Dipiro vs. Goodman & Gilman's vs. Koda Kimble

[jdpharmd?]

I have to buy one of these books for pharmacology/therapeutics starting in a few weeks. We can pretty much pick any of them, since we don't really follow the book in class. As long as we can look up the information, it will work. They are all about the same price, and I've flipped through them all, but I don't know how they are really going to compare. I've heard that one of them is written on a little bit "lower level" than the rest, but I don't remember which one. I don't want the "simple" one. Soooo. .what are everyone's comments about them and which one should I spend my hard-earned money on? Are new versions expected for any of them?

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[Caverject]

I use Goodman and Gilman. It seems to do the job for me! I got a great deal on mine because it came packaged with my medicinal chem book from Amazon. Does your school library possibly have any of these books available to you?

 

[jdpharmd?]

I use Goodman and Gilman. It seems to do the job for me! I got a great deal on mine because it came packaged with my medicinal chem book from Amazon. Does your school library possibly have any of these books available to you?

Amazon likes to make it look like a great deal, but buying those two books together is the exact same price as buying them seperately. 217.95 = 82.95 (Foye's princlpals of med chem) + 135.00 (goodman & gilman's). I'll have to see how much they are at our bookstore (no shipping). The library has them, but I think it's pretty tough to just look through two 2000 page books to see which one is "better".

 

[LVPharm]

It seems to me that G&G and the other two (DIPiro & K-K) are two different animals. G&G is the place to look for pharmacology, mechanisms of action of various drug classes, etc. The other two are much more about the therapeutic application of these drugs (not necesarilly how they work). Koda Kimble is structured around case studies, some of which are used on exams at our school, and is generally well written. I'm partial to Koda Kimble. I have G&G and hardly crack it open.

It also depends on the chapter of the book, and who writes it. For instance, Mary Anne Koda Kimble is supposedly an expert at DM, so the chapter that deals with the disease state is written by her and is supposed to be better than the DiPiro chapter on DM, at least according to one of our professors.

 

[Caverject]

I got it for $180, I know the way it is now is not a deal. My school wanted 410 for both books. Talk about price gouging, and they take 27k a year from us to boot too!

 

[jdpharmd?]

I got it for $180, I know the way it is now is not a deal. My school wanted 410 for both books. Talk about price gouging, and they take 27k a year from us to boot too!

I would buy them for 180 bucks too! Awesome deal.. I wish it was still that price. Thanks for your input guys. Maybe I'll have to check out the library (we have a library?).

 

[spacecowgirl]

Have you checked www.half.com?

Pharm books are hard to comeby there but I've seen some and almost always get great deals. I've had nothing but good experiences both buying and selling on there.

 

[jason UCSD2000]

To the extreme I rock the mic like a vandal.
...sorry

 

[LVPharm]

Jason: Word to your mother!

Haven't seen you 'round these parts since you gave us details about that gas station fight! So, who won?

Oh, and all you peeps voting for G&G can bite me!

 

[MNnaloxone]

Dipiro gave me everything I needed and is still the book I reach for if I need review. G&G was an expensive paperweight. No experience with Koda.

 

[ultracet]

I have G&G and Dipiro. We use G&G in pharmacology and Dipiro in therapeutics. If you are taking therapeutics then I would recommend Dipiro. If you are taking pharmacology I would probably recommend Lange, though it is not as through as G&G it is easier to understand and you can always look up additional drugs (vitimans and specific cancer agents) on the internet. Lange is also quite a bit cheaper than G&G. It doesn't go as indepth but it is good to start out with for an understand and our profs recommend buying both....
They seem to think that we are made of money.

 

[jdpharmd?]

I have G&G and Dipiro. We use G&G in pharmacology and Dipiro in therapeutics. If you are taking therapeutics then I would recommend Dipiro. If you are taking pharmacology I would probably recommend Lange, though it is not as through as G&G it is easier to understand and you can always look up additional drugs (vitimans and specific cancer agents) on the internet. Lange is also quite a bit cheaper than G&G. It doesn't go as indepth but it is good to start out with for an understand and our profs recommend buying both....
They seem to think that we are made of money.

If you're taking about Katzung 9th ed, It's already required. Katzung is published by "Lange medical books" and it says "LANGE" in huge letters on the spine, but good old Bertram Katzung is the editor. I really like Katzung for the basic stuff, but the next step is starting up pretty soon and it looks like we need a huge paperweight-type of book. Our classes are all pretty much merged into one large one, so Med Chem, Pharmacology and Theraputics are one gigantic course (4-12 credits/term). It looks like I'm going with Dipiro and Katzung for now. I was pricing them today and our campus bookstore has them for the same price as Amazon (except for Dipiro). Thanks!

 

[ultracet]

yeah that's it.... Lange publishes a lot of books, that's just what we call it here. Us Southerners see one big word and go with it . Another good book that i have used is Lange's exam and board review. its a good review before tests b/c it gives explanations and then has questions and rationals.

I know several school do their curriculum like that. Mercer (i think) even does a "block" schedule where you do a month of cardio and then like a month of pulmonary etc and that's all you study. Everything to do with the subject.

 

[CrazyIslander]

Goodman & Gilman...Plus If you live on a hill in SF and your car has no breaks, it is so thick that you can use it to brace your car...ha ha

Sorry, studying for finals (Pharmaceutics, Anatomy, Pharm Chem, Pharm Practice and Pharmacy Informatics...Koo Koo)

 

[Samoa]

Koda-Kimble is a better teaching text. DiPiro is a better reference text. Buy the one that was published more recently. That is honestly the best way to choose between them, short of flipping a coin.

Never needed G&G, although it makes a better reference than any of the med chem/pharmacology books I do have.

 

[micapez]

Koda-Kimble is a better teaching text. DiPiro is a better reference text. Buy the one that was published more recently. That is honestly the best way to choose between them, short of flipping a coin.

Never needed G&G, although it makes a better reference than any of the med chem/pharmacology books I do have.

I totally agree with the above. Plus, the new edition of Koda-Kimble (8th edition) is coming out this July. So, if you can wait until then, it will probably be the most recent publication. However, I may be partial towards the book since she did a really good job lecturing to us on DM this quarter.

Although, I REALLY like the DiPiro reference handbook; it's really compact and comprehensive. This way you don't have to carry around a doorstop around with you all the time.

 

[LVPharm]

Just got the "Pharmacotherapy Handbook" (DiPiro)...great little reference, it'll come in handy on rotations. The portable version of Koda-Kimble is a little large for my taste.

 

[dgroulx]

I just got my textbook list for fall. We are required to have both DiPiro and Koda-Kimble and another book by Brenner. It is a 1st edition, so I have no idea what it is like.