Official 2014 Step 1 Experiences and Scores Thread

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Phloston said:
It depends on any one person's particular form. As the recent test-takers can tell you, there will be questions that test pure facts (e.g., what is a chaperone protein? what is irinotecan?). These are easy recollection but might be considered "hard/wtf" by people who simply haven't encountered the info. The hardest questions on your exam will actually be mid-difficulty ones that require a little lateral thinking, which, only several days after your exam do you realize you got them wrong.
Click to expand...

Yeah, what's unfortunate (or maybe fortunate) is that our exams in school are ~95% fact recognition and 5% lateral thinking. Great for grades (I guess), but horrible for actually learning to think like a physician. Also it makes it much difficult to separate yourself from the class in terms of grades/class rank.
 
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pandoraone said:
How long does it take to get our scores? i take the test on May 5th - when should I hear back?
Click to expand...

3 to 4 weeks after u take it, usually Wednesday. Any national holiday may postpone ur results. So May 28th for u.
 
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I just took NBME 7. I was looking at some old forums but havent seen anything recent. Is this form falling out of favor as a predictive tool? What about relative difficulty to the real test? I thought it was pretty easy, maybe I just got lucky, but there were a TON of questions on there that UW mooched off of and reworded, so I think I did better than I should have. Just wanted to see what the current thinking was about 7.
 
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Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
 
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Sai7 said:
Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...

Congratulations, that's a great score!

I just have two questions about your prep. For pathoma x2, is that book and videos, or just one or the other? If you watched the videos, what speed?

Also how are the Lange flashcards. I was just looking into resources for biochem/genetics and noticed they were ranked highly at the back of FA. I hadn't heard of them before,.

Thank you!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
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Sai7 said:
Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...

:clap:CONGRATULATIONS!!!
 
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Isradoc16 said:
Congratulations, that's a great score!

I just have two questions about your prep. For pathoma x2, is that book and videos, or just one or the other? If you watched the videos, what speed?

Also how are the Lange flashcards. I was just looking into resources for biochem/genetics and noticed they were ranked highly at the back of FA. I hadn't heard of them before,.

Thank you!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I used the book and videos x2. I watched the videos once at the start of my 5 weeks. and then in the last week I watched all of the videos again. Both times were at 1.7 speed on VLC. Also, the lange flashcards were excellent. I think its a nice addition to the biochem chapter in first aid. A lot of it is the same but I enjoyed the flashcards a lot more than the biochem chapter in first aid.
 
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Hello everyone!

I've been studying for Step 1 for a full year now, and I'd like some advice in regards to how to successfully close off my studies before my exam.

I have completed:
Kaplan lecture videos with the notes x1
Uworld x2 (Avg: 62%) - Timed unused
Pathoma x2
FA x2
Lippincott micro cards + lange pharm cards x1

I had also started DIT, but quit 60% through because I wasn't getting anything out of it. The quizzes throughout the series are excellent, however the lectures themselves were very boring and I couldn't finish the series.

Here's the bad news: I took NBME 11 two weeks ago and I got 170. I took NBME 11 when I was sick and I had to pause the exam twice to gain energy. It was a bad call to take it but I felt guilty that I hadn't been studying for a few days due to being bedridden. I'm sure we've all felt guilty when we haven't studied for whatever reason. But even if I took the exam under normal conditions, maybe I'd get a 180, which is no where near my goal (230+).

Anyway, I've paid for the UWSA's but haven't taken them yet. I'm planning to take NBME 15 and 7 as well. I have a study partner that I study with 6 days a week for a minimum of 8 hours per day, then I go home and study by myself for a few hours. I average about 10-12 hours per day, 6 days a week. I'm beginning my third pass of UW. I'd like to take this exam mid-April. As of now I'm brushing up on my weak areas and doing blocks of UW.

Please share any advice.

Thank you all very much for your time.
 
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Sai7 said:
Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...


Awesome score! How would you rate the Lange Biochem cards?
 
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Hi all,

New here, just wondering if anyone knew if drugs that are discontinued are on STep 1? I heard that drugs that aren't availabe in the US won't be on Step 1 and to only learn the generic names. I've been looking thru FA and it seems like they leave out a lot of drugs in comparison to Lange Pharm cards and the Kaplan videos so I'm thinking of adding to my FA, but wondering if the discontinued drugs we're learning in class are worth adding. Thanks!!
 
