RAPID REVIEW BIOCHEMISTRY -- who used it..is it good

[DotheDo]

Anybody use Rapid Review biochemistry -- is it a good book for the boards....Thanks.

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[SolisR]

Anybody use Rapid Review biochemistry -- is it a good book for the boards....Thanks.

I have it and like it, but I haven't taken boards yet... We will see...

Anyone else?

Ric

 

[BlackNDecker]

Anybody use Rapid Review biochemistry -- is it a good book for the boards....Thanks.

This question comes up once a week...

RR Biochem is HY for specific pathways (i.e. purine synthesis/degradation, porphyrin synthesis/degradation), but is lacking in other areas (i.e. glycolysis, beta-oxidation, etc.).

You should NOT be w/o Lippincott's Biochem review for board review...but this is also assuming you have all ready read a significant portion of this book during your coursework.

 

[bigfrank]

Disagree with virtually all of the above. HY Biochemistry is ample for those REVIEWING for the Step I. Lippincott's is disgustingly long.

 

[BlackNDecker]

Disagree with virtually all of the above. HY Biochemistry is ample for those REVIEWING for the Step I. Lippincott's is disgustingly long.

I'm not gonna argue since I haven't taken the test yet...BUT, sometimes biochem review books can be a little esoteric*. This is Lippincott's best feature...great explanations and even better diagrams. However, I wouldn't, and didn't, recommend this as a main source for board review.

*Disclaimer: I've never even opened HY Biochem

 

[bigfrank]

Be careful, though: the Step I will NOT test you on basic biochemistry pathways. Most students get 1-2 straight biochemistry (i.e., biochemical pathway) questions.

 

[woowoo]

what does step I test you on as far as biochem is concerned? mainly the clinical diseases and the pathways associated with them?? thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Pox in a box]

Be careful, though: the Step I will NOT test you on basic biochemistry pathways. Most students get 1-2 straight biochemistry (i.e., biochemical pathway) questions.

I bet I had 10 questions purely biochem and probably 5-6 of them were "name the enzyme in the pathway." Fortunately, First Aid was all you needed for a majority.

 

[Pox in a box]

I would expect someone on this board to mention that Goljan had a hand in producing this book.

 

[surrender903]

any thread that does not include Goljan in this sub forum is a rarity.

 

[GuP]

imo kaplans biochem book is excellent...it is very clinical oriented and provides adequate info on the pathways...if you can get it, i would use that as my source over all other books

 

[bigfrank]

I bet I had 10 questions purely biochem and probably 5-6 of them were "name the enzyme in the pathway." Fortunately, First Aid was all you needed for a majority.

I think you were in the minority, but I could be wrong (of course). In any case, I think the point remains that Lippincott's Biochemistry for Step I review is a bit overkill.

 

[bigfrank]

what does step I test you on as far as biochem is concerned? mainly the clinical diseases and the pathways associated with them?? thanks for the help in advance.

The only CLASSIC Biochemistry you need to worry about involves disease states (Glycogen Storage diseases, Diabetic Ketoacidosis, for examples) and/or Regulated Enzyme steps. Don't worry about re-learning minutiae from your first year of school. It's simply not high yield.

I found that HY Biochemistry was more than sufficient for the questions I came across.

 

[SexPanther]

The only CLASSIC Biochemistry you need to worry about involves disease states (Glycogen Storage diseases, Diabetic Ketoacidosis, for examples) and/or Regulated Enzyme steps. Don't worry about re-learning minutiae from your first year of school. It's simply not high yield.

I found that HY Biochemistry was more than sufficient for the questions I came across.

HY Biochem was a great review tool for me too. Seems like someone is always selling some HY series book on ebay.

 

[SexPanther]

And it is nice to see that Pox & BF had an amicable exchange of ideas without it turning into a burn war. Feel free to start again b/c it makes for great reading during those bad rotations.

 

[bigfrank]

And it is nice to see that Pox & BF had an amicable exchange of ideas without it turning into a burn war. Feel free to start again b/c it makes for great reading during those bad rotations.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I have nothing against Pox.

We've had well-attended and well-read disagreements in the past, but we've both cut our losses and moved beyond it.

 

[quideam]

Um... how about just learning the biochem in FA and that's it? That was sort of my plan... is that going to be enough?

 

[Psychopathology]

I just finished reading Rapid Review Biochem, but I have not yet gone through the questions.

It's short (about 200 pages, and then another 100 or so with questions) and only took me a few days to read through.

Despite having a weak background in biochemistry, I was tentative about purchasing another biochemistry review book. I just didn't have the time to do Lippincott again but I was affraid that first aid wouldn't be enough for me.

I took the plunge and I'm glad that I did. Goljan and Pelley fully advocate keeping it simple and sparing you the gritty details that drove me away from other review books. The down-side, as another poster alluded to is that the authors leave out a lot of details that may or may not be relevant to the exam. Beta-oxidation is a great example - they provide you with the big picture and that's about it. Then again, I have no intention of memorizing every intermediate of every pathway - no way. The sections on signal transduction, nutrition, and amino acids - nitrogen metabolism were great! The sections on gene expression and biotechnology were very brief and not as strong.

Although, at a quick glance, the format resembles a big, long list of facts and the figures are not as flashy as those found in Lippincott, I must say that Rapid Review was a very easy read and that with very few exceptions, the figures were fairly concise and comprehensible... and these are biochemistry figures we're talking about!

What I really enjoyed about this review book is how the authors present really clear explanations for the causes of metabolic diseases. They say what needs to be said and not a lot more. They toss in clinical correlates all over the place to draw connections between the concepts. The text is concise but there is a little bit of repetition so that things start to stick.

