The 'Taus' Method for Step 1

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For those of you who used the 'Taus' method for your Step 1 prep...

How long before your exam did you begin your first run through? How long did your first run through take you?

Did you begin practice questions from day 1, like Taus suggests (I think), or did you try to get a bit of a foundation first?

Is there anything you would have changed? Books? Timeline?

To Taus, thank you in advance for putting your study schedule together! From one future PM&R doc to another, I hope you match into a great program!

 

[kunfu]

After reading and listening to goljan for a specific topic (heme/onc) there seems to be a few topics in the book that he doesnt cover in the audio. also, for some topics he says very little, like he says something like "the only thing i am going to say about hairy cell is TRAP test, because thats all that matters" . Then i went and did kaplan q's on heme/onc and the q bank didnt really ask about any topic that had not been touched on in the audio (ie. the topics that he left out in the audio were alse left out in the qbank). Even though taus plan say use goljan in full, should we ignore sections not mentioned in the audio or in the qbank?

Honestly if your not going to read Goljan in full then what are you doing? Reading Goljan in full is part of the Taus plan AND listening to the audio. No one ever said everything in Goljan's book is in the audio.

 

[username456789]

This is for anyone who's done the Taus method. When going through first pass, did you annotate BRS Phys into FA? The Taus word document doesn't have the "arrows" indicating actual annotation into FA. Just curious.

 

[McGillGrad]

This is for anyone who's done the Taus method. When going through first pass, did you annotate BRS Phys into FA? The Taus word document doesn't have the "arrows" indicating actual annotation into FA. Just curious.

Nope, you are supposed to use that text throughout.

 

[go lakers]

This is for anyone who's done the Taus method. When going through first pass, did you annotate BRS Phys into FA? The Taus word document doesn't have the "arrows" indicating actual annotation into FA. Just curious.

I did it. Supposedly try to annotate everything except RR Path and HY Molecular into FA.

 

[Macguy86]

For those of you who used the Taus schedule can you please give me your input:

The plan is 10 weeks. Like most of you I only have ~6.5 weeks to study for this exam. I will only (hopefully) be able to get through everything in ~30 days. During this time I will use Kaplan QBank questions 50Q/day.

During the last 2 weeks I will read 1st aid in the morning. And do 125-150 Uworld Question/Day.

I am not sure how I will be able to squeeze in reading RR a 2nd time. Did most of you?

I am debating on whether I should extend my test date and complete the Taus method fully. I have the opportunity to extend my test date another 3.5 weeks.

What do you guys recommend? bear in mind: I know most people that post here are starting off with baseline scores of 215-220 before the study period even begins, I know that I am not one of those students. I have scores above average in med school, but have not honored all of my courses.

My Questions in summary:
Should I take a practice test (NBME/Kaplan Diagonstic) before I start to see where I am? i am again amazed at how many of you scored so high before studying for the exam!

Is 6.5/weeks enough if you have NOT prepared at all before the study period and are average-above average student?

Should I use Kaplan Qbank vs the paper Qbook or should I do UWorld twice and forget about Kaplan?

Did you reread RR Path during the second round (last two weeks)?

 

[medsend]

Can someone please tell me where to find a copy of the taus method? I'm sorry..but I've searched for it and cant seem to find a link. Thank you.

 

[kryptik]

you didnt search hard enough, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6192274&postcount=12

 

[rishi718]

am i an idiot for wanting to do this?

i already unbound rr with buncha other books, so if i want i can add them into my fa

is anybody else doing anything like this?

and something similar for the HY cell bio book too. mines pdf so i can print out best pages and add them in. or just summarize into notes and hole punch to put into FA

for some reason, im really desperate for the idea of one high yeild binder. that can be studied week before exam while doing questions.

having 3 taus resources (goljan, hy, and fa) instead of one fa at end isnt as appealing??

and can we continue the discussion on how all of us r modifying the plan this year, esp on cutting out passes due to time and such

 

[kryptik]

adding the "best" pages from HY to FA is a good idea, i dont know about adding RR though its huge on its own

 

[rishi718]

i never understood this math since im trying to do taus plan but cant find the time.

this ten weeks thing keeps coming up.

but he says clearly in the back, that his first pass took him 4-7 days for basic sci and then 3-5 for each system

that comes out to (4X8 + 3X11) 65 days min and 111 days max

and assuming we're not genius level like taus

that puts us closer to 100 days
and THATS FIRST PASS ONLY??

you have to do this TWO MORE TIMes?! even if u get faster each time, and if u rush a little, i still dont get the 10 weeks thing

and dont forget the additional 14 days at end.

are you guys really doing that 3 day thing at end or spreading out a bit?

how are you guys fitting this into 10 weeks, or even shorter?

thank you

that's a good plan




the full thing ~ 10 weeks
to cut it down a lot....you could just do the first run-through/ consolidation of info and then go directly to the "last 2 weeks" schedule



Use the paper sources such as Qbook and Robbins review Q's to do questions in subject-specific blocks directly after you study that subject....ie after you study biochem - do biochem q's, after studying cardiac phys - do cardiac phys q's, etc. This is in opposition to later on in your studying where I rec'd using the computerized question sources to do random blocks of 50 questions w/ all subjects/systems mixed together.

