Customer Reviews

Rapid Review Pathology: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access, 3e

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you have the old edition, strongly consider upgrading. There are tons of color images and clinical correlations. I love the way Goljan integrates concepts. For example, he'll mention something you learned in biochem and give you a brief reminder of the concept (sometimes with a little diagram) or he'll mention a drug or a vitamin and he'll remind you about the mechanisms. He even ties in a little anatomy every once in a while. It does make it take a little longer than the equivalent BRS chapter, but I feel like I remember it a lot better. I also feel like things are starting to fit together from all of the different subjects now. Also, there are high yield notes in the margins. You can run through them very quickly before an exam. You're guaranteed to get some questions right just from those margin notes. I'm using this now for class, but when I review for the boards, I know the high yield margin notes, clinical correlation boxes, and the charts will help with a quick review. I owned the last edition and bought this one because of the great updates. It was well worth spending the money.

First of all, I should say frankly, that I like review books from "Robbins" family - "Pocket Companion to Robbins & Cotran PBD" and "Robbins & Cotran Review of Pathology" - more than either "BRS Pathology" or "Rapid Review: Pathology"; on the other hand, if this combo is too much for you, then you should make your choice between BRS and RR; I think that both these books are mandatory if you want to be well prepared for step 1, but, again, this couldn't be an option for many people - they are forced to read either BRS or RR and have a big question - which one is better? my answer is - pick RR - you will not be disappointed.
OK, what do you like in BRS?
Do you like that there are glaring omissions of many high yield topics and you'll be unable to answer many questions on your USMLE step 1? or, maybe, do you like, that BRS has no explanations of mechanisms of pathophysiology - the flesh and bone of the USMLE step 1 - and you'll be forced to cram without understanding?
RR is much more complete and comprehensive; it ellegantly describes pathogenesis, leaving no stone unturned; this book even contains excellent integrated topics from other subjects - for example, concise and very high yield acid-base chapter.
Do you like that in BRS there are boring lengthy descriptions of gross and microscopic pathology, without any picture of what is desribed?
In RR you can find numerous full color slides and drawings, mostly, from "Robbins" - remember, that on your step 1 you'll get many pathology MCQs with accompanying pictures.
Or, do you like, that MCQs in BRS are too easy and not like those on the actual exam?
RR contains many USMLE-ish MCQs and even more - online.
BRS is oversimplified - you'll be reading mostly the stuff you already know, so, you wouldn't need much effort - that's why it's more easy to read BRS than RR - but don't be tempted by comfortable reading - RR will make your performance on the USMLE step 1 much better, than BRS.

I've read through BRS Pathology many times, but I decided to give RR Pathology a try after hearing all the praise. I went through half of it so far and frankly I don't like it. I find it very difficult to read mainly because of its poor structure. It has improved over the first edition, but it still feels like a plethora of detail without any flow. Granted, there is quite alot of information that you won't find in the other books and it does integrate physiology better. But I really think there's too much detail and redundancy which makes it a less efficient source. After reading each chapter, I found it hard to retain alot of the detail.

My advice is, stick with the book that you feel most comfortable with and could easily master. Many students have done extremely well using BRS.

But most importantly, don't change books! If you know your first source well, don't jump to another thinking you'll have more knowledge. Most of the time, it will just confuse you more like this book did to me. Good luck.

I used my BRS through the first quarter and a half and decided to give Goljian a try after numerous recommendations from classmates. I wish (x 1000) I had used Goljian instead from the beginning. To put it simply, Goljian is a happy medium between Robbins and BRS in that Robbins has good details to help you understand the material while BRS for the most part simply tells you what you see in diseases without explaining reasons and the processes (for the most part....so it does provide brief explanations at times). However, in my opinion Goljian's true strong point is that many times it explains concepts the way say your 'smart' friend would on concepts. Have you ever been confused about a topic by reading text books or after lectures only to have your friend explain the concept in 2 minutes and you end up thinking "Why couldn't others explain it like this?" I think BRS is designed to be a different beast. It's designed to be a highlights of diseases so that if you can recall the background knowledge/processes of diseases by reading what's provided in BRS, it's a good book. Goljian explains things much more so that even without reading Robbins (not all the time) you can really understand what is going on with diseases and why/how they happen. Again, nothing beats Robbins in terms of thoroughness. But, view Goljian as that 'smart' friend who is good at explaining things. Again, I really wish I would have used it rather than BRS from the beginning of my M2 year.