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I am currently going through Pathoma and he is doing an excellent job getting big picture down for me. I took a Uworld section of renal (something I have just finished in Pathoma) and got a 55% - not too hot. I get the major picture things down but get caught up on the details. Possible to fix that? Still got some time to bang out - goal score = 240+
 
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1dayatatime said:
Hi all,

New here, just wondering if anyone knew if drugs that are discontinued are on STep 1? I heard that drugs that aren't availabe in the US won't be on Step 1 and to only learn the generic names. I've been looking thru FA and it seems like they leave out a lot of drugs in comparison to Lange Pharm cards and the Kaplan videos so I'm thinking of adding to my FA, but wondering if the discontinued drugs we're learning in class are worth adding. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Hey, the Kaplan pharm videos are dirt old (2010) in the drug world. I'm wondering when they plan on upgrading them. I'm not quite sure about the Lange pharm cards. The drugs listed in FA 2013/2014 are fairly recent (from my understanding, they are revised annually) so they should be sufficient.

Stick with the 2014 FA for drugs though. I say so cos for example, in the 2014 version, maraviroc and enfuvirtide (fusion inhibitors) for HIV therapy are listed, while they are not listed in 2013 (unless I'm tripping and can't find them). That could be a point or 2 on ur exam.
 
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Anyone know how increased/decreased (pregnancy/cirrhosis) affects free T4 levels? BRS Phys says has increassed TBG yields increased total thyroid hormone but normal free T4, whereas I remember learning it as increased TBG decreases free T4 (which makes more sense). Not in first aid (pg 316, 2014) but I could see this being one of those stupid arrow questions.
 
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900829 said:
Hey, the Kaplan pharm videos are dirt old (2010) in the drug world. I'm wondering when they plan on upgrading them. I'm not quite sure about the Lange pharm cards. The drugs listed in FA 2013/2014 are fairly recent (from my understanding, they are revised annually) so they should be sufficient.

Stick with the 2014 FA for drugs though. I say so cos for example, in the 2014 version, maraviroc and enfuvirtide (fusion inhibitors) for HIV therapy are listed, while they are not listed in 2013 (unless I'm tripping and can't find them). That could be a point or 2 on ur exam.
Click to expand...

I feel that those videos do a great job of explaining drug classes and side effects. Of course, the 2010 videos do not have all the drugs in FA 2014, but they really do cover MOST of the drugs you need to know. The few additional drugs in FA are ones that are really new/cool and will stand out in your mind. Also, the actual board exam is known to test classic drugs that aren't really even in use anymore, right?
 
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periaqueductal said:
Anyone know how increased/decreased (pregnancy/cirrhosis) affects free T4 levels? BRS Phys says has increassed TBG yields increased total thyroid hormone but normal free T4, whereas I remember learning it as increased TBG decreases free T4 (which makes more sense). Not in first aid (pg 316, 2014) but I could see this being one of those stupid arrow questions.
Click to expand...
With increased estrogen, there is no change in free T4 but an increased in total due to increased tbg.
 
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001100010010011 said:
I feel that those videos do a great job of explaining drug classes and side effects. Of course, the 2010 videos do not have all the drugs in FA 2014, but they really do cover MOST of the drugs you need to know. The few additional drugs in FA are ones that are really new/cool and will stand out in your mind. Also, the actual board exam is known to test classic drugs that aren't really even in use anymore, right?
Click to expand...

No idea. I hope not.
 
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Haha. I think the answer is "yes." I don't know for sure which ones because I'm not on the wards yet but I've heard attendings comment that some of the drugs in there should be taken out of FA.
 
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For what it's worth if anything I've heard KISSPharm is pretty good for pharm, but I'm sure others know better than I do!
 
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notcool said:
For what it's worth if anything I've heard KISSPharm is pretty good for pharm, but I'm sure others know better than I do!
Click to expand...

I've only listened to one section, but I was really meh about KISSPharm while listening to it. However, surprisingly enough, a lot of the info has really stuck with me. And normally pharm goes in one ear, onto my exam, and out the other ear with me. So as basic as it may seem when listening, it seems like they're doing something right.
 
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If you're struggling with a path concept, I really recommend the Pathology Student website. The site's author is really great about distilling complex concepts in an understandable way. And I've got to admit that her mailing list is pretty clutch too. This week alone I've had short blurbs on portal HTN and parasitic infxns sitting in my inbox. Great resource for triggering old concept recall. http://www.pathologystudent.com/

Edit: also, her book on clotting (and the glorious Dr. Sattar) are probably the only reason(s) I passed our hem exam.
 
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900829 said:
Hey, the Kaplan pharm videos are dirt old (2010) in the drug world. I'm wondering when they plan on upgrading them. I'm not quite sure about the Lange pharm cards. The drugs listed in FA 2013/2014 are fairly recent (from my understanding, they are revised annually) so they should be sufficient.

Stick with the 2014 FA for drugs though. I say so cos for example, in the 2014 version, maraviroc and enfuvirtide (fusion inhibitors) for HIV therapy are listed, while they are not listed in 2013 (unless I'm tripping and can't find them). That could be a point or 2 on ur exam.
Click to expand...

