Goljan rr and Pathoma

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GTP

GTP

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Hey everyone.

My path prof just poopooed Goljan rr and Pathoma. She says Pathoma is a joke and is way too easy and Goljan rr has too many errors. *Thoughts?*
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She was serious as an MI. I was all excited based on the things I've read on SDN. Now I dunno
 
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maybe for a real pathologist these two sources are no good (given the number of years of training a pathologist goes through, the clinical and academic experiences, and basically all the knowledge gained). but for medical students preparing for the boards, I think these two resources are excellent. your professor may have a different opinion if he was in our shoes at the beginning of his career. i've also used robbins and other resources and it's just too much information. for those of us who haven't mastered the field of pathology and haven't practiced as a physician a single day, both Goljan RR and Pathoma are great in learning and building a basic foundation.
 
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Your professor is jelous, and why wouldn't he/she be? Goljan and Sattar are now famous for their educational contributions, whereas they're just another assistant professor at school X. It's one of those things where they look back and think "why didn't I think of that?" They're just insecure, so they rip on them to make them feel that they're superior to goljan and sattar. Pretty pathetic, actually
 
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GTP said:
She was serious as an MI. I was all excited based on the things I've read on SDN. Now I dunno
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Yeah, you're right. Ignore the legions of people who have performed spectacularly on the USMLE and in class using Pathoma/Goljan. Listen to the lady who took the boards 20 years ago.
 
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VisionaryTics said:
Yeah, you're right. Ignore the legions of people who have performed spectacularly on the USMLE and in class using Pathoma/Goljan. Listen to the lady who took the boards 20 years ago.
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Your professor is as smart as I am. And FYI, I am not too bright. Lol
 
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894rty said:
maybe for a real pathologist these two sources are no good (given the number of years of training a pathologist goes through, the clinical and academic experiences, and basically all the knowledge gained). But for medical students preparing for the boards, i think these two resources are excellent. Your professor may have a different opinion if he was in our shoes at the beginning of his career. I've also used robbins and other resources and it's just too much information. For those of us who haven't mastered the field of pathology and haven't practiced as a physician a single day, both goljan rr and pathoma are great in learning and building a basic foundation.
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+1
 
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I'm not surprised by this. Dr. Sattar came to our school to give us a preview of Pathoma. Our Path professor grilled the **** out of him... nonetheless half the class def got Pathoma after that... dude is for real.
 
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Pathoma wasn't enough for my classes but it definitely helped me learn a lot and helped me on practice questions. I did Robbins Review questions and in the classes before I got Pathoma I always did terrible on them (~50%). When I did them in my repro class pretty much all I had done at the time was Pathoma and I got around 90%.

The way he presents the material made it so much easier to digest than my professors lectures. There have been a lot of times while watching his lectures when I wonder why my teachers never explained a topic like he does. Pathoma doesn't include every detail you need for school exams, but the info he includes is explained in a way so that you understand it and don't just memorize random facts.
 
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Just to add although it has been settled, all I I have for path is FA and pathoma. My uWorld average is at 81% with 30% to go. Yes, Pathoma is pure gold.
 
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GTP said:
Hey everyone.

My path prof just poopooed Goljan rr and Pathoma. She says Pathoma is a joke and is way too easy and Goljan rr has too many errors. *Thoughts?*
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What does she suggest you do for a comprehensive pathology board review? Her error free power point slides and reading Robbins cover to cover? ;)
 
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dr seuss said:
Pathoma wasn't enough for my classes but it definitely helped me learn a lot and helped me on practice questions. I did Robbins Review questions and in the classes before I got Pathoma I always did terrible on them (~50%). When I did them in my repro class pretty much all I had done at the time was Pathoma and I got around 90%.

The way he presents the material made it so much easier to digest than my professors lectures. There have been a lot of times while watching his lectures when I wonder why my teachers never explained a topic like he does. Pathoma doesn't include every detail you need for school exams, but the info he includes is explained in a way so that you understand it and don't just memorize random facts.
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ijn said:
What does she suggest you do for a comprehensive pathology board review? Her error free power point slides and reading Robbins cover to cover? ;)
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Lol that's exactly what she said. If I can't manage real Robbins, maybe do baby Robbins
 
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I'm doing Pathoma and FA too. Pathoma is gold - both in helping you understand it and in retaining it. Plus the lectures do not put me to sleep!
Kate
 
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Azipropofol said:
Just to add although it has been settled, all I I have for path is FA and pathoma. My uWorld average is at 81% with 30% to go. Yes, Pathoma is pure gold.
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Or it means you just know your **** since you must be getting many of those random (largely nonpath) points that only 25% or less get right. Either way good work. Not saying anything bad about Pathoma... just saying it's probably not the main reason for your high average.
 