 

[kryptik]

this should answer your question, quoted from the FAQ at the end

Q2) How long did it take you to get through each run through?

A2) It’s really an individual thing and depends on how much time you have to study. The first run-through should take as much time as you need to make sure you completely UNDERSTAND (not necessarily memorize) everything. Most basic sciences took me around 4-7 days and most systems were b/w 3-5 days. When you're done w/ this you need to take a look at how much time you have left and how many days you think you realistically need to get through each subject the next time around. Pull out a calendar and map this out while making sure you leave around 2 weeks at the end for the final review.

This is what I did, but it totally depends on how much time you have overall and how much you need for individual subjects.

I know this wasn't a concrete answer, but boards studying is a very individual thing and only you know how much time you need for certain topics (which is also why I wouldn't rec. taking a review course)

 

[rishi718]

yes thats exactly where i got the numbers for the math. 3-5 and 4-7

i dont understand how it took him or somebody even "approximately" 10 weeks when the first pass alone is taking much much longer. and thats not including the second pass. or the third. or the final 2 weeks.

im sorry, maybe im just being thick, but does this not confuse anybody?

this should answer your question, quoted from the FAQ at the end

Q2) How long did it take you to get through each run through?

A2) It’s really an individual thing and depends on how much time you have to study. The first run-through should take as much time as you need to make sure you completely UNDERSTAND (not necessarily memorize) everything. Most basic sciences took me around 4-7 days and most systems were b/w 3-5 days. When you're done w/ this you need to take a look at how much time you have left and how many days you think you realistically need to get through each subject the next time around. Pull out a calendar and map this out while making sure you leave around 2 weeks at the end for the final review.

This is what I did, but it totally depends on how much time you have overall and how much you need for individual subjects.

I know this wasn't a concrete answer, but boards studying is a very individual thing and only you know how much time you need for certain topics (which is also why I wouldn't rec. taking a review course)

 

[tideleonheart]

yes thats exactly where i got the numbers for the math. 3-5 and 4-7

i dont understand how it took him or somebody even "approximately" 10 weeks when the first pass alone is taking much much longer. and thats not including the second pass. or the third. or the final 2 weeks.

im sorry, maybe im just being thick, but does this not confuse anybody?

From the FAQ: .Some topics on the first run-through took me a week...some 2 days..

I'm pretty sure I remember reading that Taus himself took about 2.5-3 months.

I think he was estimating a lot when he wrote it - it isn't an exact science, but the point is still the same. Spend time on each subject; spend more time on things you don't get and less time on things you know well. I think you may be reading too much into things.

 

[rishi718]

anybody cutting out the goljan audio?

is it necessary or beneficial to use time with audio, when everything in his RR book?

for those saying its for another review, but aren't we reading rr like 4 times already? and men r supposed to be visual learners anyway, wouldnt u get the same benefit going thru the transcripts, and save time?

just asking

From the FAQ: .Some topics on the first run-through took me a week...some 2 days..

I'm pretty sure I remember reading that Taus himself took about 2.5-3 months.

I think he was estimating a lot when he wrote it - it isn't an exact science, but the point is still the same. Spend time on each subject; spend more time on things you don't get and less time on things you know well. I think you may be reading too much into things.

 

[illixir]

anybody cutting out the goljan audio?

is it necessary or beneficial to use time with audio, when everything in his RR book?

for those saying its for another review, but aren't we reading rr like 4 times already? and men r supposed to be visual learners anyway, wouldnt u get the same benefit going thru the transcripts, and save time?

just asking

Goljan audio is for making connections and learning how to approach the material, he talks about things in ways that they may be asked on the test. Since the USMLE format now is all about integrative style and which is what some students find more difficult, the audio can be very helpful. I think it's worth having listened to once. If you're gonna read the transcript just have it playing while you read the transcript. I don't know if I myself am gonna get around to listening to all the audio during my study period(I am still planning on trying) but I already listened to most of it once as it came up in first/second year.

 

[karizma098]

the 10 -12 week plan is doable.....

i've gotten through half of FA in about 12 days. i do roughly 30 pages a day...some things take longer, cardiovascular took me 3 days whereas i covered endocrine in just 1 day. I believe with the Taus method you can get through First Aid easily about every 21 days/3 weeks. it shouldn't take 3 or 4 days to do a single system..the corresponding path audio should take no more than 2-3 hours ( on average ) and the annotating should take no more than 5-8 hours ( on average ). Add 4-5 hours of questions and reviewing everything, and you should clear a section every 2 days if you focus.


my Daily schedule

- listen to 2 goljan lectures every day ( that correspond to the current First aid section i'm reading ). at this pace i will be through all of goljan in roughly 20 days as well.