Completely agree on pharm materials being time-sensitive (you are correct, no fusion inhibitors or blockers in FA 2013). Pharm was straightforward on my exam, but it certainly emphasized recent drugs. HIV's "life cycle" was very important too - each step and the drugs that target each step were high yield for me.
 
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If u need something from me, u need to send me a PM, don't write it on here smh.
Go to kisspharm website, they have the videos.
 
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Sai7 said:
Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...

Congrats! My question, if you could go back and change any part of your study plan, would you? What would you do differently?
 
Last edited:
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Renaissance Man said:
[quo te="Sai7, post: 14871394, member: 312701"]Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...

Congrats! My question, if you could go back and change any part of your study plan, would you? What would you do differently?[/quote]

I would have completed uworld asap. I found it really annoying trying to do uworld blocks and study at the same time. I think in the past people have said uworld has helped them more than FA and pathoma. But for me, I felt like FA and pathoma were more important than uworld after a certain point.
 
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Wanted to leave my 2 cents and results—

Total Study Time: 6 weeks

FA 2013 and UWorld practice questions (once all the way through then again through missed/marked questions) were my main resources, with some Micro Made Easy chapters, Picmonic (for drugs mainly), self-made class study guides for biochem and systems, and a couple Neuroanatomy atlases on my school’s library website.
I also found some case files to be helpful since so much of the test is cases. I found Toy Case Files beneficial because they feel less intense than actual studying, kind of like giving yourself a break but still picking up some info during the break.

UWorld 1: 252 (at 10 days till exam)

UWorld 2: 258 (at 7 days till exam)

UWorld Average: 73% (mostly untimed)

I did studying (reading FA and study guides, etc.) for about 14 days, then switched to UWorld all the way up to the test (with some review along the way of course). Doing practice questions up until a few days before is best, for me at least, because I go into the test feeling really hot and answering questions for hours all day is just second nature by exam time. And just working really hard throughout the year in class obviously. All the work in class made much of board studying a review.

Took the exam on January 16
Final Exam Score: 251
 
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cottonsct said:
Wanted to leave my 2 cents and results—

Total Study Time: 6 weeks

FA 2013 and UWorld practice questions (once all the way through then again through missed/marked questions) were my main resources, with some Micro Made Easy chapters, Picmonic (for drugs mainly), self-made class study guides for biochem and systems, and a couple Neuroanatomy atlases on my school’s library website.
I also found some case files to be helpful since so much of the test is cases. I found Toy Case Files beneficial because they feel less intense than actual studying, kind of like giving yourself a break but still picking up some info during the break.

UWorld 1: 252 (at 10 days till exam)

UWorld 2: 258 (at 7 days till exam)

UWorld Average: 73% (mostly untimed)

I did studying (reading FA and study guides, etc.) for about 14 days, then switched to UWorld all the way up to the test (with some review along the way of course). Doing practice questions up until a few days before is best, for me at least, because I go into the test feeling really hot and answering questions for hours all day is just second nature by exam time. And just working really hard throughout the year in class obviously. All the work in class made much of board studying a review.

Took the exam on January 16
Final Exam Score: 251
Click to expand...

Nice score congrats
 
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Sai7 said:
Happy to share my experience here. Used the 2013 thread and it helped me out a lot.
I took the exam January 15th and got my score back today.

Total Study Time: 5 weeks
Resources:
FA 2013 x1
Pathoma x2
Uworld x1 Avg 82%
HY Neuro x1
Lange Biochem and Genetics Flashcards x1

Practices exams:
UWSA 265
UWSA 262

NBME 7: 255
NBME 13: 258
NBME 15: 260

Exam was harder than any NBME. I had a really tough first block where i had like 10 wtf type questions. It got easier towards blocks 4-7. I had a ton of anatomy questions. I also counted about 25 questions I am sure I got wrong. But nevertheless I can't complain about my score.
Final Score: 252
Happy to answer any questions. Good luck guys
Click to expand...

I might have missed it, but what did you think of the Lange Biochem cards?
 
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ulikedaggers said:
I might have missed it, but what did you think of the Lange Biochem cards?
Click to expand...

the lange flashcards were excellent. I think its a nice addition to the biochem chapter in first aid. A lot of it is the same but I enjoyed the flashcards a lot more than the biochem chapter in first aid
 
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Going through UWorld, currently at a 50% (allegedly equivalent to a 200 using some online calculators). After going back and analyzing some performance, here is what I got:

Biggest weaknesses:
- Biochem (11/27)
- Embryology (2/9)
- Immunology (7/19)
- Physiology (17/38)

'Strengths' - although still not good
- Pathology (44/72)


In terms of subject content - renal is close to 50% as is heme (this is after going through Pathoma for those sections).

