Pathoma

[dude1344]

Anyone use this and have any opinions? Dr. Sattar has been frequenting many schools recently and talking up his book. Does this add anything that can't be found in Goljan or FA?

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[DIMC]

just ordered this and started on it today. Did chapter 4, loved it, watched the video and annotated as i went along. went to watch video for chapter 5 and its running like garbage. download cant keep up with the video, so its having to stop every 10 seconds.... basically making it unusable. if i pop over to youtube I'm instantly downloading at 500kbps and videos run great, so the problem seems to be their servers. not to mention when i first started the video, it just hang for about 5 minutes and then started at a slow speed, making me feel like their servers are having trouble.

anyone else had any trouble with the servers? and is this a common problem? is it something on my end? 3 months till step 1 and i cant really afford to waste time with technical problems like this.

Edit: Their servers did crash. Ran like garbage for a few hours and then they switched to back up server. But you cant speed up the lectures with the backup server, so a 85 minute lecture turns into a 120 minute lecture. This is my first day every using this, pretty scary that it failed.

unfortunately, the knee jerk reaction by companies trying to protect their products from pirates means a worse user experience. Instead of being able to download the lectures and watch them at my convenience, I'm reliant on their seemingly unreliable servers.

I've had Pathoma for about two months now and havent had any technical issues. It was probably a rare glitch. If you message the support center from your user dashboard they are pretty quick to reply and fix things.

 

[buccsmf1]

I've had Pathoma for about two months now and havent had any technical issues. It was probably a rare glitch. If you message the support center from your user dashboard they are pretty quick to reply and fix things.

they were quick to respond and I'm glad to hear that this was probably just an isolated problem. eventually finished a few of the chapters i wanted to and scored higher in the corresponding USMLEworlds than I ever had before. It's safe to say that I'm in love with this book.

 

[human being]

I was thinking about annotating outside sources into FA but realized it was to time consuming and cumbersome. I'm only doing it for uworld now and going to just keep pathoma separate. I suppose one could put FA in a binder and cut the pathoma binding and add the relevant sections to each system.

Yeah I do pathoma and annotate FA. Pathoma is excellent. I feel cheated by my school's pathology department they are not half as good as Pathoma. I believe pathoma is going to change the USMLE scale for step 1 in the pathology section if everyone gets on board.

 

[1badvette]

I always joke around my friends and say " Goljan WHO ??" lol ... Pathoma is the best thing i have ever done , i was an avg student that almost failed pathology in med school .. took step1 a month ago and a ended up with above avg in path with star on the performance scale .

 

[human being]

I always joke around my friends and say " Goljan WHO ??" lol ... Pathoma is the best thing i have ever done , i was an avg student that almost failed pathology in med school .. took step1 a month ago and a ended up with above avg in path with star on the performance scale .

Congrats..did pathoma cover everything you needed to know for pathology?

 

[1badvette]

Yes , i got happy everytime a path Q would pop up on my screen during the exam .. lol

 

[terp89]

would any more of you guys who have already taken step 1 and have mainly used pathoma for pathology/pathophysiology review mind sharing your scores?

i know pathoma is relatively new (especially compared to Goljan Rapid Review) but not many people have posted how they have done on the actual test after using it

 

[Untraditional]

Been using Pathoma for a while now and honestly I have left it behind for Goljan. The Goljan book is way better than Pathoma for going in depth. I recommend the first three chapters or so of Pathoma and maybe using it as an adjunct to you pathology course. When you get into board studying you can't beat the Goljan book + FA with some Robbins for whatever those first two aren't covering.

I will note that the last half of Pathoma seemed rather rushed, like he was just trying to get it out there. The opening material is much more high yield and put together, especially when he's on the white board.

If you are looking to spend some money Pathoma is a better investment that Gunner Training. Goljian isn't useful if you don't already have a good foundation.

 

[2816]

I'm a first year and wondering whether pathoma is worth getting a subscription to this year (1 year or 21 month sub) or wait until next year board study time?
I tried using Goljian (it came highly recommended by second years) but it seems a bit dense for a beginner like me and references material I haven't learned yet!
Is pathoma a short hand board review tool or useful as you learn the material for the first time (my path teacher SUCKS!)??
I'm considering supplementing Pathoma with First Aid...

