Customer Reviews

Rapid Review: Biochemistry

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everyone at my medical school endorses BRS and HY so I wasn't too sure about this series, but I took a gamble (same price as HY with content & ??'s like BRS). I'm glad I did!

The book does an excellant job of condensing the relevent information in digestable portions with outstanding diagrams. I read this book over summer before 2nd year, about 5 months after completing my Biochem coursework. I did well in classes but had HMG CoA totally mixed up between ketones and cholesterol (as just one example) but this book put the big picture, comparative information and necessary details together for me.

It's a great confidence builder and even though Biochem isn't considered the highest yield topic for Step 1, I would invest in this book.

Lippincott's illustrated review is too wordy. This is what I need to prepare for the boards. good charts and short, concise bullet-pointed contents makes review fast and easy.

con: costs too much for a 150 page book.

One thing I have always loved about Goljan's review books is that they are easy to read and stress a good conceptual framework. He uses an outline format but they are mostly complete sentences.



My only criticism is that Rapid Review Biochemistry feels a little rushed and like it doesn't have 100% attention to detail, especially in the tables. To compare, Rapid Review Pathology is a little more of a polished book. For instance, under cobalamin deficiency (Table 4-1), achlorhydria is listed as a sign/symptom. Okay, if you have cobalamin deficiency secondary to pernicious anemia that's definitely true, but it's not quite true as written. Small things like this add up. Still one of the better biochem review books in my opinion.

Book itself is excellent! Very easy to digest all information. I tried to use CD to answer questions. Programm doesn't let to check all incorrect answers, instead it shows some of them or totally different answers from what i did answer. I verified it. Some of the questions repeat in the next test and keeps coming up again and again. My conclusion: CD is totally usless, but book is excellent for studying and i am still happy.

With all those books out there, rapid review Biochmeistry and pathology are the best for usmle review. I highly recommend these books for anyone at any stage of usmle prep. Thanks Goljan.

I have rapid review pathology which is amazing. This just doesnt compare. Its ok, but not great. It lacks diagrams and is too detailed for step 1. I recommend getting lange biochemistry and genetics flash cards for biochem. They are great, use them with first aid for biochem and you are golden.

There's a distinction between an excellent, well written and well organized summary vs. pages of poorly written scribbles. This book can't be used to study for Biochemistry. It has no clinical correlation. It has few diagrams and those in there are black and white and poorly illustrated. The book supposedly included practice question but to access any of those you have to register your book online and you get only 12 months to practice after which the questions you supposedly paid for are wasted. Worthless book. Does not deserve to be included in the Rapid Review series.