For the people who are using / already finished DIT (2011) I was wondering what you thought of the different lecturers? I hear last year it was just Dr. Jenkins, but this year there is more people... are they any good?
if you are currently / already did 2011 DIT
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One guy is probably better (really knows his stuff), one guy is about the same, and one is worse (I think hes fast and not thorough).
So its really not a net change. I don't really mind Jenkins when he knows what hes talking about.
Oh just dawned on me one of them has the worlds worst pronunciation at least to me (maybe he's right who knows).
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I agree with justaregularmed. Jenkins for the most part is solid, knows his stuff pretty well. Dr. Richards, who does all the female reproductive stuff, is probably the best lecturer. Dr. McInnis and Dr. Alvey are pretty bland and don't really stick out as being great or horrible, but they rarely lecture. Dr. Lewis is my least favorite. I think he does know his stuff, but he attempts a lot of awful jokes that are not funny. However, Jenkins probably does close to 70% of the lectures. I have found the program the be helpful because it provides me with structure to get through the material the Jenkins and First Aid think are high yield for Step 1. Additionally, it helps provide some context for First Aid. If I study FA on my own, I will retain a small amount of it. If I go through FA with someone explaining to me why this section is important, I retain a lot more of it. And then if I do a quiz over what I just studied, I figure out what I do know and what I don't know, which is my favorite part of the program. I think it is a great program, but it is probably not necessary or beneficial for everyone.
I agree with everything you said, too. And you said a lot of things.
yeah Dr. Jenkins is easy to follow and he reinforces things well.
Dr. Richards did an excellent female repro section - really top notch, I'll definitely remember it. It was more conversational. Too bad I was already scoring well there anyway. (I think he had another section I was less fond of earlier - maybe in embryo?)
Dr. Lewis is definitely the worst. I have no idea what he's talking about, ever, or what page he's on, he talks too fast and it's really just not memorable. I have to keep rewinding to figure out what is going on 🙁 And I totally loved my micro classes in med school, too! I did well in them. Also the camera effects with the mustaches in that one lecture drove me up the wall.
Some of it is too gimmicky, and I'm not convinced I'll remember the "Right brain bonus" sections.
But overall, maybe it's the right decision? Idk, I have no confidence in my own ability to study these days. That's part of why I'm doing it.
Thanks everyone! Your comments really helped. I think I will definitely do the course but do you guys think micro would be better done without listening to Dr. Lewis then...like is it a waste of time? Micro is one of my weakest subjects so i'd want to use my time on it wisely.
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The one thing that gets to me with Dr. Jenkins is i feel like he has some kind of lisp or something. Its kind of getting to me. He does a pretty good job explaining things so far. I havent had dr. alvey or richards yet. But I do feel McInnis reads straight off of first aid more than the rest of them.
I am pretty terrible at micro too. And while I do not have warm feelings toward Dr. Lewis (especially that whole mustache gimmick, I wanted to punch my computer screen), I think DIT does a decent job with the material. Recently whenever I have taking a NBME or a practice block on UWorld, I recall certain things about micro solely because I listened to the DIT lectures and did the quizes, which is an improvement over before when I often felt like I was guessing. And I think only 5 out of 75 lectures are micro specific, so watching them probably won't give you a ruptured aneurysm (unless you have ADPKD). I'd say watch the first micro lecture. If you feel like you really can't stand Dr. Lewis or can learn the material better on your own, then skip the rest. But personally I still found them to be beneficial despite being painful.
Thought I would chime in too being on Day 5 of the program. The 2011 version is great; a lot of variety and they explain things in a way that just works well for recall.
One thing that Dr. Jenkins has over everyone is his ability to organize material. The course flows in such a great way and he ties material in from different topics, for example covering all of the congenital heart diseases when we were being lectured on heart embryology. The way he makes these things happen just sticks, period.
