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"Re: Step 2 YES! We are working on it as I type! We have about 15+ residents, students, residency directors, etc. working on it!
Since there is so much overlap between the two tests, we are going to have them be 1 program
but with the ability to filter out topics and questions that are only Step 1.
We are planning on releasing bits and pieces to current members as soon as possible (possibly next month!) Then, we aim to have the complete program ready to go by this September (2012 of course!)."
"We're also going to add hundreds of USMLE-like questions (sequential item sets w/ clinical vignettes, matching sets, etc.) for both Step 1 and Step 2.
So if we're like First Aid on Steroids now, we will soon be...
Like if FA and UWorld had a baby... and gave that baby steroids. Yea, that would be us. Soon guys! Thanks to all your great ideas! Keep em coming! We can't wait to show you what we're building (and we have a new and greatly improved platform on it's way too!)."
can't wait!
I think step2 content is much better to retain long-term than step1 content, and it's worth it!
Your progress carries over. I did the same thing and continued gunnin' seamlessly.Hey GT users...
I was on the GT trial account for last 3 weeks. I now want to buy the subscription. I banked biochem on my trial account will my progress be carried on to my 'paid account' or will I lose my progress?
I went through the FAQs section but could not figure out.
I'm not convinced yet on the step 2 program. So far, I know GT lives to be thorough and innovative, which means more and more info and qbank style questions. I don't think qbank questions are useful in the spaced algorithm like facts are. Qbanks are for application. Also, let's say youre on surgery, are you really going to want to spend daily GT time on peds, neurology, family medicine, etc.? I know that GT dropped my level of focus on the current material because of hours of upkeep.
All that combined with the fact that many applicants don't even turn in their step 2 scores in residency applications. I will use anki if I need spaced rep and this would be more malleable than GT for clinical info. Step 1 is very standardized and easier to make a GT qbank for, I don't know if the clinical knowledge for rotations will be the same.
We'll see but I'm not convinced yet.
mini rant:
what's the deal with some of the pseudo-vignette MCQs?
Seriously, you waste my time, making me read 5-6 lines to ask which of the following sensations is not mediated through the thalamus? There is a number of MCQs like that.
To me this seems as if you couldn't be bothered to write down a decent MCQ and did it just for the sake of having MCQs. I admit, some of the MCQs are well thought out and they do help, but these are just pointless.
Just ask me "Which of the following sensations is not mediated throught the thalamus?".
We already need to put a significant amount of time into GT, please try not to waste our time even more! I'm sure everyone would appreciate that.
Thanks!
mini rant:
what's the deal with some of the pseudo-vignette MCQs?
Seriously, you waste my time, making me read 5-6 lines to ask which of the following sensations is not mediated through the thalamus? There is a number of MCQs like that.
To me this seems as if you couldn't be bothered to write down a decent MCQ and did it just for the sake of having MCQs. I admit, some of the MCQs are well thought out and they do help, but these are just pointless.
Just ask me "Which of the following sensations is not mediated throught the thalamus?".
We already need to put a significant amount of time into GT, please try not to waste our time even more! I'm sure everyone would appreciate that.
Thanks!
I agree. I stopped doing GT because I felt like I was wasting time memorizing stuff that doesn't matter. If it was only stuff from FA it would have been easier to motivate myself to memorize it all. I'm guessing GT was better when it first came out before they added so much to it.+1 If you were to create a petition to GT, I would sign. useless vignettes have NO place in a flashcard recall program.
Also wtf is the deal with GT going above & beyond info found in most review books. Is it just me or whoever is writing some of these cards is getting a little carried away with including every goddamn little detail on every disease?
Is it too much to ask for them to keep the text simple & on the level of FA, so it doesn't take fever to read through their cards.
I'm guessing a lot of this has to do with the amount of time we each have to get through GT, but I love the extra detail and I appreciate that GT isn't merely an electronic version of FA (as mentioned above, check out FlashFacts if you just want a flashcard program with the level of detail in FA).
Personally, (and keeping in mind that I have only taken a few NBMEs and not the real deal), I don't view FA as sufficiently detailed to do extremely well on Step 1. I'm guessing that the people who tout FA+UWorld as "all you need" were really benefiting from the extra detail and mechanism-focused answers contained in UWorld (which I think are clutch). When you get into the score ranges that I'm aiming for (265+), a few extra points could depend on those details that felt irrelevant in GT. For those without the same ambitions, GT will probably feel like a waste of time.
Just my two cents
Hello Gunners,
I will be beginning the medical school journey this fall and am interested in Gunner training. I have been stalking this thread for a while and following all of your progress.
