Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease-Is it worth it?

[Elbowstoopointy]

Lol just saw this...

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[Brachyury]

Lol just saw this...

I posted this early, but Pathoma is new, and it is much better than Goljan Audio/RR or BRS. If you are a second year, you need to try it. After I tried Pathoma, I stopped using Goljan, and I felt like I was born-again . . . in pathology.

 

[Elbowstoopointy]

I posted this early, but Pathoma is new, and it is much better than Goljan Audio/RR or BRS. If you are a second year, you need to try it. After I tried Pathoma, I stopped using Goljan, and I felt like I was born-again . . . in pathology.

I have pathoma...does not seem detailed enough for class at all. Maybe its a good place to start before you read robbins, so you have somewhat of an idea of the diseases

 

[secants]

I also realized early on that Pathoma is nowhere near the level of detail I need to pass my classes. I used it for an overview videos+Book and then go into class notes/goljan RR for more details. But I assume it's really geared towards Step 1 only. Still worth the money IMO.

 

[Nasrudin]

I also realized early on that Pathoma is nowhere near the level of detail I need to pass my classes. I used it for an overview videos+Book and then go into class notes/goljan RR for more details. But I assume it's really geared towards Step 1 only. Still worth the money IMO.

It shortcuts some phd'y type of ****.

But who said pimpin was easy.

 

[Elbowstoopointy]

I also realized early on that Pathoma is nowhere near the level of detail I need to pass my classes. I used it for an overview videos+Book and then go into class notes/goljan RR for more details. But I assume it's really geared towards Step 1 only. Still worth the money IMO.

Its def worth it. I'm going overkill on path right now because lets be honest, after the semester's over I won't know all the details- but hopefully I'll know the major points on boards. Pathoma will refresh me on what I need to know

 

[Brahventus]

I'll answer this question first with a method, then with my personal anecdote. What I suggest is both learning for the test, but also learning for life. Path is not useless. The details are, but the mechanism of disease ("whats the mechanism?" - goljan) are not. Taking the time to learn the basic science does pan over to your comprehension of the human body later on. Medicine, contrary to what many believe, is not just about memorization.

Studying should go something like this.

There are 3 books.

1. Skeleton Book.

The review book. This has the least amount of information, but is the easiest to get through. Good examples are Rapid Review (for the love of god use RR for path) and BRS.​

2. Flesh Book.

The reading book. This book has the concepts fleshed out (eh, get it?). All the details aren't there, but let's be honest, this is the book you'll actually READ. You can sit down, read it through, take notes. Medium Robbins is a great example of this for path.​

3. Skin Book.

The reference book. This book is as high up as you can go. You're studying path? Its Big Robbins. Internal Medicine? Harrisons. Surgery? Schwartz. You will never read this book through. You just won't. Its too long, its too much information. Its written for pathology residents to read over their 4 year residency. Its the place you go to look up things where you need more detail, but is too difficult to get through on its own.​

--I thought you said there were only 3 books---​

4. Question Book.

The Question Book.The unfortunate reality is that learning is not enough. Med schools test on MCQ exams, teh step is a MCQ exam, and you will doing MCQ exams for the rest of your life. Get used to it. This book is added when you want to do well in a course beyond actually just learning the material.​

How to use the books
People usually do this: They read the reading book, they reference the reference book, and when they are done, they read the review book. This is ok. If you do this, you will still do well.

What I tell people to do (and I was a tutor for path) is to read the skeleton book for the section they are covering. Don't worry if its egyptian. This is orienting you to the important things. Its getting you a mental skeleton. THEN you read the flesh book, to flesh out your mental skeleton. Only if you need to do you go to the skin book, because that's an awful lot to do.

What I recommend
Get Rapid Review Path and read it for the chapter you will cover. Buy and read medium robbins. Look up Big Robbins in the library, or, if you are rich, just buy it. But use it sparingly This will put you ahead of most of your classmates. Obviously, you need to do questions. Whether that is Pretest (i think Pretest sucks), Robbins Qbook, Lippincott's Qbook, or Kaplan / UWorld, you need to be doing questions.

What I did and why I don't recommend it
I did Big Robbins --> Rapid Review --> questions. I got honors. YAY for me. But it cost me my soul. It consumed my life. I gpt fat, I got angry, I didn't like the world. I had anxiety attacks (more like anger attacks, where I just wanted to punch a wall, or the car in front of me). Did it help me succeed? Sure. Could I have done without this method? Hell yeah. If you are somehow an ungodly memorizer and speed reader of medical texts (which I know you aren't otherwise you wouldn't be asking the question), then Big Robbins is a great way to go. For most people, reading big robbins just leads to misery and only sometimes academic success.

Has anyone who followed through with this method ended up getting a good board score?

 

[sunealoneal]

I haven't done my boards yet, but I generally agree with that framework if you're a reader.

I personally enjoy reading Big Robbins for the most part though. If you don't, it's not going to be a big deal.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Made it all the way through second year without even opening Robbins. Learned my pathology from med school lectures, Pathoma, Goljan RR for reference, Goljan Audio, and UWORLD.

 

[Brahventus]

What do you think of this method:

Skeleton: Pathoma
Meat: Goljan/Class notes
Skin: Big Robbins

 

[Quizlet04]

What do you think of this method:

Skeleton: Pathoma
Meat: Goljan/Class notes
Skin: Big Robbins

Get yourself the Robbins question book. 50-70 questions per chapter will drill a fair amount of stuff into your head.