Reading Robbins

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

TRKATK

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
Members don't see this ad.
Has anyone else been reading Papa Robbins? I've been reading it as we finish/go through each system but the info doesn't all seem to stick and I follow up with RR.

Anyone has any idea on how to better use robbins?

Thanks 🙂
 
TRKATK said:
Has anyone else been reading Papa Robbins? I've been reading it as we finish/go through each system but the info doesn't all seem to stick and I follow up with RR.

Anyone has any idea on how to better use robbins?

Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

Yes, it's called Baby Robbins and it's quite useful. The summaries at the end of the chapter sections are very nice in this book.

One thing I did was cut the binding from the spine of my Big Robbins, punched 3 holes in the pages and placed this book into two large 3-ringed binders. During lecture, I would only take the chapter that was relevant to the material that we were studying at the time. This seemed to help too but Baby Robbins was my ace.
 
I like the pictures in Big Robbins, and the purple boxes. I just scan through the rest, but there's too much otherwise.

Medium and Baby might be doable, but they don't have all the pics!
 
I read big robbins cover-to-cover and highlighted most of the contents. It was time-consuming, but it definitely helped me ace 2nd year and do very well on Step 1 (>245).
 
Our school uses Rubins and I really like. The text seems to sound less PhD like than Robbins. I kind of feel bad though that I'm not reading rapid review everyday like my classmates. It just seems like too much to read along with Rubins. I say that if you take it one chapter at a time, reading along as you cover the material it should be fine. These books definitely help you to have that deeper understanding of the mechanisms.
 
Baby Robbins has been one of my favorite books so far in med school. It presents the material in a very straightforward, this-is-how-it-is-let-me-organize-it-for-you-and-make-it-easy-to-read kind of way. I also really like the review book that goes along with it, it helps to realize that even though I just read a chapter I still don't know near as much as I thought and helps me focus on hitting the major points and the details.
 
from personal experience, i would strongly recommend using big robbins (pathologic basis of disease)...

when reviewing any topic for the first time, i first look at its pictures, then look at the relevant text... this way the text becomes very straight forward (unlike some other textbooks)

big robbins is excellent for building your concept in pathology, and therefore very high-yield for the step

finally, it is possible to review this text book more than once... just scan the pictures, and if it seems difficult to understand, read the relevant text...
 
TRKATK said:
Has anyone else been reading Papa Robbins? I've been reading it as we finish/go through each system but the info doesn't all seem to stick and I follow up with RR.

Anyone has any idea on how to better use robbins?

Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

Wheel chock.
Boat anchor.
Shim to put your bed head on to alleviate GERD.
Step stool to get stuff from that useless cabinet above your fridge.
Door stop.
Ballast for the back of your truck when it gets icy.
Probably others I can't think of.

At a minimum I read the clinical paragraphs and the blue morphology boxes.
 
If you like textbooks, it's a great one, IMO. If you don't like textbooks, don't waste your time.
 
-Goose- said:
I read big robbins cover-to-cover and highlighted most of the contents. It was time-consuming, but it definitely helped me ace 2nd year and do very well on Step 1 (>245).
Click to expand...

+1. Mine's definitely highlighted/underlined cover-to-cover, and reading that book is the one big thing that helped me ace all my classes and get a 99 on step 1.
 
I was on the fence about buying another textbook at the beginning of last year. I never used my anatomy textbook, so...

Anyway, I heard that big robbins or big rubins are good to have during third year, or anytime you have a question and can't get to uptodate.com or some-such thing. It's a nice resource to have around and really covers most disease states, clinical presentations, etc.

I put in the work to read it, and don't regret it, but it's a lot of reading. I would read it through once, then read our syllabus three times, then read the appropriate section in BRS Path, then read the corresponding firstAID section (twice). I was reading so much repetitively that I didn't have too much to cram. I'm *so* tired of the abject cram-n-jam. If a factoid is mentioned in each of the references I read, I read about it seven times, and it was probably worth reading seven times.

Nobody said this would be easy....
 