- I then do the first read through of the first aid material and annotate from goljan's book/brs/high yield that and the next day.

- 20-30 questions a day to start out. after questions i read the explanations for what i've gotten wrong.

this takes me about 8 hours a day. some days i only do 6, other days i study 12 hours.

i start my DIT videos on april1, i'm using that as an 'accelerated' 15 day 2nd run through of FA ( i have to, i've got finals soon after. :-/ )

i'm also thinking of adding a few kaplan vids on the subjects i'm super weak on as well.

it seems like a lot...but averaging 8 hours a day over 10-12 weeks should make for a solid step 1 score. i think. i hope.

 

[Czeckers]

With the 2nd and third run throughs, and even on the last ten days. do you reread goljan word for word, or should you be highlighting it in the first pass so that you just go over the highlights on further reviews?

How long has the second and third pass taken some of you?

 

[username456789]

Bump for Czeckers and for my question:

With topics at the end of the year, how do you handle a "Taus first pass" with that? I know that this is more of a guide than a bible that must be adhered to 100%, but when you're learning the stuff for the first time (i.e. reproductive pathology or something), how do you spend your time during that block in school?


Probably a dumb question.

 

[InTheMaking]

Bump for Czeckers and for my question:

With topics at the end of the year, how do you handle a "Taus first pass" with that? I know that this is more of a guide than a bible that must be adhered to 100%, but when you're learning the stuff for the first time (i.e. reproductive pathology or something), how do you spend your time during that block in school?


Probably a dumb question.

Choose whether an A in Reproductive Path is more important or a 250 on the USMLE.

 

[username456789]

Choose whether an A in Reproductive Path is more important or a 250 on the USMLE.

Haha, well what I'm saying is, it does seem that I learn things overall better for boards purposes when I learn them thoroughly for class (although I also end up learning stuff that's not gonna be on boards in the process, obviously). So I guess it becomes an issue of "ok, am I learning this subject at least well enough to nail it on the boards even though maybe not on the class exam coming up?"

 

[RapidReview]

Choose whether an A in Reproductive Path is more important or a 250 on the USMLE.

My qbank percentage is inversely proportional to my class grades, fwiw.

 

[IMGUSMLEStep1]

I just read the Taus outline, and I must say, I'm amazed. I like it integrates everything together. Definitely switching to this!

 

[username456789]

Bump for Czeckers and for my question:

With topics at the end of the year, how do you handle a "Taus first pass" with that? I know that this is more of a guide than a bible that must be adhered to 100%, but when you're learning the stuff for the first time (i.e. reproductive pathology or something), how do you spend your time during that block in school?


Probably a dumb question.

Bumping to modify a dumb question.

So with something that we were recently tested on that I went through RR Path/FA fairly thoroughly with while learning it the first time, do most people consider that a "first pass" for that material, in the Tausian sense of the phrase?

I have ~two weeks of classes left, I feel caught up on work, and I'm wondering if it's worth my time at all to go back through that material as a "first pass", or work on something else.

 

[tideleonheart]

Bumping to modify a dumb question.

So with something that we were recently tested on that I went through RR Path/FA fairly thoroughly with while learning it the first time, do most people consider that a "first pass" for that material, in the Tausian sense of the phrase?

I have ~two weeks of classes left, I feel caught up on work, and I'm wondering if it's worth my time at all to go back through that material as a "first pass", or work on something else.

It would probably be best to start with your weakest subjects, and move toward your strongest subjects. If your Qbanks are showing you that you're getting a lot of that strong subject right, you probably won't need much more than a quick read-through for your 1st pass.

 

[tachyon34]

I'm not sure if taus is still out there reading this, but I was curious what he meant by annotation.

According to reading his FAQ, his posts in this thread, and his guide, it seems like we are only supposed to annotate when there is a -> arrow right? so looking over his guide the only thing we need to annotate are

RR biochem
HY neuro
HY behavioral
CMMRS
Levinson

Am i correct?
He doesnt say anywhere that BRS physio needs to be annotated? (theres a lottttt of stuff FA doesnt cover about physio for very system)

 

[jmayer]

I'm not sure if taus is still out there reading this, but I was curious what he meant by annotation.

According to reading his FAQ, his posts in this thread, and his guide, it seems like we are only supposed to annotate when there is a -> arrow right? so looking over his guide the only thing we need to annotate are

RR biochem
HY neuro
HY behavioral
CMMRS
Levinson

Am i correct?
He doesnt say anywhere that BRS physio needs to be annotated? (theres a lottttt of stuff FA doesnt cover about physio for very system)

thats right. he suggests reading BRS Physio + RR Path along with FA. it would be quite a waste of time to annotate THAT much info into FA. Just read it through a 2-3 times instead.