The book is great too but you have to be the type of person who will sit and think out an answer rather than look it up if you don't know it or skip it all together. What makes a question memorable is the struggle & mental thought process you go through in order to reach the answer. If you just look it up without thinking, you are not getting the most you can out of the course workbook.
Overall, I love DIT. I feel as though it has made my studying a lot more efficient and I nail down subjects I would have otherwise ignored completely.
With that said, I think DIT works for students who believe in the program, who need TONS of repetition, and who were not necessarily in the top 10% of their medical school class. Dr. Jenkins doesn't make crazy connections the way Dr. Goljan does, but for me personally DIT seems to stay with me a lot longer than Goljan audio. I recommend the course and have to say I am very impressed with the product that Dr. Jenkins has brought to the test prep market. I see a lot of potential for this course to grow in the future.
One thing that Dr. Jenkins has over everyone is his ability to organize material. The course flows in such a great way and he ties material in from different topics, for example covering all of the congenital heart diseases when we were being lectured on heart embryology. The way he makes these things happen just sticks, period.
The book is great too but you have to be the type of person who will sit and think out an answer rather than look it up if you don't know it or skip it all together. What makes a question memorable is the struggle & mental thought process you go through in order to reach the answer. If you just look it up without thinking, you are not getting the most you can out of the course workbook.
Overall, I love DIT. I feel as though it has made my studying a lot more efficient and I nail down subjects I would have otherwise ignored completely.
With that said, I think DIT works for students who believe in the program, who need TONS of repetition, and who were not necessarily in the top 10% of their medical school class. Dr. Jenkins doesn't make crazy connections the way Dr. Goljan does, but for me personally DIT seems to stay with me a lot longer than Goljan audio. I recommend the course and have to say I am very impressed with the product that Dr. Jenkins has brought to the test prep market. I see a lot of potential for this course to grow in the future.
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I'm on Day 4- and Dr. Lewis also drove me crazy. I knew it would help to go through it but he makes it painful and he does a crappy job of reviewing any of the questions- I have a couple blank that I'm going to have to Wikipedia later because they aren't covered in FA yet Dr. Lewis said they're easy. I did find in micro so it isn't my weakest subject just needs to get re-memorized.
Dr. Jenkins is great- very pleased so far and I like his quiz question analysis much better.
Dr. Jenkins is great- very pleased so far and I like his quiz question analysis much better.
One final word of advice that I wish I would have known before starting the program: the lectures are long. I think the course is advertised as a 75 hour review course. This is not true. It is a 75 session review course with each session ranging from about 70-90 minutes. A number of the sessions are close to two hours. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just isn't advertised. Each day ends up to be about 4-5 hours of lecture, but longer if you factor in the breaks for taking the quizes. For me, it probably takes about 6-7 hours to get through a days worth of lecture material. I am sure some people can get through it quicker, I am just a little slower and tend to get distracted (like in the middle of the lecture I often find that I need to pause it and look up something completely unrelated to medicine).
But like other posters have stated, it is a great program if you believe in the program. There is power in the repetitious nature of it. I have personally seen my NBME scores jump over 30 points since starting the program. I am on day 11 and I take Step 1 in 12 days, enough time to finish the program and get one last run through FA and finishing off UWorld and repeating as many missed UWorld questions as I possible can. Good luck to everyone in their studies!
But like other posters have stated, it is a great program if you believe in the program. There is power in the repetitious nature of it. I have personally seen my NBME scores jump over 30 points since starting the program. I am on day 11 and I take Step 1 in 12 days, enough time to finish the program and get one last run through FA and finishing off UWorld and repeating as many missed UWorld questions as I possible can. Good luck to everyone in their studies!
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For the most part I agree with everyone's assessment of the other lecturers. Other than a few times where I thought Jenkins was a little bit cloudy or rusty on the info, I have generally enjoyed his lectures. Richards is the best IMO, but he doesn't show up that often. Lewis is on sometimes and just off other times (I actually enjoyed the mustache gimmick though haha). McInnis is the weakest lecturer, he just reads off the page - luckily he has not had that many sections so far. Haven't seen Alvey yet.
