What I learned about step 1 in the past year [read me M1s]

[witzelsucht]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[notbobtrustme]

yea, I agree. After taking NBME 6 and seeing that it's basically an easier version of Uworld, you don't need a million sources. Uworld + Pathoma gets you 90% of the way there. FA fills in all the stupid extraneous information.

 

[Cytarabine]

Made >250, and I agree with minimalism. FA + pathoma + UW is TOO MUCH TO LEARN and they are your HY sources. Time you spend on other crap is time that could have been better spent on the HY material

 

[dyspareunia]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

Is this for dedicated prep time or for the entire school year?

 

[Cytarabine]

Dedicated for me, though the only thing I'd add in during the year would probably be usmle rx subjectwise along with courses. Maybe kaplan pharm vids

 

[witzelsucht]

for the schoolyear and dedicated. i did rx during part of courses, waste of time in retrospect

 

[redblue]

for the schoolyear and dedicated. i did rx during part of courses, waste of time in retrospect

can you elaborate more on why you felt Rx was a waste of time? I was thinking about doing Pathoma/Rx with Firecracker during M2 and saving UWorld for dedicated, but if you feel that Rx is a waste of time, it could be more time I can spend on Pathoma + Firecracker

 

[DermViser]

yea, I agree. After taking NBME 6 and seeing that it's basically an easier version of Uworld, you don't need a million sources. Uworld + Pathoma gets you 90% of the way there. FA fills in all the stupid extraneous information.

To pass or to 240+?

 

[notbobtrustme]

To pass or to 240+?

to score avergish. I'm sure you could hit 240+ with some good test-taking skills, but with just those sources, you can score a 225 easy, IMO.

 

[DermViser]

to score avergish. I'm sure you could hit 240+ with some good test-taking skills, but with just those sources, you can score a 225 easy, IMO.

That's assuming a lot - mainly on the baseline neurosis of the medical student to begin with.

 

[Ismet]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

I'm 4 weeks away from my test day, and I agree. I had stockpiled a ton of review books (HY, BRS) from upperclassmen thinking they would come in handy for board review, and I've barely touched them. FA, Pathoma, and UWorld seems to be going well, but I use PharmCards for pharm.

can you elaborate more on why you felt Rx was a waste of time? I was thinking about doing Pathoma/Rx with Firecracker during M2 and saving UWorld for dedicated, but if you feel that Rx is a waste of time, it could be more time I can spend on Pathoma + Firecracker

I started my dedicated study time with Rx, thinking I could use it to solidify my memory of FA before really delving into UWorld. I don't think there's any harm with doing Rx during MS2, but I'd say Pathoma >>> Firecracker >>>>>> Rx during MS2. If I could do the past 4 weeks over again, I wouldn't have even purchased Rx. Some of the questions are downright horrendously written.

 

[tantacles]

I'm 4 weeks away from my test day, and I agree. I had stockpiled a ton of review books (HY, BRS) from upperclassmen thinking they would come in handy for board review, and I've barely touched them. FA, Pathoma, and UWorld seems to be going well, but I use PharmCards for pharm.



I started my dedicated study time with Rx, thinking I could use it to solidify my memory of FA before really delving into UWorld. I don't think there's any harm with doing Rx during MS2, but I'd say Pathoma >>> Firecracker >>>>>> Rx during MS2. If I could do the past 4 weeks over again, I wouldn't have even purchased Rx. Some of the questions are downright horrendously written.

The randomizer for Firecracker questions makes them intolerable and makes me not want to buy Firecracker. Have you experienced this? Also, the grammar in some of the Firecracker questions . . .

 

[Ismet]

The randomizer for Firecracker questions makes them intolerable and makes me not want to buy Firecracker. Have you experienced this? Also, the grammar in some of the Firecracker questions . . .

I don't use Firecracker. I tried it out at the beginning of MS2 and wasn't a fan. But a good portion of my class uses it and loves it, so I think it's worth a shot if it suits your learning style. I hate using flashcards to study so it didn't work for me. But I've also grown to hate Rx haha.

 

[tantacles]

I don't use Firecracker. I tried it out at the beginning of MS2 and wasn't a fan. But a good portion of my class uses it and loves it, so I think it's worth a shot if it suits your learning style. I hate using flashcards to study so it didn't work for me. But I've also grown to hate Rx haha.

Our school sponsored the program starting in February, so I decided to try it. Ultimately, though, it just wasn't worth my time, especially with the questions the way they are. They randomize answer choices so that a question that starts looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. Berry aneurysms
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. Rhabdomyolysis
D. A and B
E. B and C
F. A, B, and C

Ends up looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. A, B, and C
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. A and B
D. Berry aneurysms
E. B and C
F. Rhabdomyolysis

It's infuriating.

