INT

Resource
MKSAP Online questions, Pre-test, Case Files it covers everything so it's hard to study for, but the review books are high yield MKSAP MKSAP Questions, pretest MKSAP Case Files and First Aid for Step 2 CK

Tips for Shelf Exam

case files, pre test, wikipedia MKSAP Questions, Pretest

Step Up 2 Medicine, Case Files MKSAP, Step Up to Medicine Srep Up to Medicine. PreTest. Case Files Case Files & MKSAP MKSAP, pretest, case files case study Case Files

don't wait til last minute Don't forget patient management basics usmle world q bank Questions are better than just reading

Pretest, Case files MKSAP, Step Up to Medicine, Step 2 Secrets

Case files, World, MKSAP

MKSAP, World questions UWORLD, pocket medicine

There's so much to know, but I thought the cases in Case Files were high yield, and questions can cover a lot of material fast do all the Internal Medicine USMLE World questions if you can. There are alot of them but they will help you alot for the exam.

MKSAP, Pre-test, Pocket Medicine

Know diagnostic algorithms from the Pocket Medicine book

Uworld, step up to medicine case files, MKSAP, step up to medicine, pocket medicine Step Up to Medicine case files, pretest step up to medicine, case files Case Files, Step Up to Medicine, MKSAP questions MKSAP, Step-Up to Medicine, Case Files, UWorld Q bank

lots of questions start early and do MKSAP twice

see lots of patients and read about them qbank Study consistently throughout the two months Do lots of questions, MKSAP was the most helpful. Remember that ambulatory internal medicine questions will also be on the shelf.

Step Up 2 Medicine Step up to Medicine, MKSAP Step up to medicine

At least in Phoenix, just pay attention on rounds and learn what the students and interns get pimped on and you will do just fine! lots of questions study every day

INTERNAL MEDICINE
Questions
MKSAP and Pre-test

Tips for Clerkship

Read the articles and read up on conditions your patients have read, look up tons of stuff on the wards with your smart phone, doing full h&p's on new admits takes time but it's one of the best ways to learn MKSAP Questions, pretest Work hard, be interested or at least act interested. Help residients

pre test MKSAP Questions, pretest

UWorld PreTest yes, MKSAP MKSAP

USMLE Qbank and MKSAP

PreTest MKSAP

be a team player, even when it seems there is nothing going on in the afternoon--find something Dive in headfirst be eager Read about the disease when you see a patient who has that disease- it will stick! Try your best to come up with an Assessment and Plan for each of your patients. This is easiest if you read up on the conditions your paitents have during the evenings. Be helpful in any way you can to help the residents out.

Learn how to write a good note, and be able to present. Research to problems that your patients have, brush up on patient presentations

Yes, World and MKSAP

USMLE World

MKSAP, Pre-test

Yes, world MKSAP and kaplan qbank I used Kaplan and MKSAP (MKSAP was better) the free ones through the library yes, kaplan MKSAP questions, World questions

Pay attention during rounds, be a nice and helpful person Just read, read, read. Many attendings will give topics for each student to report on the next day, which helps. Anytime you have a patient with a particular condition, read about it that night.

help out your residents start doing qbank questions early because there are a ton Help your residents, they will mostly be composing your review

See resources.

No yes, UWorld, MKSAP yes, Kaplan

Ask questions. You learn more and it shows that you are thinking things through. Sometimes you even contribute something to patient care! be on time, study every day, maintain interest

What I wish I would have known

How to study for the shelf

Do not try and do all the UWorld questions. Too many

Seriously, make an effort to know nurses' names start studying earlier It's most of Step 2.

how to look at patients system based, easy to get overwhelmed by multiple problems

Medicine docs love to know about every problem that patients have, not just problems pertinent to this hospital stay (contrast with surgery) Use down time at the hospital wisely. You'll be too tired to study at night but you can do it during the day a lot of the time.

n/a Start using MKSAP right away Ambulatory internal medicine questions will be on the shelf.

Buy the Green book early!

