big robbins

[nasdr]

---

Members don't see this ad.

for people who have already taken the beast:

just curious how many of you read through big robbins during MS2 (or a decent amount of it), and how helpful u thought it was. just wondering which strategy you would use if you had to do it over again: a) big robbins, or b) read BRS/RR as many times as possible, and use the Robbins question book if time permits.

any input is appreciated, cuz right now i'm pretty intimidated by big robbins.

 

[PsychoDan]

for people who have already taken the beast:

just curious how many of you read through big robbins during MS2 (or a decent amount of it), and how helpful u thought it was. just wondering which strategy you would use if you had to do it over again: a) big robbins, or b) read BRS/RR as many times as possible, and use the Robbins question book if time permits.

any input is appreciated, cuz right now i'm pretty intimidated by big robbins.

goljan says its a waste of time. (robbins, that is)

 

[felipe5]

reading big robbins is a massive undertaking that is really not necessary in my opinion to a.) do well in 2nd year and to b.) do well on your boards. However, i do highly recommend using the robbin's review of path question book to supplement your path studies...IMO getting through those questions is much more high yield and will definitely help you down the road for step 1 prep

edit: fyi I supplemented my path studies in year 2 with BRS but when it came to board studies i used RR, robbin's review q's, and goljan audio.....i was extremely satisfied with my score

 

[lord_jeebus]

I read big robbins as a substitute for going to lecture 2nd year.

I don't think it helps with boards but it's really well written and I think it's a good way to learn path. If you're just looking to get a good score on Step 1, I think the medium-sized Robbins contains everything you need to know.

I would not use BRS or RR for learning Path the first time; they're called review books for a reason.

 

[beastmaster]

goljan says its a waste of time. (robbins, that is)

when ?

 

[PsychoDan]

when ?

I don;t remember the exact lecture (one of the earlier cardios?),but he says something along the lines of "you may want to read (soemthing) in Robbins, but i think that's a waste of time."

Of course, he's talking in the context of reviewing for Step 1, so that advice may not apply to those wanting to learn path for the first time.

 

[predodoc]

I know he did mention that looking at all the pics in Robbins is a waste of time. Dont know about reading it. Ive only listened to a few of the general path lectures though.

 

[twintiger32]

forget big robbins except for reference. for high yield path studying use BRS or rapid review, + robbins questions book (you WILL feel strong in path after you do this book). goljan audio will help tie in pathology w/ other subjects

 

[beastmaster]

I don;t remember the exact lecture (one of the earlier cardios?),but he says something along the lines of "you may want to read (soemthing) in Robbins, but i think that's a waste of time."

Of course, he's talking in the context of reviewing for Step 1, so that advice may not apply to those wanting to learn path for the first time.

I believe the audios are from lectures he gave to IMGs and re-takers. Surely to these folks, with a month or two of time, Big Robbins isn't the most effective use of time. But Goljan is constantly sourcing the big textbooks (Schwartz, etc) for hard to find mechanisms and such.

Robbins is perhaps the most mechanism-laden textbook available to med students. It covers certain topics (immunology, biochem) better than many of the subject specific textbooks. The question book follows it more closely than people probably realize. Reading robbins cover to cover like a novel isn't the best move, but its more than a reference. More times than not, if Robbins doesn't have that "why" answer for you, only a journal article will. Foregoing it in favor of intermediate robbins or whatever you guys call it is foolish. When you have big-picture review books, and detail-packed big robbins, who needs the cluttered intermediate garbage that lacks both.