- Joined
- Apr 8, 2013
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Wanted to give you guys an update on P.A.S.S(pass) program. I noticed an older post on her about Pass from 2012 thought I should add my 2 cents to this. I went to a Caribbean medical school, I completed Pass program about a month back in order to study for the NMBE comp exam. My course offered a Kaplan program which I completed as well.
-P.A.S.S is 6 week lecture based course that teaches u the fundamentals for the USMLE. If you don't know anything and/or you have never taken a step 1 study course pass will help you immensely. The course usually has lectures from 8 a.m to 4 p.m you will have tutoring sessions(1 hours) 2-3 times a week where a tutor sits down with you and discusses a specific topic with you and does questions with you to make sure you are on track, In the morning as a class Dr. Francis will also go through 10 questions as a class to show you how to approach questions. The questions will usually come from UWORLD or Kaplan. You will take 2 NBME comps one at the beginning and one at the 4 weeks mark to see how your score is improving in between that time.
Positives
-So let me tell you the good things first. The main professor who teaches it Dr. Francis is one of the most knowledgeable doctors I have ever met. He will teach you the basics of physiology and biochemistry making sure you got the fundamentals down so if you get to a question you can't answer you can refer back to his strategies.
-People who choose pass over kaplan will tell you the one huge strength to pass program is it doesn't bog you down with the low yield information like kaplan does. It focuses on the larger themes and makes sure you understand those. Not saying that Kaplan doesn't have it's advantages too, obviously Kaplan gives u an excellent foundation but I would say if you had to choose one over the other Pass had this huge advantage.
-When your over there my main advice is to listen to Dr. Francis' strategies and don't worry too much about the information. Your paying for those strategies he tells you in class not the information, that is what F.A is for.
- Make sure to follow his strategy for answering questions it will definitely help you increase your score.
-Some people asked me about the online course I know pass is expensive but if you are going to commit to the program you I highly recommend you go to the live lecture because he will give u the most up to date information on what is the most commonly tested and will also drill you in class in the material to make sure you are paying attention and keeping up with the course.
-The tutors who you get sessions with will also do 10 minute sessions with you to make sure your studying is on track and you are completed the allotted amount of work in the right time.
-The previous person who posted mentioned about living situation being bad to be honest it was never an issue for me. If you opt for housing they will most likely put you at the village which has a bus that travels back and forth between the pass campus and the apartment you are living in. The location is about 30 minutes away which is a hassle cause you can't walk you have to take the bus and the bus has a weird schedule It only comes 3-4 times a day, not a deal breaker but something to keep in mind.
-The apartment itself was very well maintained the heater runs throughout the day so you won't feel cold or anything and it is included in your cost of living. Washer and dryer and bed sheets and pillow are also all provided.
-Walmart is within walking distance. We would usually walk to Walmart and take an Uber back which costs about 5 dollars. Unfortunately there are not many restaurant available near by you can order delivery from I would mostly cook on the weekends and weekdays have lunch near the pass program which did have some decent restaurants nearby.
Negatives
-So Dr. Francis is a great professor but unfortunately he doesn't teach the entire course you will have another teacher Dr. Lee Pava and she will teach the majority of the systems after the basics are complete. Dr. Lee is a hit-or-miss I personally found her difficult to follow but some students really liked her. I just wished that Dr. Francis just taught the entire course unfortunately he doesn't.
-Another negative in my opinion is a small portion of the class is Step 2 material i.e patient management. Although some would argue it is important to know this stuff as a student studying for step 1 I felt like I was going through an information overload, much of the information was things I hadn't seen before. The Caribbean school I went to did not cover many of the topics I was expected to know which was very frustrating. Dr. Lee Pava is also imo better for Step 2-3 she teaches those topics well.