Resources
Pre-test, Case Files, U-world

Tips for Shelf Exam

It's internal medicine over again with some trauma scenarios thrown in pestana notes are a great read-through the day before the shelf Pestana Pretest and pestana Pestana, step 2 secrets

Pretest, pestana

Case Files Surgical Recall, Pre-Test, handout PreTest. Case Files Case Files, Pestana, WebMD videos surgical recall, pretest, case files q bank Case Files, PreTest, Pestana Pastana, PreTest, Case Files Case Files, Dr. Gillespie's videos, UWorld

Case Files, UWorld

Study everything. Your clerkships only cover specific areas

Questions! Memorize all of Pastana. It's spot on.

Case Files, Pastana Notes, World Q's, Surgical Recall Pretest

Do medicine before, attend lectures Do all the Pretest questions

Pestana, surgical recall

Surgery Casebook, Pestana review, World Qbank

Uworld, pestana notes case files, pestana, questions

do Pestana review twice shelf is trauma heavy, so focus on this if you didn't take trauma. Also take some time to read peds stuff bc you definitely won't see any of it on rotation. do questions

None case files pestano's, case files Case Files, Surgery Recall, Pestana Questions

Know Pestana. do internal medicine first read pestanos several times Pestana questions

Lots of questions. Also, be aware that internal medicine Pestana, Case Files, Pretest, UWorld Q bank questions do show up on the surgery shelf. PDF of quick Q & A's...I can't remember what it's called, but it is floating around Creighton. use the pdf it's really good Pestana review, Rapid Recall questions

Q-bank, Pestana review

study every day

SURGERY
Questions
U-world

Tips for Clerkship

Go to sleep early each night so you're awake

pretest Do not complain. Don't let people scare you, you are supposed to be there, if they don't like it it's their problem. However, be respectful.

UWorld PreTest just the ones in Case Files no

don't complain! Yes, it's early. The residents are still up earlier. know your patients before surgeries Have a good attitude, even if you have been standing there for 12 hours Show up early, show enthusiasm, ask to do what you want to do (eg pull drains, close skin, etc...)

USMLE World Qbank Pastana, PreTest UWorld

World USMLE World and Pretest

Be involved, figure out how to get adequate sleep Try to anticipate what the team will need (the chart, lab values, dressing change material...) before anyone asks you to go find them.

Act interested during surgeries, help out as much as you can, know how the basic routine of each surgery (not full Pestana review, World QBank step by step, but generally what happens next); smile Accept the fact that you are going to work hard and long World - do both surgery and medicine questions, as the hours and just try to have fun. Don't expect to slack off shelf contains a lot of medicine. and it makes it a lot easier to deal with. kaplan Don't complain to residents. They're easy to get along if you just make it look like your interested. Also, can i help you with anything else is much better than just asking to leave, but gets the same point across. do trauma service remember its temporary Be helpful to residents, study Pestana Know how to tie knots before the rotation and ask for every opportunity to close skin at the end of surgeries. no Pre-test, UWorld Tell them you want to go into surgery even if you don't....

Pestana no kaplan Pestana, UWorld

Kaplan

Act interested even if you don't want to do surgery. Make friends with the residents and life will be easier

I wish I had known

It's not as bad as I thought it would be

use some internal med questions to study, too

Do the 5-min scrub first thing when you get to the OR. Use Avagard when your case is ready to roll

A lot of the shelf is general internal medicine

It's totally not as bad as everyone makes it sound. At all. Study at the hospital - you definitely won't have time at night.

na Study Pestana questions

Don't buy advanced surgical recall

Obstet
Resources Tips for Shelf Exams
Questions help a lot, and pay attention on the wards-- they tended to teach test material more than any other rotation Pre-test, U-world, ACOG questions case files, pre test, wikipedia pretest, first aid ob/gyn Case Files, First Aid Case Files, Pre-Test, UWorld PreTest. Online OB/Gyn Questions. Case Files. ONline books through our library. Case Files, Qbank pretest, case files first aid Case Files, some PreTest PreTest Case Files, UWorld See more patients, actually get involved Case Files was very helpful for this rotation!

