2017, Pathoma, and Firecracker that I've used sporadically throughout. I am definitely willing to buy more resources that are necessary. I'm looking for an 8 week plan to solidify what I learned in MS1 and get a head start on step 1 in general. Some people say UWORLD questions for the blocks I've done but others say save that for your real study time? What about USMLERX? Also, I noticed FA doesn't include a gross anatomy section. Should I pick up a resource and review that this summer to solidify the anatomy I learned in MS1? What did you all do 6-8 months before Step 1 and how did your test go?

Thanks so much for the help.

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[LyMed]

Look at the chapters in FA that you've covered in school. Make sure you know everything in those chapters. Chances are there is some missing material. You can fill in those gaps however you see fit. I just used Google/Wiki/Youtube.

 

[deleted674723]

Look at the chapters in FA that you've covered in school. Make sure you know everything in those chapters. Chances are there is some missing material. You can fill in those gaps however you see fit. I just used Google/Wiki/Youtube.

Should I only look over FA? I feel like people have suggested starting a question bank on what I've done so far.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Look at the chapters in FA that you've covered in school. Make sure you know everything in those chapters. Chances are there is some missing material. You can fill in those gaps however you see fit. I just used Google/Wiki/Youtube.

Ly, how do you recommend we do active recall of these sections? Anki? And also, how much time should you spend on a section of FA? For instance, focus on biochem for 3-4 days and read FA, do bros, and a qbank during that time? Then do the same for pharm, micro, and the systems? I'm having trouble setting up a schedule to make sure I can hit everything hard. I'm going for broke on this exam.

 

[gapyearguppy]

If you're going to study anything just review first year stuff and I always recommend the first three chapters of Pathoma. I attempted to study during summer but my brain wouldn't let me...my step 1 score comes out on Wednesday possibly so I'll let you know how that worked out for me lol

If you're going to start a bank along with reviewing the chapters of FA that correlate to your first year classes I would NOT do UWorld. We got Kaplan free at our school so I would recommend that. Or Rx, I guess.

 

[deleted674723]

If you're going to study anything just review first year stuff and I always recommend the first three chapters of Pathoma. I attempted to study during summer but my brain wouldn't let me...my step 1 score comes out on Wednesday possibly so I'll let you know how that worked out for me lol

If you're going to start a bank along with reviewing the chapters of FA that correlate to your first year classes I would NOT do UWorld. We got Kaplan free at our school so I would recommend that. Or Rx, I guess.

Why not UWORLD?

 

[LyMed]

Should I only look over FA? I feel like people have suggested starting a question bank on what I've done so far.

You can use whatever resources you like. I did old Uworld alongside my studies.

 

[LyMed]

Ly, how do you recommend we do active recall of these sections? Anki? And also, how much time should you spend on a section of FA? For instance, focus on biochem for 3-4 days and read FA, do bros, and a qbank during that time? Then do the same for pharm, micro, and the systems? I'm having trouble setting up a schedule to make sure I can hit everything hard. I'm going for broke on this exam.

As for active recall: whatever works for you. My friend loved Anki, but I just did questions. We both did well.
As for how much time to spend on FA: spend however long your organ system is and really flush it out the first time around. So for example, if your school spends four weeks on cardio, make sure by the end of those four weeks you know everything in the cardio chapter. Then during dedicated study, you should already have all your notes written, and reviewing them shouldn't take more than a day.
I had 4 weeks of dedicated study time. Every week, I spent the first 6 days going over the entirety of FA (which isn't that bad once you have notes for every chapter), and doing questions. On the seventh day, I did a practice exam. I just repeated this until test day.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

As for active recall: whatever works for you. My friend loved Anki, but I just did questions. We both did well.
As for how much time to spend on FA: spend however long your organ system is and really flush it out the first time around. So for example, if your school spends four weeks on cardio, make sure by the end of those four weeks you know everything in the cardio chapter. Then during dedicated study, you should already have all your notes written, and reviewing them shouldn't take more than a day.
I had 4 weeks of dedicated study time. Every week, I spent the first 6 days going over the entirety of FA (which isn't that bad once you have notes for every chapter), and doing questions. On the seventh day, I did a practice exam. I just repeated this until test day.

I'm starting my review of first year material this next week so maybe I should be spending a good 2-3 days per system we've covered? I'ma go for broke!

 

[LyMed]

Yeah, that sounds good. Things will really get a lot easier the more passes you do.