Blog Post Focus
The purpose of this blog post is to emphasize the idea that one needs to be selective when choosing supplemental resources in medical school. Medical School is four years long, but that time goes quickly when one is constantly going between endless resources.
There are Tons of Supplemental Resources and Little Time in Medical School
Too Many Resources
There are too many studying resources for medical students to ever try to utilize them all. Even to try to use a couple resources is tall order. Remember, medical school is tough. It is a challenge to keep up with all the information your professors throw at you. To use additional study resources is more of an effort than it may sound like to someone who hasn’t gone through medical school.
Supplemental Resources are in Addition to Medical School Classes and Materials
Even if one has great study habits, supplemental learning resources are commonly utilized because they guide learning and prepare for tests better than medical schools general do. Using these supplemental resources drive home the highest-yield material and prepare students for board exams. Relying only on resources distributed by your medical school is likely not enough to do so well as you want to do and to efficiently guide your studying.
Supplemental resources to help students focus on high-yield material and prepare for board exams sounds great. It is great, but there are tons of resources. Some are much better than others. Some students swear by some. Great, but soon you will find that to utilize more than a few of these resources in addition to your medical school load will be too much. So, you need to figure out how to sift through these resources.
Sifting Through Supplemental Resources
To adequately sift through supplemental resources requires a few things:
- One, to already be employing good study habits (check out the post on good study habits for prospective medical students and medical students).
- Two, to recognize that you do not have unlimited time and must choose a limited number of resources.
- Three, to develop and a study plan that you actually will stick to that utilizes such resources.
- Four, determine what you are willing to spend.
Best Supplemental Resources
The best resources will either be very focused on certain topics such that the resource will be the primary resource you utilize on that topic, or be all-encompassing, such that this can be your primary resource for all topics.
Do not try to have several overlapping resources and learn all the material from each. It is too much.
Deciding on Supplemental Resources
To decide which resources you like the best you can ask your peers if you can check out their preferred resources. The year ahead of you or two years ahead of you will likely be fine showing you their resources and talking about them because you are not in direct competition with them. Ask them what they find is strongest or weakest about those resources too.
Self-Study? Professional Guidance?
Think about if you thrive on self-directed study or want more guided studying. If you feel you learn best with a professional agency preparing the path for you, look into professional courses run by companies such as Kaplan. This can be pricey but can be worth it if you trust the business.
If you prefer to go without professional guidance then see what you like and don’t like about the resources of your seniors. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your program. See what supplemental material you think would best supplement the learning you are getting from your medical school. Then, make a plan, and stick to it.
Examples of Supplemental Resources (Certainly Not an All-inclusive List)
Note: The following are just resources I know and have seen. I am giving them solely for the purpose of demonstration here:
Some resources that are topic-focused include Pathoma and Sketchy.
Some resources that are all-encompassing include Online Med Ed and Osmosis.
Some question banks: UWorld and TrueLearn.
Some USMLE test prep courses: Kaplan and Lecturio.
Conclusion – Develop Good Study Habits First then Decide on a Limited Number of Supplemental Resources
Supplemental learning resources and board prep resources are popular for medical students because when used effectively they can focus the students on the most important information, learn more efficiently, and better prepare them to become the physicians they want to be.
However, there are tons of resources available and to try to use all, or even several, is likely going to be overwhelming and undo much of the benefit you get from using these resources. So, develop good study habits first. Then, determine one or a few supplemental learning and board prep resources best suited for you. Make a plan and stick to it.
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