Anybody used http://www.gunnertraining.com/?

[Darksmurf]

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Members don't see this ad.

Just heard about this apparently new (to me at least) Step 1 resource called Gunner Training at http://www.gunnertraining.com. I did a cursory search of the forum but didn't find anything on it.

I'm probably resource saturated at this point, but I'm always a sucker for something new.

Anybody have any info on it?

DS

 

[igottaquestion]

Never heard of it, but I think the spaced-learning concept is what Supermemo operates on, and ppl on sdn who used Supermemo seem to score high. It makes a lot of sense to get stuff ingrained in long-term memory well before the test date. I was too lazy to make my own "flash cards" in order to use Supermemo, but if I had known about this site from MS1 I would have been all over it (assuming the flashcards/questions are good). Assuming good flashcards/questions, this could be the next big thing in Step 1 prep since FA and Goljan.

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

im curious about this too. anyone got any info on this? Is this the same as supermemo?

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

I talked to a freind who used this sight and he basically said it sucks. He said that the site is poorly made. That there were multiple technical difficulties and it was the biggest waste of $60.

 

[MedLover25]

Just heard about this apparently new (to me at least) Step 1 resource called Gunner Training at http://www.gunnertraining.com. I did a cursory search of the forum but didn't find anything on it.

I'm probably resource saturated at this point, but I'm always a sucker for something new.

Anybody have any info on it?

DS

looks like crap

 

[Preop]

Really? I've been using this website for a couple days and like it. I like the flashcards and the questions I've done do far are pretty good. I haven't gotten any technical problems; site seems pretty user friendly.

 

[igottaquestion]

I talked to a freind who used this sight and he basically said it sucks. He said that the site is poorly made. That there were multiple technical difficulties and it was the biggest waste of $60.

I just paid the $60, and the first valuable lesson Gunnertraining teaches is to copy-and-paste the above statement to your competitors.

"The first rule of Gunnertraining is: 'Gunnertraining sucks!'"

 

[fijianpuppy]

what's supermemo?

 

[mikkey]

There seems to be so few multiple choice questions and flashcards. I think in the long run when they add material to the site it may be worth it, but right now, it seems kinda weak.
Just my 2 cents though

 

[labwork]

I started using gunnertraining and have been very happy with it. Not sure where all the negative feedback is coming from. There's 2,000 questions related to the material on the website. If that's not enough questions, not sure how many you would be happy with. It's definitely more detailed than first aid or any other review book I've used. The pics are one of the better aspects of this site. My plan is to continue using this for my step 1 study.

 

[Darksmurf]

I started using gunnertraining and have been very happy with it.

Have you used any of the other Qbanks? I'm curious what the main differences between gunnertraining and everyone else are.

 

[Preop]

Have you used any of the other Qbanks? I'm curious what the main differences between gunnertraining and everyone else are.

So I've also been using gunner training for a week now, and honestly I think its pretty good. It has a bunch of flashcards divided into organ and systems based. Like the other guy said, the flashcards are good content and have relevant pictures.

The questions are divided into immediate memory assestment types and then multiple choice qbank types. My girlfriend has Kaplan, so I've already purused Kaplan qbanks, and the gunnertraining types are similar and at least as good. The qbank quesions require multiple level thinking.

I think the difference is also that they have some type of review schedule for you when you return to login the website the next day. Seems like the review is based on how you answered on the immediate memory question types on the previous day. I'm guessing this is the spaced learning approach people here have been talking about. I can definity see how this would be different than the other qbanks and how it would be useful.

I havent had any technical problems at all so I'm not sure what the other guys were talking about.

 

[davosPlatz]

So I've also been using gunner training for a week now, and honestly I think its pretty good. It has a bunch of flashcards divided into organ and systems based. Like the other guy said, the flashcards are good content and have relevant pictures.

The questions are divided into immediate memory assestment types and then multiple choice qbank types. My girlfriend has Kaplan, so I've already purused Kaplan qbanks, and the gunnertraining types are similar and at least as good. The qbank quesions require multiple level thinking.