pretest Case files, step 2 secrets Case Files, UWorld

Case Files, Blueprints, World Case Files, USMLE World questions Blueprints Case Files, Blueprints

It's a focused specialty with a lot of waiting around time, was able to get through Case Files and Blueprints basically while at work, seemed to be adequate

apgo questions, first aid for obgyn case files, pretest, ACOG First Aid

Read and keep in mind there's a large outpatient portion of the shelf Night float is a great time to study - you often won't get much action at night but still should stay up to keep on a schedule, so it's a great time to study. do the ACOG questions Just do questions. That's going to be the best use of your time.

case files, pretest ACOG website, case files, first aid First Aid Ob/gyn, Case Files

do ACOG questions UWorld questions, First Aid

Blueprints, Case files, UWise questions, UWorld Q bank case files The OB/GYN red book questions Case files, First Aid for OBGYN study alot!

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Questions Tips for Clerkship
U-world, ACOG, pre-test Volunteer, be nice to the nurses, don't steal the chart

UWorld

Be friendly with residents

OB/Gyn questions on Ob/Gyn Association webpage Yes, Qbank UWorld q bank USMLE World Qbank UWorld you get out of this one what you put in, even more than the other clerkships Stick your neck out there study and make yourself available You will have downtime - bring a study book! Ask quetions, show enthusiasm

World USMLE world

Don't go in with a closed mind, it's a very interesting specialty

World Qbank

Work hard, participate in rounds You have to seek out your own experiences - drs and nurses won't always come find you, so if you want to be involved, be present and proactive.

apgo, exam master ACOG and kaplan Kaplan

free ones ACOG, kaplan UWorld

tell the ob people that you love pregnant people or your life could be miserable Help residents (every resident writes a review on you), be prepared for rounds Be proactive about getting deliveries and getting to scrub in to surgeries. be over-eager to help act interested, know guidelines

no Uwise, UWorld, pre-test none

I wish I had known. . .

How much I would love delivering babies

More free time then you would think. Be productive

Vaginal exams aren't fun, but they also aren't the worst thing in the world

Hours are tough

tell the ob people that you love pregnant people or your life could be miserable

Read about surgeries day before

it's not as bad as people tell you

Resources

Tips for Shelf Exam

Dr. Schmidt's handouts, pre-test, case files, U-world case files, pre test, wikipedia pretest, lange questions, case files Case files, step 2 secrets, Student lectures Case Files, First Aid Pre-Test, UWorld PreTest. Case Files Case Files, CLIPP cases, PreTest Dr. Schmidt, pretest, case files, first aid first aid Case Files, PreTest UWorld, First Aid knowing NORMAL growth and development is really high yield

study lots! Do what Dr. Schmidt says to do Take the CLIPP Case test seriously and learn from the cases

PreTest Case Files, PreTest

Case files, World, Mandatory cases Pretest Clipp cases

Would have added another resource, tons of info and it was my first clerkship Do all of pretest.

Case Files, Pre Test

clipp cases and pretest first aid for pediatrics, case files, pretest

Do every single question in Pre Test Dr. Schmidt will try to scare you into thinking the shelf is impossible - and he does a good job at making you study really hard, so listen to him, be scared, and then you will be prepared for the shelf. start early Just do questions.

pretest! First Aid, Pretest, Case Files Case Files, Pre Test Case files, pretest, UWorld Q bank clipp cases case files

pretest! see lots of kids Read first aid

Know the milestones really well, you will be asked about this multiple times. speed through the clipp cases and don't use them to study questions

pre-test, first aid

study every day, lots of questions

PEDIATRICS
Questions Tips for clerkship
Study while on outpatient, inpatient is going to be longer hours, if you're not busy while on inpatient-- go visit your kiddos and follow up with them, also be nice to the residents at Children's-- they're stressed

U-world, pre-test, Schmidt's

UWorld

Work on interpersonal skills with children, do not dismiss parents.

