Advice on how to study Rapid Review Pathology

[Neo2011]

Hello everyone, I'm just wondering how do you guys study Rapid Review Pathogy by Goljan. The book is kinda thick, and it seems to contain overwhelming amount of materials. How long does it take to go cover-to-cover? Do you do practice questions right after finished reading each chapter? Any input is greatly appreciated.

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[summergirl12]

It is hard to study, especially at the beginning. I recommend listening to Goljan's audio lectures while annotating/skimming the book to get a feel for the material, it helps with the big picture. I did that once, read the book cover-to-cover twice, and plan on reviewing the blue margin notes in a few days (my exam is in a week). It's really impossible to know every single thing in there, so don't beat yourself up if you feel overwhelmed. It takes me about 6-7 days to go through the whole thing.

 

[leahmaria]

I've also been just opening it up to the Goljan I'm listening to and follow along in RR.

 

[Cryogos]

The format was a little tricky for me as well. I couldn't just read through a chapter and retain anything, so I ended up studying it a little more actively. For each disorder I would cover up the text with a notecard or something and try to recall three or four things about it, and continue on like that for the rest of the disorders in the chapter. I just drilled the book like this repeatedly until the material stuck. This method was time consuming in the beginning, but really effective. In the end, I was surprised how quickly I could get through the book, and it really helped with pattern recognition and making the jumps on the test.

 

[Neo2011]

THANK YOU ALL for great advices.

 

[ENThopeful]

The format was a little tricky for me as well. I couldn't just read through a chapter and retain anything, so I ended up studying it a little more actively. For each disorder I would cover up the text with a notecard or something and try to recall three or four things about it, and continue on like that for the rest of the disorders in the chapter. I just drilled the book like this repeatedly until the material stuck. This method was time consuming in the beginning, but really effective. In the end, I was surprised how quickly I could get through the book, and it really helped with pattern recognition and making the jumps on the test.

Agreed again! I think the key with RR path is reading it over and over again, first time to understand the mechanism - I understood but I didn't retain, and a few more times to memorize.

 

[Twohundred73]

I just memorized it. Started 6 months before med school and just memorized, memorized, memorized. Some questions I could remember exactly what page the information was in RR path.

I crushed the test. Completely pulverized it.

 

[ENThopeful]

when did would you say retention started kicking in?

 

[Twohundred73]

Mostly random facts before medical school. I could list tumors and clinical findings of syndromes before medical school started. The full understanding didn't come together until MS2. My pathology course was a breeze. Until then some of the stuff was just words. Didn't have to spend much time memorizing tiny details such beta2 integrins, clinical findings etc. during prep. Hard work, not for everyone.

Also, I had Goljan in my headphones doing laundry, dishes, on the bus, you name it. I even listened to him in the shower but had to use loud volume speakers for that of course. In lecture, if it sucked, I turned on goljan instead and read the powerpoints afterwards.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Wow.

How'd you do on Step I? What all did you do and what was your schedule like?

 

[Twohundred73]

Wow.

How'd you do on Step I? What all did you do and what was your schedule like?

Somewhere between 265 and Pollux. My parents are both IMG and helped me prep. I basically used MS1+MS2 as prep and review books as coursework supplemented with lecture notes. Also did loads of questions, basically all q-banks. The last 4 weeks of intense prep I did old questions in usmleworld and just studied my well-worn FA.

I did put in an insane amount of hours and dedication to achieve what I did. Also, I have good genes considering my parents.

 

[Richspiders07]

Wow.

How'd you do on Step I? What all did you do and what was your schedule like?

i'd guess twohundred73 = 273 on step 1.....

 

[Neo2011]

Somewhere between 265 and Pollux. My parents are both IMG and helped me prep. I basically used MS1+MS2 as prep and review books as coursework supplemented with lecture notes. Also did loads of questions, basically all q-banks. The last 4 weeks of intense prep I did old questions in usmleworld and just studied my well-worn FA.