 

[StereoSanctity]

am i an idiot for wanting to do this?

i already unbound rr with buncha other books, so if i want i can add them into my fa

is anybody else doing anything like this?

and something similar for the HY cell bio book too. mines pdf so i can print out best pages and add them in. or just summarize into notes and hole punch to put into FA

for some reason, im really desperate for the idea of one high yeild binder. that can be studied week before exam while doing questions.

having 3 taus resources (goljan, hy, and fa) instead of one fa at end isnt as appealing??

and can we continue the discussion on how all of us r modifying the plan this year, esp on cutting out passes due to time and such

I'm doing that too - though I didn't originally set out to annotate RR into FA, I started by just adding in the margin notes and tables, but after two painful years, I found that I learn best by writing things down and just started adding things(probably best to stick with what works at this point). The number of things in RR that weren't even listed in FA got scary... I also annotated HY Molc Bio and BRS Phys into FA - they're short, and I'd rather have everything together - its logistically difficult to hold 3 books at once, and I like to be able to see everything together. I also think I'd just feel better having everything that I need to know in one binder (bc if it can't even fit in one binder, how is it going to fit in my brain??)

Not to be all SDN-gunnerific, but I attached a pic of one of my pages (it helped me to see other students notebooks at my school, so maybe it'll help someone?)... I have really small, (somewhat) neat handwriting, so its still legible... at least I hope I'm able to read it on my 2nd pass. 🙂 Someone in another thread was asking how much they could sell their annotated FA for, and I couldn't believe (a) that they would want to get rid of it, and (b) that anyone else would want it. There isn't room to add anything else to mine, and I've underlined just about everything, so I'm pretty sure it'd be useless to anyone else. So, now I'm worried that I need a reality check and that maybe I'm way overdoing this...

Unbinding FA was the best decision ever (I should have done it to all of my 1st year books) - I put it in a Levenger Circa notebook with a nice cover, so at least its pretty and I like it... which is more than I can say for "normal" FA. I really like the "Le Pen" pens for writing on the shiny pages - they don't smear as much as the Staedtler fineliner pens I used for class, and they come in 20+ colors (and they sell them at a Books-a-Million I like to study at, so its convenient if/when they run out). I'm a huge school-supply nerd, so new pens and nice notebooks are just little tricks I play to try to get excited about all of this.

Regarding timing, I started mid-March, and am just now finishing my first pass (I have part of MSK and Cardio remaining) - 3 of those weeks were part-time (still in MS classes), then a 2 week break (not planned... minor family emergency), and then ~5 weeks of almost full time studying (I have one class that's still going on, so I'm maybe at 75% max effort?). I've been doing questions from a Kaplan book and from the Robbins question book, but no world yet (I feel a little guilty about this, but it was just too depressing when I had no idea what the questions were asking - I wanted to at least look at everything once).

I definitely didn't think that the first pass would take this long. I was thinking I'd spend 5 weeks on the first pass, 3 on the second, maybe do a third pass, and then do the final 10 days. Granted, I'm doing a lot of writing, I've been a having a hard time making myself work for more than 8 hours a day, and I'm realizing that I basically learned nothing over the past two years (I'm about in the middle of my class, but our curriculum is NOT AT ALL tailored to the boards), but... even then, its been slow. So I guess I'd warn anyone who's just starting to not underestimate how long the first pass will take.

Other than that, I alternate daily between being excited about how much I'm learning and terrified that there's so much I didn't know until now. Not to mention certain that I'm not going to remember any of this come test day. And worried that I won't be able to Match. Oh and worried that even if everything works out, health care reform will f it up and I'll have gone to school for waaay to long for nothing. There's a lot of worry.

I take my test May 26th, so I have 22 days left. My plan is to finish MSK and a class project tomorrow (an unfortunate interruption), then finish Cardio and take NBME 4 on Wednesday. Hopefully that will scare me into working harder... from then on out, I'm going to do 100 world questions a day (at least) and memorize things in the afternoons. Ideally I'll finish all the world questions and have time to redo the ones that I've missed.

Where is everyone else in the process?

 

[Rabbit Hole]

I guess everyone has their own methods. It's important to stick to what works for you. I see a lot of people adopting Taus method and feeling like they have to do everything in it or they'll end up failing. That is not the case. Tweak it around to what suits your needs.. or else you're just drinking the kool aide.

