Gunner Training?

Your USMLE Scores Increased, Guaranteed!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Sort by date Sort by votes
I don't know whether it is safe to migrate or not. However, I decided to poke my head over the fence to see what FC was up to and I did a couple questions--why not...

It seems to me they are working on things. No longer are the answers to all questions "A". That was ridiculous. Anyways, I am really pulling for FC, but I am not convinced of a RE-migration for myself or anyone else.

It has been a while since we have heard from the FC/GT people IDK what that means, but it would be nice for them to let us know when the smoke has cleared, officially.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't even know if you GT people read this anymore. But, I am honestly sick of whatever faulty technology you all run off of. It seems as if one time in three GT locks up as I am doing my daily review. The best part is getting screwed the next day with 100s of daily review questions. Yeah, this time the day before a double exam.

Oh, and screw you twice for not honoring my referrals. Up until 9:50pm CST TODAY I have been an adamant supporter of your product. Well, hey guess what? GT sucks. I will no longer be recruiting M1s, M2s or M3s (FC's Step 2 content) to sign up for your SEMI-PRO service.

Yeah I know I am pretty strung out right now with second year, but hey we are your target population so deal with it.

You already have my money, enjoy it as I sludge through GT's mediocre technology to get its sweet information nectar (I'll give that to you)
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Goober11 said:
I don't even know if you GT people read this anymore. But, I am honestly sick of whatever faulty technology you all run off of. It seems as if one time in three GT locks up as I am doing my daily review. The best part is getting screwed the next day with 100s of daily review questions. Yeah, this time the day before a double exam.

Oh, and screw you twice for not honoring my referrals. Up until 9:50pm CST TODAY I have been an adamant supporter of your product. Well, hey guess what? GT sucks. I will no longer be recruiting M1s, M2s or M3s (FC's Step 2 content) to sign up for your SEMI-PRO service.

Yeah I know I am pretty strung out right now with second year, but hey we are your target population so deal with it.

You already have my money, enjoy it as I sludge through GT's mediocre technology to get its sweet information nectar (I'll give that to you)
Click to expand...

You're certain your referrals signed up for a subscription after their 1 month trial?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Looking for some advice from you peeps:

My weekly schedule right now is like: 900 today, 200 tomorrow, then drops off to 100 for the next several days. I am tempted to use the 'spread over 7 or 14 days' but I am worried about losing whatever work I have done on a lot of the cards (a card I kind of know now will be completely foreign to me if I spread it and see it in 2 weeks).

I am trying to go through like 400 a day but the number of daily questions won't go down.

What would you guys do? Keep trying to get through them or spread? Also I have so many daily review questions I can't really use GT for the current class material because the old material is destroying my soul.

🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Are those 900 cards that are rolling over daily? - Dedicate an entire day to them and redo all the ones and twos til you get them right

Or did you not do GT for a few days and they added up/get super unlucky? - If you do 400 a day, they will go down eventually. Alternatively, you can clear them. You'll forget some of the stuff you've looked at more recently, but as far as the stuff you've looked at a lot, it shouldn't be a big difference.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dude just postpone them..not worth the stress

anyways, whats been the migration duration guys? I kind of want to migrate now assuming itll take <2 days
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DJtiesto said:
Looking for some advice from you peeps:

My weekly schedule right now is like: 900 today, 200 tomorrow, then drops off to 100 for the next several days. I am tempted to use the 'spread over 7 or 14 days' but I am worried about losing whatever work I have done on a lot of the cards (a card I kind of know now will be completely foreign to me if I spread it and see it in 2 weeks).

I am trying to go through like 400 a day but the number of daily questions won't go down.

What would you guys do? Keep trying to get through them or spread? Also I have so many daily review questions I can't really use GT for the current class material because the old material is destroying my soul.

🙁
Click to expand...