 

[Cytarabine]

Still doing mcqs in a spaced repetition program after all this time. Smh. Money obsessed company wont do what they need to to make their product high quality

 

[Ismet]

Our school sponsored the program starting in February, so I decided to try it. Ultimately, though, it just wasn't worth my time, especially with the questions the way they are. They randomize answer choices so that a question that starts looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. Berry aneurysms
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. Rhabdomyolysis
D. A and B
E. B and C
F. A, B, and C

Ends up looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. A, B, and C
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. A and B
D. Berry aneurysms
E. B and C
F. Rhabdomyolysis

It's infuriating.

Oh god that's painful.

 

[mcloaf]

Our school sponsored the program starting in February, so I decided to try it. Ultimately, though, it just wasn't worth my time, especially with the questions the way they are. They randomize answer choices so that a question that starts looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. Berry aneurysms
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. Rhabdomyolysis
D. A and B
E. B and C
F. A, B, and C

Ends up looking like this:

The CT scan of a 46-year-old female shows numerous kidney cysts bilaterally. What is this patient at risk for?

A. A, B, and C
B. Hepatic Fibrosis
C. A and B
D. Berry aneurysms
E. B and C
F. Rhabdomyolysis

It's infuriating.

Is that the exam simulator? I didn't know people used that.

 

[addy]

Our school sponsored the program starting in February, so I decided to try it. Ultimately, though, it just wasn't worth my time, especially with the questions the way they are.
It's infuriating.

I don't use Firecracker. I tried it out at the beginning of MS2 and wasn't a fan. But a good portion of my class uses it and loves it, so I think it's worth a shot if it suits your learning style. I hate using flashcards to study so it didn't work for me. But I've also grown to hate Rx haha.

Do you guys go to US allopathic schools? I am a US MD student but I haven't heard of a single person using firecracker...unless everyone is hush-hush about it...in which case maybe it was aptly named as gunner training haha

 

[Ismet]

Do you guys go to US allopathic schools? I am a US MD student but I haven't heard of a single person using firecracker...unless everyone is hush-hush about it...in which case maybe it was aptly named as gunner training haha

Yes. I of course don't know exactly how many people use it, but I know of at least 10-15 people who use(d) it religiously, and I assume there are quite a few more people who use it that I don't really see/interact with.

Is that the exam simulator? I didn't know people used that.

Yeah the people I know who use it mainly just use the flashcards or whatever they call it.

 

[dyspareunia]

Still doing mcqs in a spaced repetition program after all this time. Smh. Money obsessed company wont do what they need to to make their product high quality

I think it's smarter for them to do it this way. It's probably difficult to convince med students to use a qbank not named Rx, Kaplan, or UW.

 

[Cytarabine]

To do it what way?

 

[witzelsucht]

To call it a comprehensive spaced repetition solution rather than flashcards + questions

 

[dyspareunia]

Do you guys go to US allopathic schools? I am a US MD student but I haven't heard of a single person using firecracker...unless everyone is hush-hush about it...in which case maybe it was aptly named as gunner training haha

FC came to talk to us not too long ago. The rep claimed 30-40% (can't remember exactly) of US medical students use it.

 

[ranson]

What did you use to actually learn/understand the material? Textbooks associated with classes or USMLE subject review books or just what you mentioned in your first post? Anyone can answer this, trying to get as many opinions as possible.

 

[mcloaf]

FC came to talk to us not too long ago. The rep claimed 30-40% (can't remember exactly) of US medical students use it.

 

[Ismet]

What did you use to actually learn/understand the material? Textbooks associated with classes or USMLE subject review books or just what you mentioned in your first post? Anyone can answer this, trying to get as many opinions as possible.

Most of the material should have been learned during the first 2 years. Of course you forget most of it, but a good portion of it just comes back when you review with FA. If there are areas where I need more review/completely forgot/never learned in the first place, I go to another source depending on the subject. If I remember a good description from my class notes I'll look at those. Costanzo Phys (the textbook, not the BRS Phys) is good for physiology. Pathoma videos + book are great for better understanding of path.

 

[@JackShephard]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

Yeah, this is said by everyone.

I'm not sure why people try to reinvent the wheel. Top scorers just do lots of questions, Uworld, FA, and pathoma. RR is another choice if you like more depth. End of story.

 

[Cytarabine]

FC came to talk to us not too long ago. The rep claimed 30-40% (can't remember exactly) of US medical students use it.

lmao hard. do not be leaf

 

[Ismet]

FC came to talk to us not too long ago. The rep claimed 30-40% (can't remember exactly) of US medical students use it.

Lolll. Maybe 30-40% test it out, as I did for a few days with the trial. But I'd venture to say like 10% or less actually legitimately use it.

 

[dyspareunia]

lmao hard. do not be leaf

Lolll. Maybe 30-40% test it out, as I did for a few days with the trial. But I'd venture to say like 10% or less actually legitimately use it.