 

[mq123]

I'm doing that too - though I didn't originally set out to annotate RR into FA, I started by just adding in the margin notes and tables, but after two painful years, I found that I learn best by writing things down and just started adding things(probably best to stick with what works at this point). The number of things in RR that weren't even listed in FA got scary... I also annotated HY Molc Bio and BRS Phys into FA - they're short, and I'd rather have everything together - its logistically difficult to hold 3 books at once, and I like to be able to see everything together. I also think I'd just feel better having everything that I need to know in one binder (bc if it can't even fit in one binder, how is it going to fit in my brain??)

Not to be all SDN-gunnerific, but I attached a pic of one of my pages (it helped me to see other students notebooks at my school, so maybe it'll help someone?)... I have really small, (somewhat) neat handwriting, so its still legible... at least I hope I'm able to read it on my 2nd pass. 🙂 Someone in another thread was asking how much they could sell their annotated FA for, and I couldn't believe (a) that they would want to get rid of it, and (b) that anyone else would want it. There isn't room to add anything else to mine, and I've underlined just about everything, so I'm pretty sure it'd be useless to anyone else. So, now I'm worried that I need a reality check and that maybe I'm way overdoing this...

Unbinding FA was the best decision ever (I should have done it to all of my 1st year books) - I put it in a Levenger Circa notebook with a nice cover, so at least its pretty and I like it... which is more than I can say for "normal" FA. I really like the "Le Pen" pens for writing on the shiny pages - they don't smear as much as the Staedtler fineliner pens I used for class, and they come in 20+ colors (and they sell them at a Books-a-Million I like to study at, so its convenient if/when they run out). I'm a huge school-supply nerd, so new pens and nice notebooks are just little tricks I play to try to get excited about all of this.

Regarding timing, I started mid-March, and am just now finishing my first pass (I have part of MSK and Cardio remaining) - 3 of those weeks were part-time (still in MS classes), then a 2 week break (not planned... minor family emergency), and then ~5 weeks of almost full time studying (I have one class that's still going on, so I'm maybe at 75% max effort?). I've been doing questions from a Kaplan book and from the Robbins question book, but no world yet (I feel a little guilty about this, but it was just too depressing when I had no idea what the questions were asking - I wanted to at least look at everything once).

I definitely didn't think that the first pass would take this long. I was thinking I'd spend 5 weeks on the first pass, 3 on the second, maybe do a third pass, and then do the final 10 days. Granted, I'm doing a lot of writing, I've been a having a hard time making myself work for more than 8 hours a day, and I'm realizing that I basically learned nothing over the past two years (I'm about in the middle of my class, but our curriculum is NOT AT ALL tailored to the boards), but... even then, its been slow. So I guess I'd warn anyone who's just starting to not underestimate how long the first pass will take.

Other than that, I alternate daily between being excited about how much I'm learning and terrified that there's so much I didn't know until now. Not to mention certain that I'm not going to remember any of this come test day. And worried that I won't be able to Match. Oh and worried that even if everything works out, health care reform will f it up and I'll have gone to school for waaay to long for nothing. There's a lot of worry.

I take my test May 26th, so I have 22 days left. My plan is to finish MSK and a class project tomorrow (an unfortunate interruption), then finish Cardio and take NBME 4 on Wednesday. Hopefully that will scare me into working harder... from then on out, I'm going to do 100 world questions a day (at least) and memorize things in the afternoons. Ideally I'll finish all the world questions and have time to redo the ones that I've missed.

Where is everyone else in the process?

I'm very similar to you in your study process 🙂 down to the using non-UWorld question sources like Robbins and FA Q and A for now. I've found the Robbins question book to be VERY helpful because it's a lot of pathology (obviously) but also a lot of the information is repeated many times in the answer explanations. So, you learn by repetition as well. Caveat: they take a while to get through, especially if you're not reading the corresponding Robbins textbooks chapter right before (which I'm not doing....)

I almost freaked out when I saw that you were nearly done with your first pass, because I'm maybe halfway through. I then saw you're taking your exam more than a month earlier than I am, so that calmed me down a bit

I also like integrating source together for almost everything, but I've come to realize that 1) there are so many thing that are in RR path and not FA that are important and 2) BRS Physio is too long for me to annotate into FA. So, I'm going to keep both books along with FA as my review books in the end, referring to BRS Physio as needed and RR Path a lot more.

Good luck!

 

[1nycdoc8]

Hey everyone, I plan on starting the taus method tomorrow and I will have 8 weeks before I take the exam. I was wondering if you all could tell me where I should start.

plan a) Should I begin at the very beginning of First aid and read it straight through?

plan b) Should I begin with a system and then do some behavioral sciences one day or some biochem the next?

plan c) One of your suggestions 🙂

I really like how the last 2 weeks are broken down in the Taus method and I was wondering if someone could give a break down of what they did starting on day 1 w/ the taus method (besides the ratio of reading books:questions). My sincere thanks for your time and help!

