Learning pathology with outlines ie Goljin or is Robbins necessary?

[Brahventus]

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I am starting ms2 and want to get a good foundation for the boards so im looking for advice on how to best efficiently learn pathology. Is it best done by reading texts through Robbins or is learning done best by acquiring factual knowledge from outlines and ppts and learn from doing questions? I'm torn between using pathoma+medium Robbins or pathoma+Goljin with both proceeding a qbank and lecture slides.

 

[NickNaylor]

What is "best" will depend on how you learn. Hopefully this is something that you've figured out during M1. I will say that reading a text like Robbins, while comprehensive, is pretty time-intensive. I think texts like Pathoma and Goljan cover the important stuff in a concise way that might save you some time. My strategy during pathophys was to watch Pathoma videos, read the Pathoma text, and then use Goljan to fill in the details as well as the course resources to cover specific things on the exam that might be emphasized but not otherwise covered in the review texts. I thought that worked out pretty well, but everyone has their own strategy and what works best for them.

 

[wjs010]

Is it enough to just use pathoma? I have it and I figure the text/vids should be enough right?

 

[Psai]

no pathoma is a guideline not a course

 

[deleted500612]

Is it enough to just use pathoma? I have it and I figure the text/vids should be enough right?

The basic pathoma + first aid + qbanks is definitely enough to pass and score around average on step 1. If you want to do exceptionally well you will need to supplement with additional resources though.

 

[wjs010]

no pathoma is a guideline not a course

You mean goljan is a must then?

 

[Brahventus]

The basic pathoma + first aid + qbanks is definitely enough to pass and score around average on step 1. If you want to do exceptionally well you will need to supplement with additional resources though.

What additional supplements do you suggest?

 

[deleted500612]

What additional supplements do you suggest?

Depends on your tastes and learning style. In my personal opinion Goljan, Basic Robbins, Kaplan review notes and lectures, MMRS, HY neuro, are a few examples of useful resources. Not saying you should use all of these books, or necessarily read them cover-to-cover, but you should be supplementing with some of these sources in areas of weakness (best determined by Qbanks/NBMEs). In the USMLE forums you will be able to find a number of extremely detailed step 1 study guides including exhaustive lists of resources, approaches to step studying and scheduling, etc.

 

[cs24]

You mean goljan is a must then?

no. if I may speak for @Psai , course work is the must in this situation.

 

[wjs010]

no. if I may speak for @Psai , course work is the must in this situation.

Oh, well I meant in addition to the mandatory med school courses, of course. I'm just trying to figure out if goljan is a must, because surgeDO said you could get a fantastic score with just pathoma. It's really hard to decipher if goljan will really be that much more beneficial.

 

[cs24]

Oh, well I meant in addition to the mandatory med school courses, of course. I'm just trying to figure out if goljan is a must, because surgeDO said you could get a fantastic score with just pathoma. It's really hard to decipher if goljan will really be that much more beneficial.

If only there was a thread somewhere, with dozens of students posting scores and study schedules for this past year's step 1 that could help answer this very question...

 

[Psai]

pathoma teaches you pathology
goljan teaches you to think like a doctor

 

[NickNaylor]

You mean goljan is a must then?

I think something is necessary in order to supplement Pathoma. Pathoma is great for what it covers and will give you a good overview for a particular set of content, but it certainly isn't comprehensive.

 

[Brahventus]

Ok I think I'm gonna suck it up and read medium Robbins. Can anyone comment on if the pathophysiology on it is sufficient?

 

[wjs010]

Ok I think I'm gonna suck it up and read medium Robbins. Can anyone comment on if the pathophysiology on it is sufficient?

I'm pretty sure everyone here is saying pathoma and goljan are what you need. Robbins is simply too much.

 

[bashwell]

Even Goljan seems like too much. At least to me. Great if people can make it through Goljan. But I'm probably lazier or dumber or both than the people who can. 🙂

 

[TheRobin]

Even Goljan seems like too much. At least to me. Great if people can make it through Goljan. But I'm probably lazier or dumber or both than the people who can. 🙂

Yeah, Rapid Review Path is certainly not a weekend read. I think the above posters may be referring to the audio, though.

 

[PharMed2016]

For pathology: Pathoma + Goljan (book and audio) with a few chapters from Rubins (which I remember nothing from)

I didn't start using UW until Step1 Studying time.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Never even opened Robbins. Used Pathoma, FA, UWORLD, and Goljan Audio. Made a very respectable Step 1 score.

 

[wjs010]

Never even opened Robbins. Used Pathoma, FA, UWORLD, and Goljan Audio. Made a very respectable Step 1 score.

So you used pathoma text and goljan audio? Why not pathoma audio?

 

[W19]

Hoping Robbins, FA and Pathoma are enough to get me an A in pathology and 230+ in step1...

 

[bashwell]

So you used pathoma text and goljan audio? Why not pathoma audio?

@junojpeg said he or she used Pathoma without the qualifications you've just made to his or her statement.

Pathoma is like $100 and includes videos and Sattar mails you his book. Not sure if Pathoma audio even exists, unless someone ripped the audio from the videos (without Sattar's persmission).

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

So you used pathoma text and goljan audio? Why not pathoma audio?

Sorry for the micommunication. I used Pathoma text and video. Goljan audio is its own thing.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

And i bought pathoma legally

 

[wjs010]

I meant pathoma video. Sorry. So, there's a goljan audio but not video? Another question: why didn't you use goljan text?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I meant pathoma video. Sorry. So, there's a goljan audio but not video? Another question: why didn't you use goljan text?

Good question. I only had time for the audio. I would exercise and listen to it. It was very helpful for reviewing, but not learning the stuff from scratch.

Goljan text, have you tried reading that thing? Lol. I used it mainly for reference if i was confused about the pathophysiology of a disease. I remember using it for learning about SLE and it was very helpful. Too bad SLE was not on my test