Goljan and Board Scores

[DotheDo]

So for those who used Goljan as their source for USMLE board prep -- how on-point was Goljan and how were your scores -- would you recommend his materials. For those who did really well -- what sources did you use and how did you use them? THANKS!!!!

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[drmcdreamy]

what in the world is this goljan everyone keeps mentioning? sheesh, i feel so out of the loop!

 

[DOctorJay]

can't comment on boards yet as I will be taking them this summer, but it's been real helpful for my Path class as adjunct studying!!!

-J

 

[OSUdoc08]

what in the world is this goljan everyone keeps mentioning? sheesh, i feel so out of the loop!

Dr. Goljan

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Dr. Goljan

THE man. OSU, I can't begin to tell you how jealous I am that you guys have him as your Path professor.

 

[zeloc]

So for those who used Goljan as their source for USMLE board prep -- how on-point was Goljan and how were your scores -- would you recommend his materials. For those who did really well -- what sources did you use and how did you use them? THANKS!!!!

Do a search. There is a gigantic amount of information on sources people who did well used.

 

[Azcomstud]

Took boards last June
USMLE step I 227 (92)
Comlex I 652 (95%)
Not exceptional, but I'll take it
There were at least 10-15 questions on my USMLE test that Goljan addressed specifically!! I would recommend First Aid (memorize it!!!), Goljan lectures and the BRS Path (mainly just as a reference). Kaplan Q-bank is also worth the $250+. Be SURE to do all the questions and to read the explanations in Q-bank.
Be careful not get too many books either

Hope this helps

 

[SarahGM]

Dr. Goljan

I was WONDERING what he looks like.

Funny, that's almost exactly how I picture him!

If you see him, tell him I was listening to him while running last weekend... I was concentrating on his lecture so hard I tripped and fell and ended up in the ER.

 

[naveenanirada]

I was WONDERING what he looks like.

Funny, that's almost exactly how I picture him!

If you see him, tell him I was listening to him while running last weekend... I was concentrating on his lecture so hard I tripped and fell and ended up in the ER.

Ditto!I and my wife, pictured him the same.No, but we are not running yet though.

 

[wam_256]

I was WONDERING what he looks like.

Funny, that's almost exactly how I picture him!

If you see him, tell him I was listening to him while running last weekend... I was concentrating on his lecture so hard I tripped and fell and ended up in the ER.

Hope you are ok .....

 

[doctordoctor]

i knew his book cold and listened to some of the lectures - got a 254/99

 

[Idiopathic]

I did not even review path after our final

USMLE: 258/99
COMLEX: 757/99

He is good.

 

[dynx]

Just use BRS path, its all you need to know. Goljan's full note sets are too much unless you want to be a pathologist and the 100pg set is not enough. Im sure the guy is a great teacher and all but not necessary to do well.

 

[quideam]

what do you guys think about using his new "rapid review" book vs. the BRS pathology book? The details are pretty different... there's a lot in his review book that isn't in the BRS. On the other hand, I found that his lectures have a lot of that extra detail. Any thoughts? I was thinking maybe just using the BRS (as i've been doing), and then later on skimming either his 36 or 100 page high yield notes??

 

[Idiopathic]

Im biased. You wont run into much on the boards that isnt in the RR book.

 

[quideam]

ok, but you can't really do both BRS and the rapid review... so which one would you use?

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

i have his old STARS pathology review book published back in 1998. Is this the content you guys are talking about? It's the same shiet right?

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

ok, but you can't really do both BRS and the rapid review... so which one would you use?

I've been using BRS path since last year. I love it. I don't care what anyone else says about it. Yes, there are some (very few) HY facts missing in it but Goljan's audio and his 36pg notes usually covers those. My goal is to memorize as much of BRS path as possible before taking the boards.

I wouldn't use both BRS and RR for path. Pick one and master it. If you've been using BRS, I'd say stick to it. G'luck.

 

[DrPak]

I've got the Goljan patho audios coming my way soon. I was wondering if there are is any other audio content of his out there that's highly recommended. It seems he's most famous for pathology.

I've been using BRS path since last year. I love it. I don't care what anyone else says about it. Yes, there are some (very few) HY facts missing in it but Goljan's audio and his 36pg notes usually covers those. My goal is to memorize as much of BRS path as possible before taking the boards.

I wouldn't use both BRS and RR for path. Pick one and master it. If you've been using BRS, I'd say stick to it. G'luck.

