Just took the Beast and Just want to give some advice.

[PELE#10]

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Wow,
What a marathon!!! Just wanted to give some advice to anyone who is confused about how to approach this exam. I took four months to study. The first two months were basically spent figuring out what are the best materials.

The best book out there is Rapid Review by Goljan. If you read this book with the audio you will be able to answer any clinically related Path,Micro, or Bchm question.

FA is good for everything else.

I looked through the Kaplan books,which are good, but there is a huge Gap in the info that come out of those books and the way the exam questions are presented.

Rapid Review presents the material exactly how it is tested and how the USMLE exam writers want you to approach the each question. There are even verbatim questions in the book that showed up on my exam. Goljan Rocks!!!!!

I liked qbank but I felt that there were a lot of BS questions in there. I used the 100 page HY by Goljan as a way to practice doing questions. I read that thing 3 times.

I know there are people out there that think Goljan is a waste and the BRS is the way to go. Hey, if you used BRS through medcshool and like it then use it but honestly this exam is not about reading every disease there is in BRS. Its about strategically orienting yourself how to approach the way these exam questions are written. All you need is RR,FA, The audio from Goljan and Qbank. Put everything else away and master these materials!!!

All the best to everyone!

 

[(nicedream)]

Wow,
What a marathon!!! Just wanted to give some advice to anyone who is confused about how to approach this exam. I took four months to study. The first two months were basically spent figuring out what are the best materials.

The best book out there is Rapid Review by Goljan. If you read this book with the audio you will be able to answer any clinically related Path,Micro, or Bchm question.

FA is good for everything else.

I looked through the Kaplan books,which are good, but there is a huge Gap in the info that come out of those books and the way the exam questions are presented.

Rapid Review presents the material exactly how it is tested and how the USMLE exam writers want you to approach the each question. There are even verbatim questions in the book that showed up on my exam. Goljan Rocks!!!!!

I liked qbank but I felt that there were a lot of BS questions in there. I used the 100 page HY by Goljan as a way to practice doing questions. I read that thing 3 times.

I know there are people out there that think Goljan is a waste and the BRS is the way to go. Hey, if you used BRS through medcshool and like it then use it but honestly this exam is not about reading every disease there is in BRS. Its about strategically orienting yourself how to approach the way these exam questions are written. All you need is RR,FA, The audio from Goljan and Qbank. Put everything else away and master these materials!!!

All the best to everyone!

That's good news because that's what I've been doing. Thanks Pele! I take it you feel you did pretty well. Out of curiosity, how were you doing on Qbank? I know you said you didn't think it was the best thing, but just curious.

 

[medhopeful08]

Wow,
What a marathon!!! Just wanted to give some advice to anyone who is confused about how to approach this exam. I took four months to study. The first two months were basically spent figuring out what are the best materials.

The best book out there is Rapid Review by Goljan. If you read this book with the audio you will be able to answer any clinically related Path,Micro, or Bchm question.

FA is good for everything else.

I looked through the Kaplan books,which are good, but there is a huge Gap in the info that come out of those books and the way the exam questions are presented.

Rapid Review presents the material exactly how it is tested and how the USMLE exam writers want you to approach the each question. There are even verbatim questions in the book that showed up on my exam. Goljan Rocks!!!!!

I liked qbank but I felt that there were a lot of BS questions in there. I used the 100 page HY by Goljan as a way to practice doing questions. I read that thing 3 times.

I know there are people out there that think Goljan is a waste and the BRS is the way to go. Hey, if you used BRS through medcshool and like it then use it but honestly this exam is not about reading every disease there is in BRS. Its about strategically orienting yourself how to approach the way these exam questions are written. All you need is RR,FA, The audio from Goljan and Qbank. Put everything else away and master these materials!!!

All the best to everyone!

Which RR are you referring to? is it the one for path or the USMLE one?

 

[PELE#10]

Which RR are you referring to? is it the one for path or the USMLE one?

Yeah,
I read the RR for Path by goljan. It seems like it hits everything. I have heard that he has another book for step 1. If he wrote it than I would read it.

I avg 65% for Q bank.

Good luck guys!!

 

[JBlue]

Were the RR qs better for path prep than qbank? I am thinking of trying to do them as well as qbank and the Robbins q book but I may not get through all of qbank if I do this.

 

[Kashue]

Were the RR qs better for path prep than qbank? I am thinking of trying to do them as well as qbank and the Robbins q book but I may not get through all of qbank if I do this.

