New(er) Taus Method 2013

[Students Plan]

TL;DR: I updated the 2010 New Taus Method. Read the word doc first; the excel file is for organizing the work, and is optional.



There are two general strategies for learning… top-down and bottom-up. Gunnertraining/Firecracker seems to be the latter, consisting of learning details from tons of flash cards. It works really well for many, so try it out if you are curious. I did, found that it is not my style, and so I searched for other resources.

The more traditional method for studying is to learn the concepts and then fit the details into them. The Taus method codified the traditional method of board studying into a concrete plan with everything outlined. Following that, the 2010 plan was a (non-Taus) revision that updated the resources and put increased emphasis on questions.

This plan, the New(er) Taus Method, is intended to let you all benefit as I share the ~20 hours of research I’ve put into planning my studying. Don’t take it as gospel (I haven’t taken the exam yet!), but I’m standing on the shoulders of giants here.

I’ve improved this in two ways: I’ve updated the sources using first aid and forum posts, and I have an excel spreadsheet that outlines the plan, well, day by day. The latter was made for my personal use, given my inherent inability to organize, so feel free to ignore it.

I've included that in the zip file with the Newer Taus method word doc.

I didn't change the word much from the old one, except a little organization, resources and changing to Pathoma instead of goljan's rapid review of path. Why mess with success?

Anyhow, hope this helps you guys. Lemme know what you think... not that I'll probably be on here incredibly often. This is obviously an alt... hopefully you all got the reference to an "anonymous" employee of Guinness. Wasn't sure if I wanted to get a gunner rep if this starts to be used by a decent number of people.

Files attached, and DL link below for good measure.

http://rapidshare.com/files/556727130/New(er) Taus Method 2013.zip


-Students Plan

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Old Style Nanny]

Isn't this a bit of an overkill? The number of resources used as well as the exact nature of the schedule that leaves little room for adaptation. As you know, not everyone learns at the same speed so having an exact schedule is pointless practically.

At least if the schedule were to incorporate a scientific revision schedule (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, etc) it would have been useful. But I see none of that. It seems to be about reading from cover to cover of all the resources once.

Here's my take based on my "research":

△ABC = First Aid; △ADC = Questions; B→C = Your Timeline.

So read FA → do questions to find out which areas you need to work on → do your own research, and read appropriate concise review books for only those areas → do more questions → if the scores are not improving, try another resource.

This is a much more efficient use of one's time rather than trying to "read everything" and ending up not reading anything very well.

 

[Students Plan]

haha, its a very, very large percentage of overkill.

First, its more than one pass of the material... I've only scheduled the first section since I don't know enough about how fast I'll be working or where I'll need more time. It should be 4 full passes, but I'd be okay with 3 if it keeps me much more happy and healthy. I fully plan on skimming most of the resources, and only annotating into first aid when it will help me understand the topics.

Heres the thing. Although I have a few weak points (cough biochem/anatomy cough), I've done very well in school... but I've crammed my way through everything. I know that I need repetition and I need to make myself actually do it, something that hasn't really happened before (hence the cramming). Otherwise I'll fall back on my normal habits and end up with under 4 weeks of frantic first-pass, poor-quality studying.

I also fully expect to be behind basically the entire time... that is, well, planned. If you notice on my excel sheet, I've left from late march onwards totally blank. My exam is in June, so there is a lot of time there. I have a vague idea of what I'll be doing during the stretch (passes 2-4?) but nothing in particular. This time is intended for catchup and fill holes in my knowledge.

The first pass will to find the holes that aren't easily filled after a review. USMLEWorld will be a lot more helpful once I've seen the details for the first time since my exams. Right now, I'm missing a ton, and so my weaknesses appear to be all over.

I also loathe reading first aid. I need more context than the pages present, and so I'm looking forward to reading the other sources. I've read a decent amount, and I just feel like I'm memorizing everything, not understanding it.

We'll see about it... I haven't done enough work to see how fast I can crank through material. I like having a plan though, and having the dates keeps me honest about where I "should" be.

So, overkill? Well, probably. But having an exam covering two years of school is also ridiculous. It'll be an interesting ride.

 

[Students Plan]

Old style nanny,
That definitely makes sense... if I had my exam in 4 weeks instead of 4 months, I'd definitely suggest following the method you suggested (that goes to all you reading this... although the review schedule for the last two weeks might still be worth considering?).

To everyoneone else reading: Hopefully the resources picked are reasonable. If anyone feels they aren't useful for them, skip it. I followed the lead of the original two plans there, and haven't done much yet myself. I'm finding the biochem book useful, but it is certainly my weakest point. I suspect they will be useful, especially for those needing context. I'm not sure I emphasized enough that the sources are more to clarify/help annotating first aid, and not something to memorize or anything silly.

