Goljan for non-lecturer

[SkylineMD]

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I've heard so many raving reviews about Goljan and how great he is and etc etc etc so I went ahead and found his audio files and listened to one and I must say, he definitely ties in everything quite well.

As Step 1 time approaches, I was wondering whether listening to Goljan would work well for someone who doesn't like going to lectures. I mean I can listen to them and learn a few things here and there but for me, I just learned better by avoiding lectures. That being said, I am using Kaplan books to study from but not going to the lectures (since I doubt I can sit for 8hrs trying to absorb 2 years worth of information). If I need to cover anything I figure those small video clips/audio clips would be helpful enough for quick topics. But the biggest question I have is: Even though Goljan is supposed to be great, would it be a waste of time for someone that doesn't like lectures to listen to him?

I'm already leaning towards NO but there are just so many great reviews about the audio that I feel as if I may miss out. Are most people that listen to his audio lecture-goers and that's why it works so well? or is he able to educate and entertain everyone.

 

[DMBmatty08]

Listening to Goljan path lectures is more than just path. It is path, micro, pharm, physio, anatomy, embryology, biochem, and some molecular. Not only is it all of these, but he makes all of the correlations from subject to subject that the boards test. It takes a lot of the leg work out for you as far as taking the time to make these tie-ins via the Kaplan books. There are also his high yield notes which are a must to go through before the USMLE. They are basically questions that have been asked on real USMLE exams. I'm not even kidding when I say that I had about 40-50 repeat questions out of his high yield notes on my acutal USMLE. In my opinion it would be to your advantage to listen to this man...he is a genius and knows how and what the NBME asks questions on. Hope this helps.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I rarely went to lecture my 2nd year. I hate lectures. My teachers were Kumar, Abbas, and Fausto (ie. Big Robbins).

I acquired Goljan and listened to about 2 hours. I found it worthless and slow. He's a good lecturer, but I hate lectures.

I doubt that my score would have improved if I had listened to the whole thing. For me there was no shortage of alternative time-effective study resources.

So if your gut says NO, and you're not a lecture person, there's probably nothing wrong with that. Many people on this forum have broken 260 without Goljan Audio.

 

[superoxide]

I highly recommend that you listen to the lectures. You might not get the exact question on your test, but you will definately understand a lot of the concepts which will help you answer a lot of questions. As the above poster mentioned, go through the 100 page high yield notes too. Unfortunately I only had time to go through about 40 pages of them once the day before the exam. I can say that I got atleast 10 questions that were straight out of those notes. If I had started reading those when I started my prep, I am sure my score would have been much higher than what it was.

I'm not a lecture person either. I just can't keep my concentration and my mind just wanders off. The best thing about these audio lectures are that you can listen to them anytime you want, and stop it if you feel like you cant listen anymore. I used to listen to the lectures when I got sick of doing some other source (be it FA, Qbank questions etc). I would put on my headphones and listen to 1-2 lectures just before going to bed. You will learn plenty and it doesn't take a lot of work.

 

[TheEleventhReel]

It may be worthwhile for you to purchase his Rapid Review path book as well. I found that his audio lectures correlate with it quite nicely. Before the 2nd edition RR came out, I was reading Big Robbins and BRS. BRS is a pretty good book for path, but I think Goljan RR + Goljan audio is a better source, at least for my coursework so far.

 

[SkylineMD]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll just see how it works initially with the HY notes and if it seems productive, I'll continue otherwise I'll try a different method.

On a different note, most study schedules I have seen have people studying for one subject and then moving on to another. It's similar to how people at my school study for exams. They go over one lecture and then move onto the next without going back. My style is to make a few passes at the lecture notes picking up more and more detail over time. Would studying one subject for a few days result in retaining that knowledge 4weeks down the road?

 

[flamingo]

I don't care for lectures much either (I learn better by reading than listening), so I would never just sit down and listen to Goljan in my apt/library.

HOWEVER, the great thing about goljan is that you can just put it on whenever. I have it on my ipod and play it whenever i have to drive somewhere more than 30 min away. I hate long drives because I get restless, so goljan makes me feel like I'm doing something useful with the time =) It's also good for the gym. I think it helps me put some key points together and highlights topics that I need to review more.

 

[BPJ09]

I second Flamingo. Goljan is a great way to study when you don't feel like studying i.e. in the gym or on long car rides. It's an excellent way to supplement your core studying sessions. And no one doubts how great his lectures are.

 

[DOctorJay]

listening is great while driving and working out as mentioned above, you'll definitely remember many points simply because of his style.

BUT, if lectures really aren't for you and audio learning doesn't help you then just get his notes (which are easily accessible) and read them, his notes are actually a little more complete than his audio lectures.

best of luck

-J

 

[Jmentor]

There are 4 types of Goljan Notes:
36 pages
44 pages
100 pages
484 pages

http://4usmle.net/forum/pathology/145-goljan-pathology-notes.html?highlight=goljan