I am getting owned by Robbins Review.

[bad virus]

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What the heck is going on? I am totally getting clobbered by Robbins Review. I think the highest I got is 60%. Is this book really hard/time consuming or am I just not thinking right about the questions? Has anyone else faced any difficulty with these questions?

I am doing it along with my course work, but it seems like my school sucks at path or something because I never get owned this bad by qbanks.

Anyway, how good is this book for board prep now that we have all these qbanks out there? Rx, UW, Qbank etc ....

I have my boards in early February and class ends in Late December (5 weeks of free study time). Should I be focusing on other stuff than this book at the moment?

 

[Rollo]

I think the book is supposed to be difficult. I'm doing it along with path classes too and my average usually hovers around 50-60%.

The explanations teach me a lot and show a totally new way of thinking about certain diseases so I feel that it's very useful for board prep.

 

[turkeyjerky]

What the heck is going on? I am totally getting clobbered by Robbins Review. I think the highest I got is 60%. Is this book really hard/time consuming or am I just not thinking right about the questions? Has anyone else faced any difficulty with these questions?

I am doing it along with my course work, but it seems like my school sucks at path or something because I never get owned this bad by qbanks.

Anyway, how good is this book for board prep now that we have all these qbanks out there? Rx, UW, Qbank etc ....

I have my boards in early February and class ends in Late December (5 weeks of free study time). Should I be focusing on other stuff than this book at the moment?

No, the Robbins Review question book is excellent--probably the best pure path question source there is. You should be happy that you're getting owned now, instead of in june. Work hard in path this year (diagnosis and mechanisms of disease, not recognizing **** under the microscope) and the most important subject on step 1 will become the easiest.

 

[McGillGrad]

I found those questions to be too nitpicky to be useful for a true representation of the step.

BUT it was a great resource while I was taking path.

 

[physics junkie]

For step1 that book is worthless. For a pathology course it can be helpful.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I found those questions to be too nitpicky to be useful for a true representation of the step.

BUT it was a great resource while I was taking path.

I agree. Some of the "easier" questions were fairly close to what you might see on Step 1, but most of them call for too much detail. I think the best I ever did on any of the 8-ish practice tests I took was in the high 70's or so. Don't worry about it.

 

[PBandJ]

Yes, those questions are very difficult. I think I averaged around 60%, at least at the beginning. But you should still do as many as you can, read the explanations carefully, and try your best to learn from them. It's great preparation for a shelf exam (if you have to take one at the end of the year), and it will help you continually assess how much path you are really learning. Again, as others have said, the details are a little intense compared to what will be tested on boards, but you will be able to review path much more easily if you learn it well in the first place.

 

[unsung]

What the heck is going on? I am totally getting clobbered by Robbins Review. I think the highest I got is 60%. Is this book really hard/time consuming or am I just not thinking right about the questions? Has anyone else faced any difficulty with these questions?

I am doing it along with my course work, but it seems like my school sucks at path or something because I never get owned this bad by qbanks.

Anyway, how good is this book for board prep now that we have all these qbanks out there? Rx, UW, Qbank etc ....

I have my boards in early February and class ends in Late December (5 weeks of free study time). Should I be focusing on other stuff than this book at the moment?

I'm also working through the book in conjunction w/ coursework. Just started, and I'm hitting around 60-70%. That said, I think this book works pretty well in conjunction w/ Goljan. A lot of the "finicky" details are actually right in Goljan (book or audio). It works really well together.

Btw, I don't think 60% is bad or anything- think of it this way, do you really want to use a Q bank you can get 80-90% on? The more you get wrong, the more new info you're being taught 😉

It's all good.

P.S. If anyone wants to go over stuff together after a unit, PM me! Obviously, how well this will work depends on what units everyone is working on, right now...

 

[Encephalectomy]

I'm also working through the book in conjunction w/ coursework. Just started, and I'm hitting around 60-70%. That said, I think this book works pretty well in conjunction w/ Goljan. A lot of the "finicky" details are actually right in Goljan (book or audio). It works really well together.

Btw, I don't think 60% is bad or anything- think of it this way, do you really want to use a Q bank you can get 80-90% on? The more you get wrong, the more new info you're being taught 😉

It's all good.

