TAUS method FAQ for USMLE prep

TAUS Method FAQ

Q’s that the author of the TAUS method for USMLE prep has been asked about the guide:

Q1) How do you physically consolidate everything into First Aid without the pages becoming un-readable with little scribbled writings? Also, do you mean you used FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE mainly and referred to some text books as you went through topics in the First Aid for the USMLE Step 1?

A1) I found that a good way to get all of my clarifications/info/good charts/etc into FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE was to get the book binding cut off and have it 3-hole punched (5$ at kinkos) and put it in a binder.  This way you can add loose-leaf and whatever other pages you want and truly have everything consolidated into one place after your first run through of the info (except RR path and HY molec).

That’s basically what I did and what my plans outlines how to do.  The areas where more info is needed beyond what’s in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE are indicated in my plan.  The goal is to use other sources to help you completely understand everything in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE, down to all the implications of all the little details in it.

Q2) Based on the TAUS method, how long did it take you to get through each run through?

A2) It’s really an individual thing and depends on how much time you have to study. The first run-through should take as much time as you need to make sure you completely UNDERSTAND (not necessarily memorize) everything. Most basic sciences took me around 4-7 days and most systems were b/w 3-5 days. When you’re done w/ this you need to take a look at how much time you have left and how many days you think you realistically need to get through each subject the next time around. Pull out a calendar and map this out while making sure you leave around 2 weeks at the end for the final review.

This is what I did, but it totally depends on how much time you have overall and how much you need for individual subjects.

I know this wasn’t a concrete answer, but boards studying is a very individual thing and only you know how much time you need for certain topics (which is also why I wouldn’t rec. taking a review course)

Q3) I do not fully understand your 3 prong plan.  So in the first run through: (75:25 study:Q’s), its here that I am consolidating all my info in first aid, but does that mean the basic science run AND the systems?  I’m asking because in your plan, you separated BASIC SCIENCE and SYSTEMS – so should I go through BOTH in the first run?

If yes then what am I supposed to do in the 2nd run? Just go through basic sciences and systems again?

A3) Both systems and basic sciences are in the 1st run through…..then during the 2nd and 3rd time you go through EVERYTHING again.  The only difference is during the 2nd time through you are done consolidating into FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE and are doing more questions.  During the 3rd time you are spending most of your day doing questions but you are still going through all of the info.

Q4) Do you have any suggestions on how to best “annotate” from the various review books to FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE?

A4) I found it very efficient and beneficial to do the following:
1. Quickly flip through the FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE chapter that you are about to study to basically just see what’s in it and how its organized.
2. Open up your other review book for that subject and read a short section (ie a few paragraphs or pages.
3. Go back to FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE and find the small section that corresponds to what you just read in your review book (usually just a small portion of 1 page or so) and make notes to further explain/clarify what’s in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE.  I indicated in my plan where you will need to add info to FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE vs. just clarify it.  This way, during your 2nd and 3rdruns through you will be able to easily streamline your studying towards what’s important and will fully understand every detail in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE.
4. Rinse and repeat until you are finished with the review book and section in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE.
5. You now never need to open that review book again (except for and Goljan’s Rapid Review Pathology and HY CMB) after the 1st run through.

Q5) If the TAUS method plans for over 2.5-3 months then how long did you take for each real run through? If each run through = 25 days X3 = 75 days = ~ 2.5 months + 2 weeks for the crunch = ~ 3 months total, does that sound right? I really like the idea of multiple reviews of the topics, as I’m just not one of those people that can see something for one day of my prep and remember it for 5 weeks until the test.
A5) As for how long to spend on each run-through…each one should take less then the one that preceded it. As for exactly how long…its really gotta be an individual thing. Some topics on the first run-through took me a week…some 2 days.

Q6) How long did it take you to get through the blue margin notes in Goljan Rapid Review Pathology and are you happy you did it? I’m trying to decide between blue margins and 36pg goljan high yield for my last few days of studying.

A6) I decided to use the margin notes over the 36pg HY mainly b/c I had read the margin notes several times as I went through the main text of Goljan Rapid Review Pathology, so I knew I wouldn’t be seeing any new/foreign info during the final days of studying. Being First Aid for the USMLEmiliar w/ the format also allowed me to go through it really First Aid for the USMLEst (~2 hours). I had previously randomly flipped through the 36 pg HY and didn’t see any info that wasn’t in the margin notes (or main text) and thought the format would be too cumbersome to get through quickly. Was it worth it? I’m not sure if it added many points to my score, but it was nice to have the meat of the test very fresh in my mind.

Q7) In your plan you mention FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE path intro, what do you mean by that? I have FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE 2006 right now (annotated with extra pages and all errata fixed, so I don’t want to upgrade to 2007). Is path intro in the 2007 edition?

A7) I don’t think the separate path intro is in the 06 version, but all that info should still be in the book w/ other chapters somewhere… its all the basics of inflammation/cell injury/neoplasia/etc.

Q8) Regarding Goljan Rapid Review Pathology: I read through it once already and liked it a lot.
I´m not sure if I’ll be able to work through FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE, 100 Qs each day AND the whole Goljan Rapid Review Pathology again. Can give me some advice how to divide my time appropriately and also suggest what the high yield, must read portions of RR are?

A8) I wouldn’t read the entire thing again word-for-word. On top of the charts, summary tables and side comments…I’m assuming that you underlined/highlighted/etc the points that were crucial and that you wanted to go over again. If you haven’t done any of that, then I would try to use what he goes over in his audio and what FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE hits on as a guide for what’s high yield. As far as what chapters, it’s tough to say as all systems are pretty impt. Also, definitely don’t neglect the intro chapters on the basics of inflammation/cell injury/neoplasia/etc.

Q9) Did you really feel that FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE was enough for embryo and anatomy?

A9) Yes, I did. I would consider flipping through HY Anatomy for the PICTURES ONLY….just to review some classic cross-sections.  As for embryo….I mean if you want to spend a week learning tons of crazy little details, have at it, but I’ll take what I got from FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE and leave it at that.  I had 2 embryo q’s on my test and both were in FIRST AID FOR THE USMLE

Q10) What is the online portion of “Radiology in HY/online”?

A10) I meant that beyond the pictures in HY Neuro… I think it’s a good idea spend an hour or 2 looking through mri/ct/angio’s etc of the brain from one of the many online radiology sites. Some sites to check out are:

DocNeuro.com – good online question bank of neuroimages

http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/

http://depts.washington.edu/biostr/

Q11) You mentioned Kaplan as a possible review book for biochemistry in the TAUS method. Is a complete review by Kaplan an equally, poorer, or better way to approach studying for the exam. Why not just use all of their books?

A11) Kaplan biochem is a really solid book, but there are simply better options then Kaplan for the remaining subjects.

Q12) Why did you choose those specific topics for the last few days in the TAUS method?

A12) As for why I chose biochem/molec/genetics/pharm/etc….I tried to pick things that had a lot of small details to memorize, which tend to be ones that only stick in my short-term memory. Everyone has a different topic that fits that criteria and you’ve just gotta honestly say what you need to look at one more time (and not have “everything” as your answer)