Gunner Training Progress?

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So... I am wondering if anyone is using GT right now as a study resource, in conjunction with classes?

It's great, and there's something very satisfying about "banking" all the Qs in a particular subject. Somehow, it seems more painless studying notecards & getting quizzed this way than it would've on my own with (god forbid PHYSICAL) notecards :rolleyes:

BUT. It takes so damn long! Like, omg. It has assigned me over 100 Qs to review for tomorrow. ARRRRGH. What are your guys' experiences??

I'm hoping this stuff pays off... I was going to say "in the long run"... but it's really only a few months, isn't it? lol
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Yeah man it is getting more and more time consuming, especially as I bank new cards but have to review old ones uuuuuuuuugh
 
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msbbc833 said:
I am an MS1 in my first year. Would it be useful to start using this program now?
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Actually, yes. Though you could probably wait until later in the year or the summer if you didn't want to start paying for it now. But, it does have a fair amount of material from year 1. It would probably be helpful for your classes... and more importantly, once you have it "banked", it'll really help to keep that in your memory.

Unlike me, where a lot of the stuff with biochem I'll probably have to "re-learn" again. I haven't even had time to look at any of it yet. It sucks.
 
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100 questions? Amateurs. Some days I hit 500.

Yeah it makes me want to kill myself but it seems to be working phenomenally.

For anyone reading this don't plan on finishing the material in less than six months, it's just not possible.
 
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hrandani said:
100 questions? Amateurs. Some days I hit 500.

Yeah it makes me want to kill myself but it seems to be working phenomenally.

For anyone reading this don't plan on finishing the material in less than six months, it's just not possible.
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How much time are you spending on it each day?
 
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i go through 500 cards each day, sometimes 1000. i think gunner training is a good system but you really need to start before year 2 to get the most out of it.
 
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how long does it take you to do 500q's a day? that's like a couple hours.

also, 500 cards a day? there are less than 800 cards total...
 
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Sounds like you all have had good results with GT. What kind of improvements have you seen? Do you think the GT claims of enhanced recall are justified?
 
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I'm a first year that is trying to use GT to reinforce coursework as I learn it. I tried using it to learn new material but found it much less effective for that. Currently 26% progress, 15% mastery.

I'm really sold on their system but don't know how much time each day it is going to end up taking as more cards get added - definitely a balance between learning new material/studying for classes and reinforcing what you have already learned.
 
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I actually just finished doing my GT for the day and got on here to ask about how everyone else was progressing, gland I used the search function before starting a new thread, haha.

Anyway, I really like the program and it helps my wandering, ADHD brain retain this stuff by forcing me to see it repeatedly. Which is the point I guess ... but man, is there a ton of stuff or what?!? I've been using GT since early June and I've just now gotten through about 40% of the cards and mastered a little less than 30%. I admit that I probably went a bit slow in the begining as I wanted to keep my daily questions to 50 or less, but now I see that well, that isn't possible if I want to get through all the material before May.

Now I'm up to an average of 140 questions a day and I really have to fly through them as I want to keep my time spent on GT at about an hour and half each morning. And that time also includes banking about thirty or so review questions after my initial old question review. I haven't even touched some of my first year material, like embryo. I looked at the first card and it had like thirty review questions ... :eek: I decided to save that mess for another day. haha

So yeah, I say start GT during first year. I think it would be super helpful and it would definitely be easier to get through it all.

I would be interested in hearing when folks who used it last year got through all the material. At this point I'm going to have to really step it up ,maybe during winter break, in order to hopefully finish up by exam time. :xf:
 
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im sorry, i meant i go through 500-700 questions a day, and i spend 3-4 hrs a day.

i really like gunner training but i find sometimes they include excess information that may not be board relevant. has anyone done the immunology section? im not sure remembering all those secretors of cytokines is as high yield as the time i spend trying to memorize it. that aside, gunner training has really helped me get through sections of the first aid that i may not have otherwise if i was just reading the book. i dont think its the be all and end all program but i think its definitely a very valuable tool to go through the first aid to build a strong foundation.

but to anyone considering this program or reading my post- you have to start in year one or towards the end of year 1
 
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JPanda said:
im sorry, i meant i go through 500-700 questions a day, and i spend 3-4 hrs a day.

i really like gunner training but i find sometimes they include excess information that may not be board relevant. has anyone done the immunology section? im not sure remembering all those secretors of cytokines is as high yield as the time i spend trying to memorize it. that aside, gunner training has really helped me get through sections of the first aid that i may not have otherwise if i was just reading the book. i dont think its the be all and end all program but i think its definitely a very valuable tool to go through the first aid to build a strong foundation.

but to anyone considering this program or reading my post- you have to start in year one or towards the end of year 1
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thats exactly why I quit after the first wk of my 1-month-free subscription.
but apparently it helped a few ppl on sdn to get gunner-scores.
 