P.S. If anyone wants to go over stuff together after a unit, PM me! Obviously, how well this will work depends on what units everyone is working on, right now...

agree with you completely. it is difficult, but most of what you need to know is in goljan and the questions and answers are very well written. I don't know that I would do them for step prep, but they are great to do along with classes and I feel like I learn a lot from them.

 

[nightshift]

Can I assume you haven't been studying from the textbook? I think if you read the corresponding chapter in big Robbins, the questions will seem straightforward and not overly challenging. Many questions hit on things that are clearly emphasized in the textbook but often left out of course notes. Some smart friends of mine--who have only been studying from the course notes and perhaps Goljan--have expressed the same frustrations as you. I've been reading the textbook dutifully and doing well on the questions but I often notice that information that's key for arriving at the right answer is not something I'll be responsible for knowing for the exam.

 

[2012mdc]

What the heck is going on? I am totally getting clobbered by Robbins Review. I think the highest I got is 60%. Is this book really hard/time consuming or am I just not thinking right about the questions? Has anyone else faced any difficulty with these questions?

I am doing it along with my course work, but it seems like my school sucks at path or something because I never get owned this bad by qbanks.

Anyway, how good is this book for board prep now that we have all these qbanks out there? Rx, UW, Qbank etc ....

I have my boards in early February and class ends in Late December (5 weeks of free study time). Should I be focusing on other stuff than this book at the moment?

It should help you for Path and just ignore the percentage. I didn't have the energy to read Robbins so Robbins Review was a great tool, the explanations are money.

As long as you still have the time to do a comprehensive q bank I would keep at the Robbins Review

 

[MossPoh]

Can I assume you haven't been studying from the textbook? I think if you read the corresponding chapter in big Robbins, the questions will seem straightforward and not overly challenging. Many questions hit on things that are clearly emphasized in the textbook but often left out of course notes. Some smart friends of mine--who have only been studying from the course notes and perhaps Goljan--have expressed the same frustrations as you. I've been reading the textbook dutifully and doing well on the questions but I often notice that information that's key for arriving at the right answer is not something I'll be responsible for knowing for the exam.

I think this is the big thing. If I were JUST going by powerpoints and goljan I'd probably be doing pretty mediocre with it. As it currently stands, I think my lowest score in the book was still in the low 80 percentiles and that was more of a function of doing all the questions despite being halfway through the chapter. I'm not some genius or anything. Reading big robbins really pushes you into what they want to emphasize.

 

[Rollo]

I think this is the big thing. If I were JUST going by powerpoints and goljan I'd probably be doing pretty mediocre with it. As it currently stands, I think my lowest score in the book was still in the low 80 percentiles and that was more of a function of doing all the questions despite being halfway through the chapter. I'm not some genius or anything. Reading big robbins really pushes you into what they want to emphasize.

80%? That's reaching genius level!

You know what's really frustrating? When you understand the big picture and the concepts that robbins pushes you to learn while your in-class exams emphasize the most trivial, insignificant details.

I should be used to it by now I suppose.

 

[lord_jeebus]

Robbins Review is HARD. But that's what makes it a great learning tool. 60% correct means you learn at least 2 new testable facts for every 5 questions you answer.

 

[MossPoh]

80%? That's reaching genius level!

You know what's really frustrating? When you understand the big picture and the concepts that robbins pushes you to learn while your in-class exams emphasize the most trivial, insignificant details.

I should be used to it by now I suppose.

That's the thing. I'm really not and I have the grades to prove it. I don't go through and answer them after the first pass through material or even the second. By the time I get to them, I've done at least a fast read of big robbins chapter, gone over supplied powerpoints, read through Goljan and probably did all the webpath stuff. If you do webpath then you are usually going to get 2 or 3 questions you wouldn't normally get in the review book. This is mainly because of Klatt being involved in both.

Then when I am done doing them all, usually in one sitting but sometimes I'll divide and conquer, I will go through and mark what I got wrong and put what the right answer is. I don't read the explanations. I go back through the questions and reread each one and what I put (whether right or wrong). When I encounter those wrong ones, I see what I put and what the answer was. I then gauge whether it was a stupid mistake I should've known but missed something or just flat out didn't know the material well. I then look up the info and make my own explanation. THEN, after all of that, I actually read the explanation they supplied.

