Goljan Audio Advice

[Doctor4Life1769]

Not asking for the audio - I have that.

I'm wondering how you guys sit there and keep up with what he says. My attention span is good for 10 minutes and then I'm lost in my own world or studyin something else. Nothing sticks, is it even worth it? I take my boards in June.

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[FutureInternist]

Nothing sticks, is it even worth it?

How DARE you question the Path God....Have you no shame.
Seriously though, IF someone had an illegal copy of the audio files, they would be very wise to listen to it & perhaps go along the lectures in BRS path or better yet Dr. Goljan's own Rapid Review for Pathology.

DEFINITELY worth it.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

How DARE you question the Path God....Have you no shame.
Seriously though, IF someone had an illegal copy of the audio files, they would be very wise to listen to it & perhaps go along the lectures in BRS path or better yet Dr. Goljan's own Rapid Review for Pathology.

DEFINITELY worth it.

I do have Goljan RR Path. I tend to read that and understand it well. I guess I'll try and do both together but wow does he bore me to death, path god or not. His book's better.

 

[gonogo]

I listened to it only when I worked out. It helped me a lot.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

What did you do to retain the stuff he says? I know listening over and over helps, but it's a lot of info and numerous hours of listening.

 

[doc20]

umm open it in windows media player and double speed, trust me it be hard to keep up and that way it always get my attention!!!
like hot chicks that are hard to get always grab more attention ha ha

 

[diosa428]

You could try following along in RR Path and making notes... it's not really necessary but it may keep you awake. I actually need the audio to keep myself paying attention b/c I have the opposite problem (find the book really boring) but since the lectures and the book have basically the same info, I don't think you'd be at a real disadvantage if you stopped listening to the audio. I think most people find it entertaining and that's why they listen, but if you don't like it, I don't think there's a huge need for it.

 

[g6pddfishnc]

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[Noeljan]

It happens to me sometimes too, but I think you need to listen to each one a bunch of times. The first time I listen I do so very laid back (and daydream, etc, haha). The second time I really focus (and do the eliptical trainer while I am listening which helps me focus for some reason and burn fat at the same time Also, I only listen to the lectures in which I am covering either in class, or what subjects I am reading in first aid (so this month I am covering neuro in class...then cardio and respiratory as board review) so those are the only subjects covering at the same time (so your mind really focuses on them)
good luck!

 

[LadyWolverine]

What did you do to retain the stuff he says? I know listening over and over helps, but it's a lot of info and numerous hours of listening.

What is wrong with you people? Do you seriously need everything spoon-fed to you, or else you complain? Medical school requires you to learn/read/see/retain vast amounts of information. Of course there are numerous hours involved. It's basically 2 years of pre-clinical years condensed down into a more manageable format. You don't get much closer to spoon-feeding than that.

Of course you're going to have to look at/listen to the information over and over again - that's the only way you can learn this stuff. You can't breeze through it once, expecting someone else to learn it for you. It takes LOTS OF TIME. There is no easier, quicker way.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

What is wrong with you people? Do you seriously need everything spoon-fed to you, or else you complain? Medical school requires you to learn/read/see/retain vast amounts of information. Of course there are numerous hours involved. It's basically 2 years of pre-clinical years condensed down into a more manageable format. You don't get much closer to spoon-feeding than that.

Of course you're going to have to look at/listen to the information over and over again - that's the only way you can learn this stuff. You can't breeze through it once, expecting someone else to learn it for you. It takes LOTS OF TIME. There is no easier, quicker way.

Yeah thanks for the knock of reality. I just did not realize now as a 2nd year med student that med school was going to be tough. Please excuse me as reality is now setting in. Here you were defending a fellow 3rd year b/c of their "extremely tough schedule and call schedule." I did not comment on that b/c I am not there yet, but if you have nothing constructive to give based on what I am ASKING (and you want to take things out of context then dont answer).

I never said I wasn't the type to work hard. I was trying to get advice on how other students have been EFFECTIVELY using Goljan audio. I figured I was doing something wrong. I turn it on, and within 5-10 minutes I've lost track of what I was listening to and it then causes me to have to start over, wasting more time. So, I began to just read his RR path book and I was getting a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. Med school, as you know, is about doing more in a shorter amount of time. Efficiency. Not wasting a lot of time on something that wasn't working. Listening to his audio the way I was doing so, was not working. So hence, my post asking for advice on how OTHERS have been EFFECTIVELY listening to his audio and learning from it. I want to use the audio, I just did not know how to learn from it. Thanks for the kick in the butt though, that's just greatly appreciated.


To the others, I appreciate your advice and tips. I will try to do what you all suggested, which appears to be similar to each other. I may do a combination of active reading and listening, while listening in 10 minute blocks for the system I'm covering.
Best of luck to the rest of you as well!

 

[Knicks]

Yeah thanks for the knock of reality. I just did not realize now as a 2nd year med student that med school was going to be tough. Please excuse me as reality is now setting in. Here you were defending a fellow 3rd year b/c of their "extremely tough schedule and call schedule." I did not comment on that b/c I am not there yet, but if you have nothing constructive to give based on what I am ASKING (and you want to take things out of context then dont answer).

I never said I wasn't the type to work hard. I was trying to get advice on how other students have been EFFECTIVELY using Goljan audio. I figured I was doing something wrong. I turn it on, and within 5-10 minutes I've lost track of what I was listening to and it then causes me to have to start over, wasting more time. So, I began to just read his RR path book and I was getting a lot more done in a shorter amount of time. Med school, as you know, is about doing more in a shorter amount of time. Efficiency. Not wasting a lot of time on something that wasn't working. Listening to his audio the way I was doing so, was not working. So hence, my post asking for advice on how OTHERS have been EFFECTIVELY listening to his audio and learning from it. I want to use the audio, I just did not know how to learn from it. Thanks for the kick in the butt though, that's just greatly appreciated.