When I get in this situation I try to at least "break even" each day. This means if I have 900 today and 200 tomorrow, I shoot to do at least 200 today, so that I'll have 900 tomorrow. Then I have 100 a day for the next few days, so I look to do at least 100 each day. That's the bare minimum to keep myself from getting behind, and I try to pile on an extra 50-150 on the "good days" where I have more energy, time, and/or motivation. It can take a week or two to get through a giant load like this, but the advantage is that you're doing them in order, so the 201st question you were supposed to do today is your first question tomorrow, helping to preserve the timing as much as possible. When you do the auto spread, you're right in that a bunch of those questions won't be seen until 2 weeks from now. This way, they'll probably be seen in 3-4 days.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
More of a content question rather than GT-interface specific:

In the cardio-physio flashcard on cardiac output -

1. Does an increased afterload correlate with an increased preload as well? specifically from an incr Total Peripheral Resistance? vasopressors are given as examples of increased preload and afterload. Contradictory?

2. Same goes for decreased afterload and decreased preload. So if vasodilators cause both, then it also seems like you're getting opposite effects wrt Cardiac Output.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I haven't taken pharm so can't really talk the nitty gritty, but vasopressors/dilators can hit both arteries and veins (not sure how selective you can be). In general, increased preload doesn't necessitate increased afterload - it's just this particular example of vasopressors

My understanding at any rate
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Some Q's for the FireCracker/Gunnertraining Staff:

1) If I begin banking new topics in Firecracker, when I evnetually have my GT account migrated over will it be possible to combine the 2 accounts? I don't want to migrate the GT just yet, but I want to start banking in firecracker to get used to the platform. So if these 2 can eventually be combined that would be great.

2) As I recall annotations carry over when you migrate. FC has the feature where your notes show up as you do your daily q's not just when you review cards which is what I wanted all along. Will my GT annotations show up beside my daily Q's when I migrate over to firecracker, or will I need to make my annotations directly onto the specific questions for them to show up.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Alvarez13 said:
You can't. FC migration is disabled.
Click to expand...

I migrated the day that they released FC. I can't even remember when but it seems like 2-3 weeks ago or something. SO happy I switched to Anki.

Anki is better anyhow because it's 100% high yield.

GT would be way better if it actually stuck to high yield and got solid images. Making cards is a total pain in the ass. GT should cut down their card volume so that GT could be used in like the final 6 months of Step, instead of trying to make it a 2 year thing. OR, it could be easier maintained. No need for the extra info. Just copy FA.

Maybe GT will be a good option one day in the future, but it's like a young stumbling company right now. I think they have all the right feedback now to be great, which means it's just time and effort to make the program all it could be.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What is your opinion of stopping GT for good?
There's so many things going on and a lot of ppl are complaining about it. I agree that GT seems to have changed a lot recently. I started it 6 mo. ago and it was great. Recently, I've felt that I haven't been learning much through the problem. There's too many details not in FA that I need to spend time learning in GT. My concern is that it is such a huge time commitment. Do people recommend stopping GT and just spend time reading through FA and possibly making flashcards or studying FA rather than going through GT? Thanks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey if i migrated my GT account today to FC, when will it be ready in FC? I understood the initial rush sucked but was wondering how it is today
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
je6ch said:
What is your opinion of stopping GT for good?
There's so many things going on and a lot of ppl are complaining about it. I agree that GT seems to have changed a lot recently. I started it 6 mo. ago and it was great. Recently, I've felt that I haven't been learning much through the problem. There's too many details not in FA that I need to spend time learning in GT. My concern is that it is such a huge time commitment. Do people recommend stopping GT and just spend time reading through FA and possibly making flashcards or studying FA rather than going through GT? Thanks.
Click to expand...

You'll find both sides. Read my posts, and another poster named "MedicalStudent9". I think GT is a great program but as you said, you need to be willing to dedicate loads of time to recall lots of unnecessary facts. I followed this thread religiously, and I can honestly say that GT didn't seem to add much of an advantage (i.e. people who crammed FA+UW were able to do almost or just as well/better). I think for the true gunner, i.e. 250+ guys, they can boost themselves 10+ points because they know everything, but it comes at a huge time commitment.

