Boards and Beyond

[TheBoneDoctah]

Has anyone used this for boards?

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[inthemaking1]

Yes, people have used it for Boards and even beyond.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Yes, people have used it for Boards and even beyond.

How far beyond are we talkin?

 

[831929]

yeah Dr. Ryan is pretty awesome. Honestly, zanki used his pathology videos to make the cards, probably wouldnt even touch pathoma since they cover the same stuff. However, pathoma is still awesome. Boards just has it all.

 

[Staphylococcus Aureus]

I highly recommend B&B for classes and board prep. Wish I started it from Day one.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Using and loving it. I was able to answer one Uworld question in cardiology that pathoma glanced over. Pathoma and B&B both have done me well none the less.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

I like that B&B has review questions, but it's by no means a substitute for practice questions. You should definitely spend more time on UWorld and the NBMEs during dedicated. Video based resources (B&B, Pathoma) are a pleasant way to study, but the retention you'll get is much worse than if you use flashcards or do questions.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I like that B&B has review questions, but it's by no means a substitute for practice questions. You should definitely spend more time on UWorld and the NBMEs during dedicated. Video based resources (B&B, Pathoma) are a pleasant way to study, but the retention you'll get is much worse than if you use flashcards or do questions.

Oh ya for sure.

I am using B and B for content review, and then doing USMLERX, Kaplan, and PasTest Qbanks before getting to UW.

 

[neurotransmitter]

yeah Dr. Ryan is pretty awesome. Honestly, zanki used his pathology videos to make the cards, probably wouldnt even touch pathoma since they cover the same stuff. However, pathoma is still awesome. Boards just has it all.

Thanks for this! I know Pathoma is great for pathology and I know B&B is great as a comprehensive resource. But how would you (or anyone else here) rate B&B, just for pathology? B&B and Pathoma cover the same stuff, but is Pathoma more in-depth than B&B for pathology? (I'm wondering because I already have B&B, but I know everyone says we have to get Pathoma too.)

 

[831929]

Thanks for this! I know Pathoma is great for pathology and I know B&B is great as a comprehensive resource. But how would you (or anyone else here) rate B&B, just for pathology? B&B and Pathoma cover the same stuff, but is Pathoma more in-depth than B&B for pathology? (I'm wondering because I already have B&B, but I know everyone says we have to get Pathoma too.)

My only reason for using pathoma is because zanki cards are made in the same order as his lectures. However, for neuro path for example, I found the B&B did a better job and was better organized. Haven't compared other sections since pathoma usually feels enough and they're shorter most of the time. If you are not using zanki, then I think B&B is plenty

 

[IslandStyle808]

I like that B&B has review questions, but it's by no means a substitute for practice questions. You should definitely spend more time on UWorld and the NBMEs during dedicated. Video based resources (B&B, Pathoma) are a pleasant way to study, but the retention you'll get is much worse than if you use flashcards or do questions.

I agree with the above post. This is very important point to remember. The highest form of retention is from doing questions above all. This is top priority.

With that said, you just have to know when is the right time to watch the videos. If you have a severe deficit in an area, I highly recommend looking at the videos at this time. When I did it this way, I was able to get future questions correct on UWorld.

 

[mavric1298]

I love B&B, basically don't bother with class notes/reading at all anymore and am using it for all my primary learning (and grades have reflected a slight positive trend after this change). My routine is BB videos, sketchy after (path and pharm currently), then hit my anki deck. Then before exams I do a pass of pathoma just for review at 2x, as hearing the same material from a slightly different source helps me solidify it. Absolutely saved me in biochem this last term.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I love B&B, basically don't bother with class notes/reading at all anymore and am using it for all my primary learning (and grades have reflected a slight positive trend after this change). My routine is BB videos, sketchy after (path and pharm currently), then hit my anki deck. Then before exams I do a pass of pathoma just for review at 2x, as hearing the same material from a slightly different source helps me solidify it. Absolutely saved me in biochem this last term.

So I do it a bit differently, bit I do agree that B&B is absolutely phenomenal. Usually I watch all B&B and relevant Pathoma for the class I'm in (my school goes by systems). Then usually the 3-4 days leading up to the exam, I do read through lectures to see what I'm missing. B&B essentially reads First Aid Pathoma-style but not at the fast speed Pathoma goes at (and I did like some of B&B Path videos more than Pathoma at times). UWorld, FA, B&B, Pathoma are my main sources currently. I can honestly admit I got 2-3 questions right on my last exam from board sources (I didn't recall them from any lecture I watched/read but remember getting a question on it during UWorld or reading about it in FA). I also started doing better in MS2 once I implemented these sources more so than just class lectures.