RR has next to nill questions except for 2 exams at the end and the ones that are there I thought were quite easy. I would stick to finishining Robbins.

 

[(nicedream)]

RR has next to nill questions except for 2 exams at the end and the ones that are there I thought were quite easy. I would stick to finishining Robbins.

RR comes with a CD that has, IMO, an excellent computerized Qbank-style exam (you can choose Q's based on system/topic and it gives feedback in same way as Qbank). I'm not sure how many questions it has, but quite a bit I think.

 

[Psychopathology]

thanks for sharing and congratulations!

I loved Goljan RR Biochemistry. I haven't done any of the questions yet so I cannot coment on them.

I've started working on Goljan RR pathology. So far so good.

Since I haven't taken the exam yet, I can't comment on whether or not Goljan will help you get a high score, but listening to and reading his materials has given me a strong understanding of the material.


I've been tempted to crack open those CDs that come with the rapid review books. Are those questions the same as the ones at the back of the book? Reason I ask: people say the questions in the book are great but the first time I've heard anything about his CDs was with the previous post.

Good luck all

 

[JulianCrane]

I recently obtained the Robbins review book of questions and find those questions to be straightforward and much less far-fetched than QBank. It seems like everyday when I open QBank, I get these random questions that just seem like they are trying to tell me I don't know anything. Has anyone ever heard of anyone rejecting QBank??

 

[PELE#10]

I recently obtained the Robbins review book of questions and find those questions to be straightforward and much less far-fetched than QBank. It seems like everyday when I open QBank, I get these random questions that just seem like they are trying to tell me I don't know anything. Has anyone ever heard of anyone rejecting QBank??

Honestly, I felt like not finishing Qbank all the time but I did it just because everyone says that it was the thing to do. During the exam I felt that what prepared me the most was obvious. Have a good understanding of the concepts and how things work together and how if something falls apart it affects so many other things. Goljan is great for that. I dont care who you are but there is no way to get through that test without understanding concepts. If you have time to really spend focusing on concepts and having a strong base then it doesnt really matter if you do ten thousand questions. Youll be able to breakdown most of the questions that are thrown at you.

Cheers!!

 

[youngbuc]

hey pele,

congrats on finishing the exam...i was just about to start a thread about the goljan audio and RR and if it is definetely something that would be high yield for the test....then i saw your post...

im scheduled to take the exam on june 23rd but we haven't finished school yet, and the stress is starting to build

what was your schedule like after school ended (ive been trying to study but nothing is sticking and i got to worry about shelf exams next week)? did you do a subject or systems based review?

i was planning on knocking out anatomy, biochem, micro, neuro, embryo first
and then doing a path/pharm/phys systems based study...

anyways congrats again....im looking forward to being in ur position

 

[missbonnie]

urgh. I have both BRS path & goljan path but I think using both would be too much..Ive been using BRS along with classes since about January, listening to the audios here and there ... then bought Goljan RR (I'm a sucker for buying books), i do like it better -- but the font bothers me, I know kind of a stupid thing to tripped up about, it's too big or something. Anyway, I am hesitant to start a book so late - I've been cross referencing both to see what the other is missing, I think they complement each other quite well. Goljan is great at breaking things down, and giving nice charts, path pics, & clinical stuff but I do feel that it lacks some details that BRS has. Would I be a nut to use both?

Bonnie

 

[Kashue]

urgh. I have both BRS path & goljan path but I think using both would be too much..Ive been using BRS along with classes since about January, listening to the audios here and there ... then bought Goljan RR (I'm a sucker for buying books), i do like it better -- but the font bothers me, I know kind of a stupid thing to tripped up about, it's too big or something. Anyway, I am hesitant to start a book so late - I've been cross referencing both to see what the other is missing, I think they complement each other quite well. Goljan is great at breaking things down, and giving nice charts, path pics, & clinical stuff but I do feel that it lacks some details that BRS has. Would I be a nut to use both?

Bonnie

Bonnie, I feel the same way about Rapid Review. As you said in a previous post, the people who were successful on the boards used one source in each subject. I'm sticking with BRS path and writing stuff down from Goljian's audio and doing Path Q's in Robbins. IMHO that's more then enough and some of the top scorers on this forum used BRS exclusively(aka Big Frank). Also I've been doing well in the Robbins Q's getting around 80's to 100's on the Robbins Q's.

