my take on RR path Goljan

[warriordoc911]

---

Members don't see this ad.

This book is very nice however it's also filled with so much stuff that is not necessary for step 1 exam. Even dr.goljan himself said that there is a lot of step 2 stuff in here too. IMHO the most important thing about this book is the mechanisms of the diseases and the nutritional chapter that's all. In my case what I did is cut and paste these and print it for my use. it's only 210 pages. RR mechanism combined with FA is more than enough for path. Also with his audio. gl.

 

[DrVanNostran]

This book is very nice however it's also filled with so much stuff that is not necessary for step 1 exam. Even dr.goljan himself said that there is a lot of step 2 stuff in here too. IMHO the most important thing about this book is the mechanisms of the diseases and the nutritional chapter that's all. In my case what I did is cut and paste these and print it for my use. it's only 210 pages. RR mechanism combined with FA is more than enough for path. gl.

I personally think the best way to utilize this book is by using it during second year. Also, when reading it, read it to comprehend, not memorize. But you are completely right, there is way to much info in RR to digest completely.

 

[sideways]

This book is very nice however it's also filled with so much stuff that is not necessary for step 1 exam. Even dr.goljan himself said that there is a lot of step 2 stuff in here too. IMHO the most important thing about this book is the mechanisms of the diseases and the nutritional chapter that's all. In my case what I did is cut and paste these and print it for my use. it's only 210 pages. RR mechanism combined with FA is more than enough for path. gl.

Can you hook a brother up?

How do you go about extracting the mechanisms of disease? And for that matter, what are you including under that umbrella?

 

[DrVanNostran]

Can you hook a brother up?

How do you go about extracting the mechanisms of disease? And for that matter, what are you including under that umbrella?

What some people did was take the binding off of both FA and RR and then combine them into one book, only keeping the sections that they needed.

 

[sideways]

What some people did was take the binding off of both FA and RR and then combine them into one book, only keeping the sections that they needed.

But how do you determine what's relevant in RR without reading the whole goddamn thing?

 

[cerebral edema]

This book is very nice however it's also filled with so much stuff that is not necessary for step 1 exam. Even dr.goljan himself said that there is a lot of step 2 stuff in here too. IMHO the most important thing about this book is the mechanisms of the diseases and the nutritional chapter that's all. In my case what I did is cut and paste these and print it for my use. it's only 210 pages. RR mechanism combined with FA is more than enough for path. gl.

disagree

ive gone through all of usmle world and 50% of kaplan qbank and 98% of goljan rr is GOLD for usmle step 1

 

[warriordoc911]

Well in fact I agree with you that for the most part this book is great but my point is that what you consider good stuff is also covered by other books too. For example vWF disease all the stuff that Goljan covers is also found in other review books like FA but the mechanism is what he is special about. Btw I did finish UW with 73%, read FA, and read RR path once. read kaplan books once, read KaplanMedEssentials. what i noticed about all these reviews materials is that they all say the same thing in different format. so my point is why one read so much when he/she can just focus on few items and give multiple passes. to me that is more HY than reading excessive materials. this is just my opinion that's all.

I forgot to mention that I'm using goljan audio too. I'm also using this book for the pictures.

disagree

ive gone through all of usmle world and 50% of kaplan qbank and 98% of goljan rr is GOLD for usmle step 1

 

[Zback]

All I can say about Goljan is, if you read the Step 1 feedback thread, everybody says that it is money, the majority of the people that do well (>230) used it. Take it for what it is worth.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

The only problem with RR is there's nothing rapid about it. It's a monster. I'd say that if you havn't opened it before starting your review, it's going to take up too much time. But i've been using it in path (my only resource aside from the audio, class ppt's, and the beloved wikipedia/google) and will try to cram as much of it as possible in my head before the shelf. It's been totally gold so far. And the clinical presentations of the various pathologies are SO key. His audio is great for that. I'd say the clinical presentations/integrations are more high yield than the mechanisms in general....but the mechanisms are great too.

 

[MrBigLips]

The only problem with RR is there's nothing rapid about it. It's a monster.

A monster indeed

 

[Phlame217]

True Goljan adds extra to the RR, but he himself said he did it to teach your the concept itself and everything around it so you get the full understanding. It is money on the exam considering the man himself writes questions for the boards and we have pre-exposure to his type of questions all 2nd year long.

 

[Jolie South]

True Goljan adds extra to the RR, but he himself said he did it to teach your the concept itself and everything around it so you get the full understanding. It is money on the exam considering the man himself writes questions for the boards and we have pre-exposure to his type of questions all 2nd year long.

I agree with this. For me, it was difficult to just study FA because FA is so bare bones. After a while, I just felt like I was looking at words on a page.

Goljan provides WHY and HOW things happen and gives a context for the information. I found it extremely useful for that purpose alone. I wouldn't say to go out and memorize everything in Goljan, but running through the chapters alongside FA was very helpful to me.

I don't think it's time-prohibitive if you have 6 weeks to study to do both RR and FA, especially if you're reading a chapter a day or so. I probably made it through the book twice over the course of my Step prep and had not used it in 1st and 2nd year. Those were my two main resources. I only supplemented additional materials for biochem.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I don't think it's time-prohibitive if you have 6 weeks to study to do both RR and FA, especially if you're reading a chapter a day or so. I probably made it through the book twice over the course of my Step prep and had not used it in 1st and 2nd year. Those were my two main resources. I only supplemented additional materials for biochem.

Nice work. Did u feel that Goljan payed off?

 

[Jolie South]

Nice work. Did u feel that Goljan payed off?

Like other people have said, it didn't necessarily provide information that FA didn't have, but it allowed me to retain it so much better than the bulleted format of FA. I think it paid off.

 

[HiDoc88]

I'm interested in going through this book for step 1 prep as well. I haven't opened it yet, but I'm taking my exam on June 26th. Is there enough time left for this to be a productive resource for me? Or should I look into BRS?

 

[badasshairday]

Goljan helped me out immensely. I studied it throughout 2nd year and reread the first half again during spring break, and the second half again in the weeks leading up to finals. And one last run with a modified Taus method during the 5 week study period.

 

[bbydoc]

Goljan helped me out immensely. I studied it throughout 2nd year and reread the first half again during spring break, and the second half again in the weeks leading up to finals. And one last run with a modified Taus method during the 5 week study period.

nice to see you back in the step1 section.
what in particular would you say helped you, mechanisms or retention through context?