Doctors in Training 2014

[J ROD]

Has anyone used this recently?

I just opened my Part 2 of the course today and I can say after doing the first 2 sections (Foundation and Neuro) I am very disappointed.

The neuro section basically was talking at me like I just completed Neuroanatomy and remember all the tracts and such.

Furthermore, the workbook is very sparse and most of the info is in the videos. So, if you want to learn things you have to watch them over and over (who has time for that) or write a ton of notes. Their questions are not that helpful. I mean there are some decent points.

But, I think the FA 2014 covers most of what they talked about and I can read it and absorb it. Not just spend all day writing notes and listening to videos. I feel like I know little after spending all day listening to these videos.

Very disappointed. Would love to hear from others that have recently used it. Maybe I am just missing something. I expected more from what I have read.

I do not learn from writing things down. I never take notes. I feel this is not a good option for me and I should just read over FA two times in this time period for DIT.

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[tantacles]

Has anyone used this recently?

I just opened my Part 2 of the course today and I can say after doing the first 2 sections (Foundation and Neuro) I am very disappointed.

The neuro section basically was talking at me like I just completed Neuroanatomy and remember all the tracts and such.

Furthermore, the workbook is very sparse and most of the info is in the videos. So, if you want to learn things you have to watch them over and over (who has time for that) or write a ton of notes. Their questions are not that helpful. I mean there are some decent points.

But, I think the FA 2014 covers most of what they talked about and I can read it and absorb it. Not just spend all day writing notes and listening to videos. I feel like I know little after spending all day listening to these videos.

Very disappointed. Would love to hear from others that have recently used it. Maybe I am just missing something. I expected more from what I have read.

I do not learn from writing things down. I never take notes. I feel this is not a good option for me and I should just read over FA two times in this time period for DIT.

So I used 2012, and it really just helped for a first pass of First aid with some supplemental material. I also appreciated the quizzes, particularly ones about neural crest cells and other weird minutia that's actually really important. Overall, though, if you're a reader, just read first aid. UFAP FTW.

 

[J ROD]

I might just read a section in FA and then listen to the videos. I do not learn from writing stuff over and over. Or at all. I look at it til it is there. I just hate to pay all that money and not use it at all. Yeah, they love that neural crest.......lol. I think they asked that like 5 times in the first 2 sections.

I just want a 220-230. Got a 180 on the CBSE with clicking through the last 20 or so questions and being done in almost 75% of the time. I was ready to go and did not see the point in taking a practice test when I have not really reviewed the material. I am not genius here. Just want a decent score so I can move on. I am going into Psychiatry.

Would love to hear more opinions. Because I just felt like I was wasting time on the Neuro today. I think I would have gotten much more out of it if I had reviewed FA first and then listened to videos.

But, I do know that neural crest stuff. haha

 

[Dr.Surgeon]

I might just read a section in FA and then listen to the videos. I do not learn from writing stuff over and over. Or at all. I look at it til it is there. I just hate to pay all that money and not use it at all. Yeah, they love that neural crest.......lol. I think they asked that like 5 times in the first 2 sections.

I just want a 220-230. Got a 180 on the CBSE with clicking through the last 20 or so questions and being done in almost 75% of the time. I was ready to go and did not see the point in taking a practice test when I have not really reviewed the material. I am not genius here. Just want a decent score so I can move on. I am going into Psychiatry.

Would love to hear more opinions. Because I just felt like I was wasting time on the Neuro today. I think I would have gotten much more out of it if I had reviewed FA first and then listened to videos.

But, I do know that neural crest stuff. haha

180 on an 800 scale or 180 on step 1 scale? I would not worry too much about those tracts. I didn't spend too much time pausing and processing that info.

 

[AlmostAnMD]

Got a 180 on the CBSE with clicking through the last 20 or so questions and being done in almost 75% of the time. I was ready to go and did not see the point in taking a practice test when I have not really reviewed the material.

I would not advise doing that on the real exam

my 2 cents

>_>

 

[J ROD]

180 on step 1 scale. I am not that dumb...lol. Yeah, I am rethinking how I want to do this.

 

[J ROD]

I would not advise doing that on the real exam

my 2 cents

>_>

really......

 

[DJNYY]

I'll add my 2 cents since I used DIT and was happy with my results. I used bootleg copies of the 2012 DIT edition along with FA 2012. My study time frame was about 8.5 weeks.

I actually went through DIT twice (back to back) for my first and second pass. It was very helpful during the first pass, but I was very diligent about making sure I learned and assimilated all the info. On my first pass, I only did 6 videos per day (at this time the entire program was like ~150 videos at 40-45 minute each) so it took me about 3.5 weeks to get through it. I was also studying ~9 hours per day for this time period. There was LOTS of pausing, repeating, re-reading, and annotating. I tried to do some Uworld questions on random/ tutor mode on the side during this time frame but it was very demoralizing at the start because I was just getting most questions wrong and hadn't done enough review to get much out of Uworld. About 60% through my first pass of DIT I took an NBME exam that my school gave and got a 195. I was not happy, but I did not abandon DIT. Had I NOT used DIT for the 2 weeks to this point, I can almost assuredly tell you I would have failed. I definitely was learning, it was just that my baseline was a lot lower than I had expected. Anyways, I continued on my merry way and after completing DIT I was getting ~50-55% of questions right on Uworld (improvement from the 30-35% I started at).