-The tutoring sessions were also hit or miss some tutors really helped you to understand the concepts the others you could tell were just looking for work on the side. If you are there for the first 6 weeks you will not be able to choose your tutors and you will definitely get some sessions that will be a waste of time. Most of the tutors are not M.D's they are medical students who just passed the exam they are helping you study for. Most have not completed Step 3 and some have not even completed Step 2. I'm not sure why the website says M.D tutors that is a bit misleading. I'm not saying that it was useless don't get me wrong some definitely explained the concepts really well but in the end it us your luck based on what tutors you get.
-The book is ok... Pass focus a lot on making sure you know there book well and are convinced the majority of the question(90%) will come from there information I can tell you for a fact this is simply not true first aid has a lot of information that the pass book does not cover. This doesn't mean pass is not good it is still an excellent class and the book will greatly help compliment your studies/lectures especially when you need to get the foundations straight but for the nitty gritty information and facts you will still eventually have to resort to first aid.
-Kiss Pharm is not useful. Do not do it, it is missing many key points. For pharm and micro you should do sketchy micro and pharm it will be much more helpful and a much better use of your time.
-I think my biggest gripe with pass program was honestly the cost. The course costs over 7000 dollars for 8 weeks including housing and to be honest the only thing you are paying for is Dr. Francis everything else is really background noise. The tutoring sessions and Dr. Lee Pava was really not that useful for me and unfortunately she teaches many of the systems which are the most high yield material. So I had to resort to first aid for that I know medicine by default is a for profit based system and there is really nothing we as medical students can do to change that but I was disappointed at the services I reserved for paying 7k. I wished at the very least Dr. Francis could have taught us the entire course.
My final thoughts and My experience
Studying for the USMLE is a long process and is vital for you to get a good residency. So take it seriously. Pass is a great course if you have just started studying and you need help building your foundation. The strategies that Dr. Francis teaches you will stay with you for life and you will keep coming back to them so take the time you need and learn them properly. However once you have this foundation down move on. Pass tutors will encourage you to keep going through there book I would disagree with them on this. Going through the book fully twice is enough for you to get the fundamentals straight. In order to fill in the gaps and get all the facts straight you will have to go back and do the tried and true Uworld,FA, Pathoma. If you have any other questions you are welcome to send me a private message sorry about any typos or grammer issues I might have made I wrote this review quickly but I still hope it is helpful. Good luck to you!
-P.A.S.S is 6 week lecture based course that teaches u the fundamentals for the USMLE. If you don't know anything and/or you have never taken a step 1 study course pass will help you immensely. The course usually has lectures from 8 a.m to 4 p.m you will have tutoring sessions(1 hours) 2-3 times a week where a tutor sits down with you and discusses a specific topic with you and does questions with you to make sure you are on track, In the morning as a class Dr. Francis will also go through 10 questions as a class to show you how to approach questions. The questions will usually come from UWORLD or Kaplan. You will take 2 NBME comps one at the beginning and one at the 4 weeks mark to see how your score is improving in between that time.
Positives
-So let me tell you the good things first. The main professor who teaches it Dr. Francis is one of the most knowledgeable doctors I have ever met. He will teach you the basics of physiology and biochemistry making sure you got the fundamentals down so if you get to a question you can't answer you can refer back to his strategies.
-People who choose pass over kaplan will tell you the one huge strength to pass program is it doesn't bog you down with the low yield information like kaplan does. It focuses on the larger themes and makes sure you understand those. Not saying that Kaplan doesn't have it's advantages too, obviously Kaplan gives u an excellent foundation but I would say if you had to choose one over the other Pass had this huge advantage.
-When your over there my main advice is to listen to Dr. Francis' strategies and don't worry too much about the information. Your paying for those strategies he tells you in class not the information, that is what F.A is for.
- Make sure to follow his strategy for answering questions it will definitely help you increase your score.
-Some people asked me about the online course I know pass is expensive but if you are going to commit to the program you I highly recommend you go to the live lecture because he will give u the most up to date information on what is the most commonly tested and will also drill you in class in the material to make sure you are paying attention and keeping up with the course.
-The tutors who you get sessions with will also do 10 minute sessions with you to make sure your studying is on track and you are completed the allotted amount of work in the right time.