 

[Untraditional]

I'm a first year and wondering whether pathoma is worth getting a subscription to this year (1 year or 21 month sub) or wait until next year board study time?
I tried using Goljian (it came highly recommended by second years) but it seems a bit dense for a beginner like me and references material I haven't learned yet!
Is pathoma a short hand board review tool or useful as you learn the material for the first time (my path teacher SUCKS!)??
I'm considering supplementing Pathoma with First Aid...

Pathoma and Robbins during your path courses with Goljian for topics that have extra emphasis.

For board study all Golijan materials directed by First Aid with Robbins for anything you find confusing or neglected by Goljian.

If you have limited cash Goljian, Robbins (most schools offer it online but having the actual book makes it much easier to use) and Pathoma in that order.

Like I said, Goljian is going to be useless for anyone that hasn't had path lectures. Its a side, not the entree. (But it is a damn good side!)

My opinion, anyway.

 

[primadonna22274]

I'm using it with systems as a first-year. I bought the 18-mo subscription to take me all the way through step 1. I use it to review before a systems exam and I really like it. It isn't complete but a very good supplement. Our path teacher also leaves much to be desired and I really like the way Dr Sattar crystallizes the need-to-know stuff. I use Goljan audio and rapid review also and I read Big Robbins and still miss a few things, but I suspect I miss much less than my classmates who are only going by our prof's slides. I am also a PA and a path geek, and have recommended Pathoma to PA students and colleagues who want a deeper understanding.
QUOTE=2816;12198593]I'm a first year and wondering whether pathoma is worth getting a subscription to this year (1 year or 21 month sub) or wait until next year board study time?
I tried using Goljian (it came highly recommended by second years) but it seems a bit dense for a beginner like me and references material I haven't learned yet!
Is pathoma a short hand board review tool or useful as you learn the material for the first time (my path teacher SUCKS!)??
I'm considering supplementing Pathoma with First Aid...[/QUOTE]

 

[DIMC]

I'm a first year and wondering whether pathoma is worth getting a subscription to this year (1 year or 21 month sub) or wait until next year board study time?
I tried using Goljian (it came highly recommended by second years) but it seems a bit dense for a beginner like me and references material I haven't learned yet!
Is pathoma a short hand board review tool or useful as you learn the material for the first time (my path teacher SUCKS!)??
I'm considering supplementing Pathoma with First Aid...

Yeah, definitely worth it. I wish I had done that.

 

[iheartmints]

I'm a first year and wondering whether pathoma is worth getting a subscription to this year (1 year or 21 month sub) or wait until next year board study time?
I tried using Goljian (it came highly recommended by second years) but it seems a bit dense for a beginner like me and references material I haven't learned yet!
Is pathoma a short hand board review tool or useful as you learn the material for the first time (my path teacher SUCKS!)??
I'm considering supplementing Pathoma with First Aid...

Those second years never heard of Pathoma because it was just coming into existence so when you're faced with the daunting choice of Robbins vs Goljan, most will pick Goljan. Like other people have said, Goljan is designed as a REVIEW book, after you have gone through not just some pathology but also some microbiology and pharmacology and physiology. If you want to actually learn the material from almost scratch, with primarily the high yield information highlighted, go with Pathoma (which also integrates the other subjects because that's just the nature of pathology, but Pathoma does not assume you're fluent w/ the other subjects so he teaches it to you unlike Goljan who just throws it out there in an outline list). When to get Pathoma depends on your school. If it's systems based, obviously get it now and if not, then get it next year

 

[RedSoxSuck]

Those second years never heard of Pathoma because it was just coming into existence so when you're faced with the daunting choice of Robbins vs Goljan, most will pick Goljan. Like other people have said, Goljan is designed as a REVIEW book, after you have gone through not just some pathology but also some microbiology and pharmacology and physiology. If you want to actually learn the material from almost scratch, with primarily the high yield information highlighted, go with Pathoma (which also integrates the other subjects because that's just the nature of pathology, but Pathoma does not assume you're fluent w/ the other subjects so he teaches it to you unlike Goljan who just throws it out there in an outline list). When to get Pathoma depends on your school. If it's systems based, obviously get it now and if not, then get it next year

So i have caved in and start using Pathoma. I must say i am a BELIEVER!!!!!!

