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I hear great things about this book, just wondering if its worth it for me to buy it right now w/about 3 weeks left of study time (and leaving 1 week for complete review?
RR Path worth it w/3 weeks left?
- Thread starter merovingian
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RR Path is a pretty large book. And it's completely listed in outline format (which can make it difficult to try to read through straight up).
If you've already been using something like BRS Path, I really think you'd be fine. IMO, you'd be better off re-reading BRS Path two or maybe even three more times as opposed to a single run through RR (which is roughly about the time it'd take to do so). Also, RR Path has a tendency to add tidbits of info (to virtually every organ system) that probably isn't very high yield... and would only serve to frustrate you if you attempted to memorize it all. At this stage of the game, I'd focus on concepts/integrations. Basically, keep working those questions, and make sure you can visualize the major details of every process.
Also, remember that there's more to boards than just path. Don't skimp on other subjects like behavior or anatomy or biochem/cell bio (as you WILL be asked questions on EVERY topic). Now might be a good time to work in a lot of those other disciplines (beyond the big 3 P's) that you may have been holding out on.
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You could finish it in a week if all you did was path. Just do one/two organ systems a day. It should go by quickly because there is a lot of overlap in BRS path. I read them both while studying for exams this past year and it was like reading the same book twice. Goljan is more ideal to learn from, BRS is more ideal to review from. Depends on which stage of the game yo uare at.
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At this point in my studying, I'm just starting my organ systems...I should mention that I have the Goljan audio, which has been really good, so I was wondering if I should also get the RR Path, but perhaps I will just use the audio along with BRS Path and hopefully that will be good enough 
Also - remember that Goljan's high yield notes are all those blue annotations in the margins!
So don't waste your time looking at that 100 page illegally scanned document floating around the web that is out of date from 2002.
So don't waste your time looking at that 100 page illegally scanned document floating around the web that is out of date from 2002.
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i am in a similar situation (i.e. about 3-4 weeks before our path shelf and step 1), but i went ahead and bought the 2nd edition RR after scanning thru it. i think it might be worth it, but only if you already have a good foundation in path b/c the text is pretty much in bullet points.
as a sidenote, i had sporadically gone thru the RR first edition. 2nd edition is much better, like a mini-Robbins. just my opinion though.
as a sidenote, i had sporadically gone thru the RR first edition. 2nd edition is much better, like a mini-Robbins. just my opinion though.
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What is the deal with all this Goljan audio business? I mean if you're strapped for time wouldn't it make more sense to read text rather than listen to audio? You could always read faster and gloss over topics you know well in a book. I don't understand how it could be efficient to listen to audio in which the pace can't be controlled. I'm also sure you waste a lot of time listening to dumb jokes.
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I would say no, Rapid Review Path is a good way to start but First Aid + Questions are a good way to end things. Plenty of people did just fine using other pathology texts before Goljan's new edition came out. Besides, I think it would take me about 3 weeks just to finish it.
I wouldn't bother with RR this late in the game. I'm actually pretty nervous about using it when I start my actual dedicated board prep (it's sooo long), but I've been using it throughout 2nd year, so I've gone through most of it at least once. I have to say, RR is much more managebale and effective when used along with his lectures. The outline format really is hard to read on its own.
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how long are each of his path lectures? I would think it would take a lot longer to listen through a library of recordings than it would to read a book.
It would take longer to listen to the lectures but I just feel that they are more high yield. I noticed that in several lectures he would briefly mention a concept/treatment and immediately dismiss it by saying that it would not appear on Step 1 but rather Step 2 or 3. All of this extra knowledge is in the book, but since nothing is bolded/underlined, it's hard to identify the most high yielding concepts. I agree with the above posters when they say this book is great to learn from, it's very comprehensive. The lectures just help in trimming down some of the information. Plus, he's very entertaining and although corny at times, his stories really do stick and help you remember the material better. Maybe its personal preference but I find that material explained in casual language is easier to remember/retain than lengthy textbook explantations or chopped sentences in bullet form where most of the time is spent figuring out what's being said.
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I love the Goljan audio but the RR book is extremely overrated. It has nice pictures but the outline format makes it difficult to read because there is no flow to it. You won't make connections or understand concepts from reading it either because the audio really fills in those gaps. Yeah, it's not short on details but it doesn't really connect those details or enable someone to understand the bigger picture.