I don't know what it is about Goljan, but he could teach me more in a sentece than some professors I have had could teach me in an entire lecture. I somewhat impulsively bought his path book this afternoon. I'll use it to supplement questions from the new BRS Pathology and Robbins Review.


You are not going to memorize RR Biochem cover to cover, so by no means would I recommend this to someone who is pressed for time. I haven't hit my study period yet, but I've been reading in my spare time and this book was a gem. I think I'm gonna listen to Frank and use First Aid, HY Biochem, and HY Cell Molec when it's time to cram for biochemistry.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[missbonnie]

Um... how about just learning the biochem in FA and that's it? That was sort of my plan... is that going to be enough?

I'm pretty much only using FA as well..but I did read thru HY Biochem once (really really short book). Then again, I was a biochem major-I definitely don't remember pathways & crap tho. HY was good for filling some gaps .. FA assumes u know stuff (not just biochem for everything). We had a mini biochem boards review class at our school that was quite good as well.

bonnie

 

[Bones2008]

I loved the RR biochem book. I didn't use lippencott's, and I did just fine on my biochem questions on my exam.

 

[Pox in a box]

I think you were in the minority, but I could be wrong (of course). In any case, I think the point remains that Lippincott's Biochemistry for Step I review is a bit overkill.

I said 10 questions were "pure" biochem...others had biochem mixed with something else...

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Granted, one is a lot longer than the other, but should I use Kaplan Biochem or RR Biochem? Kaplan seems like an easier read, even if it's more pages.

 

[viper]

The best book for this is definitely the Kaplan book (the white one) written by barbara hansen. Use that with FA and you won't have any problems with biochem. Lippincott, I think, is way too much. check out http://www.gotmedbooks.com/insidepages_guide.php for more recommendations.

good luck,

 

[Pox in a box]

The best book for this is definitely the Kaplan book (the white one) written by barbara hansen. Use that with FA and you won't have any problems with biochem. Lippincott, I think, is way too much. check out http://www.gotmedbooks.com/insidepages_guide.php for more recommendations.

good luck,

I agree. I forgot how great Kaplan's book was. It had much better info than HY Cell and Molecular Biology too...(I can hear grumblings amongst the ranks)

 

[kdburton]

Someone told me that RR Biochem has a lot of regurgitation of what was covered in RR Path.. If I plan on using RR Path for studying for Step 1, would it even be worth it to buy Goljan's biochem book as well? Also, what is the Kaplan biochem book you buys speak of? I bought used copies of the whole Kaplan home study because I got them for cheap, but the more I read these forums the less inclined I am to use any of the Kaplan stuff....

 

[diosa428]

Someone told me that RR Biochem has a lot of regurgitation of what was covered in RR Path.. If I plan on using RR Path for studying for Step 1, would it even be worth it to buy Goljan's biochem book as well? Also, what is the Kaplan biochem book you buys speak of? I bought used copies of the whole Kaplan home study because I got them for cheap, but the more I read these forums the less inclined I am to use any of the Kaplan stuff....

The Kaplan Biochem book is one of the books in the 7-book lecture series.

 

[DF38]

Well, since this old thread has gotten brought back up, does anyone have new opinions?

I'm pretty weak in biochem (did fine in the class, but I don't remember ANYTHING), so I'm not sure FA will be enough for me. I have Lippincott's and used it for class, but that's too much for me to even consider going back to.

Kaplan, RR, or HY - what would you recommend?

 

[GMDMD]

I thought it was more than adequate. I did not read the book cover to cover. Mainly I used it as a refresher/reference when I got confused looking over FA concepts.

As a caveat, I learned my biochem pretty darn well the first go through as an MSI. Not that I remembered any of it during step 1 review, but I suppose the foundation was there.

I really wouldn't recommend using any biochem text/review as anything more than a reference.

 

[SnakeEyes]

in my experience, FA was MONEY for the shelf and will probably be money for step 1 as long as you KNOW all the topics presented in the detail FA has it.

 

[Fireboy]

Kaplan Biochem is easy to read and covers the relevant material. UWorld also reinforces the concepts that are likely to be tested. RR Biochem was extreme overkill for what was found in my exam.

 

[igottaquestion]

Kaplan Biochem is easy to read and covers the relevant material. UWorld also reinforces the concepts that are likely to be tested. RR Biochem was extreme overkill for what was found in my exam.

but its end-of-chapter questions seem to go into nit-picky details that couldn't be answered with FA. Is it worth knowing these minutiae?

 

[jackets5]

I love the RR review series the way they are presented works well for me. Also, Goljan co-authored the biochem book. It does a great job of intregrating Biochem with path, phys etc. May be to much as i have heard FA for Biochem is great. did not study for our self exam at school but my friend used RR biochem for it and he did very well, one of the top scores in our class.

 

[Saladin MD]

Um... how about just learning the biochem in FA and that's it? That was sort of my plan... is that going to be enough?

Excellent plan.

Look: even FA biochem is hard to completely memorize. I say: don't spread yourself thin and stick to FA.

 

[baran1986]

Hello dear friend.... i read all discus above and i got all books represented.... but i have 4 months only to prepared for exam, so, plz help me.... which of this books is better to read for exam??? (BRS Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Genetics /// USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes 2016_ Biochemistry and Medical Genetics/// Rapid Review Biochemistry//// (Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews Series) Denise R. Ferrier PhD-Biochemistry)....

 

[tallaznCstudnt]

Have the book. It is brand new and unopened......... Have the electronic question bank too.... Have only 3 wks to prepare for exam... not sure what to do.. I just want to not **** up my career