 

[kryptik]

with your time frame i think choice B is the way to go

 

[WashMe]

I'll be starting 2nd year in a few months and I'm trying to gather all of the resources I'll be using for Step I preparation so I can go through them concurrently with classes. I would not be disappointed with a 240+, but I really want to score 260+... I'm a decent test taker so I think it could happen.

That said, I will be hitting it hard all year and I want a comprehensive set of sources. I am considering NOT following the Taus schedule, but using all of the Taus sources plus:

(1) Deja Review Pharmacology
(2) HY Gross Anatomy
(3) HY Embryology

Also, I would be using the newer edition of HY Cell and Molecular Bio.


My total materials list would thus be:
FA 2010 (I already own this edition)
BRS Physiology
Goljan RR Pathology
Goljan Audio Lectures
HY Neuroanatomy
HY Cell and Molecular Biology (2nd ed.)
HY Behavioral Science
Lange Rev. of Medical Micro and Immuno (for Immuno)
Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
HY Gross Anatomy
HY Embryology
RR Biochemistry (Pelley/Goljan)
Deja Review Pharmacology

I also have 3 months of free access to Kaplan Q-bank that I might use, but I'm planning on plowing through USMLEWorld.

Any suggestions for additions, removals, or replacements of the above resources?

 

[tachyon34]

taus plan definitely still works. I just got my score back on tuesday as 259/99

things I would suggest:

they HY molecular bio 1999: i dunno if this is really as high yield anymore. apparently first aid didnt really have all that much mol. bio when taus first did it. The classes of receptor/channel types is still very high yield, as is the genetics stuff and mol bio on Polymerase types and stuff, but I wouldnt spend too much time on this book it should be a really quick read-- NO More than half a day. Don't memorize all the crazy small details- they are pointless, but do memorize/know the 2nd messenger systems/receptors they WILL be tested.

I only had 6 wks to study for it. 3 passes is really hard to do. I only got through 2.5 passes. I suggest you do the "first" pass during the school year by reading through RR path etc. I did biochem during the summer between first and second year and it helped a bit.

Goljan audio wasn't that useful for me... but could just be me. I did read RR path like 3x though (once or twice during the school year which was a pain but totally worth it), which was basically the same thing I guess. But RR path is money.

Personally I suggest NOT annotating that much-- if you have <2 months to do the plan you are gonna waste too much time. Read and highlight with a hilighter. Then go over the hi-lites later and hi lite with a different color if you still don't remember it. Much faster than rewriting every word.

Katzung Pharm is unnecessary. FA will cover most of the pharm, though I must say pharm is harder on the new exam. I suggest reading only the first couple chapters on pharmacokinetics/dynamics and using as a reference for drugs that you don't understand in FA You must know the CYP 450 inducers/repressors and the side effect section/antidote section in FA. Also I would review varenicline/that other smoking drug and their MOA. I got two questions on that and it wasn't in FA.

as always FA is essential for most of the subjects. I had 2 questions on the "stages of change" or whatever with precontemplation- contemplation action etc. I would review that... Its definitely not common sense.

The new exam (46 question) is MUCH more time pressure sensitive. I used to have 10-15 minutes to spare in UW, but on the actual test i had 2-3 minutes left at the end and couldn't really review marked questions 🙁 the passages are a lot longer, and there are almost no "1-liner" easy questions anymore. The question difficulty on my test was really hard too... It was harder than any of the practice tests/USMLE practice tests i took before.

 

[Ookluh]

I agree pretty closely with the above poster. I started off about 2.5-3 months out trying to do Taus method, then when it was 5-weeks out and I had only managed to read 90% of Goljan and nothing else, I realized it wasn't going to happen (I'm a pretty slow reader, and I also hadn't used RR at all during the school year).

I personally didn't find the Goljan audio that helpful (it was helpful, but I couldn't justify committing about 3-4 days worth of study time (I was putting in 12+ hour days) to listen to that stuff when I felt like I was getting much more out of World (which I didn't manage to finish). I did annotate into FA, but not a ton.. I basically used FA, BRS Phys, RR, and BRS Path (for Heme/Onc, Musculoskeletal/Skin, and Vascular, none of which had I managed to cover in RR) throughout.

Also agree about the time pressure - and I think this may be why the 99 level dropped a bit this year, because I know a lot of people who had significant score drops from their practice tests.. if I was a betting man, I would hazard it's because of the new longer-stemmed question format.

In the end, I had to modify my "modified" Taus so many times that I can't even count.. but a lot of that is related to the fact that I studied 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week for 5-weeks (and therefore had no buffer time built in for falling behind, which I should have done).. I also kept changing which resources I thought I would keep using based off how fast I was getting through other stuff (ie: I barely used HY Neuro or HY Behavioral at all because of time constraints, though I would have probably read each in full if I had another few days available).