In short, it's become lower yield in the past year. I think it should be used by people shooting for 250+ who also don't have any worries about studying tons. If you are decent at tests and want 235-255 range, I really think GT isn't necessary. In the end the qbanks are key... how you get to qbanks (i.e. how you review content) doesn't seem to matter and appears to be more preference than superior methods.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MedicalStudent5 said:
GT would be way better if it actually stuck to high yield and got solid images. Making cards is a total pain in the ass. GT should cut down their card volume so that GT could be used in like the final 6 months of Step, instead of trying to make it a 2 year thing. OR, it could be easier maintained. No need for the extra info. Just copy FA.
Click to expand...

Yes. This is what I want most of all, and what would persuade me to recommend the program to others and renew my subscription. I signed up for GT thinking that I'd rather study 1 hour a day for 16 months than cram 16 hours a day for 1 month, but that just isn't enough time. It takes several hours a day, and that isn't practical on top of M2.

If they want to appeal beyond the most intense gunners (which I guess is the point of the name change), they need a high-yield mode which would just cover the info in FA. I don't think this is the same as the "light" mode they have at present, as that just seems to reduce questions indiscriminately (i.e. it's still about 20% anatomy) rather than targeting what we really need to know.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I wish that they would have just renamed GT, kept the same platform and allowed us to TAKE NOTES DIRECTLY ONTO Q's THAT SHOW UP WHEN YOU HIT SHOW ANSWER


EXAMPLE:
QUESTION: What are the 4 blah blah's of chlamidya?

ANSWER:
1) Useless filler point
- lots of info explainign this point
2) High Yield Point you want to remember
3) Random protease nobody has ever heard of and what it does
4) Useless fact to look cool

WHAT I WOULD ANNOTATE: Point 2 = HY rest LY - - - also don't forget that chlamidya also has blah blah (missing point from card)

and BAMM, every time I hit show answer I know not to bother with poitns 1,3 and 4 and anything else I wanted to keep in memory shows up at the same time as well.
Right now I get stuck wasting time on useless BS.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________



I find that the extra info in GT cards causes major OCD panic attacks for me haha. I end up searching the topic looking through all of FA for it, then checking kaplan books if they have that info then sitting here wondering if I should add it to FA.

Sometimes I'll just hit a 3 on the card just skimming it quickly, but a couple months down the road I can't remember that it was LY info and I sit there trying to learn it all over.

Some cards have one HY fact and rest useless filler, so I can't make it as perfect recall and skip it so I end up keeping it in my set of daily q's and I eventually end up mastering the whole card and wasting my time.

If GT could just add a feature where you could annotate directly onto Q's it would be gold.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
PS: Was the Micro section always all multiple choice???

I rem people saying how great it is, but I spend an hour of my day sitting here just trying to read stupid long ass M/C q's that could be simple one line RECALL not M/C Q's.

As soon as I see the options and I see D, I know the answer was D from memory, but I don't know my information so its useless and a waste of time.


I'm so frustrated with this program, but I feel like it has so much potential so I keep sticking with it. I wish I had the time to re-write everything into my own Flashcards🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
This is what I want most of all, and what would persuade me to recommend the program to others and renew my subscription. I signed up for GT thinking that I'd rather study 1 hour a day for 16 months than cram 16 hours a day for 1 month, but that just isn't enough time. It takes several hours a day, and that isn't practical on top of M2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I still have a couple days to change my mind if I want (before the questions become insurmountable), but I've decided to stop at >70% banked. I haven't had a problem so far honoring tests and keeping up with GT, but the increase in GT time commitment (2-3 hours/day now) and the increase in school workload (this is supposed to be by far our hardest semester) just aren't compatible.

I could keep up with GT at the expense of "just passing," but I think mastery of the material is more important than keeping up with GT. Oh well - would like to have kept it going, but I don't think it was a waste. Planning on knocking out most of Qbank this semester as a trade off and doing Rx next semester :shrug:

If GT crew ever shows back up, I'd still be willing to give input (although I think most of what needs to be said has been said).