I'll be honest and say I put way more time into the stuff than a lot of people do, but I also go on little academic tangents where I look up the mechanisms for various things that intrigue me. I am not a genius by any stretch of the imagination. I'm simply a stubborn S.O.B. that frontloads my work and puts in test week hours early, so during test week I can focus on memorizing stupid details that kick my arse normally.

 

[Rollo]

That's the thing. I'm really not and I have the grades to prove it. I don't go through and answer them after the first pass through material or even the second. By the time I get to them, I've done at least a fast read of big robbins chapter, gone over supplied powerpoints, read through Goljan and probably did all the webpath stuff. If you do webpath then you are usually going to get 2 or 3 questions you wouldn't normally get in the review book. This is mainly because of Klatt being involved in both.

Then when I am done doing them all, usually in one sitting but sometimes I'll divide and conquer, I will go through and mark what I got wrong and put what the right answer is. I don't read the explanations. I go back through the questions and reread each one and what I put (whether right or wrong). When I encounter those wrong ones, I see what I put and what the answer was. I then gauge whether it was a stupid mistake I should've known but missed something or just flat out didn't know the material well. I then look up the info and make my own explanation. THEN, after all of that, I actually read the explanation they supplied.

I'll be honest and say I put way more time into the stuff than a lot of people do, but I also go on little academic tangents where I look up the mechanisms for various things that intrigue me. I am not a genius by any stretch of the imagination. I'm simply a stubborn S.O.B. that frontloads my work and puts in test week hours early, so during test week I can focus on memorizing stupid details that kick my arse normally.

Hmm interesting approach. I do robbins review right after going through basic robbins and powerpoints. Then I go to goljan, and do his questions on mdconsult. Then I go to webpath.

I like your approach with how you tackle questions you got wrong. I just sit down and read all of the explanation at once. I'm starting to realize this isn't efficient because unconsciously, I stop paying attention halfway through.

I'm going to implement your strategy this time with GU. I have USMLErx too...I'll figure out a way to implement that. Maybe use that as a last source of question bank?

 

[abmd]

can anyone explain chapter 9: q53? I thought oral contraceptives increased risk of breast CA?

 

[glamqueen]

You guys think Robbins Review is hard - try having the guy who wrote the book as your Path professor.

But seriously - our school is pretty strong in Path as a result of having Klatt. It's not that bad. We work out of big Robbins, so maybe that is why the Review book is very detailed. Most of us do Robbins Review every block at the end as review, and it pays off well. He provides a good review if you know the material.

 

[turkeyjerky]

can anyone explain chapter 9: q53? I thought oral contraceptives increased risk of breast CA?

Where'd you get that idea?

 

[MossPoh]

You guys think Robbins Review is hard - try having the guy who wrote the book as your Path professor.

But seriously - our school is pretty strong in Path as a result of having Klatt. It's not that bad. We work out of big Robbins, so maybe that is why the Review book is very detailed. Most of us do Robbins Review every block at the end as review, and it pays off well. He provides a good review if you know the material.

You stole klatt from us. 😛 I did sit in on a lecture from him before he started here and seemed pretty good. There are still the residual things from him here including our webpath questions.

 

[glamqueen]

You stole klatt from us. 😛 I did sit in on a lecture from him before he started here and seemed pretty good. There are still the residual things from him here including our webpath questions.

We totally did - so glad too! Although I must admit - your school's location is pretty amazingly awesome. I'm jealous as we are sweltering in the heat down here.

Webpath is awesome, but the big benefit to being at Klatt's current school is there are whole secret sections to the website that are only accessible with our school log-ins. Although, the main stuff is out there for everyone, which is pretty nice.

His lectures are pretty much money. He's all about images and interactiveness - meaning - you are forced to actively recall as you are looking at images, so you get the whole experience during lecture rather than just notes etc.

Anywho - I highly recommend his Path flashcards he also wrote to whoever is needing extra practice too. They are great with images, and I logged them to studentconsult, so I can review them from my computer even.

 

[MossPoh]

It is pretty toasty in Tallahassee too. We were rated in the top 5 of "sweatiest cities" a few years back.

 

[abmd]

Where'd you get that idea?

i can't remember haha but i'm guessing i'm wrong ...