Can anyone who has used GT since beginning medical school or soon after chime in on some advice as to when to begin? Any advice would be appreciated. My school has a traditional curriculum.
I have used Anki in the past and found it to be beneficial.
For those doing GT and a Qbank , assuming Uworld will be left until closer to test time, do you guys think Kaplan Qbank or UsmleRx is the better chance?
Or, should I not worry about doing a Qbank with GT all together? I'm finishing up my M1 and would like to start GT this summer and onward.
Thanks!
Winter break of first year might be good. That way you have time to adjust to school before adding something extra on top of it. You can use your down time to bank stuff from first semester. You can start sooner too, but I'd recommend giving yourself a little time to get into the swing of things first.
1) tl;drHey Guys, just curious about a few things as I may have been late to pick up on the updates, but:
1) After you "add questions for review" from say different subjects (say I added 100 cards from micro and 100 cards for immuno for the FIRST time), has GT now been modified it to such you can only do micro's subject's review questions? I think it's frustrating that you can't access the GT topics until you completed your review questions and I hope its the case where I'm can just do the micro questions.
--> The obvious advice of course I realize would be don't add the immuno cards in the first place but i also don't want to UNDO that but I hope I can be more selective with the FIRST time answering only a subject's questions than all of them.
(2) Likewise, after you did the quizzes the first time and rated the questions, I assume you can then do review questions by subject only right. Ideally, it would be great to say if I was using GT for pharm and didn't want to deal with old anatomy questions
(3) In the event that questions do back up (say you didnt touch GT for a month), is there an option to just do review questions by RATING so you still can focus on weaknesses (i.e.- the 1 and 2 start questions vs. spending time on the 5s)??
(4) Any option to allow the notes that you annotated onto GT to appear up while doing review questions?
Thanks guys.
Gunneria, it's hard for me to take you seriously at this point.
Can the Pharm be learned ahead of time like the micro?
Just curious.
Also, what were your favorite pharm review books?
I only use the review books as a good reference if something is poorly taught in class and/or GT card isn't fleshed out enough.
Can the Pharm be learned ahead of time like the micro?
Just curious.
Also, what were your favorite pharm review books?
I only use the review books as a good reference if something is poorly taught in class and/or GT card isn't fleshed out enough.
Hey everyone
I've been stalking this thread for a while, and I think you guys have sold me on gt. I'm finishing ms 1 and thinking of starting this summer. Below are the list of materials I am hoping to use. Would appreciate your feedback. Thank you
Yes, definitely - FA
Yes, once completely through minimum - U world (at least 2x)
Sure why notRx
Up to you. I cannot justify using DIT, i haven't used it. May be redundant if you go the GT/FA route. Unsure DIT - got this free from a friend
I like this for the gym, but don't find it to be one of my "primary" sources.. good at integrating stuff Goljan audio and rr - got Goljan free from a friend*
Yes definitely a couple to just your progress Nbme*
Test it out and see first before you plan to use. Some prefer just using FA Gt
Yes, especially if free Kaplan q bank - its free with my tuition
Unsure what this bank's quality is like.. haven't used it Combank
Is this overkill? I'm nervous because I bombed the mcat (27). I did self study for 3 months while working part time and doing a masters, and that didn't work so well. I don't want to look back after step one and realize there is something I could have done to perform better. Are any of my aforementioned sources redundant? Would appreciate your opinion.*
First- if you haven't already done so, try a 30 day trial of GT (link below)
http://www.gunnertraining.com/free_trial/1011183
Bank some stuff and see if you like it. I recommend banking something you have recently learned (if you have taken micro maybe?) to see how it helps you with your recall. Trying to bank things you don't know yet (atleast when first learning the system), is very frustrating. Don't bank stuff you haven't learned.
GT doesn't work for everyone..people I know either love it or hate it. You are the only one that can make that decision by trying it out.
As far as your sources, I responded to each one. I don't think they are all redundant, but some maybe too time consuming given what you want to accomplish in the next year w/ adding DIT + Combank (you already have 3 other qbanks). I recommend considering pathoma if you are weak in path.. I really enjoyed it.
FA + UWORLD + QBank (free for you!) is a minimum IMO. Depends what score you are shooting for also..
Don't worry about the mcat, put that behind you, Step 1 is a totally different beast, with much better resources to utilize as you study (IMO)
Goodluck
Can the Pharm be learned ahead of time like the micro?
Just curious.
