wat book to use for Pathology???

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meningioma

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hi

Im a IMG who s gonna take my step 1 in another 5 months.. i did my path in Robbins during my med school.. did it reasonably well.. now im confused wat book to use for my step 1 prep??

Goljan STAR series textbook

BRS

Goljan rapid review

goljan STAR series review book

Kaplan.

Pls help... i ve already done GIT, Liver n Renal in Goljan STAR series textbook.. but i find it bulky n less high yield..

Pls advise..

Ciao,
Meningioma 😕
 
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Pathology is one of the most important subjects for the USMLE Step 1. I would recommend BRS Pathology along with Robbins and Cotran Review of Pathology. Once you have covered other subjects, you can consider Rapid Review Pathology 2nd edition by Goljan. It is one of the best books I have ever seen! I have yet to take Step 1, but that is my plan. As of Kaplan, I have heard from people that took the course, it is very good. Unfortunately, I have no personal experience on that.
Good luck with your exam!
PS. I have also used Pocket Companion to Robbins and Cotran. It is very useful, but since you mentioned having gone through Robbins already, you could use the latter for reference only
 
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Although I haven't taken Step I, I would recommend using Rapid Review Pathology and referring back to Big Robbins for details that you aren't too clear on.

EDIT: I think it will be helpful to also do a lot of practice questions. You absolutely need to apply the knowledge in a meaningful way to get it to click/stay.
 
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NDsUltimateJugg said:
If Goljan's RR Path is 'the best you've ever seen,' why is is your 3rd choice?
Click to expand...

Hello NDsUltimateJugg,

I am sorry if I did not make myself clear enough in my previous post. Rapid Review Pathology is neither my third choice nor the best I have ever seen.

I have not mentioned the books in order of importance from best to worst, but in the chronological order I would use them. In my humble opinion, it is best to go over RR pathology once other subjects have been covered because it has a lot of integrations. That is the only reason it gets mentioned third. In addition, it has a bulleted outline format that might not be as easy to follow unless you have gone through pathology before.

RR Pathology is indeed one of the best pathology review books I have ever seen, but the other books I have mentioned are second to none.

Please bear in mind that most of us have very different backgrounds and study methods. I have just provided one of many alternatives to address such a huge discipline.
 
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autoimmunity said:
Although I haven't taken Step I, I would recommend using Rapid Review Pathology and referring back to Big Robbins for details that you aren't too clear on.

EDIT: I think it will be helpful to also do a lot of practice questions. You absolutely need to apply the knowledge in a meaningful way to get it to click/stay.
Click to expand...

I would recommend this as well.
 
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IMGs usually take Step 1 after passing their clinical rotations. If this is the case for you, BRS will be more than enough for you. The emphasis is really on the clinical aspects rather than the histopathology. Good luck.
 
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rox said:
The emphasis is really on the clinical aspects rather than the histopathology.
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I disagree. I think you will find that there is equal emphasis on histopathology and pathophysiology. BRS is good for pathopgysiology, but is poor on histopathology because it has very few slides/picturs. Baby Robbins or Robbins Review of Pathology are excellent, and cover both aspects of pathology very well.
 
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thanks for those ideas guys!!! I think i ll do brs and rapid review.. refer into robbins as well... im an IMG doin my internship so im little confident abt pathophysiology but regarding histopath im not really sure..also i did a few chapters on goljan STARS pathology text book... but i felt it was bulky n time consuming... but no one has mentioned abt tat book????
 
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lankysudanese said:
I disagree. I think you will find that there is equal emphasis on histopathology and pathophysiology. BRS is good for pathopgysiology, but is poor on histopathology because it has very few slides/picturs. Baby Robbins or Robbins Review of Pathology are excellent, and cover both aspects of pathology very well.
Click to expand...

Well, at least in my exam there was no emphasis on histopathology, neither images nor theoretical questions. The clinical presentation of the questions sugessted the diagnosis and the slides were merely a decoration. Plus, they were for very common diseases that I could recall from previous years. However, there were a few gross pathology images that I could answer by just looking at the image.

Bottom line, BRS worked perfectly for me given that I passed the core rotations.
 
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BRS path or RR path are fine. Don't use both. I would suggest RR path for you since you have 5 months to study because it is a thicker book and you'll have enough time to get through it. I'm not sure what this STARs thing you are referring to.
 
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Hey! Im preping for USMLE step one at the moment. I heard pathology kaplan is not very useful. Should i go through kaplan at least once before going through golgan and BRS or should i just jump into them w/o the kaplan? Im planning on reviewing kaplan for all other subjects, but becuz pathology is a major component i don't want to make a mistake and under prep. Im also a very slow reader and i need all the time i can get! So please help and shine some light this way!
 
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