any of these books helpful?

[modelslashactor]

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hey all,

I'm headed to med school next fall and have some books that I saved from undergrad that I thought might be useful as an m1. has anybody heard of any school using any of these? if not i'm just going to sell them:

lehninger biochem
lodish - molecular cell biology (essentially alberts but not gargantuan)
purves - neurobiology
janeway - immunobiology

let me know if you think any of these would be useful, thanks!

 

[Ramoray]

let me know if you think any of these would be useful, thanks!

nope

 

[Blade28]

I sold all my undergrad books before heading to med school. You won't need any of them.

 

[Law2Doc]

hey all,

I'm headed to med school next fall and have some books that I saved from undergrad that I thought might be useful as an m1. has anybody heard of any school using any of these? if not i'm just going to sell them:

lehninger biochem
lodish - molecular cell biology (essentially alberts but not gargantuan)
purves - neurobiology
janeway - immunobiology

let me know if you think any of these would be useful, thanks!

A good chunk of the med schools use Lehninger. But you probably won't spend much time with the texts as most schools teach from their own notes.

 

[mules05]

hey all,

I'm headed to med school next fall and have some books that I saved from undergrad that I thought might be useful as an m1. has anybody heard of any school using any of these? if not i'm just going to sell them:

lehninger biochem
lodish - molecular cell biology (essentially alberts but not gargantuan)
purves - neurobiology
janeway - immunobiology

let me know if you think any of these would be useful, thanks!

I kept my Lehninger from undergrad...it was useful as a reference since I knew where to find info, but not really as a text in terms of what I needed to know for class. My opinion is that it doesn't hurt to keep if you have room on your shelf, but it's not going to help any.

 

[jocg27]

It does makes you look really smart to have lots of books on your shelf though.

(only for non med school people though...anyone in your class will know you haven't touched them...unless you actually do...then everyone in your class will hate you.)

 

[modelslashactor]

haha thanks for the input guys, i never used them in undergrad and i guess some things will never change. i do have a follow up question then: some of the schools i've visited gave us info about their classes and what books they use etc and there were a ton of enormous, reference style books on the lists a la molecular biology of the cell, voet and voet, stryer, etc. do you guys still buy these books and not touch them or does the class before you alert you to which are worth buying and which are a waste of money?

 

[DoctorFunk]

does the class before you alert you to which are worth buying and which are a waste of money?

Bingo. You can probably get through first year only buying Netter's Atlas and using course notes. Regardless, wait until you're on campus to pick anything up because older students will be selling books they don't need for bargain prices.

 

[diosa428]

Yeah the upperclassmen will probably tell you which books to buy and which not to. We had to buy our anatomy book (written by our professor) and memorize it. Our physiology class has required note packets that they hand out. And you'll need an atlas, and probably will only need other books according to what areas you are weaker in.

 

[pagemmapants]

I kept Lehninger, as well as Thompson and Thompson: Genetics in Medicine. Didn't crack the Lehninger again, but I'm keeping T&T and have used it on multiple occasions. As far as Janeway I think that'll prob be fairly useful, especially if you're already familiar with the layout/style/etc. - Immuno is reputed to be the hardest class here and I imagine that's fairly standard across the board.

 

[stoic]

hey all,

I'm headed to med school next fall and have some books that I saved from undergrad that I thought might be useful as an m1. has anybody heard of any school using any of these? if not i'm just going to sell them:

lehninger biochem
lodish - molecular cell biology (essentially alberts but not gargantuan)
purves - neurobiology
janeway - immunobiology

let me know if you think any of these would be useful, thanks!

nope. sell them. or save them to put on your office shelfs so your patients think you're smart. 99% of the time those texts are too dense to be useful. the info is spread out and the explainations are wordy. generally speaking big texbooks are not an efficient resource for med school. there are a couple exceptions to that rule. i like robbin's path and the robbin's companion is a must have. a clinical anatomy book is pretty useful, too. get advice from your upper-classmen on what books are useful.

do yourself a favor. start collecting board review books. the BRS series is always good. I also like the pretest series. Find a 2004 first aid as well as a current addition. the 2004 first aid was the last year of subject-based format and in my opinion it's better for quick reference. the current versions are systems based. very useful for systems based and pbl curriculums, less useful for quick reference. the bottom line is that review books have the info you need, but in a easy to use, concise format.

also, get yourself a copy of the kaplan USMLE review course books. yes, i know it's technically illegal to sell these books. it says so in big print on the set i have. but you will come across them being sold quite frequently. and they are great resources. you should be able to find a complete set no more than a couple years old for $150 bucks or less. it's a steal. those books are golden.

and of course there is the added bonus that if you use review books to study during the first two years, you're a leg up on most people when it comes time to study for the USMLE.

 

[Twitch]

nope. sell them. or save them to put on your office shelfs so your patients think you're smart. 99% of the time those texts are too dense to be useful. the info is spread out and the explainations are wordy. generally speaking big texbooks are not an efficient resource for med school. there are a couple exceptions to that rule. i like robbin's path and the robbin's companion is a must have. a clinical anatomy book is pretty useful, too. get advice from your upper-classmen on what books are useful.

do yourself a favor. start collecting board review books. the BRS series is always good. I also like the pretest series. Find a 2004 first aid as well as a current addition. the 2004 first aid was the last year of subject-based format and in my opinion it's better for quick reference. the current versions are systems based. very useful for systems based and pbl curriculums, less useful for quick reference. the bottom line is that review books have the info you need, but in a easy to use, concise format.

also, get yourself a copy of the kaplan USMLE review course books. yes, i know it's technically illegal to sell these books. it says so in big print on the set i have. but you will come across them being sold quite frequently. and they are great resources. you should be able to find a complete set no more than a couple years old for $150 bucks or less. it's a steal. those books are golden.

and of course there is the added bonus that if you use review books to study during the first two years, you're a leg up on most people when it comes time to study for the USMLE.

Great advice! Some follow up questions:
-> Netter 4th ed (2006) purchased! The associated flash cards any useful?
-> BRS - when do new editions come out?
-> First Aid - new edition out every Dec. So probably buy one this dec for EC 2007 or is that too early?
-> Kaplan USMLE notes - I'm assuming anything older than 2 years from when you take the step 1 is too old?
-> Robbins Pathology - when is the new edition coming out? The 7th ed is from 2004.
-> Iserson's Geting into Residency - when is the new edition coming out? The 6th edition is from 2003 and one before that was 2000. 2006 should see the dawn of the new edition, yes?
-> What about the High Yield series?

I wish there was an Examkrackers version of the books for USMLE.

 

[Flopotomist]

My advice regarding textbooks - always buy one that is at least one edition older than the current edition - you can save a TON of money. Also, talk with the upper classmen about what you actually need. For anatomy - get the Rohen color atlas. It is SO helpful, and I love it.

 

[psipsina]

Also wait and see if your school has a big buddy system. My big buddy gave me a ton of textbooks.

 

[lord_jeebus]

janeway was a required text at my school and a good substitute for going to lecture

lodish was also required but nobody bought it

 

[VPDcurt]

I used lehninger quite a bit during biochem even though my school hands out their own notes.

 

[gunit07]

I used lehninger quite a bit during biochem even though my school hands out their own notes.

me too. best textbook ever.

 

[Law2Doc]

me too. best textbook ever.

Stryer is more student friendly, but hardly any schools use it any more. All the older vintage docs will swear by it though.

 

[45408]

If you didn't use them before, you won't use them now, but I regret selling my Lehninger, since I used the Stryer biochem fairly often once I got here. A Netter is the only absolute must in my opinion.