I did put in an insane amount of hours and dedication to achieve what I did. Also, I have good genes considering my parents.

did you post your experience in one of those exam experience thread?.....i'd love to read it.

 

[shalangsta]

hey twohundred 273, what review books did u use throughout your mS1-2? im current ms1 and i am fed up with lecture notes and text books. i want to study from only review books, i was thinking of starting kaplan now. we only have 3 weeks off before boards so thats only enough time for questions and no content. my school is heartless.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

did you post your experience in one of those exam experience thread?.....i'd love to read it.

Yeah, I didn't put 2 and 2 together nor think about that as her score.

 

[Twohundred73]

did you post your experience in one of those exam experience thread?.....i'd love to read it.

I'm sorry, but I am too busy to write too long a post. I write here during short breaks of my studying.

hey twohundred 273, what review books did u use throughout your mS1-2? im current ms1 and i am fed up with lecture notes and text books. i want to study from only review books, i was thinking of starting kaplan now. we only have 3 weeks off before boards so thats only enough time for questions and no content. my school is heartless.

I used BRS, HY books, FA, RR path and some kaplan lecture notes, . I think much of the information can be found in this forum as this is where I found a lot of the information while lurking. My parents recommended the BRS and HY books since that is what they used - but that was a long time ago. That's why I came here for more recent info and added Kaplan to my book list.

I think the amount of time I spent studying had a bigger impact than exactly which review source I used. People who have just 4-6 weeks of preparation time have to be more selective of course. School lecture notes was only for passing my exams.

 

[kdburton]

haha obviously this guy is a troll. no one memorizes rapid review path before med school starts

 

[soulisatomic]

I'm sorry, but I am too busy to write too long a post. I write here during short breaks of my studying.

I used BRS, HY books, FA, RR path and some kaplan lecture notes, . I think much of the information can be found in this forum as this is where I found a lot of the information while lurking. My parents recommended the BRS and HY books since that is what they used - but that was a long time ago. That's why I came here for more recent info and added Kaplan to my book list.

I think the amount of time I spent studying had a bigger impact than exactly which review source I used. People who have just 4-6 weeks of preparation time have to be more selective of course. School lecture notes was only for passing my exams.

BRS series started in 1994/95. I understand your parents immigrated to the US as doctors and then took the steps in or after 1994, as you say they used BRS.

kdburton, there are motivated students who may memorize the Robbins path or RRP, its very difficult to judge a person's background and motivation. I have seen people with B.Sc's in Biochem or Path or Physiology,who topped med school, as they had read most of the topics even before med school started.

We all benefit from the inputs on this board, and some them maybe completely outta of the box. Sorry I almost sound like preacher.yuk.

 

[Twohundred73]

BRS series started in 1994/95. I understand your parents immigrated to the US as doctors and then took the steps in or after 1994, as you say they used BRS.

kdburton, there are motivated students who may memorize the Robbins path or RRP, its very difficult to judge a person's background and motivation. I have seen people with B.Sc's in Biochem or Path or Physiology,who topped med school, as they had read most of the topics even before med school started.

We all benefit from the inputs on this board, and some them maybe completely outta of the box. Sorry I almost sound like preacher.yuk.

They did research in the late 90s in did the steps in the early 2000. They worked as european physicians before immigration.

 

[kdburton]

BRS series started in 1994/95. I understand your parents immigrated to the US as doctors and then took the steps in or after 1994, as you say they used BRS.

kdburton, there are motivated students who may memorize the Robbins path or RRP, its very difficult to judge a person's background and motivation. I have seen people with B.Sc's in Biochem or Path or Physiology,who topped med school, as they had read most of the topics even before med school started.

We all benefit from the inputs on this board, and some them maybe completely outta of the box. Sorry I almost sound like preacher.yuk.

Ummmm there are no motivated students who have memorized Robbin's. There are motivated students who have read RRP multiple times in preparation for the baords. I don't doubt that there are people with degrees specific to one subject or another on the boards who are well-prepared and rock med school, but people don't simply memorize a review book for USMLE Step1 before med school. If you look at all of this guys posts (which are almost all on this thread) its easy to see that he's/she's a troll. Dont kid yourself...

