Author: medschoolbeast

When commuting, working on chores, or waiting in line, listening to podcasts will keep you productive and will unleash hours you never knew you had. Here are three of my top pics to get you started.

1. Goljian (late MS1-MS2)

Time listening to Poppy is time well-spent. You’ll pick up lots of high-yield pathology information and you’ll hear some old-school Brooklyn English. I previously covered this podcast here. Here’s the link to the audio files… …and a backup in case the first one goes down.

2. Emergency Medicine Cases (EM Cases) (MS3-MS4)
As an MD/PhD student in grad school, I’m always hunting for ways to stay on top of my clinical knowledge so the transition back to med school isn’t too rough. EM Cases gives a good mix of “Best Case Ever” episodes with bone-chilling tales from the ED combined with longer overviews of a topic. They bring in top guests from all over Canada, and have excellent discussions and quality production.

3. The Undifferentiated Medical Student (TUMS)

As the match loomed closer, rising MS4 Ian Drummond was feeling overwhelmed with the decision about which of the 160+ specialties to pursue. He took some time to get an MBA and think about it. To help him out, he is on a quest to interview a practitioner from all 160+ specialties.

Ian sits down with physicians from tons of specialties on his show. Most of them practice at Case Western (his home school), though he has been branching out and recording interviews with top physicians and surgeons from around the country. His interviews follow a well-prescribed format in which he asks questions culled from surveys of twenty MS3s and MS4s. The interview consists of three segments:

1. About the specialty
2. How did they choose their specialty
3. Long-term career advice (irrespective of specialty).

Ian is a thoughtful and effective interviewer who draws out valuable pearls from his guests, though I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say “thank you for that” so often. His production quality is quite good, and you can see that he’s dedicated significant time and money (for a medical student at least!) to record a quality podcast. He sends the questions to the interviewers in advance, so they bring well-thought-out answers to his questions. He’s also a pretty interesting guy himself, having been a semi-pro hockey player in Sweden before starting medical school.

A few episodes take on other formats (including two episodes with advice from three MS4 buddies who matched into top specialties), making it a dynamic and well-rounded show.

Coming soon: 3 more podcasts to check out!

I recently came across a well-done episode of the excellent Surviving Medicine podcast entitled “USMLE Step 1 Advice – How I got a 260.” Frank Cusimano, the medical student and PhD candidate who hosts the show, deviates from his usual interview format to read a letter from a colleague who scored a 260. The letter, though quite dense, brings up a number of good points that are worth reiterating. Here’s a summary of some of the take-home messages (with my own advice sprinkled in, marked with MSB>), though I highly recommend checking out the podcast via the above link (or via iTunes/Google Play/other Android apps).

• Other people may have come up with study plans that worked for them, but you need to tailor one that will work for you.
• There is no substitute for quality time spent studying.
• There is no substitute for learning the material correctly the first time! A recipe for failing Step 1 is trying to make up for not learning the material in the first place. Step 1 study resources are review resources. If you don’t learn the material properly during your MS1 and MS2 years, there’s nothing to review.
• The difference between a 220 and a 260 is random facts from your courses that are not in First Aid. That’s why it’s important to learn the material in-depth the first time (see last point). Further, that’s why it’s important to relegate First Aid to its proper place. You may wind up with four detailed questions on urinary incontinence (as the letter-writer on the show did), MSB> or four on chronic granulomatous disease (as I did).
• That said, First Aid is an essential reference, and it’s important that you know about every topic listed in it.
• During MS2, familiarize yourself with your Step 1 resources during the courses. Get a feel for what material is important for the boards. Also, by learning your way around the books you’ll be using to review for Step 1, you’ll be able to hit the ground running. Don’t go overboard though. Relegate First Aid to a quick 30-minute perusal during each course. Pathoma can be used much more thoroughly during the organ block courses; MSB> I recommend at least going through all the videos. If you have extra time to listen to podcasts (after listening to your medical school coursework and then to Goljan), you can listen to Pathoma‘s audio files as well.
• What you shouldn’t worry about:
  • How you score on UWorld questions (it doesn’t matter until ~7 days out).
  • Finishing UWorld. Quality use of UWorld (post forthcoming) is more important than sacrificing depth so you can finish all of the questions.
  • MSB> What your classmates are doing.
• Apparently you must get ≥6 months of UWorld in order to have the option to reset the Q-bank (question bank). MSB> I personally never reset my Q-bank though.
• UWorld is the most useful Q-bank, and I didn’t like Kaplan. MSB> Don’t buy any other Q-banks. You won’t have time to use them if you’re going through UWorld carefully and using a variety of books that most of your classmates will have overlooked to review (as I recommend). I also tried Kaplan and didn’t like it. None of the other Q-banks write questions anything like the test, nor are their figures and explanations as good as UWorld. They are not worth your time.
• The NBME practice exams (with the score reports) are the most useful predictors of your score and provide crucial practice for test day. They don’t let you review all the questions though, MSB> but there’s a good method I used to help get around this (post forthcoming). Also, to predict your score, you can combine NBME tests with your UWorld data
• Don’t take a practice test within the last 5 days.
• Do lots of UWorld questions with mixed material the week of to keep yourself fresh and prime your brain to answer USMLE-style questions quickly.
• Plan some half days and some full days off of studying to do something you enjoy (MSB> preferably something that won’t cause a massive hangover).