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I was def not a class goer during my first 2 years, but I think b/c of this, now when I listen to these Goljan lectures, things that he says seem to stick well (not sure if that made sense or not, I think it has to do with breaking the monotony of reading and doing questions), and he really emphasizes important points (he says them OVER and OVER and OVER), plus I've found that listening to his audio and following along in BRS Path works pretty well, the topics he covers sometimes follows the exact order of what's in BRS, kind of uncanny
I know the RR Path book is huge, and so I may be a little intimidated to start using it, esp since I've already started using BRS Path, and from what it sounds like, they are pretty similar with regards to presenting info in bullet-form
I know the RR Path book is huge, and so I may be a little intimidated to start using it, esp since I've already started using BRS Path, and from what it sounds like, they are pretty similar with regards to presenting info in bullet-form
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based upon my experience with step 1, i think that devoting time to RR path is absolutely worth while. as someone has already said, if you spend about a full week on the book, you can finish it. ideally you want to listen to the audio with the book open and then review the book but if you're strapped for time, devoting a week to reading the book should be worth it. keep in mind that the book does have a few charts on micro orgs and also i remember there was one chart in the muscuskeletal section in common fractures with the associated nerves. there is also some mention of g6pdeficiency, gauchers, taysachs, and picks. so its not just straight up path. path is hard to segregate from other disciplines so the book does end up being integrative with other subjects. definitely worth the time in my opinion.
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im so glad you mentioned the goljan transcript ijust bought it and i love it
i also got the FA flashcards and it's a nice active way of learning....thanks a bunch for the suggestion!
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im so glad you mentioned the goljan transcript ijust bought it and i love it
i cant find it on ebay... what did you search for?
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im so glad you mentioned the goljan transcript ijust bought it and i love it
hi there, i also looked for the Goljan transcript and could not find it?
also which FA flashcards did you get, there are so many on ebay...?
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I wouldn't, honestly. It'll take too long to read it all. But if you're hell bent on buying it, your best bet might be to follow along in the book while listening to the audio, and glance at the pictures and blue notes in the margins. I'm doing this, maybe it'll work for you, too. GL!
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i have a couple of questions... ignore my first post...
So i got the RR Path(Goljan) for cheap but i think its the older edition
how different is this one from the newest edition? is it worth it for me to get the newest one?
secondly, where do i get the goljan's transcribed notes & audio and does it follow the RR path older edition, or will i have to get the newest edition?
also with the FA notecards--does it include all the subject areas? pharm,micro,biochem, embroyo, anatomy? etc and is it enogh content?
the reason i'm asking is that i learn well with notecards and i've been considering getting notecards for pretty much the major areas -path, pharm, micro, anatomy-so i test myself on basic content from first aid as i go along, but i'm just wondering if these FA notecards will be a good substitute for all of these notecards adn also save myself some $$.
if the FA notecards are useful, which one on ebay is it?
So i got the RR Path(Goljan) for cheap but i think its the older edition
how different is this one from the newest edition? is it worth it for me to get the newest one?
secondly, where do i get the goljan's transcribed notes & audio and does it follow the RR path older edition, or will i have to get the newest edition?
also with the FA notecards--does it include all the subject areas? pharm,micro,biochem, embroyo, anatomy? etc and is it enogh content?
the reason i'm asking is that i learn well with notecards and i've been considering getting notecards for pretty much the major areas -path, pharm, micro, anatomy-so i test myself on basic content from first aid as i go along, but i'm just wondering if these FA notecards will be a good substitute for all of these notecards adn also save myself some $$.
if the FA notecards are useful, which one on ebay is it?
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im so glad you mentioned the goljan transcript ijust bought it and i love it
No problem!, I really like his material too.
For anyone, the flashcards are made from first aid, so they flow with the book pretty well (I think it is from an older version of first aid, as they are arranged in the major topics, instead of systems). I think they help me retain the info. I use them right after reading a chapter, and that way I force myself to think about the information. To answer the question above, there are over 5000 cards, so yes, there is a lot of information.
The goljan transcript is basically the highlights of the audio. It doesn't include the jokes or stories, just the meat. I plan on finishing going through the audio and the transcript together, and then just reading the transcript over and over 2 or 3 times.