 

[DocInTrainin10]

Would you guys recommend buying pathoma? I have DIT already and have been doing the weekly Q's and first aid (no where near done with it). In May after classes end I will start the video lecture portion of DIT so I was wondering if I should do Pathoma along with first aid before I start the DIT course in May? I have the Goljan book and I have been using it on and off. I'm scheduled to take the big test in June.

 

[alternatego]

Ok, just in case anyone is interested

I use Pathoma the following way:
1. I start studying a systems section in FA, reading the Anatomy and Physio subsections (I also use BRS Physio to supplement). Once I reach the Path subsection, I stop.
2. I read the corresponding chapter in Pathoma, and then listen to the lecture, annotating into the Pathoma book.
3. I go back to FA and finish studying the rest of the section (Path+Pharm).
4. I study RR's corresponding chapters.

It takes me a lot of time, but keep in mind all I'm doing is to study for the exam.

 

[beachmd]

Does anyone have the pathoma book for sale. I was trying to buy it separate but they won't do it.

 

[alternatego]

beachmd, the book without the lectures is pretty useless, trust me - they complement each other perfectly

 

[dukejen04]

Would you guys recommend buying pathoma? I have DIT already and have been doing the weekly Q's and first aid (no where near done with it). In May after classes end I will start the video lecture portion of DIT so I was wondering if I should do Pathoma along with first aid before I start the DIT course in May? I have the Goljan book and I have been using it on and off. I'm scheduled to take the big test in June.

Pathoma- the best $100 you will ever spend. It is concise, and memorable, and not too heavy. Don't think twice, slap down a hundred bucks and give yourself a gift.

 

[dukejen04]

beachmd, the book without the lectures is pretty useless, trust me - they complement each other perfectly

totally agree with alternatego- don't be a cheap ass, beachmd! it is $100, you will trash that much cash on food in a week, but this will be much better spent.

and this is coming from the queen of not paying for stuff. buy it, you'll be glad. the lectures are golden. love the little drawings the guy does.

and for the record- i did pathoma along with 2nd year and it was an awesome foundation. i'm now doing DIT, will finish it in the next few days and spend my last month re-doing pathoma with Uworld as a second pass.

LOVE pathoma.

 

[jatt12]

I totally agree that pathoma is excellent source, but there i still think RR has far more better explanation for certain chapters, to name few Cardio, water and electrolytes, GI. I use RR first and then switch to pathoma to seal any gaps (which there are hardly any). My goal is 250+, and i don't think pathoma alone is sufficient for pathology for someone who is seeking higher 240's.

 

[alternatego]

jatt12, I agree with you, Pathoma is definitely not enough for achieving a high score, as it lacks details that RR does have.

I find it curious you do RR first and THEN Pathoma, I use it the other way around, Pathoma to get a conceptual grasp of the subject and then RR to fill into the details.

 

[secants]

Pathoma makes RR soo much more bearable to go through.

 

[JasonE]

cant say that pathoma doesnt have enough details. i use both RR and pathoma, and find pathoma to have most of the important details while RR has more details but a lot more fluff. many times pathoma does a better job than RR (example, WBC chapter).

 

[jatt12]

Alternatego, lol I meant to write pathoma first and then RR

 

[jatt12]

cant say that pathoma doesnt have enough details. i use both RR and pathoma, and find pathoma to have most of the important details while RR has more details but a lot more fluff. many times pathoma does a better job than RR (example, WBC chapter).

I disagree pathoma is like first aid for pathology, book has all the material you need to know but still not enough to understand pathology and pathophysio. Now I am not saying pathoma is not good for step1 prep,all I am saying is if someone is using just pathoma for pathology then it is not enough.

 

[the god]

Hey all,
I'm an IMG, just started with Pathoma... how fast can I finish it ..... I'm looking @ 1 week along with the Kaplan 2007 Path videos (not pirated am enrolled for CenterPrep & I requested for the old cds). 4 days Pathoma & 3 days Kaplan.