He said 30-40% purchase time on top of the trial. Agreed that it seems high, but that's what the dude said.

 

[rodmichael82]

I used Pathoma and First aid with every class during M2 (3-4 passes before each exam) and read BRS physiology before each section.

 

[Cytarabine]

He said 30-40% purchase time on top of the trial. Agreed that it seems high, but that's what the dude said.

Not saying you're lying at all, I believe that was said. The numbers just don't come close to matching my experience, and I'd take issue with their liberal definition of "using" FC

 

[ChessMaster3000]

I think Firecracker is a waste of time. When I read posts on the main Step 1 thread of people who got 260+ scores, few if any used firecracker. Stick with what works: pathoma, FA, UW, NBME tests. That's IT.

 

[DermViser]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

Here is what you should learn about how USMLE Step 1 questions are constructed.

 

[DermViser]

FC came to talk to us not too long ago. The rep claimed 30-40% (can't remember exactly) of US medical students use it.

 

[@JackShephard]

He said 30-40% purchase time on top of the trial. Agreed that it seems high, but that's what the dude said.

Anytime someone selling you tells you a statistic that there is no public record of, nor could they confirm any public record of this on their website or anywhere else... don't believe it.

Don't you think that's pretty impressive, 1 of 3 medical students uses our program. Surely that would be on their website if they had proof.

In reality, you won't find that anywhere in writing - and certainly you won't see proof of it, which is the next step if someone took the time to write it down or put it on a website.

I'm not sure if 30% of my class has even heard of this site, let alone using it everyday.

 

[addy]

He said 30-40% purchase time on top of the trial. Agreed that it seems high, but that's what the dude said.

...That's not the same thing as 30-40% of medical students using it. I have no problem believing 30-40% buy more time. You just made them look bad for no reason, which is a supremely classless thing for you to do--as someone who has done startups before, bad press (especially which is based on nothing) can be detrimental to growth.

 

[dyspareunia]

...That's not the same thing as 30-40% of medical students using it. I have no problem believing 30-40% buy more time. You just made them look bad for no reason, which is a supremely classless thing for you to do--as someone who has done startups before, bad press (especially which is based on nothing) can be detrimental to growth.

Can't tell if you're serious. The guy told us "30-40% use it". His words.

Him: 30-40% use FC
Classmate: Does that include people who only use the trial then give up?
Him: No 30-40% have paid subscriptions

 

[Brain Bucket]

What I was told last year: Pathoma, FA, UWorld. Do them all a bunch

What I bought/briefly tried: RR, Pathoma, FA, UsmleRx, Step 1 secrets, CMMRS, tons and tons of anki cards

What I am now realizing I should do: Pathoma, FA, Uworld, anki just for pharm and select items from pathoma

That is all, hope it helps

I'd add RR, but that's just 'cause I'm weird like that.

 

[ArmyTiger]

View attachment 179396

I'd add RR, but that's just 'cause I'm weird like that.

RR is great when you're learning the material the first time around. For review, it's way too much to hope to retain.

 

[Brain Bucket]

RR is great when you're learning the material the first time around. For review, it's way too much to hope to retain.

Not talking about dedicated at all.

 

[DermViser]

RR is great when you're learning the material the first time around. For review, it's way too much to hope to retain.

That's bc even a better source is out now: Pathoma.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

What y'all think about adding firecracker and picmonic to the standard FA, uworld, pathoma mix? Especially during all of M2?

Too much?

 

[alicealicealice]

My $0.02: I would use picmonic for things that are rely much more on brute force memorization and are relatively well contained in what is testable and high yield (like storage diseases: only so many facts to know, easily confusable, the underlying mechanisms are either not understood or too low yield to spend your time on, so you just memorize) but not for things that could be understood conceptually (like the congenital adrenal hyperplasias). Also, I think using it sparingly for things you personally truly need help with makes it more effective or else the cards will start running into one another in your mind. So while I don't deny that picmonic can be a lifesaver and some of their cards I will probably remember for years whether I want to or not, to me its more of an adjunct for your weaknesses and not a primary source to be actively studied since it is so far from comprehensive and does not really do much for your conceptual understanding of path/pathophysiology. Just my opinion I'm sure others will disagree as they swear by it. But if I tried to do a lot of cards in a row in one sitting, I just had the feeling that trying to memorize all these funny pictures to learn about major diseases or physiology was a little ridiculous and unnecessary.

I also got FC early on when it was cheaper and TBH never used it as it was meant to be used because I couldn't learn new things from it (not enough detail or explanation) and I always had so much more new material to cover in class that going over the old stuff in their cards was way too much of a time sink. That being said, in my dedicated when FA seemed to glance over something I would quickly check out that card in FC to supplement, as they might have more info or different mnemonics. Some cards for FC seemed way too detailed (all the wildly detailed info on immunodeficiencies and uncommonly tested hyperlipidemias come to mind) and others not enough.