 

[Twohundred73]

Ummmm there are no motivated students who have memorized Robbin's. There are motivated students who have read RRP multiple times in preparation for the baords. I don't doubt that there are people with degrees specific to one subject or another on the boards who are well-prepared and rock med school, but people don't simply memorize a review book for USMLE Step1 before med school. If you look at all of this guys posts (which are almost all on this thread) its easy to see that he's/she's a troll. Dont kid yourself...

Not everyone write 265+. Why would you not memorize it before med school? The only reason I can think of is ignorance. Everyone who knows should start memorizing it right away. Medicine is about remembering silly details. The sooner you start, the better your score.

 

[Richspiders07]

Not everyone write 265+. Why would you not memorize it before med school? The only reason I can think of is ignorance. Everyone who knows should start memorizing it right away. Medicine is about remembering silly details. The sooner you start, the better your score.

I hope you are kidding. Medicine isn't about remembering "silly details" for an exam. Not to mention that having a great score doesn't mean you will be a good doctor. I'd much rather have an average Step 1 score and know all the important details when it really matters (ie: dying patient in front of you). But then again, maybe i'm one of the ignorant people who waited until medical school to learn medicine. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

 

[Twohundred73]

I hope you are kidding. Medicine isn't about remembering "silly details" for an exam. Not to mention that having a great score doesn't mean you will be a good doctor. I'd much rather have an average Step 1 score and know all the important details when it really matters (ie: dying patient in front of you). But then again, maybe i'm one of the ignorant people who waited until medical school to learn medicine. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

WTF... I memorized it to rock step 1, the number one key to get into a good residency and become a good doctor. I assume not everyone knows this before starting medical school. I knew - so I started early. You don't have to wait for medical school to memorize, for example, clinical findings in zinc deficiency, most common cancer in the brain, desmin markers etc... But it helps not having to worry about that stuff during prep and your pathology course.

 

[Captopril]

Not everyone write 265+.

Seriously you guys, not everyone write 265+!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO WTF

Wow, you memorized RR before med school? Did you take MCATs in 8th grade, and SAT I in kindergarten????????

TROLL ALERT

 

[Twohundred73]

Seriously you guys, not everyone write 265+!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO WTF

Wow, you memorized RR before med school? Did you take MCATs in 8th grade, and SAT I in kindergarten????????

TROLL ALERT

No I STARTED memorizing it before medical school.

 

[Captopril]

No I STARTED memorizing it before medical school.

It sucks that this was actually a very informative, helpful thread until it got hi-jacked

 

[perilou]

No I STARTED memorizing it before medical school.

 

[soulisatomic]

The format was a little tricky for me as well. I couldn't just read through a chapter and retain anything, so I ended up studying it a little more actively. For each disorder I would cover up the text with a notecard or something and try to recall three or four things about it, and continue on like that for the rest of the disorders in the chapter. I just drilled the book like this repeatedly until the material stuck. This method was time consuming in the beginning, but really effective. In the end, I was surprised how quickly I could get through the book, and it really helped with pattern recognition and making the jumps on the test.

OK lets bring this great thread back from where it deviated off a tangent..

Thanks for the tip, I totally agree with Cryogos that RR has to be 'attacked' in the way he/she did.
One question, how long did it take for you to finish the book the first time around? I understand results will vary person to person.

Thanks

 

[Neo2011]

I was trying to read the first couple chapters, but unfortunately nothing was retained. So I just decided to stick with only 3 sources: FA, UW, and Kaplan books. I just aim around 220, so hopefully those three sources will suffice.

 

[soulisatomic]

Kaplan is not really strong in Path though...

 

[McGillGrad]

haha obviously this guy is a troll. no one memorizes rapid review path before med school starts

lmao...thank you for restoring my faith in people...I was wondering how long it would take for someone to post the obvious

 

[McGillGrad]

I was trying to read the first couple chapters, but unfortunately nothing was retained. So I just decided to stick with only 3 sources: FA, UW, and Kaplan books. I just aim around 220, so hopefully those three sources will suffice.