 

[djquickfingers]

depends on how many videos you can do a day. 4 days may be pushing it..I'd say a week tops, in order to get the most out of it, and that's doing it at 1.7x speed....but everyone is different

 

[dukejen04]

Agree- I watched at 1.7x (after I'd done the relevant First Aid chapter) and doing a whole block, with annotating into the book, took me 4-5 hours per block. I imagine it would be a hefty 4 days. But you could always just prioritize what you choose to study. Do inflammation, kidney, etc first?

Good luck!

 

[LaCasta]

Agree- I watched at 1.7x (after I'd done the relevant First Aid chapter) and doing a whole block, with annotating into the book, took me 4-5 hours per block. I imagine it would be a hefty 4 days. But you could always just prioritize what you choose to study. Do inflammation, kidney, etc first?

Good luck!

4-5 hrs seems pretty long considering the longest chapter in pathoma is about 2 and 1/2 hrs on normal speed. Are you looking things up? I'm just asking cause I am wondering if I am going too fast through the vids

 

[dukejen04]

Yeah- first pass is always a little slower I guess. Pausing, writing things down in my pathoma book, looking things up if necessary, making any pertinent annotations in First Aid. Second pass is much faster, so if you've already done some good preliminary work and none of this is new, it should move faster than that.

But yeah, I was probably pausing it every minute or so to make sure I didn't miss anything, that will slow things down.

 

[shaiboy]

Has anybody replaced all of the pathology sections in FA with Pathoma--essentially tearing them out and throwing them away? I ask this because I think it is a waste of time to annotate the Pathoma book while listening to his lectures, and then re-annotate the annotated Pathoma book into FA. Any feedback/suggestions?

On the flip side, for those that did not use the Pathoma book and directly annotated into FA, what is your opinion?

 

[shan564]

\
On the flip side, for those that did not use the Pathoma book and directly annotated into FA, what is your opinion?

I did that, minus the annotation. Just watched the Pathoma lectures and reviewed it in FA. I figured that FA has everything that I really need to know, and I used Pathoma is to make sure that I understand the concepts behind the facts in FA. And DIT is there to help me synthesize it all at the end.

 

[secants]

I used GT b/w the two to make sure nothing essential was left out in Pathoma or FA. I was mainly looking for integration/linking concepts that wasn't already there. For most of my uworld blocks though, I would just rewatch pathoma 1.7x and then go on to answer the questions. Been working well so far. I wish Dr. Sattar would just do a whole Step 1 review course though.

 

[lrkoehle]

I used GT b/w the two to make sure nothing essential was left out in Pathoma or FA. I was mainly looking for integration/linking concepts that wasn't already there. For most of my uworld blocks though, I would just rewatch pathoma 1.7x and then go on to answer the questions. Been working well so far. I wish Dr. Sattar would just do a whole Step 1 review course though.

I agree. Or I wish he could pioneer the online medical school version of the didactic years. I swear he presents most things in a more understandable manner than a lot of my professors...

 

[chet]

He teaches at the University of Chicago, and I've heard through friends of friends that he does a phenomenal Step 1 review for those students. . . its about time someone pulls a Goljan-like recording move on those lectures.

 

[dr seuss]

He teaches at the University of Chicago, and I've heard through friends of friends that he does a phenomenal Step 1 review for those students. . . its about time someone pulls a Goljan-like recording move on those lectures.

I doubt that will happen. I bet all the students there love him. I'll be sad if his stuff gets pirated, Pathoma is worth way more than $100 when you compare it to the other options.

 

[chet]

Agreed, it kind of sounded like I was advocating piracy in my post, which I'm not. I was just trying to convey my jealousy of his students.

I could never steal from Dr. Sattar, I go to one of the other Chicago schools and he came to our class at the beginning of the year to pitch Pathoma. He told us he was going to publish through one of the bigger named companies (I think kaplan) but when he found out they were going to charge substantially more he decided to self-publish. So basically, he probably sacrificed significant income just to help out med students in passing their boards. Thats a stand up guy.

 

[LaCasta]

Agreed, it kind of sounded like I was advocating piracy in my post, which I'm not. I was just trying to convey my jealousy of his students.

