The Firecracker team is pleased to resume regular updates to this blog, which aims to help you navigate the platform, learn about what’s new, find out how your peers are using Firecracker, and much more.

A 29-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. The patient’s temperature is 36.8°C (98.2°F), pulse rate is 120/min, blood pressure is 80/45 mm Hg, and respiratory rate is 20/min, and oxygen saturation 97% on 2L nasal cannula. The patient is somnolent and responds only to painful stimuli. His skin is cold and clammy. A quick trauma survey reveals minor abrasions and contusions to his face and upper extremities. His neck veins are flat. His abdomen is dull to percussion and distended and there are several large hematomas.

First Aid citations for 2018 are live in Firecracker. We now have all Firecracker content mapped to First Aid 2018, First Aid 2017, and First Aid 2016. We map our content to First Aid so you can streamline your study between First Aid and Firecracker - and be confident that Firecracker covers the vast majority of everything in First Aid.

Yes, we are having a sale. Also, a challenge.

We've rounded up some background information and best practices for using Firecracker for Clerkships.

Dallin, a third-year medical student at Des Moines University, used Firecracker throughout year two of medical school to accomplish a few goals simultaneously; retaining information learned in class, preparing for USMLE, and shoring up osteopathic manipulative medicine knowledge that is emphasized on COMLEX. The Firecracker DO program includes comprehensive content and practice questions for every concept and fact that is fair game to be tested on both COMLEX and USMLE combined. The content is all originally authored, and indexed neatly to leave no doubt which materials are relevant for which exam(s) and classes/Clerkships. Dallin accounts how supplementing coursework with Firecracker, Uworld, and Combank was the perfect recipe for two tremendous board scores in one week:

So...we've almost made it to the end of 2017. It's been an interesting year, for everyone. Through December 31st, we're having our hoiday sale on Firecracker:

1 year of Firecracker for $150

18 months of Firecracker for $200

2 years of Firecracker for $250 ... and more.

Want to study like the most successful medical students do? Of course you do! We've compiled here a set of video tutorials recorded by medical students, for medical students, which delve into exam preparation skills and recommendations for successful studying. If you'd like to read some guides authored by students, we went ahead and put together this collection of winter break studying champions' experiences.

We hope you’re surviving (or have survived) finals season. You’re probably looking ahead to next semester as well. We know from conversations with students that they are using several resources to help them keep up with classes, boards and wards. It's that time of year for us too. Our end of year sale is here! Starting today, through December 24th we're offering the lowest possible rate on Firecracker:$150 for 1 year, $250 for two years.

Vacation study strategies! Over the years, winter break has been one of the most popular times for students to start consistently practicing a daily routine of doing questions. Sticking to a regular review routine during the vacation helps you refresh on materials you've learned this past semester, and/or older content you learned last year. These healthy study habits will carry into the New Year, helping you to cruise right into your coursework, and for second- or third-year medical students, into boards with confidence in your comprehension.