I think they add value to FA, I have added a lot of notes from the lectures. Between DIT and UW, my FA is slowly expanding from a basic outline to a solid resource. And I have already seen a benefit in UW scores - I have mentally said 'thank you DIT' several times going though questions haha.
I think they add value to FA, I have added a lot of notes from the lectures. Between DIT and UW, my FA is slowly expanding from a basic outline to a solid resource. And I have already seen a benefit in UW scores - I have mentally said 'thank you DIT' several times going though questions haha.
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As others said Dr. Richards is definitely the best in my opinion. I only had him for the embryology stuff so far and I liked that lecture. (I HATE embryology so that is an accomplishment)
I really think that DIT has some great instincts when it comes to creating a test review course but the definitely have some room to grow. One thing that comes to mind is maybe improving the right brain bonus stuff. (apparently a new thing this year? I love that they have them) Some of them are actually good but other's just feel kind of shoehorned in. (a mnemonic in an unrelated environment) Personally if they just made them more entertaining it would cut down on study fatigue and I wouldn't feel the need to pause halfway through each lecture and go watch a video on collegehumor.com
Still though I am pleased with the course.
I really think that DIT has some great instincts when it comes to creating a test review course but the definitely have some room to grow. One thing that comes to mind is maybe improving the right brain bonus stuff. (apparently a new thing this year? I love that they have them) Some of them are actually good but other's just feel kind of shoehorned in. (a mnemonic in an unrelated environment) Personally if they just made them more entertaining it would cut down on study fatigue and I wouldn't feel the need to pause halfway through each lecture and go watch a video on collegehumor.com
Still though I am pleased with the course.
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I really like Dr. Jenkins. There are times when one of the other guys will be talking and I'll wish Dr. Jenkins was back, ha
Here is my theory: Are some of the other guys better "teachers"? I'd say yes. However, it really feels like Dr. Jenkins knows Step 1 and so when he is teaching and he says, "Guys you gotta know this," I genuinely believe him. When the other guys say it I feel like its just because Dr. Jenkins told them to. Maybe its just me though...
Here is my theory: Are some of the other guys better "teachers"? I'd say yes. However, it really feels like Dr. Jenkins knows Step 1 and so when he is teaching and he says, "Guys you gotta know this," I genuinely believe him. When the other guys say it I feel like its just because Dr. Jenkins told them to. Maybe its just me though...
I am currently on day 11 and just watched Dr. Lewis's introduction to male reproduction.
I have no words, no words at all.
My entire brain is cringing right now.
And after the intro at some point: "just wave your eyeballs at that a little bit and hopefully it will stick".
I have no words, no words at all.
My entire brain is cringing right now.
And after the intro at some point: "just wave your eyeballs at that a little bit and hopefully it will stick".
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Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting DIT in a few weeks.
How does it compare to Goljan? I was thinking of just listening to Goljan a zillion times... but now I'm wondering whether DIT might teach me some more FA-specific things that will be useful come test time.
Also, I took a Princeton Review course to prepare for the MCAT... which was sorta kinda helpful. This time around, I feel a little nervous doing all the prep myself... sometimes a lecturer will say just that one thing that makes you think about something differently, and ends up sticking in your mind... and it'll be something you would have never come up with yourself.
Thoughts? Anyone?
I will have completed UWorld Qs & GT Q-bank in about 2-3 wks, so I'm thinking of getting it then.
Either that, or USMLERX.
How does it compare to Goljan? I was thinking of just listening to Goljan a zillion times... but now I'm wondering whether DIT might teach me some more FA-specific things that will be useful come test time.
Also, I took a Princeton Review course to prepare for the MCAT... which was sorta kinda helpful. This time around, I feel a little nervous doing all the prep myself... sometimes a lecturer will say just that one thing that makes you think about something differently, and ends up sticking in your mind... and it'll be something you would have never come up with yourself.
Thoughts? Anyone?
