How to Really Ace Pathology – The 40-day Study Schedule

How to Get Started

A few words before you get started: in the Lecturio Medical School Survival Guide, renown Youtuber and MD DocOssareh offers advice on how to get through med school and explains strategies on how to be best prepared for boards and exams.

The foundation of his strategy is to develop a study schedule before you actually start studying. Creating such a study schedule typically requires you to:

1. Understand what you need to study
2. Identify the resources you need to use

Good news – you can check both boxes! We did the work for you and created a step-by-step study schedule, ready for use. It contains all you need to know about Pathology plus links to all the resources you’ll need.

Before you get started, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the structure of this study schedule. It consists of three main steps: gain knowledge, review high-yield facts, and apply and test your knowledge. Lecturio’s Pathology Review Course will give you a fundamental understanding of the subject. First Aid® will provide the high-yield facts and the Lecturio Qbank helps you to apply and test your knowledge.

It’s highly recommended that you work through the schedule from left to right, topic by topic, in each and every Pathology unit (General Principles, Cardiovascular, Endocrine…).

Your 40-day Pathology Study Schedule

Step 1: Gain Knowledge Using the Lecturio Pathology Review Course

Begin by logging on to Lecturio and clicking “Video Library.” Select the “Organ Systems” option for viewing videos. If your knowledge of this subject is limited, it’s recommended you start with Principles of Pathology, which you can find in the General Principles section. Next, begin watching the lectures. Take notes while you watch, and answer the recall questions that pop up during each lecture. Once you’re done with the General Principles, continue with the Organ Systems. After completing each Organ System, continue with Step 2.

💡 Time-saving Tip: If you’re already familiar with a topic, skip ahead to the Recall Questions and then watch the lecture. This will give you a sense of where you stand in terms of what you know. If you feel confident to do so, proceed to the next topic or lecture. If you’re getting too many recall questions wrong, that may indicate you have gaps in your knowledge. If so, go back to the video tab and watch the lectures.

💡 Player Speed: To zip through the content, simply adjust the player speed – you can play it at up to 2x normal speed. (Alternatively, if you need to watch the videos slower, you can bring the player speed down to half speed. Please note that doing so will add time to the schedule laid out here.)

💡 Download Slides: if you learn better by writing, you can download each lecture slide series, print them out, put them in a binder, and refer to them as you take notes while watching the lecture. As a bonus, you’ll end up with a notebook full of slides that you can refer to again and again.

Step 2: Review High-yield Facts with Your First Aid® Edition

Now, take your First Aid® book and work first through General Principles of Pathology and subsequently through Pathology of Organ Systems (General Principles, Cardiovascular, Endocrine…). Read the high-yield facts, check to make sure you really understood the content, and then review all the topics. The relevant First Aid® pages will be found in your study schedule. After completing each Organ System, continue with Step 3.

💡  Lecturio Bookmatcher: This essential app feature lets you connect First Aid® to the relevant Lecturio video lectures. Use it in case you don’t understand something or if you desire more detailed explanations of the topic. Open the Bookmatcher → select your First Aid® Edition → type in the page number → get explanatory video lectures. It’s that easy and it will help you save precious time. You’ll find the Bookmatcher in your Lecturio iOS or Android app and also at our website (atop the top navigation bar).

💡 Markers, colors, Post-its: Use whichever visualization aids help you remember the content and be able to mentally connect it to important points.

💡 Flashcards: Flashcards are a great way to continually review high-yield facts – facts you don’t ever want to forget. Self-made flashcards are the most advantageous because writing out content also contributes to your learning process. Don’t wait to get started.

Step 3: Apply Your Knowledge with the Lecturio Question Bank

It’s time now to get a handle on how well you understand the topics. The schedule recommends 40 questions at the end of each block. Please note that it’ll take you 1 hour to answer 40 questions of one block, and another 3 hours afterward to review the correct and incorrect answers in Review Mode. After approximately 35 days of studying with video lectures, First Aid®, and the Qbank, you have an extra 5 days during which you can either review topics which you don’t feel you know well enough or use to do extra Qbank block sessions.

How to organize a Qbank Block Session

Follow these 7 tips to get the most benefit from practicing with USMLE-style Qbanks:

#1: Set the size of the question block to 40

Why 40? That’s how many questions are in each block on the USMLE Step 1 exam. Doing 40 questions at a time helps you grow accustom to working with that many in a single block. Never do fewer than 40, and practice only when you have time for the full block. Come test day, a block of 40 questions will feel completely natural to you.

#2: Choose the options for timed mode and test mode

Timed mode means you will be shown an on-screen countdown timer. The clock will help you monitor your speed in answering each question. Test mode means you must finish all 40 questions before you get to see the answers.

#3: Read the last sentence or two of the question first

It’s at the end of the question where you’ll usually find the roadmap to help you efficiently navigate through the facts at the beginning of the question.

#4: Quickly check the answer choices before reading the entire vignette

This helps you more rapidly categorize the question and know what you need to look for.

#5: Carefully read the entire question and then carefully re-read the answer choices

This helps you to eliminate any choices that are obviously wrong or irrelevant. Often, you will be able to instantly eliminate at least one bad answer choice (usually it’s the one that strikes you as being dissimilar to the others).

How to review your Qbank results

#1: After completing a block, carefully read each question’s supplied answer choices

This will show you why the answer you chose was right or wrong and it will also show you where your knowledge is lacking. Supplement this review with your study materials and resources.

#2: Get good at spotting “test craft”

The test writers craft some incorrect answers to look like right answers. Watch out for these – they’re meant to trick you into choosing them.