MedEssentials, FA, and Goljan Prep Plan; Is it enough?

3175 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Qussay, Jun 14, 2010

patelMD

Discussion Starter · Jun 14, 2010

Im planning to write the Step 1 in the next couple of months, i'll be giving myself about 3 - 4 months of time to prep (hopefully that's enough)

1. I've started using:

Kaplan MedEssentials
First Aid 2010
Goljan for Patho (Audio / Text)

Should I be using anything on top of this? I dont have the Kaplan videos / Notes (if anyone knows where I can get them?)

I've started all out cramming everything now, but I dont know whats going on.. I did some sample questions and just dont seem to be understanding the concepts there trying to pull out from the NBME questions. :toosad::toosad:

Anyone have suggestions / tips on how / what I should do to improve this? Like its hard to explain, but will knowing First Aid inside out help me at all? :toosad:

Thanks!

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khanar

· #2 · Jun 14, 2010

Don't overwhelm yourself

The "blasting" plan is not a good idea. You need to review subject by subject. Therefore I suggest you read Kaplan Lecture Notes.

Of course in the beginning you'll find yourself lost. Don't do NBME right now. Leave it when you finish the books.

I see no need to do both MedEssentials and FA. Do one of them and I think FA is better, see this poll
http://www.usmle-forums.com/best-usmle-step-1-books/1844-medessentials-vs-first-aid.html

So Kaplan notes + FA + Goljan + UW is the secret of getting 99. Do these then check your status by doing NBME.

Good luck

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patelMD

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 14, 2010

Qussay said:
The "blasting" plan is not a good idea. You need to review subject by subject. Therefore I suggest you read Kaplan Lecture Notes.

Of course in the beginning you'll find yourself lost. Don't do NBME right now. Leave it when you finish the books.

I see no need to do both MedEssentials and FA. Do one of them and I think FA is better, see this poll
http://www.usmle-forums.com/best-usmle-step-1-books/1844-medessentials-vs-first-aid.html

So Kaplan notes + FA + Goljan + UW is the secret of getting 99. Do these then check your status by doing NBME.

Good luck

Thanks for your assistance

How can I go about getting Kaplan notes? Are they only available by doing the course, or do they have pdfs?

And is my time frame sufficient?

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khanar

· #4 · Jun 14, 2010

Ahh... here's my answer

patelMD said:
Thanks for your assistance

How can I go about getting Kaplan notes? Are they only available by doing the course, or do they have pdfs?

And is my time frame sufficient?

The PDF versions is available with a member here, her name is antanaRK go and send her a PM maybe she'll send you the PDF files for free.
Or search in ebay and find a cheap price
Or Go to this poll
http://www.usmle-forums.com/best-usmle-step-1-books/186-best-usmle-step-1-review-books.html
Click on the Kaplan notes there and it will take to Amazon page where people are selling the latest edition (you can choose PDF for around $30 or the actual brand new books for around $300).

As for the time frame, I think it's enough if you skip watching the videos and you skip the medessentials.
See this poll also
http://www.usmle-forums.com/usmle-step-1-forum/2453-how-long-takes.html

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patelMD

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 14, 2010

Qussay said:
The PDF versions is available with a member here, her name is antanaRK go and send her a PM maybe she'll send you the PDF files for free.
Or search in ebay and find a cheap price
Or Go to this poll
http://www.usmle-forums.com/best-usmle-step-1-books/186-best-usmle-step-1-review-books.html
Click on the Kaplan notes there and it will take to Amazon page where people are selling the latest edition (you can choose PDF for around $30 or the actual brand new books for around $300).

As for the time frame, I think it's enough if you skip watching the videos and you skip the medessentials.
See this poll also
http://www.usmle-forums.com/usmle-step-1-forum/2453-how-long-takes.html

Well i'm hoping to get something in the mid 90's minimum, the more the better (obv?).. so I mean I can either spend more time on it (hard work) or work smart and only study the stuff that'll get me a 90 guaranteed. :notsure:

From your post, I think you like FA better then Med Essentials (tbh, i've been reading it.. and its the same anyways).. So i guess i'll just start w/ Goljan and FA and then slowly add the Kaplan notes to supplement.

Oh and also, should I be reading goljan notes independently, or supplement the FA (while i'm reading that section) ??

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khanar

· #6 · Jun 14, 2010

Yeah why not

patelMD said:
Oh and also, should I be reading goljan notes independently, or supplement the FA (while i'm reading that section) ??

Well, if you have the time then why not, add your notes. I think you add Goljan notes to FA is better than the reverse.

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