The following question was posed on our chat recently. You may have the same question on your mind.
Annotating First Aid is definitely high yield and essential to proper board preparation, especially information gained from your question bank. It is best to make supplementary notes on material that seems to be especially relevant and high yield. Do not waste time taking notes on some trivia from the annals of the deepest part of the library, even if a question shows up in your Question Bank. In addition, make annotations on topics that you have difficulty understanding with the minimal information given in First Aid, which is presented in a high yield, but abbreviated outline format.
Making additional notes in First Aid is time consuming, but worth every minute. When you are annotating, you are learning, especially if you are adding the information in your own words. Interacting with the information now, at this level, may be the last time you need to go over this particular subject matter. Another plus is when you go back through the material for daily or weekly quick reviews, it is right there in one place and you do not have to waste time going between resources. Even though it is time consuming, the energy spent is for a critical exam that can define your success in medicine.
However, it is good to know that students have some options to annotating First Aid when using a Question Bank in the preparation for boards:
Work smart, work hard. If you do both, the payoff will be great. Too many shortcuts will be evident in your Step 1 score and will translate into "weaker applicant" when applying for residency.
Is it possible to print out questions from World? The website said any printing is strictly prohobited.