Last edited:
We had a year-long Path class during our MS-II year so I read a little at a time, every week. I finished the book by around March of that year and had lots of confidence going into Step 1.
 
Big Robbins is awesome. I wish I read the whole thing. I thought that I was forgetting things that I read in there, but trust me, things come back to you when you are writing the boards!

If you read and comprehend (but not necessarily remember) a a big chunk of Robbins, I don't see why you shouldn't rock the boards.
 
thanks for the advice and replies everyone. 🙂

I think I might have to go over again because there is no way I remember a lot of the first half of the book. :scared:
 
I read mama robbins. Anyone else? I like it so far...
 
We have access to the online version of Big Robbins, which I used to justify not buying it. Turns out, I read at most three paragraphs during my entire Path course. I did fine in Path, and fine on Step 1. Like everything else, you have to do what works for you.
 
I actually enjoy reading Robbins, but it is a challenge. I hope it helps in the end for Step 1. For class, I think it's great for supplementing the prof's lectures.
 
This question might be kind of stupid, but what is "medium robbins"?
And does "baby robbins" = the pocket companion?
 
I actually haven't read much of Robbins at all although I did pick up a copy of it from an upperclassman during first year... One of my friends a year ahead of me said that as soon as MS2 ended he read Robbin cover-to-cover and said it was great prep for the step. Since he seems to read faster and be more efficient than I do I'm not going to attempt to read Robbins during my time off for Step I studying, but I was wondering if you guys think it would be beneficial to set aside a little time every day and try to read through the whole thing by the end of this year? I plan on using Rapid Review Path for my main source once school gets out, but I don't feel well versed in pathology at all because I think the path lectures we get at my school are inadequate and and not really geared towards actually understanding as much as they are rote memorization... Would it be beneficial to read daddy Robbins all the way through or would focusing on memorizing Goljan's book be a better bet?
 
kdburton said:
I actually haven't read much of Robbins at all although I did pick up a copy of it from an upperclassman during first year... One of my friends a year ahead of me said that as soon as MS2 ended he read Robbin cover-to-cover and said it was great prep for the step. Since he seems to read faster and be more efficient than I do I'm not going to attempt to read Robbins during my time off for Step I studying, but I was wondering if you guys think it would be beneficial to set aside a little time every day and try to read through the whole thing by the end of this year? I plan on using Rapid Review Path for my main source once school gets out, but I don't feel well versed in pathology at all because I think the path lectures we get at my school are inadequate and and not really geared towards actually understanding as much as they are rote memorization... Would it be beneficial to read daddy Robbins all the way through or would focusing on memorizing Goljan's book be a better bet?
Click to expand...

You have to find what works for you. There are plenty of people who did well in 2nd year with only RR and plenty of people that did well reading the big daddy (like me).

Find out as early as you can what works for your personal style and stick to it.
 
-Goose- said:
You have to find what works for you. There are plenty of people who did well in 2nd year with only RR and plenty of people that did well reading the big daddy (like me).

Find out as early as you can what works for your personal style and stick to it.
Click to expand...

Well I've been doing fairly well without either of them up until this point. What I really mean is... As far as Step 1 prep goes I plan to use RR Path in the "cram-session" time I have off between when MS2 ends and the test. In the mean time however (between now and and when school ends on April/May something-or-other) do you think I would be better off trying to read Robbins cover to cover and get a good in-depth exposure to everything that is path, or should I just try to master rapid review starting now? Conceivably if I was determined enough to read Robbins all the way through I could certainly read Rapid Review three times over in that same amount of time, but Rapid Review is a review book as its name implies.
 
bump
 
kdburton said:
Well I've been doing fairly well without either of them up until this point. What I really mean is... As far as Step 1 prep goes I plan to use RR Path in the "cram-session" time I have off between when MS2 ends and the test. In the mean time however (between now and and when school ends on April/May something-or-other) do you think I would be better off trying to read Robbins cover to cover and get a good in-depth exposure to everything that is path, or should I just try to master rapid review starting now? Conceivably if I was determined enough to read Robbins all the way through I could certainly read Rapid Review three times over in that same amount of time, but Rapid Review is a review book as its name implies.
Click to expand...

