Big or Little Robbins?

[Brainsucker]

---

Members do not see this ad.

New(ish) third years and beyond,

I'm trying to decide which Robbins to buy, the bigger Pathologic Basis of Disease or the smaller Basic Pathology. I wondered if anyone has experience with both. "You'll never get through something that huge" isn't too useful if you don't have anything more intelligent to say.

 

[vwhan]

New(ish) third years and beyond,

I'm trying to decide which Robbins to buy, the bigger Pathologic Basis of Disease or the smaller Basic Pathology. I wondered if anyone has experience with both. "You'll never get through something that huge" isn't too useful if you don't have anything more intelligent to say.

Baby (i.e little) Robbins. I don't think there is a point to buying big robbins unless you go into pathology. People in my class tended to either use baby robbins a lot or hardly at all. Baby robbins is all you need for MS2 path, and it will contain more info than you need to know.

 

[epalantequevoy]

big robbins, it's a great read and it is possible to get through, it's great for reference, and it has an online version that you can access from anywhere.

 

[ddmo]

Baby Robbins i.e. Pocket Companion to Pathologic Basis of Disease. It has everything as big robbins and is much quicker to read if you feel that need.

 

[Brainsucker]

Baby Robbins i.e. Pocket Companion to Pathologic Basis of Disease. It has everything as big robbins and is much quicker to read if you feel that need.

I guess that would be really little Robbins. One advantage of Big Robbins in my estimation is that it matches up with references from really little Robbins. "Basic Pathology" has different page numbers.

Anyone have any experience with the case studies on the big Robbins CD?

 

[lord_jeebus]

Big Robbins is a great read with great pictures.

Medium Robbins is more than adequate, and much less time consuming, but not as fun if you enjoy reading about pathology.

 

[deuist]

Just so you know, Bid Robbins is available online through MDconsult, meaning that if your library has a subscription, you'll get Big Robbins for free. Add some text-to-speech software like Speakonia and you can let Robbins "talk" to you about disease.

 

[RaaMD]

I liked Big Robbins. But as you can see, people differ on their preferences. I always just had this paranoid feeling about something being left out of the baby robbins. But, I guess it depends on how you feel. Check them both out and see which one you would prefer,. From what I understand, people have been successful using either.

 

[amatomation]

I have been reading Big Robbins so far this year and I have to agree that it is a good read, but it is time consuming to mine out the details. I've heard that there is both a pocket Robbins and a sort of intermediate Robbins too, does anyone know about the latter?

 

[Bad-Obsession]

I recomend the big robbins. In our class one of our prof.s said he is occationally on the commitee that wrights questions for the USMLE Step 1. Anyway, he said the test for a good question is "can you find the answer in Robbins." So I read the big Robbins. I am not trying to get flamed for this, but there is a web site that is putting together recordings of medical school textbooks and their first one is Robbins. It is not a text to speach situation. It is a real person recording the book. If you are interested the web site is www.studybyear.com

Medical students run the site so there is not a lot of flashy stuff on it but you can listen to samples and get info if you want it.

Ok, thats my two cents.

 

[lord_jeebus]

The intermediate one is often referred to as "baby robbins" even though it is not the smallest of the family. I'm talking about Basic Pathology.

It might not be as interesting as Big Robbins but it should be sufficient for boards and probably your path course as well.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I recomend the big robbins. In our class one of our prof.s said he is occationally on the commitee that wrights questions for the USMLE Step 1. Anyway, he said the test for a good question is "can you find the answer in Robbins." So I read the big Robbins. I am not trying to get flamed for this, but there is a web site that is putting together recordings of medical school textbooks and their first one is Robbins. It is not a text to speach situation. It is a real person recording the book. If you are interested the web site is www.studybyear.com

Medical students run the site so there is not a lot of flashy stuff on it but you can listen to samples and get info if you want it.

Ok, thats my two cents.

Holy crap how many hours long is this going to be?

Also, as much as I loved Big Robbins I can't think of any boards questions that tested the minutia of Big Robbins that aren't in Medium Robbins...I do think it is a superior book for learning however.

 

[Bad-Obsession]

Holy crap how many hours long is this going to be?

I don't know, but I figure I can listen to it in my car or when I am on the treadmill. Good times. 😎

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

woah. how did you get to third year without owning a robbins?

medium robins is my fav. (basic pathology). has pretty pictures (none in baby robbins) and content (too much in big robbins)

 

[Bad-Obsession]

Holy crap how many hours long is this going to be?

Also, as much as I loved Big Robbins I can't think of any boards questions that tested the minutia of Big Robbins that aren't in Medium Robbins...I do think it is a superior book for learning however.

I just got the Study By Ear audio file for Robbins chapter 8(the infectious disease chapter). www.studybyear.com

It is exactly 5 hours 34 minutes and 52 seconds long. I have read chapter 8 before and it took me a lot longer then that to read it. Good times.🙂

 

[jennben4]

Big Robbins is dense, but do-able. Plus, our school has a significant number of questions based on the images. Plenty of incentive to plod through the details!

 

[chocolate-e]

I bought Big Robbins and have been using Basic Pathology from the library ... Big Robbins for looking things up as I study, Baby Robbins for actually reading as a textbook.

 

[Dunce]

Big Robbins is too big (but the CD that comes with it is nice)

Never tried the little version.

