Good Afternoon,

So...i've been reading through these forums for quite a while now, the current students are offering wonderful advice to us incoming students. I have gathered that the best way to approach the med 1 classes is to READ the textbook and then REINFORCE the reading with the BRS books, sound like a plan....my question is, what about these power points I hear so much about? Should we study those in extreme details because after all, they are the primary teaching medium by the professors, or should we just leave those for class? My goal is to figure out the best studying method to do well in classes as well as the USMLE the most productive and time efficient way Thanks for listening, anybody have any advise of any sort, especially about the power points? Is everything in the power points covered in the book as well (so reading the book would cover it all anyways) or is there material in the power points NOT in the book?

with all due respect,

-Neeraj

it's good to have a study plan but believe me you have to come here experience it, then you can design one for yourself. we've all been in your shoes....tried to have plans before hand but you should wait and see the game for yourself good luck

greetings and thanks for the expedient response 2cr8tive,

good advice, i'll take it! lol

I assume it's just a matter of time before I know what will work for me.

Another question if i may? Based on your time spent at SMU and trial and error, what do you say has worked and proven successful to you as far as your methodology in approaching class material? It is probably different for each individual, but I am curious to hear your perspective

thank you kindly,

-neeraj

Preread!!!!

even if you just lightly flip through whats going to be covered tomorrow in class...just so the words sound familiar to you...it can totally help

you have the right attitude though and thats great keep it up and i'm sure youll be fine!

also, find out if you learn best by listening or actively by writing...i unfortuantely learn by writing so i find myself rewritting everything a million times...takes forever but i think its worth it in the end...good luck

Read, read, and read some more. Repetition is key. Gather free resources from others early on and glance over them. Trial and error will help you arrive at those resources that work best for you. Get First Aid going from day 1 and annotate it. Save it for your board review. It's virtually useless until then. Use the Kaplan books for courses and save money. (If you don't get the Kaplan books right away, use the videos and take notes from them.) If I had to do it all over again, I would only buy a few books--FA, BRS Physio, Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple, and Goljan Path. Then I'd use the Kaplan videos and books, and I'd find out from upper semesters how to study for individual professors and their PP slides. Try to get a few people to study with so that you can see their ways and tweak yours accordingly. Step 1 is your goal. In this order, I would know Path, Micro, Physio/Pharm, Genetics/Anatomy/Neuro, Behavioral Sciences/Biochem/Biostats, and Histology/Embryo. Place most emphasis on the 1st 4 and use Physio to make sense of Path. Path is just Physio gone awry.

Are the first 4 subjects whats mostly tested on the USMLE step 1? is that what your basing your order of subjects on?

__________________
University of Florida '06
B.S. Psychology

The key to happiness is having dreams. The key to success is making your dreams come true!

You have achieved success if you have lived well, laughed often and loved much. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

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I had very little anatomy on my step 1. But I did have quite a few Biochem/Micro/Histo/Path integrated questions. Incorporate answering questions from qbanks such as Pretest series, or chapter reviews from the Lange Series. These helped me tremendously. There are some books that provide plenty of questions to practice on each subject.

__________________
Juni

Thank-you everyone for the helpful information. I am going to utilize the advice and pre-read before each lecture. Also if any first semester students want to start a study group this fall let me know. I study well with students who are as motivated as myself. I like to quiz each other on questions and really understand the material.

David
dlazar21@gmail.com

Pre read before a class
follow during the class, make notes
review the material later that night
quickly skim it again before previewing for the next class
review all the weeks material over the weekend

do lots and lots of questions.
get your hands on as many question banks as you can
do questions till they become second nature.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to do questions.
Some people like to wait till they think they have learnt the material
before they start doing questions. Thats wrong. Do questions as soon as you
can. That was my motto all through med school and when i got to step 1
it was as if i was just sitting through another question bank.

__________________
Capital P, Bandana P, V-I-P, M-V-P
R-S-V-P or R-I-P, V-S-O-P, A-S-A-P

Hollywood P baby

[X] FP [X] IM [X] Surgery [X] Peds[ ] OB / Gyn [X] Psych

My advice is that study groups in the first two semesters
are a waste of time.
Wait for a bit till you can identify students who are at the same level
as you and can keep pace.
There is nothing more frustrating than being in a study group
where you have to carry people, but if you get the right type of
people who are motivated and focused there is nothing better.

__________________
Capital P, Bandana P, V-I-P, M-V-P
R-S-V-P or R-I-P, V-S-O-P, A-S-A-P

Hollywood P baby

[X] FP [X] IM [X] Surgery [X] Peds[ ] OB / Gyn [X] Psych