I will have completed UWorld Qs & GT Q-bank in about 2-3 wks, so I'm thinking of getting it then.
Either that, or USMLERX.
I think it all depends on how self-motivated you are. If you are the kind of person who can chart out a schedule and stick to that schedule, DIT might not be the best thing. If you are like me and need a little more hand holding to get through such a dense pile of information, then DIT is great. As I previously stated, DIT is great in its ability to get you through FA once and highlight the things that are absolutely crucial to understand. Then it throws a quiz at you as a way to figure out if you really know the information. DIT also adds some information not found in FA, but that is definitely in UWorld. I know nothing about GT so I can't speak to that. I listen to Goljan when I am driving. Goljan is great in his ability to tie things together, but it is mainly pathology. He throws in some pharm, phys, and biochem, but DIT covers all the topics that are supposedly "high-yield" for Step 1. Granted I haven't taken to real deal yet, so I could have just spent the last month studying the complete wrong material. But I have seen a 30 point improvement in my NBME scores with a little over a week to go. Bottom line is if you like a little more structure, then DIT is a good choice. If you are pretty self motivated, DIT may not be your best option. Hopefully this helps?
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So I finished week 1 of DIT and did another NMBE exam (#11) and improved 10 points from my baseline (#6) (Note I am on the lower end, especially for here).
While ordinarily I would be happy about this, I definitely got some of the answers correct because of weird, seemingly random stuff that was emphasized in the lectures and the supplements they made to FA.
Does anyone else feel like they are "teaching for test" w/r/t the practice NBME exams? Or does the stuff they emphasize show up on the real thing too?
While ordinarily I would be happy about this, I definitely got some of the answers correct because of weird, seemingly random stuff that was emphasized in the lectures and the supplements they made to FA.
Does anyone else feel like they are "teaching for test" w/r/t the practice NBME exams? Or does the stuff they emphasize show up on the real thing too?
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Hmm..i guess its possible. I hope he knows what hes doing and that the 235 average is legit.
If it helps any, 2 of my friends who did the course last year said that some things they got on their actual step 1 they ONLY saw in the DIT course. They ended up with 240+/250+.
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This is exactly what I am worried about. I am trying to find some thread to see if anyone who did DIT noticed a drop in their actual score vs the later NBMEs... no luck so far.
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The average is just based on self-reported scores though, right? And those who choose to report are presumably more likely to have scored higher.
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or the ones that were pissed off could have reported their scores haha. who knows. Its getting me through first aid and aiding some random **** that might be on our test. My World scores seem to have been going up a little in this first week and i didnt even think i was weak in most of the DIT first weak material.
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I do know two ppl in the third year class who did DIT and they both scored higher then both their NBMEs, so meh.
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Thank you! That makes me feel better. I really hope that the questions he gives are not just similar to those in available NBMEs but the real question pool.
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I hope we have lots of questions on seatbelt laws
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Isn't this kind of like saying, "Do you think the people who wrote First Aid looked at the NBME's? I'm afraid First Aid might artificially inflate my score." I don't mean this in an offensive way, but all of the review resources could access the NBME's if they wanted to. Of course in something like First Aid, or even DIT, there are a bajillion other facts that would dilute them to the point that it doesn't matter.
For those of you who are truly worried about this, just do NBME 11 and NBME 12. These came out AFTER the DIT curriculum was set for 2011. So if you do well on those two you can be certain that it isn't because DIT was "teaching to them." Right?
For those of you who are truly worried about this, just do NBME 11 and NBME 12. These came out AFTER the DIT curriculum was set for 2011. So if you do well on those two you can be certain that it isn't because DIT was "teaching to them." Right?
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Kind of, but i think he was getting at if they extra crap he adds is actually high yield as opposed to if he just added it because there just happens to be a random question in a practice NBME.