Yes, PreTest no q bank USMLE World Qbank

go with the flow, be a team player Adapt. Things change weekly know your patients Be proactive with patients, both inpatient and outpatient Show up early, take ownership of your patients. Have an assessment and plan for each patient, and check back on them frequently. On the inpatient service, learn to present patients without looking at your notes. If this means extra time in the mornings, get there earlier. Know stages of development, become comfortable with patient presentations, family rounds are challenging

PreTest

World

Pre Test, world Qbank

Clinic is pretty easy to get the hang of; inpatient is exactly like medicine - know everything about your patient, work hard during rounds, help out when you can Outpatient has tons of downtime so use it wisely. Inpatient is much more intense, less study time, so consider that when planning study time.

pretest kaplan qbank, pretest Pretest, Lange Q&A

no kaplan UWorld

survive inpatient, but outpatient is awesome

Be prepared for rounds, know patients well

no Lange, pre-test, UWorld

be professional even though the patients are children

pre-test book questions

I wish I had known

Kids are awesome

Kids are not as scary as I thought they would be.

You might have your notes taken away from you midpresentation if you look at them too much

You work long hours on inpatient, be ready

Inpatient is just medicine but with kids - the docs like to know everything and each doc is different and will want things presented differently; you have to adapt quickly

the attendings on inpt switch at least weekly. little consistency Inpatient rounding very in depth, know patients and problems well There are a lot of good apps for milestones, shots, etc. don't waste any time on clipp cases

Resources

Tips for Shelf Exam

First Aid for Psych, Pre-test, U-world, Lange's Q & A

Learn to read fast it's VERY medically oriented, a lot of questions dealt with 'is this a psych condition or a general medical condition'.

case files, pre test, wikipedia pretest, first aid for psych, a little bit of Lange

Case files, step 2 secrets, first aid for psyciatry Case Files, First Aid, Malin Lectures Pre-test, First Aid PreTest. Case Files. Online books through our library Case Files, First Aid for Psych first aid, pretest, case files first aid CaseFiles, lecture notes PreTest First Aid for Psychiatry, Lange questions, PreTest There are a ton of medicine questions on it, tough if you haven't had medicine. Take a look at organic causes of altered mental status UWorld

don't underestimate it Malin's lectures Questions are good, since most psych questions are criteria/guidelines

Case files, World

Blueprints, Pretest, USMLE World Questions Blueprints, Dr. Malin's lectures Qbank, textbook that was given to us

Do all of pretest. Know definitions; don't memorize the DSM, but be able to differentiate two very similar diseases Be sure to review psych problems related to general medical conditions, side effects of psych meds. There is a lot of medicine on the shelf so it's particularly hard if you haven't had medicine yet. It's not enough to just know the actual psych stuff. Do questions, know the general criteria for diagnoses. Only use first aid on this rotation. study for the quizzes and you'll do fine weekly quizzes help First Aid, UWorld questions read through everything at least once, but don't spend time memorizing minutia questions study alot

just the notes and internet case files First Aid Psych first aid psych First Aid, Case files First Aid, Case Files Pretest, case files, UWorld Q bank first aid First Aid Psyche the big red book give, first aid

PSYCHIATRY
Questions Tips for Clerkship
Talk to your patients and get to know them, follow up with your patients, don't fall asleep during rounds, don't use your phones unless your attending says it's ok see lots of patients. it's essential to do at least month of adult inpatient, where you can get comfortable with all the common acute psych conditions. Lange questions were hard, but helpful

U-world, Lange's, pre-test

UWorld UWorld

PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY!

no no q bank USMLE World Qbank PreTest Lange questions, PreTest Difficult for me, but remind yourself you are treating someone who is sick, although they can be frustrating at times Read Blueprints before you start the rotation. It is short for Psych. It will help you know the answers to most questions your attendings will ask you. Pre-read the lectures so you are prepared for quizzes Show enthusiasm

World

Qbank

Nothing specific to psych - standard "be helpful"

no pretest, lange qa, kaplan qbank Lange Q&A is the best, pretest was good too, Kaplan was ok. no kaplan UWorld

It's not for everyone but can still be a good experience if you let it!

Use your downtown wisely see lots of patients, study for quizzes Study First Aid for shelf

no Lange, pre-test none

act interested,

I wish I had known. . .

