28 Days of B.S. || GOER || SGU Term 5
Basic sciences. 28 days of basic sciences.
I can’t believe it, but I stopped studying every day at 9PM and took every Sunday off! I remember I told another student this. It was like I told them I was the pariah. Beware or you’ll catch my not on-brand work ethic. However, this was probably my most well-balanced module ever. It only took me two years.
I was inspired by my health coaching conversations. I implemented more practice to be present. It’s crazy how easy it’s been to just speed through the day and forget that I have to live my life. No one else will!
I got my eyebrows tattooed on! It amazed me how mathematical the process was, yet it was also very artistic. A local artist offered free ombre brow tattooing in exchange for being a student model. The artist did about 80% and the student did the rest. It was a long 6 hours, but 2-5 years of not having to do my eyebrows, count me in!
Human moments: Mocha’s first beach trip
After the exam, we took 3 days off! We went to San Diego which appears to be the most dog-friendly place I’ve ever been to. It feels like being a dog parent is a preamble to being a human parent. Definitely not as challenging, but it was challenging for us! Comical and challenging.
Picture this - with 10 minutes left on our 1-2 hour drive down, Mocha (the bernedoodle) pukes in the car. Kalbi (the pug) is cowering in the opposite corner. We pull over as soon as we can at a dog park, thinking we can turn it around. It’ll be Mocha’s first time at the park, it’ll be great. As soon as he gets out of the car, he starts scream barking. Kal gets riled up and joins in too. We’re so embarrassed, we pack back into the car and drive away.
Luckily, the rest of the trip got easier. I learned the boys are great off-leash! Probably something about pandemic life and spending 24/7 together, it seems we’re all bonded.
It was rejuvenating to do this trip with the boys and see them happy. It was also a delicious trip!
Boys having fun at dog beach!
Sgu Term 5 Goer
The Gastroenterology, Obstetrics, Endocrinology, and Reproductive (GOER) module was 4 weeks. It felt long but also quick, definitely jammed-packed. I swear by week 3, I was surprised that we learned GI in the same module. In my opinion, GOER was much more manageable compared to CPRH. It felt more linear, more predictable. Oh there are like 5 different thyroid cancers? Probably testable. SGU clarified that these exams are no longer BSCE’s in the same way they were for past terms. Like cumulative NBME tests or cumulative really at all besides the specified things from FTM. They are module exams like we’ve been trained to do.
MY Goer Schedule
I started with Grace/Firehouse Prep’s schedule but integrated this schedule with one from my tutor (which basically subbed out Boards and Beyond Path with Pathoma). After CPRH, I was scarred. Mostly concerned for STEP because the SGU exams and lectures felt like we were slowly wandering away from actually useful STEP prep. It’s been more centered on SGU-isms and busy work. And honestly, what does an IMG honors vs. a high pass mean to residency directors? I have my doubts. I mean doing well can never hurt, but poor board scores can sure hurt!
Anyways, I looked at many tutoring services that advertised to SGU students. Including the one from the honor society from school. Unfortunately, that was only a one-time session and they emailed me 3 days before the CPRH exam. Eventually, I found a group tutoring service through a really amazing SGU student. We meet twice a week for 3 hours each. The first session is usually review and then in the second session, we work through questions. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It’s not for everyone, but it was definitely for me. I really benefited from that opportunity to consolidate.
Both these study schedules were intense on outside resources but ended a week before the exam (which was on the following Friday). It was really tough to keep up and prioritize active learning things like anki and practice questions.
Disclaimer: I did not review lecture slides at all and that’s not for everyone! I know people doing only lectures who are also doing very well!
Post-reads, anki, sketchy, Boards & Beyond
Since I didn’t review lectures, my first “post-read” was things related to the module like sketchy videos and boards and beyond. Honestly, doing the normal anatomy/physiology videos from BnB first then following up with Pathoma and Sketchy was so helpful! I would also annotate in First Aid anything that wasn’t in First aid or helped me remember things. My second “post-read” was the FTM reviews or sketchy reviews from Grace’s schedule.
