Is anyone JUST using First Aid and UWorld?

[silas2642]

I sort of feel like I'm alone in my class and alone in this forum. Everytime I go to the library everyone has Golgan, BRS, etc. I used Golgan through pathophys and glanced at him for kidney. Pretty much my main strategy is to know First Aid as well as I possibly can and to do as many World questions as I can (this isn't going that well either-- like 56% done with 12 days left) and read through all the explanations, right and wrong, taking notes and what I don't know.

According to my NBME's, I shouldn't fail. Scored a 225 on NBME 5 before I reviewed any of the organ systems. But I feel like I know nothing. I'm so frickin' slow. It takes me like 2 days to get through one section of First Aid-- they're not that long, but I really want to learn it and not just read it. To get through 48 questions of UWorld takes me 3-4 hours (this is going through the damned explanations).

Should I spread myself out thinner? Is Golgan a necessity? Do I have to do BRS Phys? Is it that High Yield or should I just supplement it if I don't understand what's going on in First Aid? I remember my classes pretty well and did okay during my first two years, so that's not really too much of a problem.

BTW, I'm aiming for a 235. Anyone do this using pretty much just first aid?

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[Whats_up_doc]

I sort of feel like I'm alone in my class and alone in this forum. Everytime I go to the library everyone has Golgan, BRS, etc. I used Golgan through pathophys and glanced at him for kidney. Pretty much my main strategy is to know First Aid as well as I possibly can and to do as many World questions as I can (this isn't going that well either-- like 56% done with 12 days left) and read through all the explanations, right and wrong, taking notes and what I don't know.

According to my NBME's, I shouldn't fail. Scored a 225 on NBME 5 before I reviewed any of the organ systems. But I feel like I know nothing. I'm so frickin' slow. It takes me like 2 days to get through one section of First Aid-- they're not that long, but I really want to learn it and not just read it. To get through 48 questions of UWorld takes me 3-4 hours (this is going through the damned explanations).

Should I spread myself out thinner? Is Golgan a necessity? Do I have to do BRS Phys? Is it that High Yield or should I just supplement it if I don't understand what's going on in First Aid? I remember my classes pretty well and did okay during my first two years, so that's not really too much of a problem.

BTW, I'm aiming for a 235. Anyone do this using pretty much just first aid?

I know you are trying to look for some support for your studying strategy. Silas, if it is working for you, as shown by your NBME, hopefully that tendency will be mantained. I also take 3 to 4 hours per Uworld block, so you are not alone on that one. I do take my time to listen to Goljan because it gives you a different point of view. FA is a guide but, IMO, it has some holes that need to be supplemented with BRS, Underground Clinical Vignettes, Rapid Review, etc. Right now, I am studying by systems and I'm just finishing Gastroenterology (with FA, RR path, BRS), for this I am studying Anatomy, Path, Pharm and Micro in 3 days (phys was covered in the beggining). Left 3 hours for Goljan and time for 3 uworld blocks. In the end, everybody is different. Hang in there!

 

[DoctorMario]

As things become more familiar your review will move faster.

 

[confuse]

You're not alone in this forum. Your experience is very similar to mine. I also have 12 days left. I think at this point, it's more important to review over FA to refresh my memory than to reach out to new resources.

 

[psychforme]

goljan is overrated... funny but overrated

 

[ZagDoc]

FWIW, I know a guy (not know a guy who knows a guy... I actually know him) do did just FA + UW and got a 250.

He's also smart as s**t, but if you're worried about missing large swaths of material by going that route, I dont think you should worry too much.

 

[psychforme]

FWIW, I know a guy (not know a guy who knows a guy... I actually know him) do did just FA + UW and got a 250.

He's also smart as s**t, but if you're worried about missing large swaths of material by going that route, I dont think you should worry too much.

Doesn't matter if you miss large swaths of material if you wouldn't have remembered it anyway.

 

[Chez]

I also used First Aid with UWorld Qbank (100% complete) to study for Step 1 & nothing else.

I listened to one hour of Goljan and stopped - it wasn't for me. I couldn't just blindly listen to lectures.

One important thing I learned from first 2 years of medical school is to do what works for me - don't worry about what others are doing. Keep working hard & you'll do well.

 

[SplenoMegastar]

I also used First Aid with UWorld Qbank (100% complete) to study for Step 1 & nothing else.

I listened to one hour of Goljan and stopped - it wasn't for me. I couldn't just blindly listen to lectures.

One important thing I learned from first 2 years of medical school is to do what works for me - don't worry about what others are doing. Keep working hard & you'll do well.

Sorry to pry, but did you break 230? I ask because I'm only using UW and FA for my last few weeks.