How exhausting a day is even though you're not necessarily running around a hospital

Keep an open mind. I thought I would hate it...loved it.

PreTest is a great resource! It helped me honor the shelf.

Medicine - shelf was tougher than anticipated

It's fun

work with Dr. Malin

more about psych pharmacology

GENERAL IN
Did you use a q-bank throughout the year? Which Q bank? Tips for using q-bank in clerkship

Yes

U-world

I did all of the questions that pertained to the clerkship I was on (ambulatory didn't really have any so I didn't use it for that)

no

waste of your money lots of people used kaplan thru the year and found that helpful and cheap

no

Yes

UWORLD

Yes

UWORLD

For IM do not try and get through them all

Yes No, used PreTest books

UWorld, MKSAP, Pre-Test

Do as many questions as you can

no I wouldn't use the same one you're planning to use for step 2

no

Yes

USMLE World Qbank

Just do a few questions a day, it really does help

No I saved all the Medicine questions for Step 2 studying. I didn't remember most of the ones I did during the clerkships when I was studying for Step 2.

Yes

UWorld

No

Yes

World

Do a lot of questions, have the app on your phone to do during downtime

yes

USMLE World

UWORLD

Yes

USMLE World

Only for majors since I had them 2nd semester

world

do as many questions as you can I bought a 6 month subscription. I used it throughout the semester, doing as many questions as I could without trying to ration them. I had plenty of questions for the semester, and then reset it when it was time to start step 2 studying. start doing qbank questiosn after you have studied the material. Do questions beginning around week 6 Kaplan isn't a great Qbank. USMLE world is the best, but save it for step 2 studying. I would go with the Lange/Pretest questions for the shelfs. The books are really helpful and the most like the real deal.

yes

kaplan for the clerkships and uworld for step 2

Yes

Kaplan

no

na

yes

kaplan

na I waited until the week of the shelf and then would work through the qbank, except for internal which required more time

Yes

UWorld

Use throughout clerkship as assessment tool

Yes no

UWorld

I used UWorld the entire third year. If you buy it for the year you can restart the question bank when you study for Step 2. Keep a notebook and write down key points you learn from a missed question. Review these notes when the shelf gets close

Yes

UWorld

yes

Kaplan

I would start using them at the beginning, if you start early it is easier to study later and will make a difference

GENERAL INFORMATION
Resources Study Schedule What worked? Didn't work?

UWORLD, first aid step 2, wikipedia, 1 week part time studying, then 3 goljan audio weeks of fully devoted studying

goljan audio (designed for step 1) was suprisingly helpful for step 2 studying

UWorld q bank and self-assessment, step 2 secrets

UWORLD, step 2 secrets

3 weeks

First Aid, UWOLD

Ended with Family. 2 hrs a day during rotation. 8 hrs a day the 1.5 weeks I Whatever works for Shelfs works for had after 3rd year Step 2

Master the Boards, Secrets, UWorld 8-12, 2-8 every day for three weeks Step Up to Medicine. First Aid for Step 2. Secrets USMLE world qbank, Step up to Step 2, USMLE Step 2 Secrets very similar to step 1 A lot harder to sit and study for 8-1012 hours a day vs. studying for Step 1 Worked: questions. Didn't work: reading.

UWorld, first aid, internet

Afternoons for 2 months

First Aid, Secrets, USMLE World Qbank

Half day questions, half day reading

Questions are the best!

UWorld

Studied 1 question set per day for the last 1 month of my final clerkship, then 2.5 weeks of 3 question sets each day, reviewing each answer I Just do QBank. You really don't need marked or got wrong. anything else.

First Aid, UWorld, Step 2 Secrets

I studied 8-10 hours a day for 4 weeks Pre-reading chapters before doing questions DID NOT work for me. It just took way too much time. What worked was focusing on doing questions, and learning from the Essentially full study days (average 8 questions. Then, reviewing hours) for four weeks afterwards topics that are weaker.

Step up to step 2, USMLE world Qbank

First Aid, World Q's, some of Step 2 Secrets

Longer than I had planned. 3 weeks every day 8-5.