Study smart, study hard, and don't just blindly follow anyone else's strategy.. use strategies that work to intelligently adjust them to your weaknesses and strengths.

 

[2012mdc]

I'll be starting 2nd year in a few months and I'm trying to gather all of the resources I'll be using for Step I preparation so I can go through them concurrently with classes. I would not be disappointed with a 240+, but I really want to score 260+... I'm a decent test taker so I think it could happen.



My total materials list would thus be:
FA 2010 (I already own this edition)
BRS Physiology
Goljan RR Pathology
Goljan Audio Lectures
HY Neuroanatomy
HY Cell and Molecular Biology (2nd ed.)
HY Behavioral Science
Lange Rev. of Medical Micro and Immuno (for Immuno)
Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
HY Gross Anatomy
HY Embryology
RR Biochemistry (Pelley/Goljan)
Deja Review Pharmacology


Any suggestions for additions, removals, or replacements of the above resources?

I don't think you need more than FA for Immuno or Pharm. Maybe my test was easy on those subjects so others might want to chime in but I felt that FA + UW is enough for Micro, Pharm, and Immuno. Also I don't think you need another book for Embryo. Embryo is only a few questions so the 20 pgs in FA should be more than enough.

IMO Anatomy (besides organ system path) is the weakest subject in FA. Good calls on the HY Anatomy and Neuroanatomy.

Another poster mentioned it but I'll repeat it - I don't know how useful HY Molec and Cell is now. FA has added more stuff and even the 1st ed of the book seemed a lil much and I felt like I wasted some time reading the whole thing instead of just weak areas

I'm not familiar with HY Behavioral but I really thought Fadem BRS Behavioral was good. I read it in full for the shelf exam but I used it as a reference book for when I was a little confused by FA or UW.

Besides some anatomy and the unavoidable few really weird questions I thought everything else on my test was in FA. Besides anatomy and neuro I wouldn't spend too much time outside of "FA+RR+UW" unless it's a quick look-up for understanding/clearing up a subject.

I would also recommend doing some Kaplan if you have time. I personally did not use it at all but in hindsight I think I may have gotten to used to/comfortable with UW and its question style and I should have mixed in another source....but I've heard Kaplan is **** so you may want to ask people who actually did it

 

[Cataract]

I'll be starting 2nd year in a few months and I'm trying to gather all of the resources I'll be using for Step I preparation so I can go through them concurrently with classes. I would not be disappointed with a 240+, but I really want to score 260+... I'm a decent test taker so I think it could happen.

That said, I will be hitting it hard all year and I want a comprehensive set of sources. I am considering NOT following the Taus schedule, but using all of the Taus sources plus:

(1) Deja Review Pharmacology
(2) HY Gross Anatomy
(3) HY Embryology

Also, I would be using the newer edition of HY Cell and Molecular Bio.


My total materials list would thus be:
FA 2010 (I already own this edition)
BRS Physiology
Goljan RR Pathology
Goljan Audio Lectures
HY Neuroanatomy
HY Cell and Molecular Biology (2nd ed.)
HY Behavioral Science
Lange Rev. of Medical Micro and Immuno (for Immuno)
Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
HY Gross Anatomy
HY Embryology
RR Biochemistry (Pelley/Goljan)
Deja Review Pharmacology

I also have 3 months of free access to Kaplan Q-bank that I might use, but I'm planning on plowing through USMLEWorld.

Any suggestions for additions, removals, or replacements of the above resources?

Seems like a good list. The new edition of HY Cell is huge though, and probably above and beyond what's needed. If you're weak in cell and molec, look into the 1999 edition. Yes, it overlaps with FA, but I thought it did a great job of explaining everything there is to know. If you know the subject pretty well, then FA might be enough.

I thought the Lange book for immuno was excellent, but probably more like a reference for your weaker areas on the the subject as you read FA.

 

[DdrumbumD]

Goljan + Uworld = good score. Seriously.

 

[shnuffles]

I just wanted to clarify something- during the first run through, is the idea is to actually read every review book front to back (as opposed to skipping to only the sections covered in first aid and reading these/filling in the details)? I assume that covering the material in its entirety is the idea/genius behind the method, but I'm concerned with getting caught up in the details during the first run through, when I know that I'm supposed to just be striving to get the big picture. I think I'm having trouble figuring out how to "study for understanding," while knowing that realistically only what I annotate into first aid is what I will eventually memorize. How do you decide what is important in this first run through (especially in the first subjects you go through when you're really unfamiliar with what the USMLE is like)? I've spent wayy to long on the first couple chapters in CMMRS, but am scared to skip anything that might turn out to be important!! I feel like it would be best to do the annotating during a second run; however, I know that there is no way I'll have time to read through every single review book cover-to-cover again...

Advice?