The USMLE Step 1 is no joke, so you’ll want to go in having studied from the best resources. No one resource contains everything you need to know (yes, this includes First Aid); consequently, I recommend having a wealth of resources and drawing from the best of them for each subject you need to review for the boards.

1. Crush Step 1: This one’s the grandaddy. The top drawer. The Rolls-Royce. I relied on this book more than any other resource (save for UWorld). Although the chapters vary in quality, most of them give great, concise explanations of what you need to know for each topic. The only chapters to skip are biochem. The general pharm chapter is top-notch (I wish I had it when I took the course). Use it towards the beginning/middle of each organ block.
   
   

   

   

   
2. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple: I covered this book in “How to Crush Microbiology.” It’s worth another mention, however. I read through the whole thing around the middle of my micro review for step 1 and found it a worthwhile way to review this high-yield topic. The silly, visual mnemonics (or should I say “mnemococci”) came in handy and earned me a few points on the exam. They complemented Sketchy Micro quite nicely as well. This book was a good way to get another “pass” through the material.
3. USMLE Behavioral Science Made Ridiculously Simple: You can read this (while taking notes and highlighting) in 2 or 3 hours and it will fill in all of the “extra” concepts you need and can’t find elsewhere. It also will help you review a lot of high-yield facts for psychiatry. This was a pretty interesting “tasty treat” to read as far as Step 1 prep books are concerned.
4. Clinical Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple: Starting to notice a theme here? A lot of the MRS series books are quite good. That said, they all have different authors and vary greatly in quality, with Clinical Microbiology MRS leading the pack. Clinical Neuroanatomy MRS, however, takes a different tack. Unlike Clinical Micro MRS, Clinical Neuroanatomy is tiny (barely over 50 pages, and small enough to fit in your white coat). It’s an excellent review book. Most notably, it contains one page with five key sections through the brainstem. Each section is drawn as a cutesy mnemonic (e.g., a gingerbread man) that lets you pin the key features down. Your struggles memorizing cranial nerve nuclei have come to an end. I found the beginning of the book much higher-yield than the end, which gets a bit off-the-rails describing each pathway. Read through it and copy down the key diagrams towards the beginning of your neuro review.
5. Clinical Pathophysiology Made Ridiculously Simple: This is the second-best book in the MRS series. It’s relatively short (187 pages), and it contains short chapters on each organ block that will get you oriented as you begin reviewing each one. It does a great job of walking the fine line between oversimplifying the material and dragging on too long. It was—along with Pathoma, Crush Step 1 and First Aid—one of the few books I had spiral-bound to make it easier to read and to write in it.
   
6. Clot or Bleed: A Painless Guide for People Who Hate Coag: This is a short eBook by pathologist and master educator Kristine Krafts, MD. It only takes a few hours to read, and it breaks down coagulation into a simple, memorable framework that will help you speed through boards questions. It’s worth every penny. Her other resources (e.g., the free Path Bites email list) are worth checking out as well, but I particularly liked Clot or Bleed.
   