I could never steal from Dr. Sattar, I go to one of the other Chicago schools and he came to our class at the beginning of the year to pitch Pathoma. He told us he was going to publish through one of the bigger named companies (I think kaplan) but when he found out they were going to charge substantially more he decided to self-publish. So basically, he probably sacrificed significant income just to help out med students in passing their boards. Thats a stand up guy.

I agree. It seems like he does this more out of a love for teaching than for some extra income.

 

[Morsetlis]

totally agree with alternatego- don't be a cheap ass, beachmd! it is $100, you will trash that much cash on food in a week, but this will be much better spent.

and this is coming from the queen of not paying for stuff. buy it, you'll be glad. the lectures are golden. love the little drawings the guy does.

and for the record- i did pathoma along with 2nd year and it was an awesome foundation. i'm now doing DIT, will finish it in the next few days and spend my last month re-doing pathoma with Uworld as a second pass.

LOVE pathoma.

You spend $100 on food in a week? Bourgeoisie.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I doubt that will happen. I bet all the students there love him. I'll be sad if his stuff gets pirated, Pathoma is worth way more than $100 when you compare it to the other options.

For the lectures plus the book, I may have been willing to pay 50-100% more. I am rarely willing to pay more than a seller asks. This is one of the largest compliments I can give a product.

 

[Ilovewater]

Sorry if this question has come up in the previous pages, but is it necessary to watch the videos and read the book? Do the videos contain a lot more information that's not in the book? I'm planning on using the book for board studying time, but I don't think I'll have time to read through the book and listen to the videos. Thanks!

 

[WonderBoy]

Sorry if this question has come up in the previous pages, but is it necessary to watch the videos and read the book? Do the videos contain a lot more information that's not in the book? I'm planning on using the book for board studying time, but I don't think I'll have time to read through the book and listen to the videos. Thanks!

Yes you need to watch the videos, you won't get much out of the book without it.

 

[lrkoehle]

Sorry if this question has come up in the previous pages, but is it necessary to watch the videos and read the book? Do the videos contain a lot more information that's not in the book? I'm planning on using the book for board studying time, but I don't think I'll have time to read through the book and listen to the videos. Thanks!

I'll second what WonderBoy said above, the videos are where it's at. If you are short on time, just watch the videos on their own rather than just trying to read the book. If you can do both, that's even better, but make sure to do the videos at least.

 

[Ilovewater]

Yes you need to watch the videos, you won't get much out of the book without it.

I'll second what WonderBoy said above, the videos are where it's at. If you are short on time, just watch the videos on their own rather than just trying to read the book. If you can do both, that's even better, but make sure to do the videos at least.

Great! Thank you guys! I'm setting aside 4 days during the dedicated study time for path, so hopefully, I can get through both the book and the videos.

 

[secants]

Videos>>>Books but honestly just open the book and go alone while you watch the videos. It doesn't really take that much longer to just watching videos alone.

 

[dr seuss]

The videos are the reason Pathoma is so good. I usually just skim through the book after the videos to remind myself everything he says in the videos.

 

[LaCasta]

Great! Thank you guys! I'm setting aside 4 days during the dedicated study time for path, so hopefully, I can get through both the book and the videos.

4 days should be enough. You can watch the videos on 1.4x. Just use the book to follow along with the videos; there will be some info from the videos that you will want to annotate into the pathoma book, and there will be some drawings that you will want to copy into the book as well. Using the book alongside the videos should not add a significant amount of time necessary to finish pathoma and it will make it easier for you if you want to do a quick review of something later on without having to watch a vid.

 

[Shadowmoses]

I understand that the book and the lectures go hand in hand, but I was curious what people think of annotating the lectures into RR path instead? Would it not work out well or is it just better to stick with the pathoma book?

I ask because if I buy pathoma, I won't have access to the book right away because the book can not be mailed to where I am now.

 

[amaprez]

I understand that the book and the lectures go hand in hand, but I was curious what people think of annotating the lectures into RR path instead? Would it not work out well or is it just better to stick with the pathoma book?

I ask because if I buy pathoma, I won't have access to the book right away because the book can not be mailed to where I am now.

It's not a good idea to annotate a lighter book into a more dense one. RR has a ton of info already (it's hundreds of pages longer). The whole point is that the pathoma book is much quicker to get through will still being HY.