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Don't listen to her because she doesn't have your best interest in mind. /thread
 
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Review books have a completely different purpose than true Path books.

Your professor probably just has a different outlook on what Path education should be. However, Goljan himself has said that actually learning the material and understanding it is better than memorizing what is in his review book.
 
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Hey everyone. Just got my Goljan rr and it's a beast. Almost as long as fa. How do you all use it? Do you listen to Goljan and then read or v.v? Or do you read it in fa first and then go to Goljan rr? Thanks a lot. You sdn people are awesome :D
 
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GTP said:
Hey everyone. Just got my Goljan rr and it's a beast. Almost as long as fa. How do you all use it? Do you listen to Goljan and then read or v.v? Or do you read it in fa first and then go to Goljan rr? Thanks a lot. You sdn people are awesome :D
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I'm not sure how others are planning on using it, but I remember reading somewhere:

Pathoma video --> Pathoma book --> RR Path --> Goljan audio

Or something along those lines was suggested. My current plan is to do something like that -- start with the Pathoma lecture and book reading, followed by reading RR Path. Then, I was thinking of doing practice questions and later in the day, while I'm working out, listen to the corresponding Goljan audio lecture. Not sure yet if that's reasonable or overkill.
 
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Thanks Kaushik. Ur method sounds Hardcore. It won't be feasible for me during the school year because my school isn't pass or fail and I want to try to keep my ranking within -+1-2% max. I was thinking of having my first pass through fa by the end of December. We have three weeks off in December and another 2 weeks in jan. or that could be the other way around. I think what might work for me during the school year is start using fa and Goljan audio with questions with each block as we advance in class.. And then do all of Pathoma and half of Goljan rr during the five week Christmas break. :oops: opinions? Also, gt starting in like three weeks once exams are over. Gt from next month till June next year. Hope one year is enough
 
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Goljan audio is good, but shouldn't really be a focus of studying. Use it at the gym or in the car/on the train. It's a supplement, not a real thing to study on its own.
 
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johnnydrama said:
Goljan audio is good, but shouldn't really be a focus of studying. Use it at the gym or in the car/on the train. It's a supplement, not a real thing to study on its own.
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Yes I am planning to use it at the gym
 
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johnnydrama said:
Goljan audio is good, but shouldn't really be a focus of studying. Use it at the gym or in the car/on the train. It's a supplement, not a real thing to study on its own.
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I wonder if I am missing a lot by not listening to him... I have listeded to some of his lectures, but he just bores me too much, I stop paying attention to him after 2 minutes...

BTW, I love your username AND pic, both are awesome! :thumbup:
 
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alternatego said:
I wonder if I am missing a lot by not listening to him... I have listeded to some of his lectures, but he just bores me too much, I stop paying attention to him after 2 minutes...

BTW, I love your username AND pic, both are awesome! :thumbup:
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Everything from the audio is in RR (and if there's a conflict, I'd trust RR over the audio since it is more recent).

I liked his descriptions of some of the heme and GI stuff, but it's definitely skippable if you're using RR.
 
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GTP said:
Thanks Kaushik. Ur method sounds Hardcore. It won't be feasible for me during the school year because my school isn't pass or fail and I want to try to keep my ranking within -+1-2% max. I was thinking of having my first pass through fa by the end of December. We have three weeks off in December and another 2 weeks in jan. or that could be the other way around. I think what might work for me during the school year is start using fa and Goljan audio with questions with each block as we advance in class.. And then do all of Pathoma and half of Goljan rr during the five week Christmas break. :oops: opinions? Also, gt starting in like three weeks once exams are over. Gt from next month till June next year. Hope one year is enough
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You really have to read Goljan multiple times to understand what he is talking about. However Dr. Goljan says to study things by understanding the definitions of things first and the broad outlines and THEN to go in for the details. This makes sense to me as otherwise you will be bogged down in details. I also recommend adding in the Robbins picture book.
 