Perfect recipe = class lectures + BRS Path + Goljan + Robbins questions book

 

[njbmd]

It's the photos in Big Robbins that are most useful. The pocket verson doesn't have them.

 

[G0S2]

It's the photos in Big Robbins that are most useful. The pocket verson doesn't have them.

The pocket version also lacks the background/review that begins each chapter in the big book, which can refresh your memory of some MS1 material.

 

[chameleonknight]

I guess everyone has forgotten Goldilocks already.

Daddy Robbins
Momma Robbins
Baby Robbins

Now that's the correct nomenclature 😉

 

[duvals101]

First read Big Robbins.........you'll be gangster on the Path side of Step 1 and on the slide identifications.

Pocket Robbins is rock solid for reviewing before your exams......don't forget BRS Path also.

Peace.

 

[KitesurfDaEarth]

Big Robbins is too big (but the CD that comes with it is nice)

Never tried the little version.

Perfect recipe = class lectures + BRS Path + Goljan + Robbins questions book

i second that. follow this formula and you will kill it

 

[beastmaster]

I recomend the big robbins. In our class one of our prof.s said he is occationally on the commitee that wrights questions for the USMLE Step 1. Anyway, he said the test for a good question is "can you find the answer in Robbins."

I have to agree. I looked at a few NBME questions over the summer, and there were a couple that I initially dismissed as 'wtf' questions. There was two in particular, I don't want to get into specifics. But neither First Aid nor any review book I looked at had the answer to the detail that the question demanded. Pubmed turned up the answer in a published journal article, but thats to be expected.

This frustrated me for several weeks. "How the hell were we supposed to know that?"

Long story short, I found the answers to both in Big Robbins. Both questions could be loosely categorized as a mix between path and molecular bio. I checked in the library, pocket robbins omits the details, just like the review books. Lesson learned. I pay stricter attention to certain things in Robbins now. It's the best basic science textbook on the planet, I'm amazed some are willing to forego it in favor of a smaller watered down version.

 

[deuist]

It's the best basic science textbook on the planet

It may have every disease known to man, but it is hardly the best textbook on the planet. The book is not written very well and instead just lists information.

 

[bjackrian]

I love big Robbins! I think it's really well-written and gives pretty straight-forward explanations. I'm a pretty fast reader, though, so I can read relevant chapters a couple of times before exams, which probably helps me like it more. I can see how it could be overwhelming for people who read a bit slower.

As Deuist pointed out, if you and/or your school have a MDConsult subscription, Big Robbins is available on it for free, so I know a lot of people in my class bought little Robbins and read relevant parts of Big Robbins online if they need a better explanation of a concept.

 

[beastmaster]

It may have ever disease known to man, but it is hardly the best textbook on the planet. The book is not written very well and instead just lists information.

It's no OMIM, but the diseases it does cover, it covers very well. Whenever I'm looking for a mechanism of diseases, Robbins rarely fails me. Of course, Brenner or Campbell for example will have it beat in the kidney department.

But please, I challenge you to name a book at the medical basic sciences level in any subject (medical biochemistry, whatever) that you feel is superiorly put together than big robbins.

 

[pillowhead]

Big Robbins is WONDERFUL!! I'm a 4th year, and that's one of only two books that are worthwhile keeping from the first two years. The other is Lilly Pathophysiology of Heart Disease.

Yes Big Robbins is long, but it's so complete. The actual reading is quite easy in the sense that it's not overly wordy or boring. And the pictures are beautiful. Studying out of Robbins in 2nd year and doing the entire Robbins Question book while studying for step I is what I believe contributed most to my 253.

 

[deuist]

But please, I challenge you to name a book at the medical basic sciences level in any subject (medical biochemistry, whatever) that you feel is superiorly put together than big robbins.

Mohrman's Cardiovascular Physiology comes to mind. In fact, many of the short Lange books are pretty good.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I think Big Robbins is extraordinarily well-written, especially considering its breadth and depth. It's also a great way to learn pathology -- I never attended lecture and had a better understanding than most. I tried listening to Goljan audio but after reading Robbins I found it slow-paced, boring, and completely unnecessary.

 

[D30417995]

little robbins is fine. if you can understand AND remember EVERY SINGLE POINT in the smaller robbins, you're good to go.

 

[mikedc813]

I tried both and ended up sticking with the larger one. Whether it was truly necessary for the test - I'm not sure - but I know it helped me understand the material better. I tend to like reading texts to understand, but others don't. It's a matter of preference.

 

[D30417995]

I tried both and ended up sticking with the larger one. Whether it was truly necessary for the test - I'm not sure - but I know it helped me understand the material better. I tend to like reading texts to understand, but others don't. It's a matter of preference.

I understand there could be considerable joy in reading the big robbins and knowing the material in greater depth, but how do you retain the materials? Would you read the relevant chapters over and over? I ask that because I'm still learning how to learn efficiently; would love to hear your suggestion/strategy and be able to benefit from it. Thanks!🙂

 

[FotoFusion]

guaranteed A in path: brs (and q's) + baby robbins + daddy robbins + question book + webpath pictures and exam bank.

you will **crush** any path exam they can throw your way if you follow that formula...just takes some time as you can tell, but path is high yield stuff so it's worth it methinks.

good luck!