How to study Pathology 2nd year?

[Dr. Weebs]

I'm about to start MS2, and I know that if you are going to nail one class in med school, you nail path. So my question is, how do I do that? There are so many path books, reviews, etc. out there and I'm confused as to what approach I should take. My goals would be in the following priority order:

1. Prepare to ace path on the boards
3. Learn the most pertinent information for becoming a good physician.
2. Pass my path class (don't care about the score)

I had a number of books in mind:

1. Robbins Pocket Companion
2. Robbins Atlas
3. Robbins Review
4. BRS Pathology
5. Goljan Rapid Review (I have the audio downloaded as well)


My plan was to use Robbins Pocket Companion as my main "text" (Our school's required text is Rubin's... anyone know anything about that one?), along with my class notes, and use the Atlas alongside it. Then, do the questions from Robbins Review, and then on weekends go through Goljan's RR. Has anyone else tried a plan similar to this? I know everyone says BRS path is one of the best books ever for path review, but I'm not sure how I could incorporate it into my studying.

Any tips, suggestions, experiences? I'm really excited about this class, and anything would be appreciated!

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[silas2642]

where do you download golgan audio?

 

[joe6102]

That is a good plan. Here is what I did, and it has worked very well:

1. Read baby Robbins
2. Look at every picture in Big Robbins
3. Read Goljan RR
4. Do Robbins review questions

Then if I missed more than 1 question in a particular area, I would read the section of Big Robbins.

I know that sounds like a lot of work, but it is worth it for path.

 

[TheEleventhReel]

Sounds like you have a good plan. I've basically used Goljan as my primary source, w/Big Robbins as a reference, b/c there's so much in Big Robbins I had a hard time sifting through the details to learn what I needed. Goljan's audio and RR book are great, and BRS is decent for picking up the few small points Goljan doesn't mention. Robbin's Q book is right on the money, and I'd advise also to take a look at the webpath questions (http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html) as well. They are written by the same guy who did the Robbins Q book and, IMO, they are tougher than the Q book questions.

 

[automan2]

Good advice above, but I feel you will quickly bail on baby robbins. That book is so small and boring. If you want to read something, do the cases that come witht he big robbins cd. Many people skip these cases, but they are absolutely amazing for tying things together. Also, test questions seem to come from these cases quite often.

So, here's what you do:

1. Read whatever your school gives you (syllabus)
2. Read the robbins cases that come with the cd, these will give you a great base knowledge
3. Read and listen to goljan
4. Test yourself with robbins review or webpath
5. Read your class stuff again, this way you will do well in you class.

 

[vtucci]

I loved path and did quite well in the course and on the shelf exam.

This is what I did:
1. Course notes
2. Robbins Review of Path questions
3. Webpath questions and images
4. Golijan and/or BRS Path

 

[Dr. Weebs]

Wow, quick replies. Thank you all for your input!

Someone mentioned the Big Robbins CD and doing case studies. Is there a way to get that CD without buying the book? I love case studies, and it sounds like it would be a good use of my time.

 

[Uvault05]

Hey I know this kid...he's a true gunner. That's right, even KG said you were a gunner for posting this.

Go study your neuro, dooooog.

 

[domer621]

Someone mentioned the Big Robbins CD and doing case studies. Is there a way to get that CD without buying the book? I love case studies, and it sounds like it would be a good use of my time.

The case CD is ok... it only covers a few diseases from each chapter. The Robbins Review question book is 100x better, and hits all the highlights from each chapter (if you read every answer explanation).

And I would definitely buy big Robbins to refer to.