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Using Pathoma and RR? Yeah, that's not stupid.

The issue your path professor has with both sources is that they are both review books; you need to first read Robbins to understand path.
 
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Goljan audio and pathoma (book/videos) are what I thought best for path. RR is great, but way too dense to start during board review (this coming from someone who spent/wasted a week going through it at that time).
Robbins pathology atlas is awesome as well, but also tedious to start during board review. Know basic histopathology COLD (e.g. Granulomas, necrosis) and you'll thank yourself. The last thing you'll want is to approach a question where the answer comes down to whether or not you can identify if there's a subtle non-caseating granulomatous process going on and you're left uncertain.

I did pretty well on the boards, but not as well as others that stuck to fewer resources. I read [far too] many texts during my study time, so I feel that if there's one thing i should be qualified to advise on it's the utility of various references (of course everything varies by test, but~300 questions gives you a lot of insight into the depth of knowledge the nbme expects from us on this exam).
 
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GTP said:
Yea lol
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Ignore her and be glad you have Dr. B next year!

I used pathoma throughout the year while doing path with Dr. B in 2nd yr and it really helped me out a lot. Dr. B is great but I am a visual learner and the drawings satter makes helps me a lot. Pathoma raised my school grades and understanding of pathology more importantly. If you like reading then go ahead do Robbins, I tried and couldn't because of my add, lol.

Pathoma book + online lectures, made path my strongest subject on qbanks.
 
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WonderBoy said:
Ignore her and be glad you have Dr. B next year!

I used pathoma throughout the year while doing path with Dr. B in 2nd yr and it really helped me out a lot. Dr. B is great but I am a visual learner and the drawings satter makes helps me a lot. Pathoma raised my school grades and understanding of pathology more importantly. If you like reading then go ahead do Robbins, I tried and couldn't because of my add, lol.

Pathoma book + online lectures, made path my strongest subject on qbanks.
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Are you writing both USMLE and comlex? Im definitely sold on goljan rr. My copy of the book came today. I'm still undecided about pathoma. I have heard nothing but amazing things (except from Dr. D), and I don't want to miss 5-10 questions on the test because I didnt use it. BUTTT... we also have the free kaplan classes at school, I have 2011 DIT, I will definitely be doing GT after exams, and I also have goljan audio. Don't forget that touro classes are also online. Pathoma is just another book and another set of videos to watch. Seems like it's too much. I dunno...:confused:
 
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GTP said:
Are you writing both USMLE and comlex? Im definitely sold on goljan rr. My copy of the book came today. I'm still undecided about pathoma. I have heard nothing but amazing things (except from Dr. D), and I don't want to miss 5-10 questions on the test because I didnt use it. BUTTT... we also have the free kaplan classes at school, I have 2011 DIT, I will definitely be doing GT after exams, and I also have goljan audio. Don't forget that touro classes are also online. Pathoma is just another book and another set of videos to watch. Seems like it's too much. I dunno...:confused:
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Currently I am signed up for both, depending on practice tests I will decide if I want to go ahead with step 1. Will take comlex though for sure. Yea I know I went thru all the itunes and did pathoma during the year, it can be done. There is a lot more time in second year because of the module system. There is nothing wrong with RR, if you can do it throughout the whole year, you should go with it.

I have RR and pathoma, my pathoma is fully annotated and RR i haven't really opened. Although I do like the side margin notes in RR. Especially now that I am closer to my test, its much easier just to cover all of path by doing pathoma in few short days. But since its one of my strong subjects, I am focusing more on weaknesses.
 
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WonderBoy said:
Currently I am signed up for both, depending on practice tests I will decide if I want to go ahead with step 1. Will take comlex though for sure. Yea I know I went thru all the itunes and did pathoma during the year, it can be done. There is a lot more time in second year because of the module system. There is nothing wrong with RR, if you can do it throughout the whole year, you should go with it.

I have RR and pathoma, my pathoma is fully annotated and RR i haven't really opened. Although I do like the side margin notes in RR. Especially now that I am closer to my test, its much easier just to cover all of path by doing pathoma in few short days. But since its one of my strong subjects, I am focusing more on weaknesses.
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How have you been a member of this board for ELEVEN YEARS without having taken Step 1?
 
