Best method to learn pathology

[RN1]

---

Members don't see this ad.

My plan is to read Big Robbins, RR Path or BRS Path, do Robbins question book and listen to Goljan.

Is this plan good or will it take too much time?
How long does it take to read Big Robbins compared to ex. Boron Physiology?
What is the best method to understand what you read?
Should I choose RR Path or BRS Path?
Which version of RR Path is best (the one that is 400 pages or 750 pages and what is the difference)?
Just to be sure: Is Big Robbins the same as “Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, Seventh Edition”?

Thanks

 

[Powel6016]

Yea thats Big Robbins. I'm using Medium Robbins "Basic Pathology" which is more than enough. I'm using BRS Patho as an outline and reinforcement/clarification of text from Robbins. Big Robbins is a huge commitement and packed with info which u really don't need to know.
Goljan is the God of patho, but u should get a hold of his lecture notes which go hand and hand with his audio. Also search the forum, someone posted which chapters in RR path are covered by the audio lectures. Not using RR Path, but i've heard great things about it. People have prefered the newer edition. It has more clinical blue boxes and there is also an Errata list.

Search the forum and u will see tons of posts about RR Path, etc...

 

[Blesbok]

Read big robbins.

It is a lot of information, but by far, nothing has helped me more now that I am studying for boards than having read big robbins in the past.


I also used BRS, Goljan, and robbins question book. (ya, I liked to overdue it for path, but it was worth it)

If you only use one, goljan is better than BRS imo.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Read big robbins.

It is a lot of information, but by far, nothing has helped me more now that I am studying for boards than having read big robbins in the past.


I also used BRS, Goljan, and robbins question book. (ya, I liked to overdue it for path, but it was worth it)

If you only use one, goljan is better than BRS imo.

Big time +1, except for BRS. Not from dislike, but just haven't used it. There is a 14 pt. spread in my test avgs. between tests in which I didn't use anything school-specific, and instead read Robbins, did Robbins q's, followed RR Path with Goljan audio and those tests in which I did a little bit of that but mostly focused on syllabi.

I wouldn't worry about getting the lecture notes personally; RR Path essentially IS the lecture notes.

 

[Hurricane95]

RR Path, all the way...goljan is the man.

Big robbins is impossible to get through during concentrated boards study. I suppose you could read through it if you started right away in first year and read through the first two years, but dont even think about it before step 1. I think overall it's overkill though.

 

[-Goose-]

RR Path, all the way...goljan is the man.

Big robbins is impossible to get through during concentrated boards study. I suppose you could read through it if you started right away in first year and read through the first two years, but dont even think about it before step 1. I think overall it's overkill though.

It is possible to read all of big robbins, but you do have to start at the end of 1st year and read it along with your 2nd year classes. It was a b*tch at times, but my copy of big robbins is basically highlighted cover-to-cover. The question book is also invaluable. I think these two things have been absolutely key to my aceing of 2nd year.

That being said, Big Robbins is waaaaaay too dense for board review. You'd be insane to think you could do that, not to mention alot of it is low-yield.

I am still trying to decide if I'm going to use BRS path or RR path for board review purposes. RR just gets too crazy sometimes, but I feel like BRS is boring and probably not enough.

Goljan is an egomaniac. I really can't stand listening to his lectures, although they are pretty helpful. I just don't think he's as "walk-on-water" as a lot of people make him out to be. My 0.02.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

RR Path, all the way...goljan is the man.

Big robbins is impossible to get through during concentrated boards study. I suppose you could read through it if you started right away in first year and read through the first two years, but dont even think about it before step 1. I think overall it's overkill though.

It is unwieldly and potentially overkill, but the original q is the best method to learn path. I don't think anyone would recommend it during the 6 week run-up into Step I. I do plan on looking at images, though. As a disclaimer I'm pretty much a fanboy 🙂

 

[Blesbok]

RR Path, all the way...goljan is the man.

Big robbins is impossible to get through during concentrated boards study. I suppose you could read through it if you started right away in first year and read through the first two years, but dont even think about it before step 1. I think overall it's overkill though.