Hey thanks for your input. Combank is preparation for the comlex. All d.o students know about it. Well, I'm hoping for a 240 +. I'm uniquely screwed because I want a fairly competitive specialty, I'm from Canada (I need a visa), and some acgme accredited programs are already tough to aquire as a d.o. Though the mcat crushed me, I am in the top 5 of the 135 people in my class so hopefully I can hack that board score. I hope the material I am learning now is somewhat representative of what I'll see on boards but I know that most board material is from second year.
Yes. Is your curriculum systems based? If so, I strongly recommend learning pharm as you go along. For example, learn cardio pharm during your cardio block. While you're learning about the pathophys of heart failure, you should also open your copy of First Aid and learn the heart failure drugs, when they are used, when they are contraindicated, their side effects, etc. This approach was crucial for me in integrating the specific drugs into my knowledge base (there are a LOT of drugs). In our curriculum pharm kind of comes in at the end, and for the entire first two years all our profs kind of ignored pharm based on the assumption that we'd learn it later in the actual pharm class. When actual pharm class came along, the pharm prof assumed we learned the systems-based pharm all along and focused on the very conceptual easy peasy pharm stuff (e.g. formulas and graphs for pharmacokinetics/dynamics) and deemphasized learning specific drugs. Those who didn't keep up with pharm on their own were screwed and ended up cramming pharm during their boards study periods (taking away time from other areas).
Aside from specific drugs, there is not a lot to know for pharm. Just some enzyme kinetics and a handful of formulas...those can wait until your actual pharm class.
Ah! I see, that explain why I was unfamiliar with combank...in that case- definitely! Keep in mind those qbanks are a large time commitment, especially doing UW twice. It sounds like you are in a great position to crush the step if you are top 5... Just try to use GT to drill the info in. How long do you have dedicated boards time?
School starts end of July so I was hoping to start using fa and gt along with class material to drill in info. We will only have exams every three weeks come second year. I skip most of my classes now anyway. I just stream everything at 2.5x speed. This should give me time to study for boards outside of school. Do you think I should start over the summer though? We have a seven week break and I'm spending all that time in the lab. I dunno. I have mixed feelings about it. I just don't want to do mediocre on the boards and then realize that there is something I could have done differently
School starts end of July so I was hoping to start using fa and gt along with class material to drill in info. We will only have exams every three weeks come second year. I skip most of my classes now anyway. I just stream everything at 2.5x speed. This should give me time to study for boards outside of school. Do you think I should start over the summer though? We have a seven week break and I'm spending all that time in the lab. I dunno. I have mixed feelings about it. I just don't want to do mediocre on the boards and then realize that there is something I could have done differently
...
3) No. If you're going to take a month off you should just wait until MS2 to start.
...
We had 5 exams all of second year...every 3 weeks sounds like hell to me, but I guess you'll probably have less info to worry about per exam.
I'd at the very least try to get most things banked from 1st year over summer. Even if you only commit 1-2 hours per day doing questions and banking cards it'll pay off in the long term. I think it's important not to burn out before 2nd year and find some time between research and GT to relax.. but you don't want to be banking everything from 1st year during second year or you will have a difficult time reaching 100% banked by your dedicated study time. Banking 1st year over summer will help you reinforce the info now, and free up time to start Qbanks once you are 100% banked.
Thanks. I'm doing basic science research so I have some time off in between experiments. And my bus ride is like one hour. Does gt work offline? I'm signing up for the one month trial in June. yay. Do gt, Pathoma and DIT complement each other well? I'm just nervous about getting stuck watching a whole bunch of videos. I already skip all classes so I can watch them later at 2.5 x speed. Thoughts?
Lol are you serious? I thought 3 exams a month was AWESOME because we currently average 5-7 exams per month right now in ms1. This excludes quizzes. Wish I was at your school
has anyone else noticed a ridiculous increase in clinical vignettes in the review schedule? I say more than half of my questions now are vignetes. I can't decide if I should be pissed off or not. Because most of them are fairly straight forward, except for 2 problem onces I came across. One asked which of the following was true & I had to waste time reading 4 wrong concepts (i'd rather do a which is false, that way you learn faster...), also a 2nd question had an answer that was FOUR PARAGRAPHS LONG, Uworld style, it was VERY OFF PUTTING, tl dr....
anyway, i'm leaning towards getting pissed off, I was planning on banking everything for my test, but from the looks of it, i'm going to be sticking to banking certain subjects, & doing the rest in anki or something.
Hey guys, someone suggested using Pathoma videos with GT...how does GT path compare with FA path (are there any serious omissions to be concerned about?)
Thanks.