-The previous person who posted mentioned about living situation being bad to be honest it was never an issue for me. If you opt for housing they will most likely put you at the village which has a bus that travels back and forth between the pass campus and the apartment you are living in. The location is about 30 minutes away which is a hassle cause you can't walk you have to take the bus and the bus has a weird schedule It only comes 3-4 times a day, not a deal breaker but something to keep in mind.
-The apartment itself was very well maintained the heater runs throughout the day so you won't feel cold or anything and it is included in your cost of living. Washer and dryer and bed sheets and pillow are also all provided.
-Walmart is within walking distance. We would usually walk to Walmart and take an Uber back which costs about 5 dollars. Unfortunately there are not many restaurant available near by you can order delivery from I would mostly cook on the weekends and weekdays have lunch near the pass program which did have some decent restaurants nearby.
Negatives
-So Dr. Francis is a great professor but unfortunately he doesn't teach the entire course you will have another teacher Dr. Lee Pava and she will teach the majority of the systems after the basics are complete. Dr. Lee is a hit-or-miss I personally found her difficult to follow but some students really liked her. I just wished that Dr. Francis just taught the entire course unfortunately he doesn't.
-Another negative in my opinion is a small portion of the class is Step 2 material i.e patient management. Although some would argue it is important to know this stuff as a student studying for step 1 I felt like I was going through an information overload, much of the information was things I hadn't seen before. The Caribbean school I went to did not cover many of the topics I was expected to know which was very frustrating. Dr. Lee Pava is also imo better for Step 2-3 she teaches those topics well.
-The tutoring sessions were also hit or miss some tutors really helped you to understand the concepts the others you could tell were just looking for work on the side. If you are there for the first 6 weeks you will not be able to choose your tutors and you will definitely get some sessions that will be a waste of time. Most of the tutors are not M.D's they are medical students who just passed the exam they are helping you study for. Most have not completed Step 3 and some have not even completed Step 2. I'm not sure why the website says M.D tutors that is a bit misleading. I'm not saying that it was useless don't get me wrong some definitely explained the concepts really well but in the end it us your luck based on what tutors you get.
-The book is ok... Pass focus a lot on making sure you know there book well and are convinced the majority of the question(90%) will come from there information I can tell you for a fact this is simply not true first aid has a lot of information that the pass book does not cover. This doesn't mean pass is not good it is still an excellent class and the book will greatly help compliment your studies/lectures especially when you need to get the foundations straight but for the nitty gritty information and facts you will still eventually have to resort to first aid.
-Kiss Pharm is not useful. Do not do it, it is missing many key points. For pharm and micro you should do sketchy micro and pharm it will be much more helpful and a much better use of your time.
-I think my biggest gripe with pass program was honestly the cost. The course costs over 7000 dollars for 8 weeks including housing and to be honest the only thing you are paying for is Dr. Francis everything else is really background noise. The tutoring sessions and Dr. Lee Pava was really not that useful for me and unfortunately she teaches many of the systems which are the most high yield material. So I had to resort to first aid for that I know medicine by default is a for profit based system and there is really nothing we as medical students can do to change that but I was disappointed at the services I reserved for paying 7k. I wished at the very least Dr. Francis could have taught us the entire course.
My final thoughts and My experience
Studying for the USMLE is a long process and is vital for you to get a good residency. So take it seriously. Pass is a great course if you have just started studying and you need help building your foundation. The strategies that Dr. Francis teaches you will stay with you for life and you will keep coming back to them so take the time you need and learn them properly. However once you have this foundation down move on. Pass tutors will encourage you to keep going through there book I would disagree with them on this. Going through the book fully twice is enough for you to get the fundamentals straight. In order to fill in the gaps and get all the facts straight you will have to go back and do the tried and true Uworld,FA, Pathoma. If you have any other questions you are welcome to send me a private message sorry about any typos or grammer issues I might have made I wrote this review quickly but I still hope it is helpful. Good luck to you!
