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Kaplan lecture notes 2014-2015

12K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  svss 
#1 ·
Hey guys,


Again with some questions...

I am getting started with Step 1 preparation this December and I am already starting to buy the resources I will be using. I bought FA 14 and I am already using it. I understand it is always better to buy the next years Fa as well, since they probably fixed some errata, and it is probably a better resource. I dont mind spending the 50 bucks because its just 50 bucks and the book is TOTALLY worth it but, Should I do the same for kaplan lecture notes?

I dont want to buy the 2014-2015 kaplan lecture notes and end up having to buy new ones over the summer because these are much more expensive...

What do you guys recommend? Do you guys know when kaplan comes out with the 2015-2016 set of lecture notes? Will there be a lot of difference If I use my original set of Kaplan notes?

Appreciate all the imput I can get,

DR. D
 
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#2 ·
I am actually searching for an answer for the same question , as right now i just began preparation for the test. if you can please let me know if you got an answer for that , this will be appreciated as i have 2012 notes and i am not sure if i should get 2014 or there will be 2015 ones soon. by the way i need a study partner if you know someone thanks. i am begining with physiology
 
#3 ·
Buy the new FA edition to whatever year is new if you haven't already annotated your FA previously so that would be FA 2015 now.

Kaplan notes DO NOT change over the years. I have copies from 2001, 2010 and 2014. Nothing changed other than the cover of the book with new pictures and gloss and the quality of the paper used. Material is the same and word for word no difference. I made that mistake thinking new year would mean new material but was mistaken.

So save that money and spend it on question banks and nbme forms.

hope that helps
 
#8 · (Edited)
Your observations about kaplan notes are not correct

Buy the new FA edition to whatever year is new if you haven't already annotated your FA previously so that would be FA 2015 now.

Kaplan notes DO NOT change over the years. I have copies from 2001, 2010 and 2014. Nothing changed other than the cover of the book with new pictures and gloss and the quality of the paper used. Material is the same and word for word no difference. I made that mistake thinking new year would mean new material but was mistaken.

So save that money and spend it on question banks and nbme forms.

hope that helps
Your statement about changes in Kaplan notes over the years from 2001 to 2014 is completely wrong . In the end you wrote " Hope that helps " . No , it doesn't help but actually misleads others specially when you use words like " Nothing changed ..... material is same word for word no difference " . Fortunately I have some old editions as well as the new 2014 edition of Kaplan step 2 CK notes and I can show you and everyone important differences in more than 100 topics between Kaplan Step 2 ck notes 2002 and kaplan step 2 ck notes 2014. I am not talking about small insignificant differences but am talking about obvious differences in the actual text with a whole difference in meanings and practical applications on patient care. It is hard to write all those differences here but I will certainly give you an example to draw your attention to what you said is misleading.
Check the topic " Peptic Ulcer" in Gastroenterology section in " Kaplan step 2 CK notes 2002" and compare it with 2014 edition.
The 2002 edition says ( am quoting exact text ) " Other common causes include ethanol ( alcohol is directly toxic to GI mucosa and has lipolytic activity " The 2014 edition says " Tobacco , Alcohol and the use of Steroids by themselves do not cause Ulcer disease. Tobacco and alcohol use can delay healing and are associated with the deveeloment of gastritis but they do not cause ulcers" In 2002 edition there is a table comparing differences between duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer . In 2014 there is no such table showing direct comparison. In 2002 the diagnosis section has only four lines text . In 2014 the diagnosis section is about 22 lines and explained in detail instead of just just mentioning tests . In "Treatment section" of 2002 edition , there is a four lines text explanation about H2 -receptor antagonists ( Famotidne, ranitidine,nizatidine ) and an other separate 3 lines text about Cimetidine alone . In the "treatment section" of 2014 edition , you won't find any name of the H2-receptor antagonists , neither as a class nor as individual names of these drugs. Similarly 2002 edition mentions Antacids in treatment while 2014 edition doesn't mention any such thing. In the same treatment section , 2002 edition has not given any indications for surgery for Peptic Ulcer , while 2014 edition has given four indications for surgery in Peptic ulcer. ...................................... I just pointed the differences in just one topic and that too without going into all the details otherwise the difference is huge and obvious e.g in the size , sentences , material , explanation and meanings as well as effects on practice of medicine .
The next topic in 2002 edition is Zollinger Syndrome . I compared it with 2014 and the difference is obvious .
If you compare the chapters on preventive medicine ie Screening tests and Vaccine recommendations between 2014 and some old editions , the differences are obvious. If you don't update your knowledge you will not know that Influenza vaccine is recommended for all adults ( previously above age 50 ) and also in children greater than 6 months , Pap smear starts at age 21 ( previously at onset of sexual activity or age 18 whichever earlier ) , Colonoscopy at age 50 every 5 yrs ( while 2002 edition says sigmoidoscopy ) , Digital rectal exam not recommended as screening method ( while recommended yearly in 2002 edition ) , Hepatitis B vaccine is routine for all children and also recommended in specific cases in adults ( previous editions have different recommendations e.g all adolescents , but not all children ) .
In short , I wrote all this to point out that our input and statements affect other forum user's decisions specially those about selection of books and courses etc and we should avoid posting wrong information or any stuff we are not sure about. Distorting factual data is not the same thing as giving personal opinion or sharing personal experience .
 