 

[WilliamsEph]

How is the new high yield molecular bio (compared to the 1999 edition)? Is it really high yield or minutaie?

 

[FIREitUP]

Isn't this a bit of an overkill? The number of resources used as well as the exact nature of the schedule that leaves little room for adaptation. As you know, not everyone learns at the same speed so having an exact schedule is pointless practically.

At least if the schedule were to incorporate a scientific revision schedule (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, etc) it would have been useful. But I see none of that. It seems to be about reading from cover to cover of all the resources once.

Here's my take based on my "research":

△ABC = First Aid; △ADC = Questions; B→C = Your Timeline.

So read FA → do questions to find out which areas you need to work on → do your own research, and read appropriate concise review books for only those areas → do more questions → if the scores are not improving, try another resource.

This is a much more efficient use of one's time rather than trying to "read everything" and ending up not reading anything very well.

whether or not it's overkill depends on your goals. I've never been a huge fan of taking questions and figuring things out after I've done a question and had no f-ing clue. That actually sounds more inefficient than using good resources from the get-go; why use trial and error when I don't have to undergo the frustration? I would prefer to use questions to reinforce what I've learned rather than using them as a primary learning resource.

@Williams: I can't attest for the new versions, but the 1999 is very succinct and has a few decent chapters. I don't really see what the fuss is about, though, since it isn't that fantastic, IMO. If you had a strong molecular/cell bio background you could probably do without any supplementation.

@OP: your timeline is exceedingly impossible to follow. Finishing the first pass in ~1 month during school? Two passes while in school before dedicated studying time?

 

[JShephard]

whether or not it's overkill depends on your goals. I've never been a huge fan of taking questions and figuring things out after I've done a question and had no f-ing clue. That actually sounds more inefficient than using good resources from the get-go; why use trial and error when I don't have to undergo the frustration? I would prefer to use questions to reinforce what I've learned rather than using them as a primary learning resource.

@Williams: I can't attest for the new versions, but the 1999 is very succinct and has a few decent chapters. I don't really see what the fuss is about, though, since it isn't that fantastic, IMO. If you had a strong molecular/cell bio background you could probably do without any supplementation.

@OP: your timeline is exceedingly impossible to follow. Finishing the first pass in ~1 month during school? Two passes while in school before dedicated studying time?

Yeah, it all depends on your background. If I'm strong in an area, I will use a trial and error approach. If I'm weak? Then I'll use a great source + FA.

Everything about learning is individual. In that way, everyone's approach is right. If it works for them.

 

[addy]

Sorry for bringing back back what seems like an ended discussion but---

OP/anyone who's familiar with the Taus method:

How do you do two full passes of FA when school is in session and you haven't finished all of 2nd year material yet?

 

[preDoGuy24]

Sorry for bringing back back what seems like an ended discussion but---

OP/anyone who's familiar with the Taus method:

How do you do two full passes of FA when school is in session and you haven't finished all of 2nd year material yet?

I am currently on this method, definetly not done with two passes of first aid- still working on my 1st one though I have read all of the other supplemental books (cmmrs, rapid review BCHEM, HYCMB) except the BRS behavioral which I will read in our psych class at the end of this month. I am PBL- so kind of subject based, i.e. I have been doing all of the different systems in first aid with my school stuff, plus supplementing with pathoma and Rapid review path.

I plan on finishing complete first read thru of everything + usmlerx by may ish- start dedicated 3-4 week study time and pound through the second read thru- uworld- and hopefully finish with the 10 day speed thru as a third if I can keep on track.

TLDR: difficult to finish all of this while in classes, just don't stop chipping away at it.

 

[FIREitUP]

Sorry for bringing back back what seems like an ended discussion but---

OP/anyone who's familiar with the Taus method:

How do you do two full passes of FA when school is in session and you haven't finished all of 2nd year material yet?

answer: you don't

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Sorry for bringing back back what seems like an ended discussion but---

OP/anyone who's familiar with the Taus method:

How do you do two full passes of FA when school is in session and you haven't finished all of 2nd year material yet?

See post #2 in the thread

 

[jujubextc33]

You're eliminated study resource for Anatomy and Embryo entirely? Was FA sufficient?
And how did you end up doing on the exam after following this plan..?

 

[Morsetlis]

You guys make my head hurt >_<

 

[Profe10P]

Hi guys,

how exactly do you follow this having only 4-6 hrs of daily study?

 

[seminoma]

Hi guys,

how exactly do you follow this having only 4-6 hrs of daily study?

You don't

 

[Profe10P]

For the ones who followed it obviously was the question.
anyway is it just to get an idea of how to use the resources.
or what exactly to get from this method?