Difference

[NREMTP]

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Does anybody know what the difference is between these two Robbins Path books are? Which is better? I am not sure if the basic path book is the new version since it is the 8th edition but it has a different name and the same authors.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781416029731&itm=2

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780721601878&itm=4

Thanks

 

[DragonWell]

The difference is about 600 pages, but more importantly, many, many hours of time. Robbins Pathological Basis of Disease, aka "Big Robbins", is the authoritative reference text used in many med schools, but is kind of a monster to read, IMO.

Robbins Basic Pathology aka "Teenager Robbins", is a watered down version of the above...essentially covers the same info, but has many details cut out and is a much faster read.

As far as which is better, it is largely a matter of opinion and how much time you want to devote to reading a primary textbook vs. doing questions, learning from a review book, etc.

Other members of the Robbins family include "Baby Robbins" - a very concise distillate of the important facts from Big Robbins and Robbins Review - a great source of questions to prepare for tests/boards.

 

[NREMTP]

I had read about the "Big Robbins" and "Baby Robbins" but had never heard of the "Teenager Robbins."
I guess now my question would be is there too many details left out of the "Teenager Robbins" to not buy it and read that one instead of the big one? I would also want to get the Robbins Review as well along with class notes. That seems like enough but I haven't seen any of the books so I wouldn't know. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again

 

[DragonWell]

I had read about the "Big Robbins" and "Baby Robbins" but had never heard of the "Teenager Robbins."
I guess now my question would be is there too many details left out of the "Teenager Robbins" to not buy it and read that one instead of the big one? I would also want to get the Robbins Review as well along with class notes. That seems like enough but I haven't seen any of the books so I wouldn't know. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again

That is indeed the key question. You might get more opinions on this over in the allo forum (one of the mods can move your post if you pm one of us).

All I can share is my personal experience...I started out reading Big Robbins, but it was very time consuming, which might have been OK, but I also found that there were way too many tiny details for good recall of the material. I tried using Teenager Robbins and while it was a quick read, I felt it had too few details and was oversimplified. Finally, I came across this book - Rubin's Path - that seemed to hit the sweet spot of being pretty well-written and still covering most of the important details. I can get through Rubin much faster, which gives me time to reinvest with Goljan Rapid Review, hit the Robbins Review questions before the test, and I've been pretty comfortable with all the Path we've had this year. I'm sure there are many other strategies, but this is what has worked well for me.

Probably should add that I am at a PBL school, so we have no lecture notes to supplement with. If you had these, Basic Path might be plenty...

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I'm a fan of the Big Robbins, but I agree it can be a beast to get through. Consequently I try to focus on the big picture when I read it and not get bogged down in all the details. I guess it really just depends on whether you like more condensed sources and more comprehensive sources.

Big Robbins is certainly not a usable tool for board prep, though, because it's huge.

 

[racerx]

Big Robbins is certainly not a usable tool for board prep, though, because it's huge.

Very true. IMHO, if someone were to enter a path residency, it would be completely indispensable.

I have a difficult time pulling and distilling info from comprehensive tomes such as big Robbin's. I believe Doc B is a former attorney, so she has developed the skills to efficiently pull the important stuff from that sort of material. I am a plodder when it comes to that, so tend to like my teenage Robbin's because it is more concise, but would worry I was missing important points if not for supplementing with BRS, Goljian, class syllabus, etc.

Bottom line: If you are good at pulling important info from a sea of text, and like learning minute details of pathology, big Robbin's is the "one". If you are sure you have no future plans to enter pathology residency, try teenage Robbin's with BRS or Goljian Rapid Review supplementation. If you find that level of detail is insufficient, you can always sell teenage and go to big!

just my $0.02.

 

[lord_jeebus]

The only reason to choose Big over Medium Robbins is personal enjoyment.

Big Robbins is very well-written and a great read. There is no information in it that you need to know and won't get from the shorter book.

Whichever you choose, or even if you choose neither, there is no excuse for not getting the Robbins Review question book. It is the best question book for any subject you will encounter in medical school.

 

[crys20]

i love big robbins as well. read it, make my own notes from each chapter (which i guess i could have marketed as the new teenager robbins?), read and re-read that and love this method of learning path. i would pick big robbins, esp if you are the 'book learner' type, or you will have a 2nd yr path class that tests directly from big robbins

 

[NREMTP]

If you are sure you have no future plans to enter pathology residency, try teenage Robbin's with BRS or Goljian Rapid Review supplementation. If you find that level of detail is insufficient, you can always sell teenage and go to big!

just my $0.02.

I don't like pulling information from a sea of material either. My plan was to get the Teenager version with supplementation of class notes and Goljan RR or BRS while I am taking path. Ohh and not to forget about Robbins Review before exams as well. I feel this will be enough for class and be a good prep for step 1.
Thanks to all of you who responded.