Where did I get this info? I found it on ebay for about $30. I am not sure if they are still for sale, but I have an email from the seller and his username is "usmleflashcards" and he really helped me out by sending me a free pharmacology outline.
I liked the pharmacology outline so much, I emailed him and hes sent me his micro outline for only $8.
It is weird to be getting prep material from the internet, but I can see why he says the people how made/used his material make 99's, they are very well put together.
Sorry to sound like a bad commercial, but it seemed like people were interested in this stuff, and I always say sharing is caring!
Good luck to everyone!
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I'll 2nd the stuff from that guy on ebay
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I'm guessing those of you who bought the flash cards from the e-Bay seller didn't know that he just downloaded them from the internet himself... You can credit the students at Utah Med for typing up all of First Aid in flash card format and making it available to the public on their website. I downloaded the file for free from their website (I found the link right here on SDN). It makes me a bit wary of buying his Goljan transcript, because I imagine that too is just something that he/she downloaded off the net for free and repackaged.
So far however, I've yet to find the Goljan transcript on the net so I think that might be original material. I haven't seen the Pharm or Micro outlines yet, but if someone sends me a snippet from one (1 paragraph would be enough), I could compare it to whatever I have found so far. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the KUMC material (which is excellent from what I've seen)
So far however, I've yet to find the Goljan transcript on the net so I think that might be original material. I haven't seen the Pharm or Micro outlines yet, but if someone sends me a snippet from one (1 paragraph would be enough), I could compare it to whatever I have found so far. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the KUMC material (which is excellent from what I've seen)
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I was one of the persons who bought the material off ebay. It kind of sucks that the flashcards are from the utah site, I didn't know that existed, but the flashcards are a completely different format. They are big cards that I printed out and then cut into cards. From what I can tell on the utah site is they are only for a program on your computer, or just a text list, so I still think it is worth it to have each as an individual card, not just a text file. It is impossible to read a list of facts on one page, I like having the question on the front, and the answer on the back.
I have the KUMC files, and the micro or the pharm are both different. I didn't even bother printing that stuff off as I don't even know what KUMC means! I think the pharm is actually the katzung list, but on steroids. Instead of 100 drugs, there are more like 250.
If you want examples, check the auctions on ebay, when I bought the material, there were samples you could download.
I guess the kid picked a good time to sell this stuff, but I am still happy, as all the material I got was great. Who cares if he didn't personally author it.
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Automan2 - Thanks for checking the Pharm and Micro files for me. I think it's safe to assume that the Goljan transcript will be worth getting based on the glowing reviews it has received on this thread and elsewhere. I might do what was suggested above and purchase both the Pharm and Micro as well if they are as good as people say.
In regards to the Flash Cards, it's pretty straight forward turning them into printed flash cards and also using them on the computer. I found it helpful to use them with a free PC flash card program (CueCard) which allowed me to track my progress on individual cards. However, I agree with you that it's dependent entirely on how you're most comfortable studying. I'll definitely make sure to purchase the Goljan transcript when the time comes.
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I tried to get that cuecard program, but I have a macintosh, and I don't think they make it for macs. I was able to make them work on a flashcard program for my mac, and I do like not having to carry them around with me.
Good luck with your test.
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I have a similar question.....I have about 2 weeks blocked off for path review, and will have reviewed everything else before that (pharm, micro, phys, etc). After that I've got about 2 weeks before the test. I haven't yet used Goljan for anything, but read BRS path once through for my path shelf....do you think it's a mistake to mess with Goljan starting 4 weeks before the test?
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Goljan is dense. I'm at two weeks and a day to go and I'm focusing on BRS Path and Phys, a pharm book, and FA. Other than that, as many questions as I can do, which is around 150/day with explainations. Adding in the weight of RR path is just more than the hours in a day can hold.
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Yeah, I hear you....I was at 5 weeks and a day today and am already panicking about how much I have left to cover! 150 questions a day is awesome, though....it takes me like 2.5-3 hours just to do 50! What pharm book are you using? I'm debating spending the time to go through a supplemental book vs just doing what's in First Aid....I'm feeling like maybe sticking w/ just FA is better. Have you found any good pharm question sources? Apparently qbank is too much minutiae...