I thought both were good, First Aid is a bit shallower than ideal, but with my time constraint I didn't think I could do it much differently

Doctors In Training

8am-4pm for one month

UWORLD, step up to step 2

1-2 hours /day of reading, then 1-2 hours of questions for about 5 weeks; 4 sets in a row of 44 questions on Step-Up to Medicine, Step up to step Saturdays to get back in the groove 2, USMLE World of taking a long test

Doing questions over and over again worked (but that's how I learn); reading didn't work all that well (but I learn more from questions) Studying a small amount every day for 2 months worked much better for me than having to do full days of studying for a shorter period, as most people did. Made it more leisurely and less stressful.

Studied throughout my last clerkship (family) avg 2 hrs/day, took the 2 weeks in June off and studied more full time, and took test June 28. SO World x 2, step up to step 2 nice to be done early! picked a subject per day and read first aid in the morning and did first aid for step 2, kaplan and uworld questions in the afternoon for that qbank subject

USMLE World, Master the Boards: step 2ck

Few hours every day for a month

step up 2 step 2, qbank

9-5 learning

qbank is awesome

USMLE world qbank, First AID, Step 2 secrets 8 hours/day for 3 weeks

it worked well make sure to stay relaxed and don't burn out

Step Up to Step 2, First Aid

Studied during Family Medicine (last Going through both Step Up and First rotation), took two weeks at Aid, alternating between books, beginning of fourth year to prepare questions I didn't use any textbooks, just the UWorld Q bank and did two NBME tests. This worked for me because I 4 weeks, but took multiple days off always did better on the shelf exams for two weddings in that time. Usually that I had prepared for by doing 6hrs a day 4-5 days a week. questions vs reading textbooks.

UWorld, NBME tests first aid

I studied for 6-8 hours a day for 3 weeks then 4 hours for 2-3 weeks. I started with reading for the first part of the day of a category (peds eg) and then do questions the rest of the Kaplan Qbank, UWorld Qbank, Step day. I went through the Qbank at up to medicne, First Aid step 2 least twice It all worked for me

What would you do differently?

Step 2 Prep Tips

take it almost as seriously as you took step 1. read thru step 2 secrets thru the year, read thru step 2 secrets while doing use kaplan questions thru the year questions, then maybe skim it again maybe the week before the exam

Nothing

After 3rd year attention span for studying is shot. Work on studying for extended blocks. Step 2 is longer than Step 1.

Not take a paper month

Don't do neurology as a study 2-week rotation - it makes for longer days if It's better than step 1, but don't blow your resident wants it to it off.

Have more than 2.5 weeks to study

Questions!

Nothing Maybe spend more time going over the questions I missed on UWorld. UWorld is definitely the best resource for the exam!

Study for the shelf exams - they give you the chance to honor the rotation, and translate well to Step 2

Try to really study during the clerkships. It makes studying at the end a whole lot less painful.

Maybe Step Up to Medicine

Occasionally do some questions/an exam and talk of the wrong ones with a buddy, only did it once but I thought it was great

Nothing

You only need 4-5 weeks max of actual studying; you are so well prepared by the end of the year that you don't need to study like you did for step 1 Step up to step 2 was awesome, that plus world was perfect. I read a section, then did some questions, and took notes from the qbank explanations in the book. This helped to solidify everything.

Nothing

do well on clerkships and step 2 studying is easier!

probably go through all of qbank a second time

better than step 1, but still study

nothing

its better than step 1!

Don't get burnt out

Don't get burnt out, take time for breaks, different from Step 1 Questions, questions, questions. If you don't mind paying $60 per NBME exam, I thought these were helpful and even had some questions on Step 2 that were nearly identical to the NBME questions.

N/A

learn the OBGYN guidelines

Study alot, its not easy as people say. Study really hard during 3rd year so studying for boards is easier and you can focus on more details that weren't covered in clerkships.