Just my 2 cents. If you do plan to use Boards and Beyond, just keep in mind it's 118 hours (1x) of videos and sometimes he jumps around in his systems for example, a cardio video may be talking about a drug found in a different chapter in FA. I personally watch the videos once and then annotate at my own speed into FA. It does take a lot of time but I can accredit Boards and Beyond for my upward trend in UWorld blocks.

 

[pediadocto]

The videos are great for some parts, the pathology is weaker so add pathoma (always!!!).
They added a recent one week subs for just $15 so i think you can give it a try first.

 

[sharkbyte]

What specific subjects would you guys say B&B are the best for? I've heard the Biochem is pretty good. Any others?

 

[908377]

I think it's a niche product that deviates a little bit from the standard resources that seem to work well for *most* students. That's not to say it won't work for you (I recommend doing a trial to see if it fits your learning style). But for most the UFAP (+ OMGOMT or Green Book if DO) is really all you need. Pathoma is just so freakin' good that I don't know how you could justify not using it. Sattar is a god!

 

[Dreamstoo]

What specific subjects would you guys say B&B are the best for? I've heard the Biochem is pretty good. Any others?

Everything but immunology (it was a bit weak, I watched Pathoma first 2 chapters to clarify a lot of it - this was the only clear cut moment I can think of where I felt Pathoma >> B&B).

 

[sharkbyte]

Everything but immunology (it was a bit weak, I watched Pathoma first 2 chapters to clarify a lot of it - this was the only clear cut moment I can think of where I felt Pathoma >> B&B).

Great, thanks! I'm taking Step 1 in 2 months so I definitely want to watch all of his videos if I can.

 

[kred]

Hi there!
I'm an IMG and I was wondering which resource (along with FA, UWorld and Pathoma) would be good to learn all the other subjects?

USMLERx, Doctors in Training or Boards and Beyond? If you could add your first-hand experience and why, that would be very much appreciated!

 

[Rohith jadhav]

Dit or usmle rx or b and b ?

 

[Rohith jadhav]

Hi there!
I'm an IMG and I was wondering which resource (along with FA, UWorld and Pathoma) would be good to learn all the other subjects?

USMLERx, Doctors in Training or Boards and Beyond? If you could add your first-hand experience and why, that would be very much appreciated!

Hey which you found more useful to go through in less time Dit or usmle rx or b and b

 

[mavric1298]

I use USMLE-Rx as my Q bank, then B&B and pathoma for videos, then will switch to U world come December.

Rx for me is just a 2nd tier q bank, so it doesn't replace but instead adds to B&B. Don't use any of the videos from Rx, don't use any of the quizzes from B&B.

 

[deleted645092]

Boards and Beyond is gold and I wish I’d started using it earlier. Everything is so thorough.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Ended up using B and Beyond and my main source of content review/learning. Would highly recommend to everyone.

 

[MS Rafique]

I use USMLE-Rx as my Q bank, then B&B and pathoma for videos, then will switch to U world come December.

Rx for me is just a 2nd tier q bank, so it doesn't replace but instead adds to B&B. Don't use any of the videos from Rx, don't use any of the quizzes from B&B.

Hi...boards n beyond only has basic pharma lectures..i couldnt see any special pharma lectures. .is that true?

 

[MS Rafique]

I have a question.

I just wanna pass step 1 with a decent score..nothing hi fi...is bnb plus fa enough?

 

[deleted645092]

Hi...boards n beyond only has basic pharma lectures..i couldnt see any special pharma lectures. .is that true?

You’ll have to specify about what you mean by “special Pharma”. Do you mean the pharm lectures are only the pharmacokinetics/ autonomic lectures? If that’s what you mean, that’s because the systems-specific pharm lectures are mixed in with the associated pathology lectures.

 

[MS Rafique]

You’ll have to specify about what you mean by “special Pharma”. Do you mean the pharm lectures are only the pharmacokinetics/ autonomic lectures? If that’s what you mean, that’s because the systems-specific pharm lectures are mixed in with the associated pathology lectures.

Ya well..i cud ve put it better...yes i meant system specific pharma...thanks for explaining..
Pls also tell me...is first aid n bnb n plus may b pathoma enough to clear step 1 with a moderately decent score?

