Anyone NOT used Robbins 2nd year?

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TrapperJohnMD

TrapperJohnMD

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I hate robbins. Maybe it is just my short attention span, but i just can bring myself to read the junk about how this was seen in mice/rats/rabbit/goats/whales but not in humans. There is hardly any flow to the text and it either puts me to sleep or gets me antsy and curious as to where exactly the take home message is hidden in that overly wordy over priced book! I know, blasphemy for a 2nd year. I'm just struggling. Actually I'm not really struggling yet. I've been practically sleeping with RR path and using pathcards, BRS, path recall, Robbins Q book and webpath. I've actually been doing well with the qbook and decent in webpath which makes me wonder IS ROBBINS THAT NECESSARY for 2nd year?

I can't re-read 300 pages for a particular unit 10X like I can do with the other sources I listed. And it seems like thats the only place the money is for me with the path bath of 2nd year: repetition repetition repetition. That being said I still look at the pictures in robbins because they will be on my exam, other than that I just can't use it.

Anyone else in the same boat? Am I crusin for a brusin come test time, for class and step 1??
 
Are you trying to read too much at one time?

I read the entire book but took all of my MS-II year to do so...just a handful of pages every day. Much more manageable that way.
 
Robbins sucks. Webpath + Goljan + Rapid Review is all the pathology you need to excel in class and on step I.
 
My friend refuses to read the whole thing, but he reads the high-lighted stuff, I on the other hand at least read the whole thing twice to get a better general idea, I then result to RR Goljan, tapes and other sources. I realised almost every source has it's strong areas. Oh and I am doing way better than my friend in Path and pathphys whiles he is killing everything else. I know that is not proof that you need big bad robbins but just taught i will share.
 
Pinkertinkle said:
Robbins sucks. Webpath + Goljan + Rapid Review is all the pathology you need to excel in class and on step I.
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I second that. I ditched Robbins second year used the above and made 95% and above on all my path exams.
 
Pinkertinkle said:
Robbins sucks. Webpath + Goljan + Rapid Review is all the pathology you need to excel in class and on step I.
Click to expand...
We don't use Robbins, but the above wouldn't cut it for our class. They would certainly allow you to understand all the important concepts in path with plenty of detail, and perfect for boards, but our instructor teaches off of his own notes which include details way beyond those resources. Webpath probably comes closest... the others are just general concepts and review, with some great details and pearls but not quite fleshing things out enough. Robbins would probably be nearly sufficient for our course, but thankfully (?) we don't have to read it.
 
I'm sorry to hear your professor likes to test so much into detail. I suppose that's why its good that preclinical grades hardly count for anything. You might also want to suggest that he work on his website design a bit. Not only does it look like a mess from 1998 but it also crashed my browser twice.

osli said:
We don't use Robbins, but the above wouldn't cut it for our class. They would certainly allow you to understand all the important concepts in path with plenty of detail, and perfect for boards, but our instructor teaches off of his own notes which include details way beyond those resources. Webpath probably comes closest... the others are just general concepts and review, with some great details and pearls but not quite fleshing things out enough. Robbins would probably be nearly sufficient for our course, but thankfully (?) we don't have to read it.
Click to expand...
 
I opened my Robbins a total of 4 or 5 times during second year, but I really liked the "baby robbins" (pocket companion to...). Thank God for Goljan...er...thank Goljan for my step1 score.
 
I would also like to add "the Pathology Guy" (I think it's www.pathguy.com), good visual aids in that site.

The site is quite crowded, but once you know you're way around, it makes it easier to find stuff.
 
I don't even OWN Robbins. I've been in the top quartile of my class for about half my exams and in the second quartile for the other half. I don't see myself as a Step I 260 guy, but I don't anticipate bombing it either. Reading Robbins is way too dense, there's a lot of other sources that will tell you what you need to know with a lot less text. Robbins is a great resource if you want to go to the gold standard, but it's far from necessary.
 
we had Kumar, one of the authors, come to our school and give us a live infomercial about the history, humor, and triumphs of the Robbins bible of pathology.

My favorite exerpt: "...between 2.5 and 45% of patients..." What am I supposed to do with that?
 