Most people use RR as a way to fill in info that is left out in FA while running through USMLEworld question. When you get to a question where you need to review, look in RR and transcribe the important points into the respective FA section. Then you can use FA as your only source by the last couple of weeks.

 

[Richspiders07]

Brilliant! I wonder how much money I could make posting something like that to download...

 

[ENThopeful]

RR path is very mysterious. Everytime I read it, I learn something new.

 

[mrmandrake]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing on that twohundred guy. I'm starting to memorize baby robbins and I don't start med school for another 5 months. He had high goals and it paid off. To each his own but I don't understand why you think he's a troll. I'm definitely not a troll and I can assure you I'm doing the same thing. It's true that Step I doesn't make you a good doctor but it is vital if you want to get into a competitive field, no one can deny that.

 

[ShadyMedicine]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing on that twohundred guy. I'm starting to memorize baby robbins and I don't start med school for another 5 months. He had high goals and it paid off. To each his own but I don't understand why you think he's a troll. I'm definitely not a troll and I can assure you I'm doing the same thing. It's true that Step I doesn't make you a good doctor but it is vital if you want to get into a competitive field, no one can deny that.

Have fun with that...too bad the baby Robbins leaves out a lot of information that is necessary (builds the necessary foundation you need) to do well on the boards and in class (I have both). You probably know that though, as pre-meds do know all.

Well, I better get back to memorizing my Cecil's...

 

[McGillGrad]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing on that twohundred guy. I'm starting to memorize baby robbins and I don't start med school for another 5 months. He had high goals and it paid off. To each his own but I don't understand why you think he's a troll. I'm definitely not a troll and I can assure you I'm doing the same thing. It's true that Step I doesn't make you a good doctor but it is vital if you want to get into a competitive field, no one can deny that.

um...that guy is a troll...lol... he is just messing with naive people

oh and good luck with baby robbins

 

[mrmandrake]

Well good to know. I don't claim to know all as you imply and I'm not sure why you guys get off on being sarcastic about my study habits but I do have fun with it as I have a genuine interest in medicine. Maybe that will all change when I hit med school but hopefully I don't end up like you.

Have fun with that...too bad the baby Robbins leaves out a lot of information that is necessary (builds the necessary foundation you need) to do well on the boards and in class (I have both). You probably know that though, as pre-meds do know all.

Well, I better get back to memorizing my Cecil's...

 

[coralfangs]

I hope you are kidding. Medicine isn't about remembering "silly details" for an exam. Not to mention that having a great score doesn't mean you will be a good doctor. I'd much rather have an average Step 1 score and know all the important details when it really matters (ie: dying patient in front of you). But then again, maybe i'm one of the ignorant people who waited until medical school to learn medicine. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

He/she is right though. Certainly, there are stuff that requires understanding of the concepts, but there are a lot of things that are not well-understood yet. How else would you study for those? You can't just pull them out of your ass with reasoning.
I hate it whenever people say **** like that, "just know the concept".

 

[kdburton]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing on that twohundred guy. I'm starting to memorize baby robbins and I don't start med school for another 5 months. He had high goals and it paid off. To each his own but I don't understand why you think he's a troll. I'm definitely not a troll and I can assure you I'm doing the same thing. It's true that Step I doesn't make you a good doctor but it is vital if you want to get into a competitive field, no one can deny that.

wow...

 

[Neo2011]

I'm not sure why you guys are bashing on that twohundred guy. I'm starting to memorize baby robbins and I don't start med school for another 5 months. He had high goals and it paid off. To each his own but I don't understand why you think he's a troll. I'm definitely not a troll and I can assure you I'm doing the same thing. It's true that Step I doesn't make you a good doctor but it is vital if you want to get into a competitive field, no one can deny that.

good for you. I didn't even know what the baby robbins was until the beginning of my 2nd year.