I think the difference is also that they have some type of review schedule for you when you return to login the website the next day. Seems like the review is based on how you answered on the immediate memory question types on the previous day. I'm guessing this is the spaced learning approach people here have been talking about. I can definity see how this would be different than the other qbanks and how it would be useful.

I havent had any technical problems at all so I'm not sure what the other guys were talking about.

If anyone WORKS for Gunner Training, has an affiliation with Gunner Training, or knows the co-founders, workers, friends, family, or neighbors of the Gunner Training affiliates, please disclose this.

Some of these reviews are suspicious.

Don't end up like the Surgisphere Corporation, which posts its own reviews on Amazon.com and if you look at the user "other comments," you see that they bad-mouth every good book on the market and then praise their own. Quite sad.

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Revi...r_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241151618&sr=1-19

 

[snakesonaplane]

Is it possible to get through gunnertraining and UW in 5.5 weeks? Is it do-able? I thought gunnertraining might be good to go through information and make sure I know the material well and then use UW for practice questions.

 

[doctorvp]

Anybody else have any feedback about the program?

 

[PepperMD]

If anyone WORKS for Gunner Training, has an affiliation with Gunner Training, or knows the co-founders, workers, friends, family, or neighbors of the Gunner Training affiliates, please disclose this.

Some of these reviews are suspicious.

I agree. It seems like out of the blue we have a handful of new members who just love talking about gunnertraining, starting new threads about gunnertraining, defending every little criticism of gunnertraining. It stinks of a marketing push to me.

 

[alphaholic06]

If anyone WORKS for Gunner Training, has an affiliation with Gunner Training, or knows the co-founders, workers, friends, family, or neighbors of the Gunner Training affiliates, please disclose this.

Some of these reviews are suspicious.

Don't end up like the Surgisphere Corporation, which posts its own reviews on Amazon.com and if you look at the user "other comments," you see that they bad-mouth every good book on the market and then praise their own. Quite sad.

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Revi...r_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241151618&sr=1-19

Just some of them?

 

[Preop]

Hey guys,
I dont work and am not anyway involved with gunner training. You can send me a private message and I'll tell you my name and where I'm a MSII student.

But I wanted to make my comments about the website on this forum because it seems like some people are just making general odd comments about it "sucking" or having "technical problems" without any real example or support. I'm annoyed when people try to prevent me from using a rsource so that they can use it on their own.

Keep in mind, I'm still using myt girlfriends kaplan qbank and I dont know, may end up buying usmleworld also. So in no ways am I pushing gunnertraining or bad mouthing other sites. I'm just point out that its different and that I find it odd a couple posters had such a bad experience with it when I had none.

 

[bostonmd]

I'm one of the founders of Gunner Training. None of us have made any posts to this thread. We replied with an official response 2 days ago, but that account was banned as "spam". We've been corresponding with SDN administrators to create an account under which we can appropriately post responses.

Frank Lau, MD

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Despite the claims of the past couple of posts, I have to agree that there are a couple of suspicious positive reviews (esp if you review their post history)

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Hey guys,
I'm annoyed when people try to prevent me from using a rsource so that they can use it on their own.

I don't think anyone is trying to keep the resource a secret so that they can use it. Rather, the market for review products is pretty close to saturated at this point, so people are going to be hesitant to try out something new and unknown when they are under a lot of pressure to do well.

 

[bostonmd]

Is it possible to get through gunnertraining and UW in 5.5 weeks? Is it do-able? I thought gunnertraining might be good to go through information and make sure I know the material well and then use UW for practice questions.

I don't know your study habits and style, so I can't definitively say that you can complete both in 5.5 weeks. But, you're probably a smart, motivated guy and I don't think this will pose any major problems for you.

Have you used any of the other Qbanks? I'm curious what the main differences between gunnertraining and everyone else are.

