Books for Peds

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Fix-it-Man

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Anyone who has recently had their Peds Rotation, I'd like to know what reference books, cards, Palm software, etc. you found helpful in the wards.

Thanks :cool:
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Many people swear by Blueprints. I was not as impressed, although I loved it for Medicine. The book that I loved was a British book called Illustrated Textbook of Pediatrics (Lissauer and Clayden). It is about 300 pages, but is easy to read and has a ton of great pictures. I was able to go through it very easily during my 6 week peds rotation, and I did great on my shelf exam. Harriet Lane is a great reference book, but you don't really need to buy it unless you plan on going into peds. For my palm, I used 5 minute pediatric consult which was great on rounds. Hope this helps.
 
Hmm...Peds is generally a nice rotation because Pediatricians are nice people! Blue prints is a good review book in Peds - it is also an easy reading. I didn't have to take the shelf in Peds, so I can't comment on that. Make sure you know fluid management, infectious diseases (e.g meningitis, croup, sore throat, etc...), asthma management, and developmental milestones. Basically, it is not a bad rotation and i think BLue prints is a good enough book if you are not going into peds.
 
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I just took the pediatrics shelf exam, and I was satisfied with both of my resources. I used Blueprints and Pretest. I've heard that NMS is too detailed to read cover to cover.
 
Blueprints and Appleton and Lange worked like a charm
 
The blueprints series has been working well with me so far. Pediatrics and OB/Gyn are definitely the best of the series.
 
Hi,
I used NMS and Pre-Test; even though Peds was my last 3rd year rotation (I already had medicine and surgery), I still found NMS to be a challenging read. However, I did score in the 90th percentile on the National Mini-Board. NMS is quite in-depth, so if you are interested, I'd budget at least 4-6 weeks to get through it. Unfortunately for Peds, (at least as of this spring) there was not a High-Yield book out, so I used Pre-Test for my week prior to the test review.

I have not looked through Blueprints, but a lot of people seemed to like it; it may be a more concise read.

As for texts/references, Nelson's Essentials (a green book) is great (I don't know the most recent edition.)

Oh yeah, for 3rd year last-minute reviews, High-Yield for Medicine and OB/GYN were wonderful!

Good luck
 
NMS is a beast to read!!
Go with blueprints all the way!
UCVs have good cases too!
 
Blueprints and pretest is all you need for peds. Some people like A&L question book also, but I didn't use it.
 
I just began my Peds rotation, and we are using Nelson's Essentials of Pediatrics as our primary text. The problem is, the textbook is so dense I doubt I'll get through half of it in the next six weeks.

Can anyone suggest another text or a good review book that does not sacrifice too much info? Is Blueprints ok or too skimpy?
Any good books of review questions?

Thanks!
 
Blueprints and PreTest, I think are enough. I did those 2 and got an 80 raw score on the shelf (ok, not all that impressive, but all my other shelf raw scores have been in the 50s and 60s). Of course, I also really want to do pedi, so I did a lot of learning on my own, looking stuff up, and we had to do H&Ps that included these long research essay-type things with a discussion to boot, so....

And dont get "Nelson's". Get "Dehydrated Nelson's" - thats the green book thats MUCH nicer than the real 2 volume thing.

Oh, and our rotation was 2 months - 1 inpt, 1 outpt

Star
 
Platinum Vignettes is the best I found for Peds.
 
The peds shelf exam is really difficult. I'd focus on doing practice questions in pre-test, I had some repeats on my shelf. Other then that, just be sure to do a lot of reading on your patients during your rotation. I read blueprints front to back, but I think that blueprints is too vague for most of the questions.
 
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I agree that there's nothing as good as MKSAP. I did Pretest peds and did just fine. (But I DID do peds right after IM, so there was a reasonable amount of overlap.) I was also recommended Appleton and Lange, but ater A&L IM I was turned off.

I hated Blueprint Peds and I tried to read NMS, but looking back at how clean the pages were, I guess I didn't do much of that, either. I did read the peds section of "First Aid for the Wards" the weekend before the test as well as some select chapters from NMS for my weak areas.

But I'm also not sure how important the shelf exams are at other schools. Here we just need above a 73 (raw score) to "keep" our clinical grades as our overall clerkship grades (i.e. the shelf is 1/3 of the total grade, so if you start out w/ an outstanding for clinic, and get above a 73, you keep your outstanding overall).
 
a lot of people used blueprints but i liked illustrated textbook of pediatrics - lots of pics
shelf is not bad if you've had medicine and surgery
review ID stuff and meds to treat
pretest is good
enjoy
peds is a fun rotation
 
Blue prints is alright for review, and I would get pretest for questions. The shelf for peds is really hard, the questions are very specific and be prepared for ~10 really long questions at the end (budget your time). First aid for peds wasn't out last year, I wouldn't buy it since it's a first edition and probably has a lot of mistakes in it. You can by first aid for step II or another step II review book if you want something to supplement your readings though.
 
