so.....what about second semester?

[playarf]

any thoughts on how to tackle second sem?
what things to look out for, plan ahead...which blocks are tougher, etc?

[amyames]

this is what happens when you wait to put your mother to bed (ALS is a nasty nasty disease)....you get bored and go on valuemd!

ah second semester, seems so far away.....you really can't say which block will be harder or easier...it really depends on how your class is doing as a whole. just study hard for each block and they will all be easy :p

the best advice I can give you? start doing questions early! find Kaplan questions, do BRS questions, do FIRST AID, do the questions out of the Ganong physiology book, go over the pre-test questions more than once. The more questions you can get your hands on, the better you will do on the shelf. The physio shelf is 20% of your grade and you DO get a curve, but don't go into the shelf banking on the curve because before you know it, it will be YOUR TIME to take the USMLE. prepare well now- learn the material so that it sticks in your head, not so you can do a brain drain after the semester is over. I can't stress this enough because I'm already forgetting key biochem concepts. yikes!

and don't forget to have fun in the process. despite what you may think, you do have time to relax in 2nd semester. so do take a weekend out to st. marteen with your friends....cos you def. won't have that same amount in third or fourth!!!!!!


ps. if you want any second semester books just PM me.

[BTH]

Salutations "playarf":

Most people will probably spend their time studying physiology and biochemistry. In general these courses tend to be tougher than psycology or medical ethics. In addition, many people, myself included, seem to feel that block 3 physiology is the toughest block. You may feel otherwise. For psychology, make sure you read the assigned readings because he will ask questions from them. Oh yeah, and do go over the slides as well. As for ethics, pay attention in class and go over the notes as well. If you have time, you can also read the book. Good luck and don't worry too much. As "amyames" stated above, do questions and try to relax. It's not as tough as it's made out to be. Good luck. Ciao.

[Andes]

Dude u on break, chill. Worry about second when it comes. My condolences to amyames mother.

[aspiringmedstudent]

Second was a lot better for me than first.
It's very doable.

They are right about doing practice questions - for Physio. Do as many as you can and start from the beginning. Exam Master is good, I think, to do questions with each lecture, or at least each "section." You can make your own exam based on the subject. I would always wait until the weekend before exams and I was never able to get through as many questions as I wanted.

For Physio, the main trouble I had was switching gears between Dr. S and Dr. K. Their methods of teaching are completely different. Once the second half of third block started, most of our class started having a love affair with Guyton. I wish I had started reading Guyton as my main source of studying from the beginning of third block. I would say if you're not comfortable with K by the 3rd or 4th lecture - go to Guyton. Read it first (or during class - a lot of people did that) and THEN go to the power points. His PPs are VERY busy with a TON of information that you don't necessarily need to know. All information is good information - but for the exams, the heart and soul is in Guyton. For a lot of people in our class, Guyton was a savior. As far as Dr. S goes - make sure you listen closely during class. His notes are clear (to me), but sometimes he'll throw in tid bits to the lecture that are VERY important. Often he'll mention something as a HUGE clue and if you don't get it down, it can be the difference between a high B and an A on an exam. Also - listen to his reviews. He is spot on, 100 % of the time. ESPECIALLY for the first 2 Blocks. If you're a fast typer - get EVERYTHING he says... or record the review. It's also helpful to listen what he has to say during 3rd, 4th, and 5th block. Often, by the time they do the review, the exam is already written. He will give hints as to what to conentrate on for K's sections of the exam. Very helpful.

A hint about Ethics: Listen to her about the participation. Get active in class. 40% of your grade is attendence and participation. (FOURTY PERCENT! This is huge - and take advantage of it!) It's true - half of the class gets an A, but a huge chunk of that A can come from your participation. Also - I personally think you must have the book... _especially_ for the first exam. I found her power points very wordy and somewhat confusing at times. The book does a GREAT job of making sense of it all. And it's a very easy read. I would read about a chapter or two (if they were short) for about 30 minutes before bed. It was nice to wind down to, actually. There are also about 5-6 chapters that she tests on throughout the semester (2nd and 3rd exams) that she does not give you power points for. So DO buy the book - I think you really do need it.

Anyway, I will give my study schedule as I did for first semester- take it or leave it. Everyone is different, but this is what worked for me:

I would try to get through Physio (at the very least) every night. I also tried do the same for Biochem Block 2 and 3. It was a lot of material and I think leaving everything for the weekend could be a bit overwhelming. Block 3 Biochem is also a nightmare for some - but I found I could do most of my studying for that on the weekends. You would just have to wait and see how it went for you during those blocks I think.

Roughly, this is what I would do:

I would take Friday evenings for Psych and Ethics. They compliment each other well - especially in the first block. It doesn't take too long to study these subjects, so it was always nice to study them on Fri nights as a bit of a downer. The Saturday after block exams, I would take the whole day and do all of Physio and Biochem for that week. (It's roughly 3 lectures for each subject (or sometimes less because Dr. G can take a couple of days to 1 lecture). It usually took me the whole day - because I went through the lecs thoroughly to make sure I was ready to start the next week. I would try to take every Sunday (or at least half the day) as a play day.

The second week into the block - I again would study Physio every night and try to get in as much Biochem as possible. I would do the majority of my catching up for Biochem on the weekend. Sat all day for Biochem and Sun all day for Physio. Since I would take 2 full days individually - I would go over the new week 2 material and then go over week 1 again. I would do the same the weekend before block exams. I would wake up early on Monday morning of Block to look over Psych one more time.

Keep in mind you have a good 3 hours between your Biochem and Physio exams. If you like to study up until the exam - this can be a good study session.

There's also an hour in between Psych and Biochem, which can be a nice review.

Books:
Ethics: Cole and Bird (definitely need it)
Psych: Medical Interivew (a must), Zimmerman (VERY good to have - wish I had gotten it)
Physio: Guyton
Biochem: I didn't use a text - but Lipincott would be the one to get if you really feel like you need a ref text.

I have Cole and Bird, Medical Interview, and Lipincott. PM me if you're interested.

Good luck in second! :)

[amyames]

Dude u on break, chill. Worry about second when it comes. My condolences to amyames mother.

thanks for the condolences Andes. very nice of ya. it's nice to know Saba students look out for one another!

[MinnesotaMed]

What books do we really need for second semester?

[sweetpeapotts]

What books do we really need for second semester?


Aspiringmedstudents list is spot on!

[playarf]

thank you guys for all the help. sorry i forgot about this thread until now.
if dr. * is reading this thread...now I know which online forum you were talking about when you said that 'guyton is a lifesaver, according to some posts on the internet!!' heh. :P

one more q...does he ask qs from kaplan and saddock? for psych!?

[miasma]

one more q...does he ask qs from kaplan and saddock? for psych!?
no he does not.