 

[IMGUSMLEStep1]

I just wanted to clarify something- during the first run through, is the idea is to actually read every review book front to back (as opposed to skipping to only the sections covered in first aid and reading these/filling in the details)? I assume that covering the material in its entirety is the idea/genius behind the method, but I'm concerned with getting caught up in the details during the first run through, when I know that I'm supposed to just be striving to get the big picture. I think I'm having trouble figuring out how to "study for understanding," while knowing that realistically only what I annotate into first aid is what I will eventually memorize. How do you decide what is important in this first run through (especially in the first subjects you go through when you're really unfamiliar with what the USMLE is like)? I've spent wayy to long on the first couple chapters in CMMRS, but am scared to skip anything that might turn out to be important!! I feel like it would be best to do the annotating during a second run; however, I know that there is no way I'll have time to read through every single review book cover-to-cover again...

Advice?

It probably depends on how much of a background you have in that particular subject. For example, Physiology was one of my strongest subjects, so I didn't need to go through my Phys review book cover to cover. On the other hand, biostatistics was my weakest subject so I decided to read High Yield Biostatistics cover to cover. Try to figure out what you can do (be realistic) in the time you have.

Let me just finish by pointing out that most of the USMLE questions you'll get are covered in First Aid, so don't worry.

 

[abby17]

hey 1st of Amazing forum. It has helped me realise breaking 99 barrier IS possible. kEPP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS!!!!
i got a pretty dumb question but its haunting me with my studies . well i am looking forward for step 1 down 8 months and i really want to score 250+ and i m ready to endure whatever it takes to get there. i m beforehand collecting material for it. so i happened to come across de TAUS METHOD,regarding which my question was -
1. what kind of annotations should i make . i mean like stuff dat is lacking in FA or explanatory stuff for de particular topic covered in FA.
also here are my resources which i am gonna dig -
>> RR Path AND audio lectures
>> FA
>>RR Biochem and Kaplan Biochem. pls. help me which one to go for?
>> CMMRS
>> BRS Physio
>>FA for Pharma. anything else better ??
>>HY Cell Bio and Molecular Genetics
>>HY Behavioral Science .
>>HY Neuro
>>UWorld
Is this worthy enuf to slay the beast .... Any help will be appreciated.

 

[americanpie]

Convert FA into One Notebook and fill info in while you are studying

 

[badasshairday]

I don't think you need more than FA for Immuno or Pharm. Maybe my test was easy on those subjects so others might want to chime in but I felt that FA + UW is enough for Micro, Pharm, and Immuno. Also I don't think you need another book for Embryo. Embryo is only a few questions so the 20 pgs in FA should be more than enough.

Another poster mentioned it but I'll repeat it - I don't know how useful HY Molec and Cell is now. FA has added more stuff and even the 1st ed of the book seemed a lil much and I felt like I wasted some time reading the whole thing instead of just weak areas

I completely agree with this assessment. FA micro is money. FA + RR immunopath section is golden for immuno. FA pharm is great too.

Embryo, I didn't even look at the embryo section AT ALL, until 2 days before my exam. FA + UWORLD is enough.

HY Cell and Molecular is unecessary, UWORLD + FA has it covered.

 

[Bacchus]

Who's doing this for boards this year? How should one study for OMM? Savarese? I have the updated study plan but it doesn't really talk about OMM.

 

[breezethrusd]

im also interested in knowing how to apply Taus for OMM.
Any other DO students use Taus?

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

Who's doing this for boards this year? How should one study for OMM? Savarese? I have the updated study plan but it doesn't really talk about OMM.

My school doesn't have a "set" review course so I'm going to attempt this method, starting in Dec/January for the annotating, and in late March/early April for actual review time. I'm not doing much over the Christmas holiday so I should have enough time to annotate from M1 and the first part of M2. The only thing my school requires is to have some sort of review "plan" that we turn in. Or something 😕

Can't help you with OMM though, sorry!

 

[p30doc]

Who's doing this for boards this year? How should one study for OMM? Savarese? I have the updated study plan but it doesn't really talk about OMM.

I'm going try to follow some yet to be determined Taus like plan. From what I heard/read the way to do it is take the COMLEX few days to one week after USMLE, and study Savarese in that time period. We've also been told OMM is 20% of the COMLEX by school faculty(I don't know if that is true), soo i'm not sure if just a few days is actually enough time to sufficiently cover it.

 

[Bacchus]

They tell us 20% as well.

 

[wolverine09]

how many times does one go through usmle world using the taus method? once or twice?

 

[SB100]

This may be a stupid question, but is the third pass the same as the last two weeks or are they two separate entities? I'm putting together my study schedule on a calendar right now and wanted to figure this out.

 

[Rollo]

This may be a stupid question, but is the third pass the same as the last two weeks or are they two separate entities? I'm putting together my study schedule on a calendar right now and wanted to figure this out.

They're two separate entities.