7. First Aid Cases for the USMLE Step 1: Obviously everyone gets First Aid. Surprisingly few of my classmates, however, realized that there’s more to the series than First Aid alone. Though I didn’t find First Aid for the Basic Sciences: General Principles or [same]: Organ Systems to be that helpful, Cases is a real gem. It’s short, and features dozens of one-page cases in Q&A format that go through the common presentations you need to know, sorted into chapters by organ block. The interactive, case-based format is more engaging than reading, and I found doing cases in it to be a good way to “take a break” from hardcore studying while still learning. It’s best used towards the end of reviewing each organ block so you will get the most out of each case (and have a reasonable success rate in answering the questions).

These seven books may raise a few eyebrows since they’re not as well-known. I found them extremely helpful, however, and I trust you will too. I’m surprised that the word about them hasn’t gotten around yet. Fortunately, you’re in a select crowd that knows what’s up.

Microbiology is typically one of the hardest courses in medical school. There are dozens of drugs to learn and hundreds of bugs, along with lots of molecular details, lab tests, and host-pathogen interactions. At least at my medical school, it was on par with—if not harder than—anatomy. That said, it’s a rewarding course that pays dividends for the boards (it’s high-yield), and—more importantly—lays down foundational knowledge for all fields of medicine.

The human mind is a pisspoor tool for memorizing lists of facts. On the other hand, it is unbelievably good at taking in visual details laid out in a scene, and is excellent at remembering engaging stories. While older microbiology texts lay out the information in lists of facts, newer resources take advantage of the powers of human memory to grok information from visuals and stories. I’m going to cover three microbiology resources that reflect this approach, and I highly recommend that you use them.

1. In microbiology, one of the first books to take the more modern approach was Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple. This book is the absolute best of this generally good series. It uses stupid mnemonics, dumb jokes, and unforgettable cartoons to break down what you need to know. Although it’s dated, it’s still one of the best books you can buy to supplement your medical school education. Bread-and-butter microbiology hasn’t exactly changed all that much since it was written, and the authors have done a good job updating it with new editions to reflect the changing state of clinical knowledge.
   
2. Did you enjoy playing Pokémon growing up? Microbe Invader is just what the doctor ordered. This online game lets you stock on antibiotics, diagnose infections in patients with funny names, then battle the bacteria, viruses, and fungi! By putting you in charge (and using memorable—though outdated—graphics), Microbe Invader makes microbiology much more memorable and engaging than book learning alone. I played Microbe Invader during study breaks, looking up diagnostic tests and antibiotic susceptibilities as needed and taking a few notes to help me learn the forgettable ones. I found I got more out of the game as the course went on.
   
   
3. The most modern of the three, Sketchy Micro, brings the material to life with vivid images replete with memorable recurring symbols and dumb mnemonics. Like the age-old “memory palace” technique, Sketchy Micro organizes the information into clear symbols that pop up one-at-a time in memorable scenes. Dumb jokes keep it lighthearted and reasonably entertaining. The 5- to 15-minute video length (with the option to play them back at increased speed) packages the information into tasty morsels. Personally, I only used Sketchy Micro when it was time to study for the boards, but many of my classmates used it during the course and found it very helpful.Sketchy Micro is now part of the larger Sketchy Medical collection, which also includes Sketchy Pharm and Sketchy Path. I found Sketchy Micro more helpful than Pharm, though. The Pharm videos often get quite long and the symbolism is necessarily more convoluted, but they often explain organ physiology quite well (e.g., the nephron) and tie in the pharm. I haven’t tried Sketchy Path as I’m an old man and these videos emerged after my time in preclinical med school, though it may be worth checking out. Path is already quite saturated, however, with excellent contributions from Drs. Goljan and Sattar (Pathoma). Though these courses are relatively expensive, they are certainly worth it for the boards and may make a sensible investment during the course as well.

Despite the large volume of information, if you start early and study Clinical Micro MRS and Sketchy Micro hard and crush Microbe Invader on the side, you will be in a good position to slay the test. Further, you will set yourself up for a strong performance on the boards and you will serve your future patients well.