Dr. Goljan's Notes

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Has anyone used Pathology Review for board study by Dr. Goljan. I have a copy of his lectures which are awesome. Has anyone used his notes and lectures as their source for pathology on the boards. Just wondering if anyone used these instead of BRS etc.
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Dr. Goljan is our Pathology professor here at OSU-COM. We don't even take board review classes here. He teaches us his own two-week long course. Also, his path class alone is outstanding. Since path is so heavily covered on Step I, anything he teaches is golden. Our pass rate for USMLE Step I has been consistently 99-100% since he's been here. Use his notes and the book for Step I and you will be almost overprepared for path! :D
 
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Step 1: enroll at OSU-COM
Step 2: attend Pathology every day

or you could purchase them on ebay (search: Goljan). They are copyrighted however, so it is technically illegal.
 
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Do you happen to know if his books on amazon.com are similar to his notes?
 
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His new book is our printed notes, and I think it will be a Mosby's 'Rapid Review' title, which is a new series they are putting out now. I dont know if it will be out before boards, but it is awesome. His STARS Pathology is very good and quite comprehensive if you dont have the time to read Robbins (who does?)
 
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Thanks alot. I believe it will be released in January according to amazon.com. I'll be sure to get it.
 
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What is everyone using for biochem? Is the Rapid Review Biochem any good? I am debating on whether to use that or just stick with First Aid.
 
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RR Biochem, also by Dr. Goljan, is pretty good. Its hard not to listen to the man when he tells you he is prepping you for boards. And his stuff parallels the USMLE like no other. I would recommend the Rapid Review series, definitely.
 
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i found HiYield Biochem to be way too superficial...
but that's just me...
 
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I have been thinking about using Kaplan. Can anyone share their experience with using the Kaplan lecture notes?
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
Step 1: enroll at OSU-COM
Step 2: attend Pathology every day

or you could purchase them on ebay (search: Goljan). They are copyrighted however, so it is technically illegal.
Click to expand...

actually,
Step 1: enroll at OSU-COM
Step II: get his notes, don't go to class and enjoy your time off :)

his audio lectures aren't *that* good, and he is a bit pompous at times. he *is* a good resource though, and i felt very prepared for rotations.

i just wish some people would get off his sack, lol :D
 
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Originally posted by Homonculus
actually,
Step 1: enroll at OSU-COM
Step II: get his notes, don't go to class and enjoy your time off :)
:D
Click to expand...


Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
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anyone know exactly when his new book will come out?

I start path on jan 12th, but since I go to Ross, its hard to just order something from amazon.com and have it shipped down.
 
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I used the rapid review series for micro/immuno and loved it, quick to the point outlines and the questions are awesome (I think there were 800 on the CD I had) great value!!! I bought the biochem and pharm, haven't used them yet....However, I contacted the company to buy the patology and they said it would not be released until the fall---darn-
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
Yeah, think how much of nothing I could do with those extra 5 hours a week...in the middle of the day :rolleyes:
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but you see-if you can skip path, you can skip anything. so your 5 hours off turns into much much more. . :) soon you will be the object of all the regular folks' jealousy once they realize that you are making the same, if not better grades than them at a fraction of the class time.

it's ok though-- not everyone is cut out to be a correspondence learner. to each his own.
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
Yeah, think how much of nothing I could do with those extra 5 hours a week...in the middle of the day :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

you *could* go find more quotes like "your penis is a wonderland" for your signature-- i'm sure the faculty at OSU would be awfully proud, rofl.

back to the OP's question-- get the review and not the text. same bang for less buck when it comes to boards. that plus a good overall review book and a book of review questions will do you well.
 
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thanks

went to the local med school bookstore. Looked at another rapid review series book and decided it was too similar to brs (not what I needed).

So I went ahead and got the STARS while I was there.
 
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Are you sure that rapid review path isn't coming out until fall? Amazon says January.
 
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Originally posted by Homonculus
you *could* go find more quotes like "your penis is a wonderland" for your signature-- i'm sure the faculty at OSU would be awfully proud, rofl.
Click to expand...

Classy...I paid for an education, so I tried to get all that I could out of it. Im sure your grades were 'above average', which is probably good enough for you. Im also sure the OSU faculty would be proud of your attendance policy:rolleyes:
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
Im also sure the OSU faculty would be proud of your attendance policy:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I'm not faculty- but I know I'm damn proud.
 
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I had always been one of those students who never missed a class (all the way through MS-I), but I have to say that my grades have gone up tremendously since I started rolling class on a regular basis.

As an added bonus, I am a LOT happier with my life, even if my grades had stayed the same.
 
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I would certainly argue that grades going up has nothing to do with class attendance. Our means were ridiculous this year, and people still skipped out. But I do think you get more out of it for the most part, wouldnt you all agree? I mean, it aint always about the grades, is it?
 
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I can't see how I got anything out of some of the lectures spring semester, and I don't know why this past semester would be any different. I won't mention any specific instructors, but I can honestly say that last semester there were some neuroanatomy lectures I sat through that did me more harm than good and all I got out of them was a headache. In retrospect, I wish I would have skipped about half of them and spent the time studying on my own--because in the end, I ended up teaching myself anyway.

Besides, the averages last year were quite high as well--and I can assure you that I was always at the bottom of the barrel then. I don't think the class mean has anything to do with my own personal performance in the MS-I year compared to MS-II year.

If you get more out of the material by attending lectures, that's great. I'm glad that you've found a learning style that works for you. I pick and choose which lectures I go to. There are some lecturers I benefit greatly from (Dr. Goljan is one of them). Other lecturers I consistently don't get much from other than daydreaming. Those are the ones I roll.