#4 ·
to Drjaymd

actually i have 2007, 2012 notes i never compared them. but when i looked at the first chapters in physiology in the 2014 notes it is different from the 2012 how they represent the information it is done in a way to be clinical oriented more and it goes with the 2014 videos too . so i ended up buying the new 2014. hopefully 2015 doesnt come soon. i just begain studying step 1 and i need a partner if u know someone , thanks
 
#9 ·
2014 videos?

actually i have 2007, 2012 notes i never compared them. but when i looked at the first chapters in physiology in the 2014 notes it is different from the 2012 how they represent the information it is done in a way to be clinical oriented more and it goes with the 2014 videos too . so i ended up buying the new 2014. hopefully 2015 doesnt come soon. i just begain studying step 1 and i need a partner if u know someone , thanks
Can you please tell us how did you get 2014 videos? the only ones I could find are the center prep videos that go with the lecture notes but these are the same since 2010. Is there new set of videos for 2014? does it have same instructors like Dr. Conrad Fischer?

Thanks
 
#5 ·
My mistake then Dr.Ola

I should have looked at my books more thoroughly.

go with what works for you. If you think 2015 kaplan is good to buy when it comes out, purchase them.

Try to find someone to study with in your area where you live so you can both go to library together.
 
#11 ·
kaplan lecture notes

I am an Indian, doing my internship, I will be writing the exam in feb 2016. I have 2011 edition kaplan lecture notes and videos. Should I buy the new lecture notes of kaplan or can I use the same 2011 notes??? I have already wasted quite a lot of money by joining kaplan in 2011..Please help me out guys...
 
#12 ·
I am an Indian, doing my internship, I will be writing the exam in feb 2016. I have 2011 edition kaplan lecture notes and videos. Should I buy the new lecture notes of kaplan or can I use the same 2011 notes??? I have already wasted quite a lot of money by joining kaplan in 2011..Please help me out guys...
Dont get new notes there is actually very little change between the 2011 version and 2014 as far as I know, I personally have 2012 version and I use them flawlessly with kaplan 2010 videos...so it will be a waste of money if you are asking...

Btw I am also an Indian and will be giving Step1 during that time around
 
#17 ·
There is quite a bit difference in the Physiology book of KLN between 2013 & 2015 versions. I have both. Was doing 2013 version initially but when 2015 started and I heard about the differences I bought this one and I'm glad that I did. This book (2015) is better organized with a few new stuff that I like.
Dont know about the other subjects.
 
#19 ·
I have the older version I bought in January 2014, light blue book (I believe that's 2013 edition) which doesn't mention NMDA receptor in the first chapter of the section of excitable tissues.
The latest version I have, purple ones, 2015 edition, does mention NMDA receptor in the first chapter of the section "excitable tissue".
The organizations of most of the chapters are different in both the books.

Anyway, at the end of the day the point is, if you haven't really started the prep yet and have no financial issues then better to go with the latest editions. Maybe 1-2 year old editions do not make a difference. Maybe 3-4 year old editions do. There are no cut offs. It's totally ones choice. If you're not willing to spend money on this or have a limited budget, maybe even 3-4 year old edition is fine.
For example, I plan to take the exam in early 2016, so although I did have the light blue books (2013 edition), I still opted to buy 2015 edition books when I started studying properly this year. For me, 1 year old edition was good enough, but 2-3 years old was not.
So it really depends on ones comfort level I think.
 
#21 · (Edited)
The best way to avoid receiving wrong edition of kaplan books during online shopping ( Ebay , Amazon etc ) is to ask the seller to look at the first page of the book which will have the year of edition written in the form of copyright@________ Kaplan Inc. e.g Copyright@2007 Kaplan Inc. Copyright@2010 Kaplan Inc. Copyright@2014 Kaplan Inc. etc . Some sellers provide pictures of many pages including the first page ( i.e copyright page, Lol ) .
 
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