Tips and Strategies for 3rd year

Enjoy talking to your patients and getting to know them. Don't wake up the patients unless it's absolutely necessary (i.e. you have to finish rounds now). If a pregnant lady is early in labor and sleeping-- please let her. The nurses really appreciate that. Be nice to the nurses. Don't give them attitude. And when they're not so nice to you, try to blow it off or complain in private with your classmates (not in front of patients, visitors, other staff). Get sleep. Looking half asleep while working with patients looks bad. It's not a good feeling either when a patient calls you out for falling asleep in front of them (especially in psych). Look professional. This is not a time to try and get a boyfriend. Make sure shirts are high enough and skirts are long enough. Be practical. Most importantly-- have fun! This is what medicine is all about and it's so much fun working with patients. They can really make your day. Try to learn from each of them. Congrats on making it past Step 1! Easily the most enjoyable of my 3 years of med school so far.

Work hard and put in time and effort to every rotation even if you don't think you're interested in goig into that field. Speak up during rounds and lectures. You'll learn more, and will get better evaluations as well, if you speak up and talk through the disease processes and clinical information with your residents, attendings, and classmates. Don't daydream during rounds and always stay focused on the attending physician. Do not be late to rounds, ever. This seems obvious but can be hard to remember all the time. Be respectful to nurses and staff, DUH! But surprisingly some medical students have a sense of entitlement. However, do not let people make you feel insignificant and in the way. CU is a teaching institution, you are supposed to be there and should be there.

Be proactive -- residents will notice, staff will notice. It will be a better use of your time, and you'll see more -- and therefore remember more. Try not to get stuck in a room studying during down time. Shoot for hands-on.

Absorb, ask to do more, and be enthusiastic.

3rd year is really what you make of it.... you don't realize how much you are learning just being in the hospital. Enjoy spending time with patients :)

Take it one day at a time. It's easy to get overwhelmed by your rotations and studying for the shelf exams. Try to learn as much as you can on the services. You will be amazed by the things you pick up (unconsciously) by just being present during your rotations. Do your best with keeping up with studying, and try to always maintain perspective. You can still do very well on step 2 CK even if you don't honor all (or any) SHELF exams. Although the shelf is worth 50% of your grade, try not to get too carried away studying that you don't soak up the entire experience. You need to get a really good feel about the specialty. Also remember that you are viewing the specialty from a student's perspective, try to put yourself in the shoes of an attending when deciding if you like it or not. Put your best effort into each clerkship, but be careful not to step on the residents toes. Always offer to help them with their work. Don't interrupt residents while they are presenting their patients to an attending.

Evesdrop on anyone that you can. Sometimes that's the only way you get clued into what's going on if things get really busy. Also, in some rotations when you do well on rounds or answering questions it makes your resident look good (because theoretically that means they've done a good job teaching you). Generally they appreciate that. Even if you don't like what you're doing, you have to act interested. You have to play the game. It gets VERY tiring to do that and it is very easy to get burned out, but you will be very successful if you can "fake it." You have to be able to get along with everyone at this point in your career. Just smile and be friendly. Ask questions, ask if you can help with anything. Get to know everyone and be nice to everyone. Hospitals seem like huge places, but they are very tight socially; helping out someone may open doors to residency programs you might not have been able to get into. You just never know. It's all about your attitude - keep up a positive one. When you go home, you can and should vent about your day to your roommate or significant other or your close friends on rotation with you. You have to decompress at the end of the day or you will burn out very quickly.

If you are planing on doing externships fourth year and you know where, look into vaccination requirements early. Like January! It might take a while to get appointments and many externships are first come first serve.

in general, the more patients you see, the more diseases you get exposed to and the easier it is to remember the diseases for the shelf exams. 3rd year is like an ultramarathon, so pace yourself! Its a great year but some days will be frustrating because it will be hard to see your purpose. Stick with it! Always be helpful to residents/team, know patients well (problems, vitals, labs, imaging), study during the rotation not just towards the end

look into externships EARLY

Be extremely nice (but not a brown noser). Work hard even if it is not what you want to do. I am doing psych but my surgery rotation was great because I acted interested and offered to do stuff. Some residents may not like you, DO NOT TALK BEHIND THEIR BACK, because they will hear about it. Act nice anyways. Study hard but also have fun.

Branched Out

Over Quota