Good luck amigos!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't get all these people who are upset because Gunner Training throws in things that aren't in First Aid. The people writing questions for Step 1 aren't consulting FA to see if something's fair game for the test. It's not an all-encompassing source. While some of the details do seem ridiculous, I'm sure some of them will help for the test, and there's no way that I'd bother learning them otherwise. It's helpful for coursework, too.

If you want a 230, go read FA a few times. If you want a 250+, I'd expect you'll have to learn a lot of minutiae.

Maybe those who used GT extensively and have taken Step 1 would disagree, but my only real complaints about the program are how Firecracker was rolled out. Now that I've given up on that and gone back to my GT routine, all is well, even if 400-500 question days are soul-crushing (and like everyone else, I hate the full-page vignettes followed by a one-line first-order question, but after seeing them a few times I recognize the giant block of text and know the answer without reading it, mark it a 5, and move on).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MedicalStudent5 said:
GT would be way better if it actually stuck to high yield and got solid images. Making cards is a total pain in the ass. GT should cut down their card volume so that GT could be used in like the final 6 months of Step, instead of trying to make it a 2 year thing. OR, it could be easier maintained. No need for the extra info. Just copy FA.
Click to expand...

je6ch said:
There's too many details not in FA that I need to spend time learning in GT. My concern is that it is such a huge time commitment. Do people recommend stopping GT and just spend time reading through FA and possibly making flashcards or studying FA rather than going through GT? Thanks.
Click to expand...

non trad said:
If they want to appeal beyond the most intense gunners (which I guess is the point of the name change), they need a high-yield mode which would just cover the info in FA. I don't think this is the same as the "light" mode they have at present, as that just seems to reduce questions indiscriminately (i.e. it's still about 20% anatomy) rather than targeting what we really need to know.
Click to expand...

WarriorMD said:
I find that the extra info in GT cards causes major OCD panic attacks for me haha. I end up searching the topic looking through all of FA for it, then checking kaplan books if they have that info then sitting here wondering if I should add it to FA.
Click to expand...

loveoforganic2 said:
That's not really what's been focused on
Click to expand...

I don't know, 4 posts about it on this page seems like a fair amount of focus.

I agree with many of the criticisms before these, but when several people bring them up without dissenting opinions, I don't think I need to chime in to say "Me too!" Since I disagree with the people I quoted, I thought it would be good to let the people at GT know there's a difference of opinion here. If it were just an interactive First Aid, I wouldn't be willing to pay the subscription price as-is.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eh, I think only the first two were really what you're getting at. I think the last 2 are more of "improve light mode" (which I agree with). I agree that it's good not to just have bandwagon and train a single stream of thought though (like you, I think it's good to keep "excessive" GT as "excessive" - if you can keep up with it, more power to you)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
In the interest again of being fair to GT, I recently received an email on previous feedback I had submitted on a question (before I stopped using, obviously). They've apparently started combing through their entire question bank to check question quality (including checking for questions that are too broad - i.e. asking to recall a list of 10 things).

Not the way I would have done it, but good stuff nonetheless for those of you continuing to keep up with GT
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ventulus18 said:
We hear you guys/gals loud and clear! Your feedback is always appreciated. Making Firecracker the leanest and meanest machine is a top priority I (and our team) have from a content perspective. We've all been there when you ask yourself, "is this really important to know? is it really worth it to know how many transmembrane domains are in a nicotinic receptor? Will my attending really ask me about Ranson's criteria circa 1974?" Probably the best question is "Is this really important to know for ME"?

I truly believe the Firecracker platform can be at the core of anybody's study plan - whether you're working hard for your 230, cruising in for your PASS 😎, or trying to generate an "eyebrow raiser" for your dermatology application. The right content will be there when you need it, and it won't be in your way otherwise. We're getting there with a "high yield" option, ability to use/share your own content, stand-alone vignettes, and a mobile platform. If you want to go 200 mph all day long/everyday ( I wouldn't recommend it), we'll be able to keep up with you.

Feel free to get in touch with me directly about whatever is on your mind, even content questions.