I take the boards in 9 weeks tho. Going to see how this method is working by taking a NBME exam in a few days and see how good my path is. If it's not, I may just add RR.

 

[Pinner Doc]

Can anyone confirm that this is the Robbins book of questions y'all are referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ref=sr_1_2/002-8834329-5906400?_encoding=UTF8

 

[JBlue]

Can anyone confirm that this is the Robbins book of questions y'all are referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ref=sr_1_2/002-8834329-5906400?_encoding=UTF8

That is it but I would get the newer edition. It looks like the current edition of Robbins. Click on other editions at that link or one of the authors names to find the new edition.

 

[missbonnie]

Hey -

that link is for the first ed, get the latest one, diff cover, published 2005 i think..I have both, i'm such a sucker for new editions..

bonnie

 

[BlackNDecker]

Also I've been doing well in the Robbins Q's getting around 80's to 100's on the Robbins Q's.

😱 That's crazy...especially since many of the questions concern material beyond the scope of either BRS or RR. Lucky guessing? Or did you memorize the Robbins textbook?

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

On a good day and depending on the chapter, I'll be anywhere between 70-90% on Robbins Review questions. That book is tough but I love the questions. So well written (with the exception of a few typos and spelling mistakes!).

If you're nailing 100%'s repeatedly, you REALLY know your pathology. Hats off to you...

 

[Kashue]

😱 That's crazy...especially since many of the questions concern material beyond the scope of either BRS or RR. Lucky guessing? Or did you memorize the Robbins textbook?

Naw, it's nothing like that. Path is taught very well at my school plus it's the subject I've enjoyed since Medical School.

 

[DebDynamite]

Yo Pele-
Thanks for the advice. I take the beast on 6/06- and we just finished classes. I'm wondering if you think I have time for RR, FA, QBank & Goljan-Audio by then? I own all these things except Rapid Review, and am now considering adding it to the arsenal. Oh, I also have the Robbins question book, and all of Kaplan WebPrep (yes, I have a problem). Today I narrowed my approach down to FA, Kaplan Audio, & QBank, but now I wonder which "extra" to add- RR, Robbins question book, can't decide. How big is this Rapid Review?

Thanks

 

[Kashue]

Yo Pele-
Thanks for the advice. I take the beast on 6/06- and we just finished classes. I'm wondering if you think I have time for RR, FA, QBank & Goljan-Audio by then? I own all these things except Rapid Review, and am now considering adding it to the arsenal. Oh, I also have the Robbins question book, and all of Kaplan WebPrep (yes, I have a problem). Today I narrowed my approach down to FA, Kaplan Audio, & QBank, but now I wonder which "extra" to add- RR, Robbins question book, can't decide. How big is this Rapid Review?

Thanks

Rapid review is like 300 and odd something pages of Path info + 100 or so pages of questions. However, some parts of the book are extremely dense so be forewarned! That's my biggest complaint are those huge clunky tables alot of which I think aren't that high yield.

If you want that extra pathophys correlation, I recommend using pathophys for the boards and wards - much better, better outline and takes me a lot quicker to go through.

I would definately do Robbins Review of Path. I learned more path by doing those q's then I could ever by re-reading something.

 

[DebDynamite]

Rapid review is like 300 and odd something pages of Path info + 100 or so pages of questions. However, some parts of the book are extremely dense so be forewarned! That's my biggest complaint are those huge clunky tables alot of which I think aren't that high yield.

If you want that extra pathophys correlation, I recommend using pathophys for the boards and wards - much better, better outline and takes me a lot quicker to go through.

I would definately do Robbins Review of Path. I learned more path by doing those q's then I could ever by re-reading something.

Thanks for the info. I'm doing Qbank right now and it is putting me to sleep. I think as long as I pick a few of my sources, then decide/strategize what to do (and stick with it), all will be fine. At the minimum, I'm doing Qbank & FA, and the QBank practice test 2 days before the exam. But I would like to add one "extra" book. Thus, I am narrowing it down to the Robbbins Q book and RR. There is no doubt that I can cover everything I have purchased by the 6th- did I mention I also have StepUp? I was going to abandon Guljon (he kind of screams at you, after all- but one does pay attention), but after sitting for the Pharm SHELF this AM and seeing some of the very concepts he discussed ( I have listened to about 4 hrs of his audio), I am changing my mind. He seems to have quite a clue.

 

[youngbuc]

do you think you guys can post a study plan..i would be curious to see it...im still debating if i should do subject or organ based