No, I have not used it at all for board study. But I read most of it during the school year. Of course I skimmed some parts, but if nothing else, always read the blue boxes and supplement it with baby robbins.

 

[Blesbok]

It is possible to read all of big robbins, but you do have to start at the end of 1st year and read it along with your 2nd year classes. It was a b*tch at times, but my copy of big robbins is basically highlighted cover-to-cover. The question book is also invaluable. I think these two things have been absolutely key to my aceing of 2nd year.

That being said, Big Robbins is waaaaaay too dense for board review. You'd be insane to think you could do that, not to mention alot of it is low-yield.

I am still trying to decide if I'm going to use BRS path or RR path for board review purposes. RR just gets too crazy sometimes, but I feel like BRS is boring and probably not enough.

Goljan is an egomaniac. I really can't stand listening to his lectures, although they are pretty helpful. I just don't think he's as "walk-on-water" as a lot of people make him out to be. My 0.02.

Use RR. BRS just leaves out too many things that I think are key points when making relationships between a clinical scenario and the disease.

 

[MattD]

Big Robbins is DENSE, and a major time commitment, but if it's not in there your professors probably don't know it either. Except clinical stuff. Robbins ain't too good for that. You can use it to study for coursework, but if you try to read it for board review you'll never even finish the book, much less study other subjects.

RR path is a giant outline. Great for review, not for initial learning. Same with the Goljan audio. Helpful for getting the connections, not so much for a first pass on material. Details you'll be expected to know will be seriously lacking in the audio as well.

Baby Robbins is a great reading supplement to your course notes. It doesn't contain all the detail that Big Robbins does (and that you may be expected to know), but it contains the big picture. I haven't read BRS Path but if it's like other BRS books I'd expect it to be a good middle ground between Robbins and RR.

Hope that helps!

 

[SeventhSon]

i just want to emphasize...

the information you're learning is the same no matter where you learn it from. The endpoint should be that you pick a source that works for you and you feel like you are learning while you are reading.

I use class notes when they are competent and Big Robbins when class notes are incompetent. You can use anything as a priamry source. Your goal should not be to "make it through" anything, but to learn as much as you can as efficiently as you can.

 

[Blesbok]

Big Robbins is DENSE, and a major time commitment, but if it's not in there your professors probably don't know it either. Except clinical stuff. Robbins ain't too good for that. You can use it to study for coursework, but if you try to read it for board review you'll never even finish the book, much less study other subjects.

RR path is a giant outline. Great for review, not for initial learning. Same with the Goljan audio. Helpful for getting the connections, not so much for a first pass on material. Details you'll be expected to know will be seriously lacking in the audio as well.

Baby Robbins is a great reading supplement to your course notes. It doesn't contain all the detail that Big Robbins does (and that you may be expected to know), but it contains the big picture. I haven't read BRS Path but if it's like other BRS books I'd expect it to be a good middle ground between Robbins and RR.

Hope that helps!

Ya, that is another thing, I always used RR after I had read robbins. He fills in little details that you may have missed, but it is not a good method to learn general ideas. It would be like trying to learn English based only on learning the nouns.

 

[MattD]

Ya, that is another thing, I always used RR after I had read robbins. He fills in little details that you may have missed, but it is not a good method to learn general ideas. It would be like trying to learn English based only on learning the nouns.

Or by reading a dictionary 🙂

 

[DoctaJay]

I'm trying to figure out right now whether to buy Rubins or Robbins. My school recommended Rubins as a primary resource and Robbins as a secondary resource, but almost no one talks about Rubins on these boards.

 

[pseudoknot]

I'm trying to figure out right now whether to buy Rubins or Robbins. My school recommended Rubins as a primary resource and Robbins as a secondary resource, but almost no one talks about Rubins on these boards.

I saw one or two posts about Rubin's. There are sample chapters online that you can download, but that won't necessarily help you compare them (although the cell injury chapter of Robbins is also available online).

What I'd suggest doing is pick a topic that you like and just take some time to read it in both books (at your library or bookstore), maybe not the whole chapter but enough to get an idea of how it is covered. After doing this with immunopath I recently decided to go with Robbins, but that's just me.