Brian
Click to expand...
What's the status on migrating to FC? I'd like to get everything in one place and get step 2 going.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
sooo, guys Ive changed my approach, I simply cannot handle GT with 2nd year...plust I'm trying to do kaplan qbank and robbins. Anyways, my method has been this and its pretty legit:

1.) For pharm, I print the GT cards and add tidbits to it from lectures so I'm always reviewing this
2.) For path, I just use pathoma, lecture notes, etc...
3.) For 1st year stuff, I've bruised through GT so many times having banked ~45% this past summer that I just use QBank for those sections

As far as the daily questions, I'll do them whenever im free (rare) but at the least I'll bank the cards from path and after reviewing my notes, I'll take GT as a test from my "NEW cards"...so as far as daily questions, I simply keep postponing them day after day, kinda lame but at least I'm reviewing new stuff while doing QBank-style questions...I just find it futile at this point to focus on minutia when its better tested in a qbank style
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Alvarez13 said:
What's the status on migrating to FC? I'd like to get everything in one place and get step 2 going.
Click to expand...


This..

1. FC status updates/ resolution of GT migration issues
2. When will the rest of FC step 2 content be up? Several topics are currently blank...
3. Customer service 101: Communicate and update us on the progress (or lack thereof) regarding the above issues. Afterall, we're paying for a service that hasn't really materialized, so the least u can do is to keep us abreast....
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Transformers said:
sooo, guys Ive changed my approach, I simply cannot handle GT with 2nd year...plust I'm trying to do kaplan qbank and robbins. Anyways, my method has been this and its pretty legit:

1.) For pharm, I print the GT cards and add tidbits to it from lectures so I'm always reviewing this
2.) For path, I just use pathoma, lecture notes, etc...
3.) For 1st year stuff, I've bruised through GT so many times having banked ~45% this past summer that I just use QBank for those sections

As far as the daily questions, I'll do them whenever im free (rare) but at the least I'll bank the cards from path and after reviewing my notes, I'll take GT as a test from my "NEW cards"...so as far as daily questions, I simply keep postponing them day after day, kinda lame but at least I'm reviewing new stuff while doing QBank-style questions...I just find it futile at this point to focus on minutia when its better tested in a qbank style
Click to expand...

So my original intent with GT was to (1) slowly add in first year material as well as (2) follow along with 2nd year classes. But I've really only done (2) and only added in first year material when it was relevant to classes. As a result I'm about 30% banked and my question load is a lot but manageable. Would you all recommend continuing with this strategy? It seems if I tried to add more first year material, it would be too much to keep up.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thing1 said:
So my original intent with GT was to (1) slowly add in first year material as well as (2) follow along with 2nd year classes. But I've really only done (2) and only added in first year material when it was relevant to classes. As a result I'm about 30% banked and my question load is a lot but manageable. Would you all recommend continuing with this strategy? It seems if I tried to add more first year material, it would be too much to keep up.
Click to expand...

this is what i've been doing too and then i just load up on holiday breaks. For example, i added the biochem stuff on heme synth during our heme/onc block. I'm just over 50% banked and ~25% mastered. I find that it pays off when you don't expect it, so keep it up and don't overwhelm yourself! 🙂
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Assuming we stick it out this long, when do you all plan on pulling the plug on GT?

Start of dedicated study time?
Week before STEP 1?
Day before STEP 1?
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thing1 said:
So my original intent with GT was to (1) slowly add in first year material as well as (2) follow along with 2nd year classes. But I've really only done (2) and only added in first year material when it was relevant to classes. As a result I'm about 30% banked and my question load is a lot but manageable. Would you all recommend continuing with this strategy? It seems if I tried to add more first year material, it would be too much to keep up.
Click to expand...

crunchymedicine said:
this is what i've been doing too and then i just load up on holiday breaks. For example, i added the biochem stuff on heme synth during our heme/onc block. I'm just over 50% banked and ~25% mastered. I find that it pays off when you don't expect it, so keep it up and don't overwhelm yourself! 🙂
Click to expand...

Yes, if I were to do it again, that's how I'd do it, loading up over Christmas break.