To the others, I appreciate your advice and tips. I will try to do what you all suggested, which appears to be similar to each other. I may do a combination of active reading and listening, while listening in 10 minute blocks for the system I'm covering.
Best of luck to the rest of you as well!

s**t just got real! lol

*grabs popcorn*

 

[TracksuitsRock]

I wouldn't worry too much about LadyWolverine, I've read some of her other posts and she seems to like to stir **** up in general...she was probably just bored and your post happened to be there.

Others gave useful advice. I would add that you shouldn't stress if you zone out here and there, or feel like you didn't retain every detail of the lectures. I found them to be so high yield that even retaining part of it will do you a lot of good. If you worry too much about retaining it all, you might keep repeating lectures and waste time that you could use studying other resources or doing questions. "Great is the enemy of good."

Good luck!!

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

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[g6pddfishnc]

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[ZonaRidicularis]

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[Doctor4Life1769]

Thank you very much for this, it's going to be extremely helpful!

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Just let me throw in a dissenting view.

Goljan audio is not absolutely required. I know several people who've come through my school and in my year who "rocked the boards" without either touching the stuff or trying it and not using it.

I personally tried and and got not much out of it. When used in "study mode" I felt I got more by reading or doing Q-Bank. And while Goljan is most popularly used "when you can't study" like driving or exercising, I personally felt that was my own little respite from studying and I was doing more for myself by taking adequate breaks to recharge and compile then jamming Step 1 into every aspect of my life.

So, if Goljan isn't working for you, it may just not be the best study method for you.

 

[WizardHowl]

Here's what you do:
Read a chapter in RR
Listen to corresponding audio

I bet you anything you will retain a lot more this way b/c your reading is reinforced immediately afterward with the audio. Have the book open while you're listening to the audio. Doing it this way might be more interesting for you so you don't get bored.

Here's a link to the RR Path & Corresponding Audio.

I thought it was sort of confusing so I changed it.. I attached the document to this post.

Thanks for posting this!

If I follow the audio with the book, will it cover all the audio lectures? It seems like a couple of audio lectures are left out. Do you suggest still listening to them?

 

[spospo]

The audio doesn't always go in the same order as the book within a subject, so you may have to flip a little bit. Also, the audio doesn't cover every single thing that the book has in it. Normally I'll listen to a lecture sort of following along then go back and read the entire section covered in the lecture

 

[confuse]

If you're not an auditory learner like me or if you find that he talks too slow, search for the audio transcript on the net. It's out there and it follows the audio word for word.

 

[JG198]

I pause the audio when he asks questions, answer, and continue.

 

[diosa428]

This is really only peripherally related, but I get really annoyed when he talks about slides and you can't see them. Some seem to be in RR path, but I wish I was actually in this course so I could tell what he's talking about

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I agree, same when he talks about pictures ...

 

[SnakeEyes]

There is actually a copy of his slides somewhere on the internet. If you did a good google search, you might be able to find them.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Just let me throw in a dissenting view.

Goljan audio is not absolutely required. I know several people who've come through my school and in my year who "rocked the boards" without either touching the stuff or trying it and not using it.

I personally tried and and got not much out of it. When used in "study mode" I felt I got more by reading or doing Q-Bank. And while Goljan is most popularly used "when you can't study" like driving or exercising, I personally felt that was my own little respite from studying and I was doing more for myself by taking adequate breaks to recharge and compile then jamming Step 1 into every aspect of my life.

So, if Goljan isn't working for you, it may just not be the best study method for you.

Agreed - I would use Goljan occasionally during those "when you can't study" times, but I'm not really sure how much I got out of it. I only got through like 1/3 of the lectures, and I don't really think it impacted my studies much. Maybe his hematology lectures - that was a weak area for me, and I thought he explained that well.

Just read RR pathology - it's got 95+% of the same information, with pretty pictures to go along.

 

[myxomatosis]

If you're not an auditory learner like me or if you find that he talks too slow, search for the audio transcript on the net. It's out there and it follows the audio word for word.

that's what I do. For me it's a lot easier to read the text after I've listened to Goljan explain the main points.

 

[liddlelulu]

I usually pull out the first aid and write in the integrations he mentions, even if I know it's written or mentioned elsewhere in the book.

I noticed, if I listened to the lectures of the topic I just covered, I learned more, b/c I could actually follow along. But then, just listening passively doesn't help me retain any of the info. I usually have to jot down some of that information in the relevant spots in the FA, too. That helps with buzzwords, and making connections between systems and clinical presentations.

 

[IdontTakeCall]

I have been told that gojan audio in conjunction with BRS path or Robbins rapid review is the gold standard for boards path A to Z. Personally, I drive almost 600 miles from my home upstate to school every other weekend and spend another hour or so at the gym 5-6 days a week. Those 5 hour drives and hours spent lifting are perfect time in my opinion to learn one of the most important aspects of the boards. Even if i dont retain more than 10% of what i listen to after 4 or 5 times through it, its still 10% more information than I would have known as those hours were otherwise spent doing nothing to do with board study at all. I just finished downloading it all so Im starting to listen to it this monday ill give some feedback in a few days as to how its going.

 

[apps-suck]

hey that sounds really useful Zona, do you think you could post that file again as a .doc instead of docx?

i downloaded the converted for word 2003 but im still having trouble opening the file

thanks

 

[ZonaRidicularis]

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