I'm not asking anyone to agree with my method because I really don't care what others think about it as long as it is working for me. If I feel it's not working, I'll try something new. Until then, I've decided that trying to passively absorb information from certain professors is not for me, and I would rather spend the time actively tackling the information through answering questions, drawing, making flow charts, etc.
 
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i do the same as well.

some people are a waist of time

others are can't miss instructors.

some instructors are great lecturers but have lousy notes

while others are lousy instructors but have amazing notes.

things will change from class to class from instructor to instructor.

do what you need to do to succeed because in the end you're the one responsible for your own performance.

I guess a good example was this guy we had for respiratory physio.

the guy really knew his stuff. From what he said he had the final word on what questions were put on step 1 a few years ago.

anyways, his notes were lousy. But he really knew his stuff and was money for the shelf. But it was so hard to understand sometimes because of this lung problem he had. He kind reminded me of Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh for some reason.
 
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I am in total agreement with you Undergrad. I skipped 80% of Neuro last year, but I never miss Goljan, and I find it hard to imagine that we have people around here talking about 'never going' and 'using that time better'. Now, Psych and HP/DP...those are different stories;)
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
Now, Psych and HP/DP...those are different stories;)
Click to expand...

:laugh: psych lectures make me crazy (seems appropriate) and nothing is better to skip than HP/DP (except maybe MIS). I think my case is clearly made when I went to 1/2 of 1 HP/DP lecture since midterms and made 100% on the final :rolleyes:
 
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:eek: What? We have class on Wednesday morning before CPS? :eek:

So that explains that other final we took on Friday. . . I was wondering what that was all about! :D
 
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Which is better for Step 1?

Goljan's notes BRS Pathology

I have both and can't decide on which to use.
 
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Originally posted by Idiopathic
I would certainly argue that grades going up has nothing to do with class attendance. Our means were ridiculous this year, and people still skipped out. But I do think you get more out of it for the most part, wouldnt you all agree? I mean, it aint always about the grades, is it?
Click to expand...

i didn't get any more out of it. but like i said in my first post, to each his own. use whatever works for you.

that being said, i doubt you're going to remember the details of that lecture a year later on the wards. you'll be lucky to remember the details from first semester when step 1 rolls around, let alone a year later during an elective. which is why texts exist for virtually every rotation, lol. $$$

and you're right, it's not all about the grades. it's about how you handle your patients, how you deal with your attendings, and how hard you work. what you know as a medical student, IMO, is important for boards, but knowing how to apply it is why we have clinical years. and listening to goljan talk about boogers and his pecs just doesn't help me much there :D

anyway, good luck second semester. don't succumb to the insecurities that will pop up around board time. everyone gets them, but somehow everyone does fine . . except for the hiccup in last year's class, only 1 or 2 will fail each year. don't make them the start of a trend, k? :)
 
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Idiopathic- Are you saying that it would be better to read BRS than to read Goljan's notes? I have Goljan's notes as well as his high yields? What would you recommend.

Thanks
 
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From what I have heard from previous years classes: his material parallels the USMLE EXTREMELY well. He does write for the exam and he is Kaplan's top travelling lecturer. With that in mind, he gives you nothing that is extraneous. Everything is high-yield, in my opinion. I believe that if you look at his ~40 page "High-Yield" list and learn about every topic (no small feat), that you wil find very little not represented there.

Now, as for whether it is better to read one or the other, I cannot say. I do know that BRS path is the one book that our bookstore does not keep in stock, if that tells you anything. I would get it and read it too, just to be safe.
 
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goljan's BRS book is terrific (I think that is the condensed one). I actually skimmed some of it today prepping for step 2, and the nice thing about it is you CAN skim it and still glean a few useful facts.

The problem with going to lecture is that it is way too passive. I think 60% of people go just to make themselves feel better. Way more efficient to spend your time doing something fun, so that when it is time to to focus and work hard at school for a while, you have already done the fun things you want to do and are ready to do something different for a change, like learn. In this way, you are able to study for a shorter period of time with an intensity level much greater than if you are burned out on school/the material from listening to it all the damn time. play hard, work hard, dont half ass your time by spending it in class.

Admittedly, this isnt true for everyone. but anecdotally (my double blind study doesnt publish until later this year) speaking, everyone I know who has gone from frustrated frequent class attendee to happy go lucky "i dont even know what my professors look like" life enjoyer has also seen an improvement in their grades/knowledge.

ok maybe some exaggeration there, but you get my point.
 
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Jut to clarify, the BRS path is not written Goljan, although he has a board review book by Saunders under the STARS line that is excellent. BRS path is a different text, however.
 
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Originally posted by kungfufishing
I think 60% of people go just to make themselves feel better. /B]
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Nothing is worse than blanking on test questions and having someone tell you "He said that 5 times one day". It actually increases my anziety level not to go to class, because I am afraid I might miss something important. In that way, it does make me feel better (and no, I dont attend every class, but I stress out over every one that I miss).
 
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For idiopathic or others who probably would know. does Goljan write the questions for Mosbys Rapid Review CD, they are much easier than the BSS questions, which makes me wonder why the huge change in style of questions. also, how many questions are on this thing, it doesnt say.
 
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They are easier, and no he doesnt write them. He is the series editor, though. I took those questions and missed maybe 3 out of the first 100, so I quit taking them until I have a chance to talk to him about how representative they are. I have also noticed the discrepancy between the difficulty level on RR and BSS.

edit: when i find out what he thinks about them, I will post it here.
 
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