Resource Overload
Where do you even start with Medical School? Right, the question isn’t fair, but a lot of people ask this when they enter. So much is thrown at you so quickly in scheduling, classes, and more. I’m sure you’ve picked people’s brains about what resources to use and how to study, and the simple answer is this: it’s different for everyone. It’s a transition, and there is certainly some level of trial-and-error required of you to find the recipe that works. With that territory, though, comes inevitable stress. Am I doing this right? Should I be using something else? Am I using my time to the best of my ability? I asked myself all of these questions when I was trying to figure out what worked for me, and to be fair, I still ask myself these kinds of questions. While I can’t recommend you the perfect resource, I can at least tell you about some of the resources I’ve come across that have done wonders for me beginning medical school in making the transition as smooth as possible.
Note-Taking:
OneNote: If you aren’t in the Apple ecosystem (and even if you are), this should probably be your go-to note-taking app. It’s infinity-page based rather than page-based, which personally I’m less of a fan of, however it’s definitely the best app if you’re planning on doing a combination of typed and written notes.
Goodnotes/Notability: I’m putting these two together because I’ve found them virtually the same except for a few factors. They’re both page-based note apps with an emphasis on written over typed note-taking. If you’d prefer to have a collection of virtual notebooks, go with Goodnotes as it has a far better organizational schema. If you’re primarily inputting a lot of powerpoints and PDFs to write directly on, Notability is your winner for sure.
Notion: You’ve probably heard of or even have used some of the previous three. Notion may be the odd Uncle of my favorites. Notion is an all-encompassing organizational app for daily management, tasks, note-taking, and more (I promise I’m not sponsored, but I’d love to be). It has a bit more of a learning curve to use compared to the other three, but I promise the time invested in is worth it. Notion practically runs my life at this point. I’ve talked about it on a previous post before if you’d like to read more about it.
Learning Content:
Pathoma / Boards and Beyond: Pathoma is a combined video and textbook service delving deep into the pathology of organ systems in-line with Step 1 material. Dr. Sattar carefully walks you through system by system in an efficiently truncated manner highlighting key takeaways as you progress. It’s a must in my opinion, even if you just stick with the videos. They’ll save you so much time in the long-run, plus they’re fantastic for reviewing long topics quickly before tests. Much like Pathoma, Boards and Beyond is a video service that dives in the pathophysiology of your didactic years. It’s also a must for me. Depending on who you ask, some people will tell you to grab one over the other, but I think they both offer enough to warrant using them as a pair throughout your first two years and Step 1 prep.
Sketchy: This has probably been my favorite resource since starting medical school. Sketchy is a fun animated educational tool that uses a series of puns, quirky characters, and recurring themes to help connect and learn difficult topics in medicine like pharmacology and immunology. Basically, it’s like medical school saturday morning cartoons, but rather than Code Name: Kids Next Door it’s a star wars themed series on penicillin.
Anki: Anki is a spaced-repetition flashcard tool that practically saved my life in medical school. I wrote an entire post about this tool alone, so I’ll go ahead and link it here!
Question Banks:
USMLErx: If you like using First Aid, this is the perfect companion question bank for you. It pretty much follows along the text and uses similar phrasing compared to that of First Aid. It’s a bit on the “easier” side compared to the other Q banks, so it’s great for a first pass of material. For Step preparation, you probably should add on an additional Q bank to be safe.
Kaplan: Kaplan is sort of the middle child of the popular medical school question banks, but he deserves a lot more love. I used Kaplan for a time last year and really enjoyed the change in pace from the other sources. I think where it gets some hate is the questions tend to be less directly applicable to Step compared to Rx or Uworld, but sometimes it’s nice to see similar topics phrased and framed in entirely different ways. It definitely highlighted some knowledge gaps for me in areas where I was getting questions right solely because I was recognizing commonly used phrases.
Amboss: I. Love. Amboss. It’s incredible. Not just because it’s in now tied in conjunction with my Anki, but it’s the most unique Q bank of them all. Each incorrect question is followed by a hint with the opportunity to keep trying until the correct answer is chosen. This allows you to learn more about how to read test questions and more accurately pinpoint what errors you are making. It’s also tied directly to amboss’s online database, which highlights key words and links them to helpful articles and further questions.
Uworld: The big daddy of them all. If you had to only go with one question bank, it’s no question that this is the best resource to use for Step 1 and Step 2. Try and run from it, but Uworld will find you.
These are just a few of many resources to help you through your medical school journey, but it is anything but an exhaustive list. Please don’t feel like you have to cycle through all of these! That’s a one-way ticket to resource overload and a gentle migraine to pair with it. If anything maybe select 1-2 from each category and stick with them. What resources do you use? Anything that’s not on here? Let me know and we’ll share them with the ND MD family! As always, stay healthy, and happy reading!
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