I then went through all of DIT a second time except I did 7-8 videos per day plus a full Uworld question block on random/tutor mode every day (w/ the exception of Friday when I just took my nights off). By this point, all my annotating was done, I had been oriented to first aid, and I had been oriented to DIT so when they would speak it was just repetition. Obviously, I could get through the videos with less pausing and repeating. For the Uworld questions on tutor mode, READ every explanation in entirety even for the questions you get right. I read why the right answers were right and why the wrong answers were wrong, no matter how I did on the question. If you don't do this, you're not getting what you're supposed to out of Uworld. I only got through 70-75% of Uworld questions and know somebody who did 100% of the questions twice without reading all the explanations (suffice it to say, my score was substantially higher than his). During this time, I listened to the Goljan audio lectures as I drove between study locations and while eating meals. These audio lectures were nice, but if you want to blast Taylor Swift in car, just do that. Don't burn yourself out. Goljan audio isn't ESSENTIAL but it is definitely helpful and I'm glad I listened to them. By the end of my second DIT pass I was getting around 65% of questions right on Uworld (but again, this fluctuated daily plus or minus 10%).

In the last 9 days or so I blasted through all of first aid one last time (no more DIT) and actually started to scale back on Uworld. I didn't even touch Uworld in my final 5 days because I didn't want my score to play games with my head. In my last few Uworld blocks, my score varied between 55% and 85% so I just had to stop because it was just making me nervous lol. The day before the test I went through some last minute minutia and called it a day after like 2-3 hours of poor quality studying at a local Panera. I then locked my First Aid in my locker at school and went home so I couldn't even be TEMPTED to look at it one last time. I ate some great food, played some video games, watched an interesting documentary on North Korea, and then went to sleep like a baby for 7-8 hours. I was not nervous at all. By this point, I knew I had done everything I could and no matter what happened, I wouldn't regret anything I did. I went in there the next day and took the test. The questions stems were longer than a lot of the one's in Uworld so I pretty much went down to the wire on each question block without time to go back and check my answers (so just know how to pace yourself).

I ended up with a score between 235 and 245 (in the event someone can ID me, I don't want to put the exact number). I'm indifferent about my score because the number doesn't mean as much to me as the fact I kept focused on what I needed to do to improve each day, and I rarely lost my nerve like a lot of my classmates did regularly. So to sum up: DIT, FA, and Uworld took me from a presumably failing score, to a 195 after 2 weeks prep, to a 235-245 after 8.5 weeks prep. The most I can say is "this is what I did and this is how it worked for me."

 

[J ROD]

I got 5 weeks to get busy. So, I can't take that long on DIT. I also need to clear FA, Uworld, etc. I just dont have time to play in their workbook. It is not how I study. I can see where it would be helpful if you had the time.

I think I am going to read FA, do some Rx questions, listen to DIT videos but not get bogged down on DIT. It seems like a huge time sink to me. I think FA is more important. Get this done in 2 weeks.

Then, drive home the final 3 weeks with FA Pathoma and Uworld. And a couple NBMEs...........

 

[DJNYY]

I got 5 weeks to get busy. So, I can't take that long on DIT. I also need to clear FA, Uworld, etc. I just dont have time to play in their workbook. It is not how I study. I can see where it would be helpful if you had the time.

I think I am going to read FA, do some Rx questions, listen to DIT videos but not get bogged down on DIT. It seems like a huge time sink to me. I think FA is more important. Get this done in 2 weeks.

Then, drive home the final 3 weeks with FA Pathoma and Uworld. And a couple NBMEs...........

Only you know what's best for you so go for it. The one thing I'll say is that the first few videos were the worst and it only gets better as you move along. DIT videos walk you through every single page of first aid so DIT isn't really a non-FA studying method. He literally takes you through every page but I like his order instead of just reading it like page 1--->1000. Anyways, everyone is different and you don't got time to waste. You got this! good luck!

 

[J ROD]

I am going to listen to it. Just not write all that down. It is wasting so much time. I need to review FA too. It does not seem like he is reading it straight off to me. I think they changed it a few yrs ago.

 

[honeyyygirl]

i love it!. I'm almost done with the part 2 videos... I can't even imagine reading first aid by myself...... i think the quizzes really help.
Are you annotating your first aid while you watch the videos? that's what I've been doing. on the 18 day plan so will be done in a few days.

 

[J ROD]

I am reading FA first then listening to the videos that relate to that section. It helps me understand it better and get it faster. I am annotating some. I am a person that does not take notes. I never write anything down. I think that is why I do not like it as much.

If I had 45 days before the test then it would be fine but I have like 35..and do not want to push to day 34. I want to chill around 32. So, I am just doing the best I can do clear through DIT in 18 days while reading FA first. I also do a set of 46 in Rx. So far, I have been pulling 12-14 hr/days.

I want the other half to drill in FA, Pathoma, and go through Uworld and a couple practice exams.

I just feel my school did not give us enough time. Well, I at least need more time.

 

[wrkndply]

For first pass of FA with DIT, are you guys stopping the videos or just listening and annotating as he talks? I feel like there is so much i need to stop and memorize but if i stop every time it would take an endless amount of time to get through the daily lectures... (will the retention come after a second pass through the material?)

i know some people touched a bit on this above, but curious what others are doing... thanks

 

[J ROD]

That was the problem I was having my first day. I was having to write down too much and stop. So, I just read a FA topic first and then watch the videos and add some notes here and there. Based on my Rx results, it seems to be working. I have cleared my 17 repro already. I have found this to be best for me. I am not a note taker. I learn by listening to it and just watching. Then reading over things again and again. I know I need 3 passes through FA.

 

[wrkndply]

thanks, guess i'll continue...definitely going to need those 3 passes through fa though. here we go

 

[cbrons]

Need new reviews for 2015...... was DIT worth it? $825.00 is a lot.

 

[PL198]

hell no