Goober11 said:
Assuming we stick it out this long, when do you all plan on pulling the plug on GT?

Start of dedicated study time?
Week before STEP 1?
Day before STEP 1?
Click to expand...

Depends whether or not you want to pick up GT for step 2. I personally don't think I would have, in which case I'd probably have stopped GT 2ish weeks before test time
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Druggernaut said:
I don't know, 4 posts about it on this page seems like a fair amount of focus.

I agree with many of the criticisms before these, but when several people bring them up without dissenting opinions, I don't think I need to chime in to say "Me too!" Since I disagree with the people I quoted, I thought it would be good to let the people at GT know there's a difference of opinion here. If it were just an interactive First Aid, I wouldn't be willing to pay the subscription price as-is.
Click to expand...


Since you quoted one of my posts I thought I'd clarify things here. I don't mind topics not from FA, that's why I open FA and take down notes while I do my daily Q's.

My problem comes when GT has facts nowhere in FA, nowhere in Kaplan, nowhere in Uworld and nowhere in more comprehensive resources or a one liner from Goljan which has no relevance.

It would be a non-issue if we could simply have a little tab at the side that says "ADD NOTES". If someone wants to learn all 6 random virulence factors about bug A they can go ahead and do so... if somebody doesn't want to ... they can click add notes and write "only point 1 and 3 HY" - this way way when it rolls around again you know not to bother with the filler.

With one tiny little addition the program now caters to those who want to milk every last detail in preperation for that 270 and it caters to those who want to use GT as more targeted review for what they feel are High Yield Concepts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Oh and having a notes section that you can't even see while doing daily reviews doesn't help.

The notes should show up by default when clicking show answer.... the program already requires a large time commitment and having to press show notes 250 times a day doesn't sound like fun.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I tried searching this thread, but no luck. Is there a concise guide anywhere on how to use Firecracker?

I migrated a few weeks ago and am not sure how to use the "study" vs "review" vs "revisit" tools. I'm trying to cut my daily review questions to under 150/day and am not sure which of those categories is the stuff I *really* need to review.

Help...?!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Could someone critique my strategy above...i find im learning from kaplan qbank a lot just eith the notion of better questions...gt is great as a one time quiz for me but its hard to keep up with 🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ventulus18 said:
1. anticipate migrations re-starting next week (fingers crossed!)
2. we're adding content to the site everyday. hang tight on the blanks, we know they're not pretty. the content is written and we're working on overdrive to format things for use.
3. our passion is education and we're here for you guys. we will keep the updates coming at regular intervals both on here and other outlets (FB, etc). the best feedback comes from you guys and it will definitely help the evolution of Firecracker into the most useful study tool available. the "midnight oil" is definitely burning on our side to reach this goal.
Click to expand...

keep it up guys!
although your overdrive is slower than many people would like it's good to know that you guys listen.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ventulus18 said:
1. anticipate migrations re-starting next week (fingers crossed!)
2. we're adding content to the site everyday. hang tight on the blanks, we know they're not pretty. the content is written and we're working on overdrive to format things for use.
3. our passion is education and we're here for you guys. we will keep the updates coming at regular intervals both on here and other outlets (FB, etc). the best feedback comes from you guys and it will definitely help the evolution of Firecracker into the most useful study tool available. the "midnight oil" is definitely burning on our side to reach this goal.
Click to expand...
This was nice to hear.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
  • Question Question
USMLE Doctors in Training 2018
Replies
2
Views
2K
eagles1234
E
BeachBaby
  • Question Question
Anyone try Doctors in Training?
Replies
3
Views
2K
BamaNicole
BamaNicole
L
  • Question Question
USMLE Is Doctors in training (DIT) good to use for USMLE step 1?
Replies
1
Views
2K
LyMed
LyMed
gimv
  • Question Question
Doctors In Training Part 2 Assessments
Replies
0
Views
2K
gimv
gimv
L
  • Question Question
Does the oxygen uptake increase/decrease with training?
Replies
2
Views
925
Lothric
L
Top