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bbydoc said:
thats exactly why I quit after the first wk of my 1-month-free subscription.
but apparently it helped a few ppl on sdn to get gunner-scores.
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im pretty skeptical as to whether it is the reason for why some people have amazing scores. but ill let people know how well/poorly i do in half a year.
 
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I started right at the beginning of second year and it really saved my ass in micro. Mostly because we have a terrible micro program at my school. I disagree that you should start it first year because if you start going over stuff you haven't learned yet you will be lost. I'm half done now and hopefully over the break I can "finish" all the cards and over the next six months while I'm doing USMLE World & RX I can whittle it down to mastering everything. The biggest thing is the integration (again, my school doesn't have that) and this is kind of a problem in time management actually inasmuch that you may neglect studying for an upcoming test in order to finish your cards for the day.

I definitely love the concept, but I don't think their algorithm is all that great though. They should probably switch to a 10 point scale and do some preliminary testing to figure out how great you are at memorizing random stuff in addition to how well you know the material being presented beforehand. Like someone said before me, it works best as mastering the finite details of what you already have been presented, which is also how it is advertised.

Definitely worth the money for me. I like how it's sort of an interactive First Aid and I can log on from anywhere, search for topics, do reviews of any topic before a school exam, and it's just money for hammering home some of the stuff like chromosome / cancer relationships until I just know it cold.

I enjoy just sitting down and reading a chapter of Robbins or Goljan but it is nowhere near as high yield for my time as GT is. The trick is to figure out how to get enough time to do both and synergizeeee.

But if you aren't careful it can be overwhelming and a little frustrating.
 
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Can someone explain how GT works? I am trying to use it but the interface is confusing. I assume you just add flashcards for the topic you are trying to study? So if I want to study biochem, how do I add all the flashcards from that to my "inventory" or whatever?
 
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you look at the cards and then bank the review questions at the bottom of the page for each card. then those questions will start to show up on your daily schedule of q's. rinse and repeat.
 
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Some of you say that the question bank is too detailed. Is it more detailed than FA?

I'm studying at a foreign medical school and will probably take the USMLE in 3 years at earliest. Would it be a waste of time, or too hard, starting GT'ing now, trying to retain this information for that long?

On the same note I'm wondering if any of you are planning to keep using GT even after you've passed the USMLE, or would this seem pointless to you given the material?
 
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Fundersam said:
Some of you say that the question bank is too detailed. Is it more detailed than FA?

I'm studying at a foreign medical school and will probably take the USMLE in 3 years at earliest. Would it be a waste of time, or too hard, starting GT'ing now, trying to retain this information for that long?

On the same note I'm wondering if any of you are planning to keep using GT even after you've passed the USMLE, or would this seem pointless to you given the material?
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It's all in the details. Actually, I'm finding the "finicky" details I learn off GT come up pretty frequently- whether it's in class, small groups, or clinical situations (i.e. pimping). It's high-yield, useful stuff... whether or not it shows up on the step 1. And... I tend to think it will show up- they will be the Qs that makes the difference between doing average and going above and beyond.

(Same thing with Goljan... these two are money, seriously.)
 
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Doctor4Life1769 said:
Bump
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dude, there is a free week trial. give it a try.

no you cant make your own flash cards,

they have around 200-500 questions per fa section. these questioms are either direct recall - that is like first aid- or are usmle like questions that test your knowledge
 
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there is actually a free month if you want it, PM me

they have all the flashcards ready to go and it's based on FA
 
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msbbc833 said:
How come GT lacks an anatomy section? What do ya'll use to study anatomy? Just FA?
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There's a systems based section...I'm assuming there's quite a bit of anatomy in there.

Edit: I just looked, and yes, there is an anatomy section within the organ system flashcards.
 
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There is an anatomy section within each system, but generally, it's not that comprehensive.
 
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Bit of a bummer that theres no designated anatomy section. I'm an MS-1 and I've taken anatomy, but not organ systems, so its annoying to try and pick out and bank the material I've learned.

I think GT is great, but agree with previous posters who say its much better for reviewing information than learning information. That being said its great to add and review material as you go along. I don't understand how you second years start so late and add all the first year material. Its hard enough adding material as I go along + doing all the normal studying for classes (What GT has and the info in my classes don't always line up, though I learn the GT stuff as well as that'll prob be on step 1).
 
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