Hi everyone,
MS4 here, just finished my interviews for pediatrics. In some of my down time I'm looking for a general pediatrics textbook that is good for learning more pediatrics pathology/treatment prior to starting my intern year. Preferably something with more explanations/discussions than Harriet Lane but not quite as dense as something like Robbins.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
The above posters are right that there is nothing that you really need to do, other than showed up as relaxed and physically fit as possible to be ready for the most abusive year in your career. That being said, if you're determined to prepare I would recommend the following, in the following order.
1) Baby 411 and toddler 411. These are books that cover raising a child from age 0-5, written for parents by a general Pediatrician. If you're like most Peds applicants odds are that right now you have a pretty good knowledge base when it comes to serious pediatric pathology on the ward and the ED, but you have little or no knowledge of how to answer basic baby questions (is it ok that he's spitting up this much? How much fluoride does he need? When does his eye color come in? etc). These books have all the answers and they're very evidence based. You could read both of them in a weekend and memorize both in less than a month.
2) Polin and Yoder's Workbook in Practical Neonatology. This is a case files book for the NICU. Odds are that NICU is going to be one of your hardest rotations, and again you will have had either one or no months of education in it. Its a tough read, but well worth it, especially if you make flash cards and really drill down on the concepts.
3) Do the Pediatric national night time curriculum:
http://www.pedsnighted.com/. This is a series of online lectures designed to teach Interns how to answer basic on call questions from nurses (" Dr I'm call calling to report that Patient X's line infiltrated, Y has a critical potassium of 6.3, and Z has decreased urine output. What do I do?") Again, if you're like most new Interns, odds are you have a better understanding of how to treat septic shock than an infiltrated IV. This will help.
4) Listen to ICU rounds, by Dr. Jeffery Guy. OK, this is actually a series of lectures for adult ICU, but FWIW I think this is the best summary of ICU care out there. there are 70+ lectures, all half an hour to an hour. You will be much better prepared for worst case non-nicu scenarios if you listen to them. They're on Itunes
5) If by some bizarre chance you get through all of that, you can read Zitellis. If you really want an all subjects Peds textbook that is actually readable as abook, rather than a reference, that's the one I'd recommend. Just going through an old Pediatrics in review every week would also be awesome.
Again, don't stress, you don't need to do any of this. Under no circumstances should you read Nelsons, do questions, or do anything for the two weeks immediately before the start of residency.