From my personal experience, I would read Robbins from cover to cover and then cram RR.
 
FenixTx said:
This might be a stupid question, but when you guys are referring to "papa robbins" are you speaking of Robbins and Cotran Pathological Basis of Disease. It seems like the consensus here is that this is THE text to get for a pathology course.
Click to expand...

Rubin is a great text too and is very well-written. Most people use either Robbins or Rubin for medical school pathology. I have colleagues who lecture from Rubin but use Robbins for their required text.

Many of the pictures that are used on USMLE Step I are from Robbins or Rubin so you actually can't go wrong with either. The photos and their captions are important.
 
FenixTx said:
This might be a stupid question, but when you guys are referring to "papa robbins" are you speaking of Robbins and Cotran Pathological Basis of Disease. It seems like the consensus here is that this is THE text to get for a pathology course.
Click to expand...

Yes that is the book we're talking about
 
DoctaJay said:
Our school uses Rubins and I really like. The text seems to sound less PhD like than Robbins. I kind of feel bad though that I'm not reading rapid review everyday like my classmates. It just seems like too much to read along with Rubins. I say that if you take it one chapter at a time, reading along as you cover the material it should be fine. These books definitely help you to have that deeper understanding of the mechanisms.
Click to expand...

Rubin FTW. Rubin + Goljan RR + Robbins Review questions will set you up for path on Step 1.
 
Hi everyone,

I am from a caribbean medical school and down here, we lack 'a lot' of resources. Professor's lecture material lacking important information and not sure what books to use. I see a lot of my friends just read the RR Pathology instead of reading the Big Robbins, or Medium. Would it hurt them on Step 1?

I really really want to score 99% on Step 1 so I have been reading the Medium Robbins but when I came here, I see that students in states read the Big Robbins. I was wondering after I finish reading the Medium Robbins, should I also buy the Big Robbins and read it too?

[BTW, new edition for Big Robbins is coming out in March, 2009]
 
Compassion MD said:
Hi everyone,

I am from a caribbean medical school and down here, we lack 'a lot' of resources. Professor's lecture material lacking important information and not sure what books to use. I see a lot of my friends just read the RR Pathology instead of reading the Big Robbins, or Medium. Would it hurt them on Step 1?

I really really want to score 99% on Step 1 so I have been reading the Medium Robbins but when I came here, I see that students in states read the Big Robbins. I was wondering after I finish reading the Medium Robbins, should I also buy the Big Robbins and read it too?

[BTW, new edition for Big Robbins is coming out in March, 2009]
Click to expand...

As with most text books I'm guessing that using one edition prior to the newest one won't hurt too much - especially since Robbins is pretty dang expensive if you buy it new. I originally posted on this thread because I wanted to try to go above and beyond what most of my friends who've taken the boards have done. I really only know one person who read Robbins cover-to-cover and I know plenty of people who didn't that still scored very well. However I feel that my path lectures aren't that great, so I'm thinking about starting really early (i.e. this semester) and read through Robbins all the way by the time school gets out so that I can just review with Goljan
 
back in 2nd year i'd read through the relevant chapter in crash course pathology, then skim read robbins.

crash course follows remarkably similar (though far simpler) content to robbins. it's as if they'd read it, and summarised the major points. so, with the main points fresh in mind, i'd have a rough overview of what i was about to read in robbins, and in a much more eye / sanity friendly format. i'd then supplement it with some robbins info overload.
 
People actually read the whole book? How useful would you say that was? Not just for Step 1 but in general?
 
-Goose- said:
I read big robbins cover-to-cover and highlighted most of the contents. It was time-consuming, but it definitely helped me ace 2nd year and do very well on Step 1 (>245).
Click to expand...