 

[naveenanirada]

I am far away from the boards...........but this is what I tried to do.....I put Goljan Audio on and read rapid riview...and was pleasantly surprised to see, that I was understanding everthing he was saying.........I had my Steadmans(I consulted this many times during the read) and Robbins(just saw illustrations) on the side........just for reference.........since I have 2 more years..............I might even be able to do BRS later,maybe.

 

[OSUdoc08]

i have his old STARS pathology review book published back in 1998. Is this the content you guys are talking about? It's the same shiet right?

Rapid Review is more high-yield than STARS.

 

[Hernandez]

i have his old STARS pathology review book published back in 1998. Is this the content you guys are talking about? It's the same shiet right?

The rapid review is in an outline format and better suited (IMHO) for review studying and the type of studying you should be doing for boards, While in Goljan's class, I would read Stars first for a narrative type overview of what he would say and then with his lectures and notes he gave us (almost identical to RR) the material was easier to assimilate for me.

But I think it's not really a valid question to state if you study Goljan you'll get x on boards. You've got to know the material no matter what, and while I am biased as Idio is, in the end, board scores will be reflective of you knowledge of the material. That being said, Gojlan's stuff is a great resource and covered most if not all path related material on the boards.

 

[ralhtar]

Hi,
I've the audio but what are the 36 and the 100 pg notes?
Please let me know...

ps: i have the link to dr. schnieder and szantos(authors of brs) lectures with illustrations...(i go to cms)...personally I think dr. schneider's lectures are excellent on the topics that he covers..so if anyone is interested i'd be more than happy to share...

 

[bigfrank]

Just use BRS path, its all you need to know. Goljan's full note sets are too much unless you want to be a pathologist and the 100pg set is not enough. Im sure the guy is a great teacher and all but not necessary to do well.

Agreed.

I memorized BRS Path (never used Goljan) and my Path. subcomponent on my score report was the highest, off the chart.

 

[Idiopathic]

ok, but you can't really do both BRS and the rapid review... so which one would you use?

Why cant you? Path is the most important subject, you think two sources is too much?

 

[Pox in a box]

Just use BRS path, its all you need to know. Goljan's full note sets are too much unless you want to be a pathologist and the 100pg set is not enough. Im sure the guy is a great teacher and all but not necessary to do well.

No way. BRS Pathology is a weak source if that's all you use. You are missing so much material that will show up on your exam. You better have read most of Robbins if that's your strategy and you plan on getting "*" next to that section.

 

[dynx]

No way. BRS Pathology is a weak source if that's all you use. You are missing so much material that will show up on your exam. You better have read most of Robbins if that's your strategy and you plan on getting "*" next to that section.

Guilty I suppose. For Step 1 all I did was FA and BRS path. However, for all of second year I did read robbin's for my path class. I assume reading Robbins during the year is pretty standard for those shooting for a 250 and above, however I dont go to class so Im not sure. So my advice should say: If you have read robbins through the year BRS and FA are all you need to hit a 250+. If you have not bothered to look at Robbins all years then you're probably not a serious enough student to hit a high mark and you might as well still just use BRS.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

this book is in outline form. i think it's pretty high yield.

 

[Long Dong]

this book is in outline form. i think it's pretty high yield.

Yes agreed, this is the book I used. And I didn't read robbins during 2nd year, so no you don't have to read robbins cover to cover to hit a high mark.

 

[naveenanirada]

LD I pmed u
NN

 

[Adab]

So what's the word on the street, guys? Is Goljan RRS Path better than BRS Path? I have Goljan's audio and BRS Path...I find that I retain much more from the audio - basically because he is funny as all get up. BRS Path is OK IMO. I haven't looked at RRS Path, but if it is as good as his audio, I'll definitely get that. Basically, I want ONE path source. Having too many books makes me nervous!

So what do you guys think? Goljan's RRS or BRS? Or something older, like his STARS review???

 

[OSUdoc08]

So what's the word on the street, guys? Is Goljan RRS Path better than BRS Path? I have Goljan's audio and BRS Path...I find that I retain much more from the audio - basically because he is funny as all get up. BRS Path is OK IMO. I haven't looked at RRS Path, but if it is as good as his audio, I'll definitely get that. Basically, I want ONE path source. Having too many books makes me nervous!

So what do you guys think? Goljan's RRS or BRS? Or something older, like his STARS review???

Goljan RRS

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Agreed.

I memorized BRS Path (never used Goljan) and my Path. subcomponent on my score report was the highest, off the chart.

 

[(nicedream)]

This is the one I have. What's this audio everyone's talking about?