Pinkertinkle said:
Audios.
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Hey Pinkertinkle,

I know you totally rocked the boards. And I have been clinging onto your advice ever since second year started. 🙂 Did you really not use Robbins at all??? 😛
 
beponychick said:
Hey Pinkertinkle,

I know you totally rocked the boards. And I have been clinging onto your advice ever since second year started. 🙂 Did you really not use Robbins at all??? 😛
Click to expand...

I did the Robbins Review of Pathology questions but never used big robbins.
 
I have tried using Robbins intermittently for our organ modules. It is a great resource but it is time-consuming to read (and I consider myself a faster than average read). I managed to read it and learn it well for our Pulmonary and Neuro modules but couldn't find time for it in others. Now I've decided I would rather use that time for other out-of-school things (since reading Robbins doesn't help in terms of our school tests) and then use BRS Path for the boards.

I am going to start hitting that Robbins Question book big time in the next few weeks and supplementing with Goljan.
 
Pinkertinkle said:
You might also want to suggest that he work on his website design a bit. Not only does it look like a mess from 1998 but it also crashed my browser twice.
Click to expand...
:laugh:

1998 is being generous! A bit ironic, since the guy is fairly proficient in a wide variety of things, minor programming and computers in general being on his "been there done that list." Perhaps it is more of an artistic impediment to his website design. 😉 Gotta admit though... tons of great info to be found there.

What part crashed your browser though? He might be interested in that for compatibility reasons.
 
you would be wasting a hell lot of time if you read robbins. that's the most the stupid and inefficient thing you can do. also, by no means do you need to read robbins to be a "260 guy". i got >260 without even reading a single sentence of it (and our school has it online for free).

If your goal is to do well on step1, reading robbins wont cut it. i would even argue that its hurt you from taking away from more efficient studying.

In the end, most of us aren't going to be pathologists so why read their crap.
 
this is not that difficult of an idea. The content is the same no matter what you learn it from. Try learning from a couple different sources and then chuck the one(s) that don't work for you.

I have talked to 2nd years who have said it's one of the best books there is. You will get different camps.
 
blz said:
In the end, most of us aren't going to be pathologists so why read their crap.
Click to expand...

You'll be reading our crap a lot in the form of reports if you are in a surgical specialty, hem onc, rad onc, pulmonary, renal, derm, GI, or Neuro, so get used to it.

I read Big Robbins during 2nd year (before I even considered being a Pathologist), supplemented with BRS Path, Robbins Q book, and STARS Pathology. I still had plenty of time to do things non-med school related.
 
DarksideAllstar said:
You'll be reading our crap a lot in the form of reports if you are in a surgical specialty, hem onc, rad onc, pulmonary, renal, derm, GI, or Neuro, so get used to it.

I read Big Robbins during 2nd year (before I even considered being a Pathologist), supplemented with BRS Path, Robbins Q book, and STARS Pathology. I still had plenty of time to do things non-med school related.
Click to expand...

that doesn't mean i have to read big robbins to understand how to read a path report. path was my strongest section on step1.
 
bbggw said:
My friend refuses to read the whole thing, but he reads the high-lighted stuff, I on the other hand at least read the whole thing twice to get a better general idea, I then result to RR Goljan, tapes and other sources. I realised almost every source has it's strong areas. Oh and I am doing way better than my friend in Path and pathphys whiles he is killing everything else. I know that is not proof that you need big bad robbins but just taught i will share.
Click to expand...

Did you seriously read the whole thing twice?! That book is huge, I can't imagine even getting through the bulk of it once if I have lecture notes to go off of...
 
i like putting the information into context by reading Robbins. it makes the prof's notes stick better, and i can retain it long term.
 
blz said:
that doesn't mean i have to read big robbins to understand how to read a path report. path was my strongest section on step1.
Click to expand...

Anyway, I guess I should have stressed earlier that reading Robbins is an individual thing-- some people read it, some don't. I've seen people in both camps do well or poorly on Step 1. Your comment that reading Robbins is "the most stupid and inefficient thing you could do" is comical. Its like me saying that anyone who goes to class is wasting a huge amount of time. Personally, going to class wasn't helpful for me, but it was for other students. Different strokes for different folks. BTW, reading, understanding, and utilizing a pathology report in clinical practice isn't the equivalent of "learning pathology" for Step 1.
 