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At this point in my studying, I'm just starting my organ systems...I should mention that I have the Goljan audio, which has been really good, so I was wondering if I should also get the RR Path, but perhaps I will just use the audio along with BRS Path and hopefully that will be good enough
With the new RR path, BRS path, Goljan notes, Goljan audio... what's working best for me is to read BRS path, then listen to Goljan. He pretty much hits the hot topics in the book anyway and 99% is in BRS too. Needless to say, I'm not too crazy about RR (due to format).
Just see what works best for you (your learning style). There is enough time to go through RR if you choose to.
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I listen to his lectures while I'm eating, driving, etc....basically times when I am doing other stuff but still want to be productive and "study"
The way he talks and emphasizes points really makes the stuff stick in your head, especially if you've gone through RR, you will help put stuff in your long term memory since its the 2nd, 3rd, etc time you've read/heard the information.
Plus, some people are just audio learners and want to attack the information in different ways (visual, audio, etc)
GL all, goljan rocks
-tx
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lol, are you kidding? 99% of the stuff that Goljan mentions is NOT in BRS Path. BRS is just straight path with nothing else.
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But, 99% of what's in BRS Path is probably covered by RR c.o. Goljan.
Still, I've switched to using BRS Path and BRS Phys for the physiology I'm not comfy with. BRS Path is a faster read, and with whole sentences.
I usually speak in whole sentences, so I like to do my reading that way too.
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I totally agree. Maybe most of the actual diseases are there, but none of the good stuff like integrations (pharm, biochem, micro), high yield margin notes, pictures, etc (I could go on forever lol)
-tx
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That's interesting that you say BRS Path is a faster read, since (for most people) it takes longer to read whole sentences than an outline.
I think the outline format is a lot more efficient for those already with a firm grasp of the subject. If you really need to read whole sentences to get the point, then I guess it's a combination of your own personal problem/preference.
Oh, and I can assure you that I do not speak in an outline format, even though I prefer to read outlines.
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Gee thanks. When you put it that way, I guess I'm just dumber than you.
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True... I meant as far as pathology is concerned, what's important is in BRS path. I am using BRS Physio as well (and Goljan audio/transcripts to put it all together after I review those two).
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a little plug for RR.....after taking an NBME and then reviewing it/looking up stuff I didn't know.....many things were literally word-for-word in RR path....I felt like almost everything on the test except for small details of biochem/molecular were in that book...
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Right, and I'm not disputing it as a great book. The OP though mentions 3 weeks until the test, and I think that BRS Path (which is also in outline format, albeit sentence structure instead of truncated sentences) is still faster. I don't see how it isn't when a chapter is only 10-13 pages versus 20+. If you have FA, BRS Path and Phys, you've got enough in those three to obliterate step 1. And the less time you have, the less dense you want your material to be. Being more familiar with those is better than going once through far more info. Plus, many of the people in the last couple years posting in the step 1 forum (pre-RR Path 2 ed.) did stellar by going through FA 2+ times in the remaining weeks, and BRS Path 4-5 times. It's not like it's an unproven source...
Once again, for the OP who has less time, it's weighty to start RR Path with everything non-path still to review. That's just my 2 cents.
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RR is great, I covered it by organ system (concentrating on my weaknesses) to get the Path in my head. I looked mainly over the tables and so forth, saving the rest of my study time for FA as a "finisher." But to each his own, I'm just giving my plug for Dr. Goljan's great book.
Also, if you go here, it's got updated ERRATA from the book!
http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/biomedical/pathology/goljan.cfm
Also, if you go here, it's got updated ERRATA from the book!
http://www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/biomedical/pathology/goljan.cfm
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What are you talking about? I'm listening to the lectures at 1.5 speed on WMP. I speed that up to 2X whenever he starts talking about his personal life.
Also I agree with other people that the book is hard to read because it's in outline format. I've been listening to 2 or 3 Goljan lectures a day and following along in the book. That way you read and hear it verbally-makes for better retention.
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ok i gave in and checked out a few lectures. it's not bad to listen to while at the gym. overall though, i dont' think he tells you anything that a competent student couldn't figure out. it's good in that he specifically tells you what's important to know. so i'll keep it around for those reasons. i love his book though.
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Thanks for posting this link!