Gunner Training isn't just a QBank; we've integrated our flashcards with open-ended study questions and multiple choice questions.

@mikkey: The number of flashcards can be somewhat misleading. We cover all the Step 1 subjects in detail. As for # of review questions, we have 2,000 multiple choice questions and 4,000 open-ended study questions.

Frank Lau, MD

 

[igottaquestion]

Despite the claims of the past couple of posts, I have to agree that there are a couple of suspicious positive reviews (esp if you review their post history)

i have no connection to gunnertraining, and i haven't even used it (my earlier comment was obviously sarcastic). therefore i can't specifically endorse it. what i do endorse, now that i'm studying for step 1, is ingraining high-yield info in your head as early as possible. the spaced learning concept seems to be effective in doing that. when i started med school, the only resource available for spaced learning that i know of was supermemo, which required the user to generate content. i was too lazy to do that. i envy anyone who gets to start med school with a spaced learning aparatus with high quality, pre-generated content. i have no idea if gunnertraining is that aparatus, but the prospect that it might be got me a little excited.

 

[bostonmd]

i have no connection to gunnertraining, and i haven't even used it (my earlier comment was obviously sarcastic). therefore i can't specifically endorse it. what i do endorse, now that i'm studying for step 1, is ingraining high-yield info in your head as early as possible. the spaced learning concept seems to be effective in doing that. when i started med school, the only resource available for spaced learning that i know of was supermemo, which required the user to generate content. i was too lazy to do that. i envy anyone who gets to start med school with a spaced learning aparatus with high quality, pre-generated content. i have no idea if gunnertraining is that aparatus, but the prospect that it might be got me a little excited.

igottaquestion, your thought process is what got me excited about Spaced Learning to begin with. There are a few randomized, controlled trials on Harvard Medical School students showing that this approach works specifically in medical learning. I purchased SuperMemo, but the interface was hard to use, even for a tech geek like myself (I wanted to use it for residency learning, e.g. hand anatomy, studies on free flap outcomes, etc). Plus, the thought of generating all the content + questions solely for my own use wasn't palatable. I couldn't figure out how to create multiple choice questions. And lastly, there wasn't a good web-based interface from which I could access the questions from the hospital. Gunner Training specifically addresses these shortcomings and uses a highly modified version of a SuperMemo algorithm to calculate the the Spaced Learning intervals.

Frank Lau, MD

 

[Dr. Love Pants]

Dr. Lau, I have been following this thread with interest as your offer is both inexpensive in comparison to other products and based on a great memory algorithm. The only thing I would like to see before purchasing it is some sort of page on your website previewing some of the material and/or interface. With a sneak peak I would be more willing to purchase your product.

 

[MedLover25]

SDN Mods - please step up and close this thread? Why allow susceptible students to waste their time and possibly their money with BS!

Close & delete the thread, ban the members who are obviously in violation and call it a day

 

[igottaquestion]

looks like crap

But I wanted to make my comments about the website on this forum because it seems like some people are just making general odd comments about it "sucking" or having "technical problems" without any real example or support. I'm annoyed when people try to prevent me from using a rsource so that they can use it on their own.

SDN Mods - please step up and close this thread? Why allow susceptible students to waste their time and possibly their money with BS!

Close & delete the thread, ban the members who are obviously in violation and call it a day

I just wanted to reiterate preop's comment about how comment's glibly against gunnertraining without supporting reasons are suspicious as well.

This is an internet forum. Everything read must be taken with a huge grain of salt, especially when it concerns a new product that few people have actually experienced (we hope) and commented on honestly (we hope). Over time, enough anonymous posters who have actually used gunnertraining will post their experiences on this forum, such that there will be a reasonable amount of anonymous opinions for or against it. Over time, opinions in this forum tend to converge about which study resources are the most solid, e.g. goljan, uworld, fa, etc. This won't be different.

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

I talked to a freind who used this sight and he basically said it sucks. He said that the site is poorly made. That there were multiple technical difficulties and it was the biggest waste of $60.