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VisionaryTics said:
How have you been a member of this board for ELEVEN YEARS without having taken Step 1?
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Long story, but I will give you short version:

couldn't go to med school when I want to because of things that weren't in my control. Got a job instead, had a career and applied when I could be accepted. Just kept the same sdn id since college.
 
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WonderBoy said:
Currently I am signed up for both, depending on practice tests I will decide if I want to go ahead with step 1. Will take comlex though for sure. Yea I know I went thru all the itunes and did pathoma during the year, it can be done. There is a lot more time in second year because of the module system. There is nothing wrong with RR, if you can do it throughout the whole year, you should go with it.

I have RR and pathoma, my pathoma is fully annotated and RR i haven't really opened. Although I do like the side margin notes in RR. Especially now that I am closer to my test, its much easier just to cover all of path by doing pathoma in few short days. But since its one of my strong subjects, I am focusing more on weaknesses.
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Okay thanks. I was considering the three month supply but I guess the $12 month supply is not much more expensive. One more thing: do you think it's beneficial to get a one yr subscription of Uworld to do questions along with class modules, or just wait closer to test date ?
 
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GTP said:
Okay thanks. I was considering the three month supply but I guess the $12 month supply is not much more expensive. One more thing: do you think it's beneficial to get a one yr subscription of Uworld to do questions along with class modules, or just wait closer to test date ?
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There is no real wrong or right way to do this, it works whichever way you prefer. But uworld are the best questions out of the bank, Rx is good because they cover the detail in FA.

Also remember school will give you free kaplan qbank access in october. I used Rx throughout the year and started using uworld around dec. along with Rx.

You could get uworld during christmas break and cover all the modules you did in fall semester, while doing Rx or kaplan during the semester. You can reset uworld during dedicated time and do it a second time, thats the way I am approaching it now.
 
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WonderBoy said:
There is no real wrong or right way to do this, it works whichever way you prefer. But uworld are the best questions out of the bank, Rx is good because they cover the detail in FA.

Also remember school will give you free kaplan qbank access in october. I used Rx throughout the year and started using uworld around dec. along with Rx.

You could get uworld during christmas break and cover all the modules you did in fall semester, while doing Rx or kaplan during the semester. You can reset uworld during dedicated time and do it a second time, thats the way I am approaching it now.
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Cool thank you. I guess I lied when I said that was my last question :(. lol. Sorry. How did you find the touro kaplan prep course? I heard it's optional. Were they streamed? Also, can you post the list of other resources you are using? Good luck
 
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GTP said:
Cool thank you. I guess I lied when I said that was my last question :(. lol. Sorry. How did you find the touro kaplan prep course? I heard it's optional. Were they streamed? Also, can you post the list of other resources you are using? Good luck
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Kaplan going on right now, but I am skipping them. I like working on my schedule besides by this time you know what you have to do.

Pathoma, BRS phys and Dr. Fisher's lectures from school review for physiology, uworld, Rx, FA and DIT 2011

Lange biochem cards, microcards

Pretty much sums up stuff I am using now.
 
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Sweet thank you. I was considering ditching those kaplan courses too when the time comes. Glad to know I won't be the only one. Good luck.
 
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ChussiDoll said:
Anyone who has the Pathoma videos (and is willing to upload them and give me the links via PM), I can give DIT 2011, DIT 2012, USMLERx 2012, and USMLE Pass program to that person in return. Send me a PM if you have Pathoma videos (recorded) and are willing to trade those videos for any/ALL of the above stuff! :D
Just send me a PM!
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Really...for ~$70 you get his book and almost 40 hours of lectures. You are spending $500+ on the test, this isn't that expensive.

The videos alone wouldn't be nearly as helpful. Also they are all streamed so nobody will have them.
 
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link2swim06 said:
Really...for ~$70 you get his book and almost 40 hours of lectures. You are spending $500+ on the test, this isn't that expensive.

The videos alone wouldn't be nearly as helpful. Also they are all streamed so nobody will have them.
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:thumbup: Never understood how people can spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on exam fees but become complete cheap asses when it comes to buying materials...and this isn't like kaplan where he is selling an arm and leg for his videos which he could have done...its only 100 dollars
 
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Just about to start M2 guys. I got the pathoma videos and i have the RR pathology book. I'm gna watch the videos and then study from the book. Does that sound like a good idea? I went through the pathoma PDF though, and i couldn't help but feel it was lacking and a bit more concise than the RR pathology book
 
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