Disclaimer- This is about the 1st Edition**

I am a 4th year medical student now, and I started using this book during my second year of medical school. I think that this was the best book I have used in medical school. It is accurate, and includes everything and anything you need to know. It integrates every subject into path too- like Micro, and Pharm, and important physiology. The best part is that it explains things (especially when used with his lectures!). For example, the hematology is great, in that it explains why lab values are low/high, based on path, so you do not have to memorize the material. Sure, a common complaint is that there is too much info, which is especially true for the heme section, but who cares, your going to be a doctor. You never know what a patient may have, or what a board question will ask. This book is why I succeeded into 3rd and 4th year. It will make your shelf exams easier, and of course, step 1 easier! Why? You will understand medicine, and not just memorize it to forget it! Thus, when you use this book, your not just studying for step 1, but, your also learning info for every shelf exam, and every board exam you will ever take. Believe it or not, its good for PIMP questions on the wards! I can't tell you how many ridiculous questions I knew, even when residents didnt know the answer, because of this book. Every high-yield fact, and buzz-word, is in this book. I was never brilliant or anything, ie) average MCAT, but I sure did very well on all my boards and shelf exams. There are great color photos in this book too. Some of these you will see on...well...hint hint hint. Another great part of this book- sure, it has a lot of great step 1 info, but it is also great clinically. I used this book during every rotation- that's right: Peds, Surgery for the GI section, GYN disease, etc. I think this is because it is very good at giving "most commons", which is definitely important to know. Basically, if you want a book that has every part of medicine in it, and really want to learn and understand medicine, then get this book.

People who don't like it usually pick it up 2 months before taking their step 1 exam. Why? It's huge! There is so much info in here, and yes, it can take longer than BRS to get through. That's why you get it early in your studying, aka, during 1st and second year. Then, when you review it, it's a piece of cake. Also, there is too much info here, but that's why it is great for 3rd and 4th year. So, don't get caught up with details when studying for step 1! It really isn't that big either, especially when you have one source with everything you NEED TO KNOW (micro, pharm side effects, etc). This is certainly one book that I am not selling. As far as editions- I am sure the second edition is great. Also, I used the biochem RR to study, which is great too. Definitely how I learned biochem for the boards. It focuses on clinical biochem, which is what you need to know! And, its only like 200 pages, with great diagrams and charts. Definitely use it over that other book that starts with an L...

This book doesn't just aid in review, it is a great resource for initial learning. I find that having an outlined overview of what I'm trying to learn before I start studying helps me a lot. This book gives you a beautiful outline format with layers of detail that you can pick up as needed. I am so amazed at how much core pathology content has been squeezed in this book. I'm using it along side of my course notes in my Human Disease course at the UCSD School of Medicine and I've been very glad to have it when prepping for exams.

As the USMLE Step 1 exam creeps closer, I'm thankful I bought this book early. Knowing that Step 1 is about 50% pathology, upper level students who've already taken their boards have told me it is a good idea to have a solid concise Path resource that you can count on in the final weeks before the exam. I'm satisfied that Goljan's Rapid Review Path will pull me through. This is a great resource and I highly recommend it!

P.S. I also have Rapid Review Histology and Cell Biology: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access (Rapid Review) and I found it very helpful. Knowing what normal tissue structure looks like is an important foundation for pathology.

...don't try to use this for your pathology review if you are only allotting yourself a month TOTAL for board review, and you haven't been through it before to highlight the key information. It is far too much material to get through. I spent 9 half days (4-5 hours each day) on pathology and came out of it feeling like I hadn't retained anything due to the density of the book. I think it's EXCELLENT and very well-organized, but it's far too much if this is your first complete pass through it. I ended up giving up and switching over to BRS Path because it was so much more concise. I did, though, go back through RR after reading BRS to look at images and read through the margin notes, which I found to be extremely helpful. I think for many people this will be a great resource because it's complete; you almost don't even need to read extra physio stuff! But for students who have limited time to prepare and/or who haven't read through the book during the course of the year, this may be too much.

This is a great book. It is helpful for Pathology class and for Step 1. The only problem is that the Student Consult website doesnt have what the book promises it does. The book says that SC contains over 400 questions but as of today (9/22), none of them are on the site. I tried contacting student consult twice and Dr. Goljan to ask about this but no one got back to me.

It is still a great book and I recommend it for anyone in medical school, but until SC puts up the promised 400+ problems, it gets four stars from me.

Edit: The questions are now up! The book gets 5 starts from me! The questions are very useful and seem like the type of stuff we're expected to know for Step 1.

This book is packed with high yield facts and images. Unfortunately it also packed with some less high yield material, making it a very difficult read. I found myself struggling to slog through it and wasting lot of board study time on it. In the end I dropped it from my board study routine for this reason. I found the audio lectures had the information more succinctly. If you have time to use this book during your coursework it is a good investment. It will pay off big time when you get to board review and have a solid background. Plus you will be familiar with the book and can use it as a quick reference to look up points of confusion

I got this book in February for board prep, and I wish I had it for the duration of the year. It is a great board review book, and is longer than BRS. However, unlike many, I don't think it's better. It has more info, but takes significantly longer to get through, and is missing some associations and facts that BRS has. At any rate, I have both and use both equally, and have found this book to be invaluable.