I did something super different and probably incorrect for anki. I tried to use Grace’s filtered deck method, kind of. Right after I watched a video, I would put all the related Anki cards into a filtered deck called “today”. Then at the end of the day, I would move the cards from “today” to their filtered based on their topic like “Repro” or “Endo”. It was like my little quiz after watching a video. No more watch and hope the spaghetti stuck to the wall kind of deal. Also, it was an overwhelming amount of anki cards so I wouldn’t get to everything.
What I appreciated about both these study schedules was that there was a week of review time. I honestly can not see how I would remember all the reproductive stuff like ovarian and testicular tumors that were taught days before the test. If you’re sticking to the lecture schedule, I would anticipate needing to review the last week ahead of time. Reproductive wasn’t as gritty or comprehensive as GI or Endo, but getting those tumor markers and hormones down can save you a bit of point!
Goer Final
Okay, the exam was tough but it wasn’t CPRH shocking. I definitely had more support and preparation going into this exam. Though I don’t think I did significantly better, I felt more comfortable and could see the tricks coming from far away. There were many times when I had to reread the question to see what was actually asked. Questions would have an obvious and attractive lure, but they weren’t asking for that. I can only imagine the entertainment of watching my proctoring video while I took the exam.
I was really happy with my preparation which was very different from the last module. I did a risky thing and didn’t look at the SGU slides. I could tell there were 1-2 questions that you’d only find in the lecture and not in Pathoma, Boards & Beyond, Amboss, or Sketchy. I was okay with letting those go in trade for a significant amount of time.
However, I’m telling you that week of prep before the exam made all the difference. Each day I’d focus on doing all the USMLE-rx questions for that subject, then some Amboss on particular topics, then finish off Pastest. The day before, I also reviewed IMCQs which I highly recommend!
Post-score-release update: I did better than CPRH and the curve wasn’t as steep for GOER (~8-10%)! So I think the changes (tutor + drilling practice questions) I made were really working for me. For those curious about what’s achievable from a decent tester/student who doesn’t do lectures, I did a little better than average. I’m sure if you’re a good test taker + review slides for like 5 minutes compared to my sad 0 minutes, you can do much better than me!
Outside resources for Goer
Of course the staples have remained M1M2 Anki deck. Boards and Beyond and Pathoma were very high yield. I felt there has been a shift in learning to pass the test and collecting factors compared to knowing trying to get an actual handle on the content. Sketchy was amazing especially the thyroid, MEN syndromes, Adrenal stuffs, GI cancers, and ovarian/testicular tumors.
QUESTIONS BANKS:
Revisiting PASTEST
I tried Pastest again near the end of GOER. I heard a learning strategist had gathered that the successful people had been doing Pastest. I can see why SGU likes Pastest. Their question bank style is so similar. They love to harp on the same concepts vs being representative of all the topics and they love to pick out obscure things and call them high yield. Pastest said for one question that “cup and saucer” appearance is important to memorize for Pneumocystis jirovecii. But that’s not in FA, not in Amboss, not in Sketchy, not even on Wikipedia but okay. The user experience is not the best, but it was still a nice “throw-away” qbank, and see what kind of tricks SGU might use in questions.
USMLE-RX
The week leading into the test, I would complete the Usmle-Rx questions for the subject to see what topics I needed to tune-up. There are a lot quizzes that SGU assigns. I swear it felt like every other day I’d get an email that something is being assigned and the following email saying they’re released.
Amboss
I used this qbank a lot! I love the user experience. The questions are also quite tough, but easy to review with their wiki feature.
U-WORLD
I activated my account about 3 days before the exam haha. I was so scared of this question bank. I’ve heard all about the save it for marriage dedicated vs. do at least two passes. I ultimately decided to venture in when my tutor gave us question sets. Was it disheartening? Yeah sometimes. But so far in my total of two exam experiences, it felt fair. Amboss often felt more challenging. Pastest seems too nit-picky. But U-world seems pretty banging. There are amazing diagrams and explanations.
Honorable Mentions
Dr. Rahul Damania’s youtube videos: pretty good comprehensive reviews on systems.
What I would do differently
More questions! Somehow, drill more practice questions. Every day I did 20 Amboss and 5 USMLE-rx/Pastest questions but prep felt the best during that last week.
Tighten up Anki. I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of cards. I’d catch myself completing the cards just to do them. I think spending more time deliberating picking questions and focusing more on concepts I got wrong in questions.
Warmly, Rainee
Next time we chat, Term 5 will be done!