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Right, and I'm saying that he couldn't have added anything from NBME 11 or 12 so if you are worried that your score on 6 or 7 isn't representative, if you take 11 or 12 it will remove that possible confounder 🙂
I'm under the impression that those things he adds are high yield because of the surveys he gets back at the end of the year from previous students, but who knows! Either way, it keeps it interesting!
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Is anyone else having a hard time spending the extra 6 hours after the videos? I have been doing ok with it but the last couple days I have been doing good to get through the lectures, do/annotate a practice set, and spend maybe 1 hour in FA.
Any advice on how have the endurance to get through it all?
Any advice on how have the endurance to get through it all?
I mean, realistically...I think that's about all that CAN be done, short of not actually taking the quizzes or writing the answers in. Or sleeping 5 hours a night, maybe?
I'm on day 12 and up to this point, I've done a 46-question UWorld set and checked the answers every day on top of lectures and I end up finishing about 11 at night. I wake up around 9 or so usually. I watch the lectures at 1.5x.
I kind of screwed up today, though, and it was all I could do to get through the lectures in the first place. I was just tired and needed a break.
I think the question you are asking is "how can we make more than 24 hours in a day" and I would also like to know the answer to that 🙁.
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Workout after the videos (about halfway through your day i guess), that way you are refreshed and ready to start the questions and fa.
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Just watched the embryology lecture by Dr. Richards....his voice is so soothing! lol
Dr. Lewis is absolutely terrible. I don't even know where to begin with him. Does he ever acknowledge the mustache thing in later videos?
Dr. Lewis is absolutely terrible. I don't even know where to begin with him. Does he ever acknowledge the mustache thing in later videos?
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No, he doesn't ever address it, ha
I finished DIT and found it useful. Now, I have 2 weeks left before the big day - what are you all doing after you finish DIT? I know he says to review FA 5 days before, but now that I'm done, I'm not sure where to go.
Thanks for the help!
Thanks for the help!
After DIT i plan to do a practice test and then after that I plan on spending 3-4 days review my weaknesses only (based on how I do on the test). Then take another practice test before I do my final 5 day FA review. Also I want to go over all my marked/wrong/highighted uworld ?s.
Both...im doing 2 NBME on one day after DIT and then UWSA#2/free 150 on another day after reviewing my weaknesses. But its really up to you. The good thing with the UWSA is that it has explanations.
I'm on day 2 of DIT. I don't know what to think. As I just told a friend of mine, I thought today would be much faster/easier because it's micro/immuno, and I scored 99th percentile on the shelf. Well...It turns out that it took me LONGER and I feel like I didn't know anything. WTF?
Anyway, I just bought a subscription for USMLE Rx since it seems significantly easier than USMLE World. I figure that I'll do at least 50-100 questions after the lectures each day (pertaining to the subjects that were covered in the lecture) and review the material in the study guide if there's time. I'm not annotating anything, since it's based on FA, so I figure that will also save me time. I'm hoping to get most of the questions completed in the next 14 days...
I'll keep UWorld for the 3 weeks leading up to the exam. I figure I'll really work on my weak areas/do UWorld questions for those three weeks.
How's that plan sound?
Anyway, I just bought a subscription for USMLE Rx since it seems significantly easier than USMLE World. I figure that I'll do at least 50-100 questions after the lectures each day (pertaining to the subjects that were covered in the lecture) and review the material in the study guide if there's time. I'm not annotating anything, since it's based on FA, so I figure that will also save me time. I'm hoping to get most of the questions completed in the next 14 days...
I'll keep UWorld for the 3 weeks leading up to the exam. I figure I'll really work on my weak areas/do UWorld questions for those three weeks.
How's that plan sound?
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I liked variety.
Dr. Lewis' mustaches cracked me up. The jokes weren't funny, but I'd get SOOOO tired of listening to Dr. Jenkins for hours upon hours, the break was nice.
Overall, good change.
Dr. Lewis' mustaches cracked me up. The jokes weren't funny, but I'd get SOOOO tired of listening to Dr. Jenkins for hours upon hours, the break was nice.
Overall, good change.
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