I used #First_Aid during my first year to organize the material by organ system. If you have First Aid you know how thick that book is! This was overwhelming for me. So I split the book by block/organ system into smaller spiraled notebooks. I carried around this smaller book for reference during each block specific to that system and kept high yield material on hand.
I would write my own notes as I was learning the material in class or to review material. This helped me organize high yield concepts and cross reference information from class. Remember that most schools want to test you on high yield to prepare you for Step 1 and you can use First Aid as a outline. Also First Aid has great mnemonics.
Doing this, helped me anticipate the "why" around basic concepts. For example, basic heart concepts such as preload, afterload, and PV loops need to be mastered before you apply these to heart disease , blood pressure, and reading #EKGs. I was able to anticipate and think clinically by looking through #FirstAid. Anticipating the clinical importance was a great motivator for me, especially because some of these concepts were abstract and conceptually challenging.
Hope this helps someone! If you have any other tips, comments or questions let me know below!
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