 

[Chez]

Sorry to pry, but did you break 230? I ask because I'm only using UW and FA for my last few weeks.

Sorry, I haven't gotten my score back yet because of the FredV2 switch.

But I can tell you that after completing 100% of questions on UWorld Qbank using tutor mode and doing FA only, I felt well prepared before taking the exam. FYI, I scored 215 on UWorld assessment 3 weeks prior to taking the real thing, but back then I had only finished studying biochem, micro, & cardio which meant that score didn't mean much. I did not take any assessment exams after that because I knew they were of no value to me - if I scored lower than expected, I would've freaked out and if I scored higher than expected, I would've slacked off.

Another thing I will add is this - I don't get why people rave about Goljan. Stuff he says is in UWorld or FA - it's not like he tells you some super secretive things that you can't find anywhere else. I'm not anti-Goljan, but I'm anti-people-shoving-their-strategies-down-peoples-throats acting like their way is the best.

Take a deep breath, don't let these people freak you out, & keep working hard, doing the things that work for you. Lastly, don't forget to read my signature.

 

[osin83]

There is a large range of study strategies that my classmates used. I know several people who used only FA and UW. Most of us just got our scores back last wednesday. I did 85% of Kaplan Qbank and 60% of U world with FA. However, the last 3 weeks of classes was biostats which was extremely easy. So, i had lots of extra time which I used to read Rapid Review Biochem and BRS phys cover to cover to refresh. I used Rapid Review Path and Goljan lectures during my path course but used it only as a reference while studying for my step.

I personally really liked the Goljan lectures. I did listen to them again throughout the 6 weeks I studied, but I listened to them all at 1.3x normal speed so i got through them pretty quickly. He is nothing special it's just that for some reason when he says anything it just sticks.

I also took a pretty long time going over the 48 question blocks. one thing that helped me in my last 2 weeks was doing them in timed mode in 24q blocks and going over the answers after instead of doing tutor mode (for some reason I end up spending way too much time on each question when I do tutor mode). I must say that I definitely burnt out in my last week and didn't finish Uworld like I wanted to, so that definitely hurt me a bit. I just got my results and got a 237. Nothing spectacular, but I definitely slacked off hardcore at the end and I definitely could have used the extra Uworld practice.

If I were to do it again, FA and Uworld with making either written or computer super brief notes on questions/topics that I didn't know when I saw the question.


On a side note... I left the exam thinking I failed. I had a really bad test day, couldnt fall asleep the night before and got super nervous at the onset of the test. I think it also had a lot to do with the fact that my 1st two blocks were ridiculously hard for me and it kind of just knocked out all of my confidence from the start and I was second guessing myself the rest of the day. I know of around 5 questions that I got wrong that were gimmes that I shouldve known but literally just blanked on the exam (adding to my nervousness). I freaked out and looked into the the steps I would have to take to retake the exam. My one friend who I studied a lot with came out of her exam thinking it went fine... she ended up not doing to well and being really upset. she saw her score first and then I really thought I was going to fail since I was worried about my score from the start. Although my original goal score was 245, I walked out of the exam saying I would take a 200. So although I missed my mark, I can't really complain and even if you think you did horrible on it, don't stress about your score its official and you get you report back.

 

[Currantjelly]

Based on how I've been scoring on the NBME's I would say that UWorld, Goljan (audio) and FA is all that one needs to score above average. In fact, reading all these extra books that "are a must" really hasn't gained me much, if anything. It's all about how you use the tools. UWorld is to be used, in my opinion, as a learning tool not an assessment tool. The entire first week of my studies I did nothing but UWorld and Goljan audio, 4 per day. I sat and did 150 UW questions per day and wrote in my FA book until my hand fell off. But that was the best thing I did. I learned a massive amount from that. And I'm now about to complete my 2nd pass thru UW, and I'm working on my 3rd pass thru Goljan. You'd be amazed at how much blows right over your head on the first pass through Goljan's lectures.

 

[osin83]

UWorld is to be used, in my opinion, as a learning tool not an assessment tool.

I most definitely agree... my biggest regret is not finishing Uworld and saving it till the end of my studying and doing kaplan Qbank early. If I were to do it again, I would have used Uworld all along

 

[doogoshly]

i only used FA and UW. i also used DIT but that was just to get myself off my butt to go through FA for the first time. and yea it took about a day for each section in FA when i was first going through it, but once you put a lot in your head, it goes faster and you tend to focus on the things you need to know.

i'm shooting for 230+ (hopefully 240+), got 229 on nbme6, 248 on UWSA2, something like 79-83% on the free150 (can't remember now bc of all the numbers), and 84% on DIT's SA.