 

[deleted645092]

Ya well..i cud ve put it better...yes i meant system specific pharma...thanks for explaining..
Pls also tell me...is first aid n bnb n plus may b pathoma enough to clear step 1 with a moderately decent score?

Almost enough yea. You don’t want to forget Sketchy micro. Sketchy pharm might be a good pharm-specific resource for you too. Also UWorld for a question bank.

 

[MS Rafique]

Almost enough yea. You don’t want to forget Sketchy micro. Sketchy pharm might be a good pharm-specific resource for you too. Also UWorld for a question bank.

Ya...thats on my mind too...i actually have quite less time...like 70 or 80 days..but yes sketchy micro n pharma and uworld for practice, inhad thought of that

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

I just picked up B&B today as I'm gonna start board prep. Quick question. I want to the the anki deck to go with it. I heard Lightyear is the most extensive one and will cover all the material. I have some already made anki decks for specific tests as well as some Zanki decks on my Anki. Is it best to go about deleting these to only have one source? Or is anki organized enough to keep these and do the lightyear anki seperate?

To sum up, basically confused about anki and how to set up and use appropriately with a program.

 

[MakeLifeHappen13]

I just picked up B&B today as I'm gonna start board prep. Quick question. I want to the the anki deck to go with it. I heard Lightyear is the most extensive one and will cover all the material. I have some already made anki decks for specific tests as well as some Zanki decks on my Anki. Is it best to go about deleting these to only have one source? Or is anki organized enough to keep these and do the lightyear anki seperate?

To sum up, basically confused about anki and how to set up and use appropriately with a program.

I had a similar problem, what you should do is make a separate profile within the Anki app just for Lightyear. This way the decks stay separate and there is less clutter. Also, you should install the hierarchical tags add-on if you want to use the Lightyear deck because it makes finding the appropriate deck for a specific video a lot easier.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

Oh ya for sure.

I am using B and B for content review, and then doing USMLERX, Kaplan, and PasTest Qbanks before getting to UW.

Advise strongly against this plan. You are spending a ton of money to use less helpful resources. It's much better to use UW multiple times than to use worse qbanks. I never recommend Rx, Kaplan, or any of those other qbanks. Sure people have done well in spite of doing this, but UW is the gold standard for a reason and you don't need to "save" it.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Advise strongly against this plan. You are spending a ton of money to use less helpful resources. It's much better to use UW multiple times than to use worse qbanks. I never recommend Rx, Kaplan, or any of those other qbanks. Sure people have done well in spite of doing this, but UW is the gold standard for a reason and you don't need to "save" it.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Going through UWorld a second time for some people who memorize questions easily is not as helpful as seeing new questions about topics from a non-UW perspective. Many times I would see a question on a topic I knew extremely well presented in a different way on Kaplan and would get it wrong just the way they asked things. I understand you got a 262, but I know people who also scored 270s who did all three Qbanks.

Also, I completely disagree with Boards and Beyond being a waste of money/time. Going through UWorld and seeing topics in piecemeal isn't going to paint a picture of a topic in its entirety for someone who came into board studying without a good foundation. There's a reason so many people on this forum recommend Boards and Beyond for review. Maybe if you come into dedicated scoring 230-240s it may be less fruitful because you already have strong baseline knowledge, but for most people I would say it is definitely worth your time.

 

[USMLE_Pro]

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Going through UWorld a second time for some people who memorize questions easily is not as helpful as seeing new questions about topics from a non-UW perspective. Many times I would see a question on a topic I knew extremely well presented in a different way on Kaplan and would get it wrong just the way they asked things. I understand you got a 262, but I know people who also scored 270s who did all three Qbanks.

Also, I completely disagree with Boards and Beyond being a waste of money/time. Going through UWorld and seeing topics in piecemeal isn't going to paint a picture of a topic in its entirety for someone who came into board studying without a good foundation. There's a reason so many people on this forum recommend Boards and Beyond for review. Maybe if you come into dedicated scoring 230-240s it may be less fruitful because you already have strong baseline knowledge, but for most people I would say it is definitely worth your time.

I thought the point of your post was to ask people's opinions of BnB, not just get confirmation that it was good to use. My apologies if I misunderstood

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I thought the point of your post was to ask people's opinions of BnB, not just get confirmation that it was good to use. My apologies if I misunderstood

The post that I started in Feb?