big confusion about books!

[the_equalizer]

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yo

 

[ckent]

First step is to go to your doctor and tell him or her that you need a shot of valium...😉

I don't really understand what your confusion is about, but I will let you know my preference for books. I actually preferred just about all of the BRS books over all of the other review books because they were well written and had practice questions at the end of every chapter. The BRS books that I would buy are pathology, physiology, and possibly behavioral medicine. High yield is alright, but I found most of their books more tedious to read cover to cover then the BRS books. High yield did have nice embrylology, biochemistry, and behavioral medicine books as well though.

 

[Dr. Lector]

I bought HY for every subject new, cuz I hate reading other peoples highlights. And I bought BRS for every subject used, really cheap on amazon, to do the questions from. I memorized HY for each subject before taking the class. This helped me alot to understand what they were talking about in lecture and if I needed more info I would get more detail from BRS. BRS and HY are usually the same authors for that subject. I found that you could do allmost all the questions in brs by just memorizing HY, but for physio and path that brs level of detail is much better. I don't think they have a hy for every subject yet, but for the subjects that they do, they are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

[the_equalizer]

so should I go with these review books over the real textbooks?

 

[Dr. Xavier]

I asked the same question and this is what I got from it http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?threadid=77931

 

[fernj1975]

Well all I have to say are quotes from two of my professors "you got to get the view before you can get the RE-view." and "your knowledge bank will be as thick as your book."

 

[ckent]

Originally posted by the_equalizer
so should I go with these review books over the real textbooks?

In retrospect, I wish that I had only purchased the review books because I hardly/never touched any of my expensive text books. It's hard not to buy text books when your professor is threatening to test from "assigned" reading in the text though.

 

[Dr. Lector]

I agree w/ckent. I bought text books my first year mainly because professors try to scare you that they are going to test you on materials from the book. I think they get some kick backs from the publishers or something. I never even opened them. Cuz knowing lecture notes really well and supplementing w/a good review book well help you pass comfortably. If you want to honor and all the stress that goes with it then by all means memorize the text books and lecture notes.

 

[8744]

Originally posted by fernj1975
Well all I have to say are quotes from two of my professors "you got to get the view before you can get the RE-view." and "your knowledge bank will be as thick as your book."

Your professors are full of ****.

First of all, it will be impossibel to master all of the material presented in most textbooks. With this in mind, it is far better to master the limited but concise information in a review book then to flounder around in a big textbook trying to judge what is useful and what is trivia.

Heck, there is not one "pimp" question I have been asked this year or one clinical situation the basics of which I have not seen in a Grid book.

In other words, if you manage to learn the contents of all the Grid books you will be an excellent clinician provided you know how to use the index of an expensive textbook like Harrison's when you need more depth.

As far as "Getting the veiw before re-view:" well, your professor deosn't have quite the constraints you have on your time, nor does he have to pass exams every couple of weeks. He might have the time to leisurely peruse a fifty-page chapter on proteoglycans but you probably do not.

Don't be intimidated by your professors into buying books you will not read. Most of them in first year are not medical doctors and have very little idea what it takes to keep up in medical school.