Is this something that you started doing in 2nd year? How long did it take you in total and how much time per day did you dedicate to it? Did you just go along with your classes or were you reading the book independently of your classes?
 
bambi said:
People actually read the whole book? How useful would you say that was? Not just for Step 1 but in general?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how much you'll be willing to rely on the advice of a complete stranger on the internet, but here's my advice:

1) If you're going into second year, then read the chapters as you go through the topics in class...
2) If you're already through second year, then read medium sized Robbins. A friend showed me his copy, and I was so jealous. It had all the main points from big Robbins w/o a lot of the detail that you're unlikely to remember anyways....

Best of luck! :luck:
 
kdburton said:
Is this something that you started doing in 2nd year? How long did it take you in total and how much time per day did you dedicate to it? Did you just go along with your classes or were you reading the book independently of your classes?
Click to expand...

Oh most def. Started reading it along with my course material from day 1. You can't cram big robbins.
 
Saluki said:
I'm not sure how much you'll be willing to rely on the advice of a complete stranger on the internet, but here's my advice:

1) If you're going into second year, then read the chapters as you go through the topics in class...
2) If you're already through second year, then read medium sized Robbins. A friend showed me his copy, and I was so jealous. It had all the main points from big Robbins w/o a lot of the detail that you're unlikely to remember anyways....

Best of luck! :luck:
Click to expand...

I'm a 3rd year, it's just path is barely taught here so was thinking it might be useful?
 
bambi said:
I'm a 3rd year, it's just path is barely taught here so was thinking it might be useful?
Click to expand...

I'd probably go with the medium sized Robbins if I were in your shoes, but I just started my core rotations, so I'm not completely sure how useful going over Path is in general...

Maybe there's an MSIV, who wants to let us know whether it's valuable to go over Pathology once you've hit your clinical rotations....
 
Does anyone know when the 8th Edition of Big Robbins may come out? I've heard rumblings of this but does anyone have a more concrete source?
 
I too am a big Robbins reader. The first 10 or so chapters I was able to read 2 or 3 times before the exam, but after that my other courses kept me bogged down and I only got through the others once. Hopefully I'll get a sufficient breather over the break to hit it hard again next semester.
 
I have tried a little experiment with studying for Path:
1st exam: lectures + baby Robbins
2nd exam: lectures + big Robbins
3rd exam: lectures + Goljan
I got the same score on all 3 tests. So from my experience, reading Big Robbins doesn't make much of a difference. Just go with whatever you feel comfortable and whichever resource that presents the info in a way that sticks to your memory. I think medicine is 90% memorization and 10% regurgitating what you remember, at least for the first 2 years anyway.
On my next exam, I will give BRS a try. 😀
 
I've found that, for me, meticulously reading thru Big Robbins while highlighting once, then going over all the questions in the Review of Pathology question book and reading the entire answer explanation was the best. Then, I would read thru BRS path once or twice before the exam and read the step 1 prep section of pathguy's website the night before. When I did this, I did excellent on the exam. The 2 times I didn't do this, I still passed the exams but it brought my grade down in the class.

The explanations in the Review of Pathology book are great for giving you a pretty concise explanation of every answer choice and why it is right or wrong. This seemed to help enforce the important parts of each foil.
 
Does anyone have any input or comments on Pathology: The Big Picture?

Amazon has the look-inside feature--US site, UK site. Only the UK site has one review so far.
 
I read the first chap of robbins this winter.. It seems like it was full of random details that really dont share any common relevance?? Actual concrete facts were interspersed with and made to seem more complicated by these random factoids.

I m not really crunched for time for boards or anything, but I would like to create a strong path base for when I do reach boards ... I m wondering how high yield or even medium yield reading robbins really is? Do the chapters get better? or is pathology just kinda taught this way?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Incoming first year - reading recommendations
Replies
12
Views
2K
ChordaEpiphany
C
C
Thoughts on reading through first aid for board prep?
Replies
10
Views
2K
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
Mr.Smile12
MD & DO Read: AI interpretation of med school transcripts
Replies
0
Views
651
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
G
Robbins Questions
Replies
13
Views
2K
ciestar
ciestar
G
Robbins Basic Pathology
Replies
16
Views
4K
MedicineZ0Z
M
Top