 

[OSUdoc08]

This is the one I have. What's this audio everyone's talking about?

Illegal recordings from a Goljan review that were taken without his knowledge.

 

[quideam]

Illegal recordings from a Goljan review that were taken without his knowledge.

If I could pay $$ for that audio, I would... but if that's not an option, what are we supposed to do? Not use it when everyone else does?

 

[lealf-ye]

Guilty I suppose. For Step 1 all I did was FA and BRS path. However, for all of second year I did read robbin's for my path class. I assume reading Robbins during the year is pretty standard for those shooting for a 250 and above, however I dont go to class so Im not sure. So my advice should say: If you have read robbins through the year BRS and FA are all you need to hit a 250+. If you have not bothered to look at Robbins all years then you're probably not a serious enough student to hit a high mark and you might as well still just use BRS.

It is so BS. Who can possibly read and memorize robbin? And if you don't remember what you read, how much will it help for the broad? I still want my 250 even I only one a few pages in robbins.

 

[mjl1717]

this book is in outline form. i think it's pretty high yield.

1)The only thing about this Goljan stars book is that it does NOT have an index!!
2)Also when you guys talk about Robbins do you mean the big or little Robbins??

 

[med99]

Used goilan + took his 100 page notes and learned them well. Was hoping it would be right on but it just wasn't.

I had a few questions that were right on but what are the odds with 33 hours of lecture and 100 pages of notes. Lectures are no more than a nice thing to do when you can't stand book studying anymore. Don't beleive what he says on the audio lectures. Not even close to as high yeild as he claims. Best would likely be Q-bank.

I scored a 223 which is about what one would expect based on my first year class scores.

I think you will find that there are no "tricks" to the exam. Simply put, the more time you study your first two years, the better you will do.

MSIII

 

[missbonnie]

i have a dumb q, when you say Robbins, do you mean the Basic Pathology book or the huge Pathologic Basis of Disease ....

(hoping it's the former...)

bonnie

 

[OSUdoc08]

1)The only thing about this Goljan stars book is that it does NOT have an index!!
2)Also when you guys talk about Robbins do you mean the big or little Robbins??

Rapid Review by Goljan has an index.

 

[OSUdoc08]

If I could pay $$ for that audio, I would... but if that's not an option, what are we supposed to do? Not use it when everyone else does?

Take his Kaplan course.

 

[JMD]

From my experience, if you use Goljan's Rapid Review w/ his lectures (if you're not down with using pirated lectures, almost every thing in them is in the RR somewhere) + Robbin's question book there won't be much path on the exam that you haven't seen.

Path was definitely one of my weak points before I started studying for Step 1, but Robbin's question book has a good amount of repitition so that after doing a chapter I felt really confident that I knew that material. I highly recommend using this.

Throw in FA annotated with Q-bank answers and BRS physio and I think you have everything you need to do well on this exam.

Well, actually I think I'd throw in a good source for molecular bio. I lucked out and didn't have much on my test, but many people did. However, I haven't heard of a good Mol Bio review unless one has come out in the past year.

 

[juddson]

Here's my question: I have the Kaplin review books (four volumes, two on "general principles" and two on "organ systems"). Given that Goljan is the path guy at Kaplin, wouldn't I expect that RR would simply repeat much of the material contained in these four volumes?

And which review book covers the pharm material? Is that FA?

Thanks
Judd

 

[mjl1717]

i have a dumb q, when you say Robbins, do you mean the Basic Pathology book or the huge Pathologic Basis of Disease ....

(hoping it's the former...)

bonnie

Can someone answer this q? Are you guys talking about the huge Robbins or the small basic Robbins?

 

[dynx]

It is so BS. Who can possibly read and memorize robbin? And if you don't remember what you read, how much will it help for the broad? I still want my 250 even I only one a few pages in robbins.

Well if english is your second language I suppose its difficult.

edit: for the rest of you, I wasn't saying I memorized robbins, just that I read it and had a good grip of path from 2nd year. With this good foundation, FA and BRS was MORE THAN enough.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Can someone answer this q? Are you guys talking about the huge Robbins or the small basic Robbins?

I think they're talking about Big Daddy Robbins.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

250 or bust!

 

[dynx]

Can someone answer this q? Are you guys talking about the huge Robbins or the small basic Robbins?

Big robbins

 

[gerido]

Is Goljan's audio lecture and 100 pg high yield geared toward the COMLEX or USMLE... since he's teaching at a DO school... I'd imagine COMLEX.. or very relevant for both?