Studying Clinical Biochemistry

Here are a couple biochemistry books that I bought last semester that I'm finally putting to use and finding really helpful this semester:

I've already mentioned BRS Biochemistry a couple times on this blog, but here are a couple more books. And I really haven't cracked my BRS open this semester and I don't plan on doing so until the weekend before Mini 1 when I'm reviewing all the material. In its place, the books that I've been using so far have been Principles of Medical Biochemistry and Biochemistry and Genetics: Pretest Self-Assessment and Review.

• Principles of Medical Biochemistry - For me biochemistry as always been a dense subject. This book is even more dense, but it gets to the point and really makes clear the concepts that are covered in lecture. DO NOT pre-read the book the night before lecture. I've found the most use out of it when I go back over the different pathways and mechanisms the night after class. (It also helps with the fact that the author of the book, Dr. Meisenberg, is the Department Chair of Biochemistry here at Ross. When he doesn't give a particular lecture, one of the the other biochemistry faculty is referencing the book.)
  
• Biochemistry and Genetics: Pretest Self-Assessment and Review - Another source for MCQs; not much else to say. Wherever you go for your question banks, a lot of the times some of the material is beyond the scope of what you're covering in a particular class. In this book, I'd say that maybe a little over 50% of the questions in here are relevant to the biochemistry material taught here at Ross. The questions that aren't relevant sometimes reference other, lesser uses of the body for a particular vitamin, for example. (Some of that material may have to be learned on my own when studying for Step 1, but for now it those questions do me no good.)
  

If I used these books more often last semester maybe I wouldn't have struggled so much with the material. That's what I'm hoping will make the difference this time, anyway.

I always talk about making adjustments and "breaking the pattern" when something isn't working. When something isn't working, I figure you either need to put twice as much effort in what you're currently doing (to get over the hump) and try a different approach (if there is no hump and you're just doing it wrong).

I was definitely doing it wrong last semester and this is my adjustment this time for round 2.