To tell you the truth, the guy I talked to is a bit of a deuce... So I went aganist his word and purchased this program. I haven't had any technical difficulties, so I dont know what he's talking about. Honestly, the cards are pretty damn good! The only complaints I have so far is that there isn't a popup to check lab values when doing questions and that a few of the questions are poorly written. I think the flashcards are great though, especially the physio cards. I know BRS physio cold and I couldn't find any facts or important concepts that were lacking in the flashcards. Its ALOT easier to review than say going over FA. There are some flashcards that are missing key points: Von Willebrand states that there is increase in PTT but doesn't state the increase in BT. I also came across a fact that I haven't heard of: that 30% of Polyarteritis nodosa is associated with hep B? Maybe thats common knowledge and Im just weak in path vascular.. who knows. There was a question I think about TOF associated with DeGeorge.... I know that DeGeorge has heart defects but I didnt know that it was TOF specifically. Again, maybe im stupid and thats common knowledge. There is no comparison between gunnertraining and FA flashcards through USMLERX though... Gunnertraining cards are far superior. Yeah yeah, blah blah, I dont work for gunnertraining so Believe what I say or not. Up to you. Just trying to help. P.S. GO PACKUIAO!

 

[Darksmurf]

SDN Mods - please step up and close this thread? Why allow susceptible students to waste their time and possibly their money with BS!

Close & delete the thread, ban the members who are obviously in violation and call it a day

Dude. Relax. The point of this thread, indeed this entire forum, is to share information in a constructive way. Thus far, you've offered nothing positive, so please refrain from commenting unless you intend to contribute something meaningful.

 

[Darksmurf]

Dr. Lau, I have been following this thread with interest as your offer is both inexpensive in comparison to other products and based on a great memory algorithm. The only thing I would like to see before purchasing it is some sort of page on your website previewing some of the material and/or interface. With a sneak peak I would be more willing to purchase your product.

Dude. Love Pants. This is not the place for you to communicate with Dr. Lau. If you want to talk with him, get his contact information and reach out to him directly.

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

Dude. Love Pants. This is not the place for you to communicate with Dr. Lau. If you want to talk with him, get his contact information and reach out to him directly.

Nah.... love pants does have a point. I was skeptic about purchasing gunnertraining. Having some sort of preview would have made my decision easier. At first I decided against buying this product because there wasn't a preview, so I had no clue what I was throwing $60 at. I think that gunnertraining should have some sort of preview to play with, otherwise not too many people are going buy this being so new.

 

[AllUpOnYoMama]

Listen, I fee like my weakest subjects are renal and repro. So Ill study the flashcards for renal for example. Each flashcard has a certain number of questions that you can "bank" after completing the flashcard. Each flashcard has probably on average 10 questions to bank After you "bank" 50 questions, the program redirects you to take these mini direct recall one liner questions (total of 50). example question will be "What part of the renal tubule will PTH work?" There are no answer choices to these one liners, you just think then hit answer and it will give you the answer. After each one liner question, a pop up will come up asking you to "access your recall of the question" from 1-5, 1 being completely forgot and 5 being had no trouble answering the question. So for renal, which im weak in, I mostly pick 2-3s. The program will then start to make "custom multiple choice questions" based on what level I picked. So for cardio, which im strong, I pick mostly 5 and renal which Im weak, im picking mostly 2 and 3s. So come time to take the multiple choice questions, the program will give me more questions on renal than say cardio which Im stronger in. After you finish the 50 one liner questions, you then start up again on the flashcards till you bank 50 questions... then you take another 50 questions one liner mini exam, then again and again etc. So the program picks up on your weak areas and drills you more on those subjects more often. The multiple choice questions and the mini one liners are seperate.. they aren't the same thing. Now their multiple choice qbank are compared more to USMLERX questions.... Maybe a little easier. The explanations are no way compared to WORLD. The explanations are alot shorter. But its good because I can do 50 multiple choice questions in 45 minutes. I think this program is great for people who have read through their first run BEFORE starting WORLD. I would say that these questions would be best used as the "paper questions" in the Tau method. Damn, that was pain in the ass to explain. Correct me if Im wrong on this