I think: focus on your class work first because you can't review what you've never learned, definitely supplement your class work with Pathoma. Use RR along with classwork if you can (I wish I did more, fantastic source but can be cumbersome). I never really opened FA before dedicated besides for my psych classes; getting familiar with it could be helpful. If you wanted to get more aggressive you could make ANKI cards from FA as you go through it and integrate with your classwork, but class and FA rarely correlate 1:1. Or you can read FA and do the corresponding USMLERx as you go through that (did not do it but would consider it in retrospect). When dedicated comes, FA will tell you what you need to know and UW will tell you what you don't understand and pounding out those two together with all of pathoma and a sprinkling of RR and picmonic (and/or another Q bank) will get the job done...most people here agree if you can master those two you are golden, and mastering them both is a near impossible task...

I think that doing anything beyond trying to get best preclinical grades possible/practice Q's more than a few months before your test is spinning your wheels and lowering your quality of life for low returns. Enjoy the lax schedule of preclinical while you can, learn things well the first time around for your classes, maybe make yourself familiar with FA/USMLERx to expose yourself to what may be on the boards but not covered in class. Don't spend friday nights catching up on FC cards.

A few months out make a REALISTIC schedule with a LIMITED number of sources and stick with it. Don't major in the minors: 90% of what you need will come from the Big 3. Grind through FA and Pathoma and UWorld supplementing PRN THEN worry about moving on to something else (one of my mistakes was not doing this, futzing about too much in the beginning with other sources, and rushing to get through UW at the end; it takes a long time). Again just my opinion.

 

[Donald Juan]

What y'all think about adding firecracker and picmonic to the standard FA, uworld, pathoma mix? Especially during all of M2?

Too much?

My advice, if you are going to spend as much time as it would take to legitimately use firecracker and get through it, you should do Rx and Kaplan qbanks instead. Or, just do one and make your own anki cards if you are really sold on spaced repetition.

For the record, I am a big fan of spaced repetition, but I'm not 100% sold on firecracker because it essentially makes it your sole resource given the time demands it takes. I prefer anki for the small factoids I am struggling with, but I think the majority of prep time should be devoted to qbanks.

 

[dyspareunia]

My advice, if you are going to spend as much time as it would take to legitimately use firecracker and get through it, you should do Rx and Kaplan qbanks instead. Or, just do one and make your own anki cards if you are really sold on spaced repetition.

For the record, I am a big fan of spaced repetition, but I'm not 100% sold on firecracker because it essentially makes it your sole resource given the time demands it takes. I prefer anki for the small factoids I am struggling with, but I think the majority of prep time should be devoted to qbanks.

How much time are you spending on FC? It takes less than an hour to go through 100 questions.

 

[Donald Juan]

How much time are you spending on FC? It takes less than an hour to go through 100 questions.

I only used the free month last summer. If you're implying that it isn't a time sink, well, it is. That's why most people quit it. Even the company advertises it as something that takes a lot of time and hardwork. And anyways, I think a q bank which should take around 180 hours (3 hours/block for 2700 questions) is definitely a better use of time.

Again, if it works for anybody out there, then great. Anyone who finishes it will have a solid foundation...but I would not recommend it.

 

[dyspareunia]

I only used the free month last summer. If you're implying that it isn't a time sink, well, it is. That's why most people quit it. Even the company advertises it as something that takes a lot of time and hardwork. And anyways, I think a q bank which should take around 180 hours (3 hours/block for 2700 questions) is definitely a better use of time.

Again, if it works for anybody out there, then great. Anyone who finishes it will have a solid foundation...but I would not recommend it.

Fair enough. FC does take time and effort, but it's more efficient than other study methods I've encountered so far this year.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

I only used the free month last summer. If you're implying that it isn't a time sink, well, it is. That's why most people quit it. Even the company advertises it as something that takes a lot of time and hardwork. And anyways, I think a q bank which should take around 180 hours (3 hours/block for 2700 questions) is definitely a better use of time.

Again, if it works for anybody out there, then great. Anyone who finishes it will have a solid foundation...but I would not recommend it.

I've looked into FC quite a bit. No matter the cons, I find it the only way to get comfortable with the content foundation for step 1. Otherwise, you could place full faith in your class work and hope you retain enough. Going over FA with each system still doesn't help long term because you end up cramming at the end I feel.

The key is using FC wisely. By wisely I mean using it so it helps in the time you do have to dedicate to it. That varies person to person. I concluded that having FC and using it to some extent is greater than not using it at all. That's my opinion as I get started with it. You could still do the HY qbanks.

 

[EMDO2018]

I hate to come across as a gunner, but should a person starting first just get the basic review books and use them to supplement lecture studying?