I felt Blueprints was not in enough detail for the shelf (which is quite difficult). I preferred Pretest for question practice. For a general reference I used Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment, which provided good detail. I did pretty well above the mean on the peds shelf.

Another thing to keep in mind for Peds is that (at least at my school) the teaching pediatricians/residents are VERY detail-oriented. They prize organization and keeping up to date on your patients. On the inpatient service you should do your patient presentations EXTREMELY thoroughly (down to the last milliliter of fluid balance) and know EVERYTHING that's going on with your patients (updated labs, etc.). Of course this holds true for all the services, but I wanted to emphasize it for peds. I think a lot of people think pediatrician = nice = won't demand a lot of work, but in my experience has been pediatrician = cares fiercely for child patients = expects a similar level of work from the med students.
 
pikachu said:
pediatrician = cares fiercely for child patients = expects a similar level of work from the med students.
Click to expand...

So true. But they are more forgiving if you aren't completely on top of everything and they'll understand if it's your first rotation. If you can do all the stuff pikachu said, you'll be a superstar. Right now, it's all about how fast you can adapt to the hospital system.

One other thing--having some sort of toy that you can use to distract the crying kids is helpful. Those little containers of non-toxic bubbles you can blow for them work really well. Finger puppets that you can attach to the stethoscope are good too.

As far as other books, I though the Saint-Frances Guide was pretty good. I agree with Pretest for practice questions.
 
So I was lucky enough to get Pre-Test and Blueprints for Peds as a hand-me-down from an M4, and I've been looking through old threads to see if it's enough. Nearly every thread says "BP is not enough for the shelf, you need more", but no one ever says what that "more" is. So what's the consensus? First Aid? NMS? Recall? What exactly does more mean, and what has everyone used for this rotation?
 
i have no real idea what I'm 'supposed' to be using for peds. i'm just trying to read the appropriate section in FA for the Wards and I'm currently making my way through Case Files: Pediatrics (which I like quite a bit so far). I'll use Pretest along the way. I hope that these plus reading about my patients will be enough, but I feel like I'm flying blind.
 
Oh, our clerkship director spoke highly of Pediatrics for Medical Students. Longer than Blueprints, shorter than Nelsons and others of that ilk. plus it has a CD. have not purchased, but thought I'd mention it also.
 
rxfudd said:
So I was lucky enough to get Pre-Test and Blueprints for Peds as a hand-me-down from an M4, and I've been looking through old threads to see if it's enough. Nearly every thread says "BP is not enough for the shelf, you need more", but no one ever says what that "more" is. So what's the consensus? First Aid? NMS? Recall? What exactly does more mean, and what has everyone used for this rotation?
Click to expand...

I think the problem is, a lot of us know "you need more" but have never had to take the shelf again, so we don't know what else to use.

I tried getting by on my class syllabus, Blueprints, and PreTest. It was "not enough" for the shelf, meaning I didn't get the score I wanted, but I still passed. I could recommend you read Nelson's, but that's like telling you to read Harrison's for medicine.
 
the Dr I work with told me that blueprints should be enough for shelf if you're not planning to go into peds. she also recommended zitelli's atlas--but more for the PE, it has great pictures and descriptions of all the different pediatric findings.

if you want to go into peds, read baby nelson.
 
I took the peds shelf a couple of weeks ago. Note that I did really well - mostly because the course director went well out of his way to work on review sessions, had made up a zillion flash cards, and held many study/learn/review sessions - one at his house the week of the shelf.

I skimmed blueprints, but I'm honestly not much of a text-reader. Most of the rest of my class used it, and liked it. It was actually the recommended text for the rotation.

I used the Appleton & Lange question book - which is really hard and picky - but I think that's what earned me my 94th percentile. (Which I thought was surprising, being that I am not going to be a pediatrician, and had a hard time making myself study it.)

Just my 2c and good luck,
Danielle
 
I used Blueprints, but I didn't particularly like it. I did fine on the test, so I guess it's all right, but I don't think I'd recommend it. It was hard for me to keep all the Peds details in my head, and Blueprints didn't offer a framework for keeping track of it all (as I'm finding out while studying for Step 2). Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to offer you...
 
Case Files: Pediatrics and Pretest-Peditatrics should be enough. Boards and Wards and First Aid for the Wards both have nice summaries of the high points in peds to which the test does a pretty good job of sticking.
 
Nelson's pediatrics is pretty good


herenow said:
Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for what to read for pediatrics rotations. Any advice helps. Thanks. :)
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The most important thing you can do for peds is questions, whether from Pre-Test, or Appleton and Lange. I just took the shelf on Friday and can honestly say that the questions in Pre-Test were really similar. The Peds shelf is kinda like studying for the boards...lots of "classic presentations". So you gotta know the buzzwords for that one and doing questions will help with that.