Im ordering the biochem flashcards and am reviewing the questions I get wrong (and annotating into first aid). I think if I can fix the physiology weakness and do Pathoma chapters 1-3 (for immuno) I should be able to pull the score up a decent amount.

It is a little disheartening but got to keep motivated! Do you guys think I can realistically get to a 240+ by May 5th? What would I have to do? My plan is to do a micro flashcards, biochem flashcards, and read pathoma+ videos and BRS physiology until that point. Need to get a good score!!!!
 
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pandoraone said:
Going through UWorld, currently at a 50% (allegedly equivalent to a 200 using some online calculators). After going back and analyzing some performance, here is what I got:

Biggest weaknesses:
- Biochem (11/27)
- Embryology (2/9)
- Immunology (7/19)
- Physiology (17/38)

'Strengths' - although still not good
- Pathology (44/72)


In terms of subject content - renal is close to 50% as is heme (this is after going through Pathoma for those sections).

Im ordering the biochem flashcards and am reviewing the questions I get wrong (and annotating into first aid). I think if I can fix the physiology weakness and do Pathoma chapters 1-3 (for immuno) I should be able to pull the score up a decent amount.

It is a little disheartening but got to keep motivated! Do you guys think I can realistically get to a 240+ by May 5th? What would I have to do? My plan is to do a micro flashcards, biochem flashcards, and read pathoma+ videos and BRS physiology until that point. Need to get a good score!!!!
Click to expand...

You can definitely get to a 240 by May. Most of the people I know who did better than 240 were at ~210-220 5 weeks before the test.
 
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cottonsct said:
Wanted to leave my 2 cents and results—

Total Study Time: 6 weeks

FA 2013 and UWorld practice questions (once all the way through then again through missed/marked questions) were my main resources, with some Micro Made Easy chapters, Picmonic (for drugs mainly), self-made class study guides for biochem and systems, and a couple Neuroanatomy atlases on my school’s library website.
I also found some case files to be helpful since so much of the test is cases. I found Toy Case Files beneficial because they feel less intense than actual studying, kind of like giving yourself a break but still picking up some info during the break.

UWorld 1: 252 (at 10 days till exam)

UWorld 2: 258 (at 7 days till exam)

UWorld Average: 73% (mostly untimed)

I did studying (reading FA and study guides, etc.) for about 14 days, then switched to UWorld all the way up to the test (with some review along the way of course). Doing practice questions up until a few days before is best, for me at least, because I go into the test feeling really hot and answering questions for hours all day is just second nature by exam time. And just working really hard throughout the year in class obviously. All the work in class made much of board studying a review.

Took the exam on January 16
Final Exam Score: 251
Click to expand...

Hey, congratulations! No pathoma or goljan for u?
 
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Hey guys!
Quick question, I just completed UWorld and marked between 400-500 to go back and review. Within these questions I also highlighted the explanations to cut down on review time. Is there anyway to redo the just these questions and still have my markings on the answer? I only see how to redo the questions but my markings are gone or I see how to go back and review the marked questions (with the answer already selected), but I do not see how to do both.

Thanks
 
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ulikedaggers said:
You can definitely get to a 240 by May. Most of the people I know who did better than 240 were at ~210-220 5 weeks before the test.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That is good to hear. I was thinking about doing UWorld in tutor mode instead of timed and annotating into FA. Do you guys think that is a good idea?
 
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pandoraone said:
Thanks! That is good to hear. I was thinking about doing UWorld in tutor mode instead of timed and annotating into FA. Do you guys think that is a good idea?
Click to expand...
I think Tutor mode is great. I would do it in timed tutor mode at least after a while to make sure you are not taking too long, then as you get closer to your test mix in some timed non-tutor blocks.
 
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900829 said:
Hey, congratulations! No pathoma or goljan for u?
Click to expand...
I tried Goljan during the school year a little, I enjoyed his Heme/onc section. But didn't ever listen to the rest. And no pathoma. I used big Robbins a good bit during the year and had pretty excellent pathology professors that I think got me prepared for pathology.
 
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cottonsct said:
I tried Goljan during the school year a little, I enjoyed his Heme/onc section. But didn't ever listen to the rest. And no pathoma. I used big Robbins a good bit during the year and had pretty excellent pathology professors that I think got me prepared for pathology.
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Congratulations once again!
 
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For those of you taking the exam in the summer, if you are currently going through your first pass of FA, how much do you try to gain from it? I'm trying to cram a review of several different sources in, so right now I've been passively reading FA just to make sure I get through it. Is this a waste of time? I would assume most people don't try to sit down and remember everything on their first pass.
 
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