 

[SupaManu]

Listen, I fee like my weakest subjects are renal and repro. So Ill study the flashcards for renal for example. Each flashcard has a certain number of questions that you can "bank" after completing the flashcard. Each flashcard has probably on average 10 questions to bank After you "bank" 50 questions, the program redirects you to take these mini direct recall one liner questions (total of 50). example question will be "What part of the renal tubule will PTH work?" There are no answer choices to these one liners, you just think then hit answer and it will give you the answer. After each one liner question, a pop up will come up asking you to "access your recall of the question" from 1-5, 1 being completely forgot and 5 being had no trouble answering the question. So for renal, which im weak in, I mostly pick 2-3s. The program will then start to make "custom multiple choice questions" based on what level I picked. So for cardio, which im strong, I pick mostly 5 and renal which Im weak, im picking mostly 2 and 3s. So come time to take the multiple choice questions, the program will give me more questions on renal than say cardio which Im stronger in. After you finish the 50 one liner questions, you then start up again on the flashcards till you bank 50 questions... then you take another 50 questions one liner mini exam, then again and again etc. So the program picks up on your weak areas and drills you more on those subjects more often. The multiple choice questions and the mini one liners are seperate.. they aren't the same thing. Now their multiple choice qbank are compared more to USMLERX questions.... Maybe a little easier. The explanations are no way compared to WORLD. The explanations are alot shorter. But its good because I can do 50 multiple choice questions in 45 minutes. I think this program is great for people who have read through their first run BEFORE starting WORLD. I would say that these questions would be best used as the "paper questions" in the Tau method. Damn, that was pain in the ass to explain. Correct me if Im wrong on this

Thanks for the info, i was wondering if this was something that you could do each day that can be done fairly quickly, I mean UW takes me hours to do questions and go through the explanations.

 

[bostonmd]

AllUpOnYoMama, thanks for describing Gunner Training. We added a FAQ to the website tonight and, thanks to your (and other persons here) feedback, are working on a demo video.

So the program picks up on your weak areas and drills you more on those subjects more often. The multiple choice questions and the mini one liners are seperate.. they aren't the same thing.

This is pretty good approximation of how GT works. Our program actually tracks every testable review point, so it's about as atomic/granular as you can get. For example, let's say I'm really good at musculoskeletal, but for whatever reason I simply can't remember which rotator cuff muscle helps abduct the shoulder. GT will test me more often on that rotator cuff muscle. It won't test me more often on other MSK material that I already mastered. Once I start I start getting questions about that rotator cuff muscle correct, the program backs off.

Now their multiple choice qbank are compared more to USMLERX questions.... Maybe a little easier. The explanations are no way compared to WORLD. The explanations are alot shorter. But its good because I can do 50 multiple choice questions in 45 minutes.

I'm glad you brought this up. This is actually part of our core philosophy/design. I used UW and Kaplan when I went through Steps 1 & 2. While I personally appreciated the in-depth answers, I realized that testing myself on material I hadn't reviewed yet was inefficient. For this reason, GT was designed so that you review material first, and get repeatedly tested on that material. Since this approach helps you retain that information, the answer explanations don't have to be as long -- again saving you time when it comes to reading the explanations.

Rather than benchmarking how "hard" our questions were against UW, we took the 150 NBME sample questions and tried to make them a bit harder than that. We chose this approach because (and again, I used UW when I was a med student) we personally found that UW questions were significantly harder than the real test. While preparing with harder questions might make you "feel" like you're studying harder, it doesn't necessarily prepare you better for the actual exam. It might, but we weren't convinced of a direct correlation.

Frank Lau, MD

 

[bananaface]

Closing due to user complaints.