I read NMS and First Aid for peds as well. I feel like NMS is a great book for reference, but it's really dense and hard to read. If I had to do it again, I would go through First Aid and use NMS to clear up things in First Aid that are too brief instead of reading all of NMS first. But do questions!!!
 
I used Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment for reference and reading on my patients, and Pretest for shelf study and did well. 100% agreement that blueprints format is not for everyone.
 
I'm using Prescription for the Boards Step 2 along with Step 2 Secrets for every single one of my shelf exams, and then for the step 2. I think both sources complement each other and are enjoyable to read and well-designed.

I'm taking my Peds shelf next Friday and I'll let you know if my reading choices helped or not.
 
I used Peds in Review.

Blueprints, IMHO, was only helpful for OB/GYN.
 
I'm reading Lissauer & Clayden which is 400 pages. It's a textbook not an outline review so you might not like it. I think it's good though.
 
A more comprehensive but still readable book is Pediatrics for Medical Students and it comes with a CD with practice questions.
 
There is a brand new BRS Peds book that you might want to check out if you like the format. Another book you can look at is Pediatrics for Medical Students 2e, more in-depth than Blueprints but still an easy read.
 
I'll add a vote for A&L. Didn't use it too much myself, but did some Q's with a classmate on call. Its pretty tough, like the shelf.
 
took the peds shelf ~2wks ago...my vote is for Pretest. I used that as my main question source and found that it helped me to pick out what was the pertinent info in the long-@ss cases, and fast.
Blueprint's questions, I thought, were a joke...but let's all wait till I get my score :oops: :luck:
 
About the same level of difficulty, but it was def the best prep for that test. Blueprints was good, but too long (esp cardiology section), so i wouldn't stress if you didn't finish reading it.
 
I only used Blueprints. It was all I needed for the rotation. Peds was my #1 area on Step II.
 
Blueprints was just fine for me, although I can't compare to FA since I have not seen it. Others at my school were very happy with Blueprints as well.
 
I wouldn't worry about which is rated higher.........people that use Blueprints tend to do really well on the Peds Shelf. It's the only book I read and I got a raw score of >95.

P.S. First Aid gives Blueprints a B+ but doesn't rank other First Aid editions -- it would be unethical I suppose.
 
You also have a photographic memory. ;) But I agree, BP is good for peds, but it is chock full o' detail.
 
Hey, you matched at an awesome Rads program. I'm envious of you right now, as I sit here studying Blueprints Neurology. :rolleyes:
 
blueprints was excellent as a resource for me especially since it was the first time i've used that series and i was very happy with my score. i used first aid for medicine, but it just didn't do it for me as far as peds was concerned. as for question books appleton and lange were a little more difficult than the actual shelf, but it's good preparation particularly if you take the time to read to read the explanations for each question.
 
the PreTest series is very good for questions. You get 500 board style questions broken down in chapters by organ system/disease state/well visits for newborn-peds. You also get very good explanations of the questions and the answer choices. I really liked it and was told by residents on my peds rotation to read it and know it.
 
Ralph Wiggum said:
Many people swear by Blueprints. I was not as impressed, although I loved it for Medicine. The book that I loved was a British book called Illustrated Textbook of Pediatrics (Lissauer and Clayden). It is about 300 pages, but is easy to read and has a ton of great pictures. I was able to go through it very easily during my 6 week peds rotation, and I did great on my shelf exam. Harriet Lane is a great reference book, but you don't really need to buy it unless you plan on going into peds. For my palm, I used 5 minute pediatric consult which was great on rounds. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I would just like to second that--the Illustrated Textbook of Pediatrics is AWESOME--i remember that I read something on congenital heart defects and then by chance happened to get pimped to death on that very topic the next day...the drawings were so clear and I could remember them (and I can't ever remember anything), so I got every question right and impressed the hell out of my attending. not to mention that I nailed that shelf exam just because the basics were so well-explained. buy that book! I am going into peds and that book will definitely go with me to residency.... :)
 
Has anyone ever used "Pediatrics for Medical Students"? I just got it, and it seems pretty thorough. It also has a cd of questions, tho I haven't checked them out yet.
 
kaos said:
Has anyone ever used "Pediatrics for Medical Students"? I just got it, and it seems pretty thorough. It also has a cd of questions, tho I haven't checked them out yet.
Click to expand...

A couple of students have mentioned the book in this thread. The book was very helpful in emphasizing the key points about pediatrics. The CD contains questions that oddly enough appeared on the actual exam; about 10 questions almost verbatim. I highly recommend this text because I read through the book only once and had the best recall of any text. It is one of the best written texts I have encountered.

If one remembers ~50% the pediatric pearls and the bold print, there should be no reason why one cannot honor the exam.
 
I've heard that Case Files is pretty high-yield for peds. Any other suggestions?
 
I liked Case Files. In fact, I liked Case Files for everything. I also thought that Pre-Test was very helpful for the Shelf exam. For a general reference book, I liked Nelson's Essentials of Pediatrics and Up-To-Date.
 
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