Didn't touch it in second year ... or in first year, for that matter. I stuck completely to lecture notes.
 
yes, but only the sections we have covered, have to admit thou my first read over is quick and novel like, but my second is slow and painful then again i like robbins it makes sense to me
 
I read Big Robbins and loved it. It is by no means necessary for anything. You will not do better on the boards because of it.

But it's a great read, in my opinion. I would suggest checking out a chapter and seeing if it's your style.
 
lord_jeebus said:
I read Big Robbins and loved it. It is by no means necessary for anything. You will not do better on the boards because of it.

But it's a great read, in my opinion. I would suggest checking out a chapter and seeing if it's your style.
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Agreed: Robbins is an excellent text and worth the effort.

Here's an irony for you: when I was a first year (last year) I looked at the chapters in Robbins and thought, "there's no way we need to know all of this stuff - that's insane!". Now I look at Robbins and think, "Damn you for being so brief - there's a ton of crap I need to know that isn't in you!!!". Didn't think it would turn around like that, yet here we are 🙂 Of course, there's far more in Robbins that I don't know than I do, and some of the stuff in Robbins really is superfluous, but still, it's not nearly as comprehensive as I originally thought it was.
 
I've found Baby Robbins + Robbins Qbook + course materials to be sufficient for doing well in class. I can't comment on Step 1 yet. I think that the big Robbins is a fantastic resource, but reading the entire thing, in the amount of time we have to do so, is not realistic for most people.
 
I'm just using my class stuff and the Robbins Review when prepping for exams. Robbins for me is just this large resource when our lecturers and other texts drop the ball.
 
Pontifex Maximus said:
I'm just using my class stuff and the Robbins Review when prepping for exams. Robbins for me is just this large resource when our lecturers and other texts drop the ball.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I use the same method. Works great for class, we'll see about Step I.
 
If you don't like Robbins, check out Rubin. Our school got some free copies to evaluate and I am sold. It's just the right amount of detail, much more readable, and in addition to the mandatory path slides has some very good illustrations that actually aid in understanding the pathophys. It's definitely still only for those who want a comprehensive text, as opposed to a review, but if you do want a textbook, IMO Rubin fits the med student's needs more than Robbins. Sample chapters here if anybody's interested.
 
thanks. found the answer in the fall 2006 thread "big or little robbins".
Am purchasing the larger, as my library apparently has multiple copies of medium that can be checked out longer than big.
 
Robbins IMHO is like reading a telephone book....in Russian.

I am going to roast a marshmallow over this book at year end. I don't know what I would do without Goljan.

I can't imagine finding this book interesting unless you enjoy reading the dictionary for a good time.
 
Don't know that i've even touched a Robbins for path. Using RR path FA and Course notes, and doing OK.
 
Path is not the subject to "short cut" for Step I. Trying to memorize review books is likely not going to be enough and just delays your leaning. Using Robbin's Basic Pathology (that was Baby Robbins for us; not the pocket companion to the Big Robbins text) is OK but Path is the most represented topic on Step I.

If you can't stand reading Big Robbins (or Rubin which is bigger but reads nice) then go for Robbin's Basic Path (used by PAs and allied health folks) but save the review books for when you have actually mastered the material in the first place (post course).
 
Whoa, mama robbins never talks about animals and it only takes me a few hours per system block. I would try that, because IMO it reads very well.

edit: this is an oooooolllld thread. thank god i made it to med school at a time when mama robbins is available.
 
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I personally like Robbins, but no one should rely strictly on the experience of others to decide on how to study. One thing I like is that one of our head Pathologists (who is very in tune with what students should know for Step 1) gives us a reading guide to Robbins that directs to what he feels are the most important items for 2nd year students, so we can skip over a lot of the background experimental data and super rare findings, etc.
 
I don't think reading Robbin's is helpful for slow readers. But most med students seem to be fast readers... except for me. 🙁
 
Robbins is terrible. We learn w/ syllabi and students supplement w/ BRS and RR.
 
any love for rubins? I find it has a great flow.
 
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