kryptik
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 2
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this is my first post here although i have been reading this forum for a while now. I will be starting medical school shortly and from all that i have been reading passing step 1 is not easy especially for imgs.
I would like the good members of this forum to advice me on how best to prepare for the usmle from day one of medical school. From what i have gathered First Aid is a must, but i would like an indepth advice such as; do i have to buy kaplan dvds now and just study the courses such as anatomy along with the anatomy i will be doing in term one and so forth.
Or do i do questions on specific chapters we cover in class as i go along? I would also like advice on mistakes not to do and anything else it would be of use to a first term med student. Thanks in advance.
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| medisfun
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Hey.. my advice to you is to study as much and hard as possible since day 1, so that when you start preparing for the step its more a review rather than seeing things for the first time. Read your books and save the review books for later. Knowledge is power and the more you read the more you'll learn. You can also keep your FA allong with your lectures so that you know which topics are high yield and know those extra well. Furthermore by the time you get to pathology USE GOLJAN allong with your normal lecture.... good luck in med school 
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| kryptik
Forum Newbie
Topics: 1
Posts: 2
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thanks for the advice medisfun, will have that in mind.
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| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
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hey how are you?
you are very smart to already be looking into this. i blindly did med school, without going on any sites like this, until i started my step 1 prep.
if i could go back i would have changed alot of things.
first of all, ofcourse use the texts your profs provide you. they will promote them and expect it, as well as some questions for tests might come up in there.
i recommend using one other supplementary source, such as BOARD REVIEW SERIES, or going ahead and buying the kaplan books.
the brs books-they are each about 200 pages per subject. they go into detail but are very organized and clear to understand. they can clear up alot of confusion for you, as well as make you have an indepth knowledge on the subject.
i would follow it along with your syllabus at shool. they also have a quiz for each chapter, to helpyou see if you are prepared. i know every student in ym school had a book per subject. we all used them extensively.
kaplan books are great, because ultimately that is what you will be using for your step 1 prep. they can be intimidating when you start your step 1 prep, especially the videos. so what i would advise is, you again go through them as you do in your class. it will greatly help you. when your teacher gives you a 4 hour lecture on a topic, you might feel reassured when you can use kaplan to sum up that in a few pages. get comfortable with these books now if you can.
most schools divide up classes into two semesters. like basic path and basic physio first semester. then systemic physio and path second semester. so you can divide up your subject reading as well like that in kaplan.
kaplan also provides some audio. i suggest you use those as well.
the books and audios are organized so you can (for example) take the endocrine section, listen and read, while you are doing endocrine in class.
the point is, if you can do it once in school, when u do it a second time in your step 1 prep, you will not feel as uneasy or nervous using this source. the more times you read something, the more you cmoe to grips with retaining it!
goljan you can do for pathology in school. but it is slihtly advanced. if you can, great. it is about 40 hours for the entire pathology course. so it is not that lengthly. you can choose to do it as you learn a topic. or just stick to kaplan , as it is more straight forward, and then do goljan for your prep. however you wish. goljan comes with both audios and texts.
i recommend taking a course after your med school is done. perhaps , read through your kaplan books once, and then do a course. or take a course, learn day by day the knowledge in the books, then take some time off and apply it on your own and reread the books. if youdecide to do the course first, id say take a longer course time then 6 weeks. because they tend ot run through the material quite fast. and it might not retain at all. alot of friends who did the kaplan 6 week retreat, barely had time to read what they learnt that day on their own, they were just too tired.
bottom line: supplement kaplan now in your school work.
use first aid, it is very confusing though. i suggest, as you finish a course, you use first aid. or as you finish a topic.
the diagrams and little short notes in first aid about a topic may seem confusing, and too small. when you finish that topic, then you realize, what the pictures really mean. and how useful they are.
use first aid, at the end of a topic, at the end of a course, and before an exam to be a good summary for you.
i struggled my first few months, using these sources i am recommending you. i spent ages on this site getting the info on how to use everything, where to get everything etc.
figure it out now in school, when you can develop great study habits . so you don't waste valuable prep time later.
goodluck
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| starbrite520
Forum Guru
Topics: 130
Posts: 428
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ps- it is also very sneaky and smart of you to use a usmle review book in your studies. because they SUMMARIze and tell you what is key to retain.
they might be too little for your classroom, so that is why you still stick to your prof's notes and books. but they help you get a general idea, when your prof and his books are just too confusing
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| hmmm_hmmm
Forum Newbie
Topics: 7
Posts: 27
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pay attention and master your medical school material.
you will never do well on the USMLE if you dont have a 'broad knowledge base'. kaplan and first aid, etc are just summary books. try as much as you can to learn the difficult concepts well the first time when you have time in medical school, because for most people and fresh grads, USMLE is just a big 'CRAM AS MUCH AS I CAN AND REMEMBER MINUTIA THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT' kind of a test.
and yes, the first aid and kaplan are essential to pass, but they are NOT the substitute for what you learn in medical school...dont ignore that...you will struggle with USMLE because their trends change and if you just solely rely on kaplan, you will have to learn your basics.
its a great idea to do the kaplan books for your shelf exams, and regularly do qns from it as well...but dont make it your primary source.
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