Books for Surgical Residency

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I'm wanting a good surgery text to read during my fourth year surgery electives/sub-internship. One would also be nice to read for when I get bored doing medicine (my last rotation).

Any suggestions?

Schwartz seems to be pretty nice, and it's probably one that I will order.

Are there any others you guys would recommend that I take a look at? I will probably order 2 or 3 since these will come in handy during residency, too.

Thanks!

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Some books recommended by upperclassmen to me:

Sabiston's Atlas of General Surgery
NMS Surgery
Surgical Recall (good for residents)
Mont Reid Surgical Handbook (good to keep in your coat pocket)
Cope's Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen

Haven't looked through many of these except Sabiston's but check them out at Barnes and Noble or whatever and see if any of them look good to you.
 
Cameron's Current Surgical Therapy is easily the favorite of most of my colleagues. Very easy to read with to the point chapters. It does not have the extensive chapters on basic science material that some of the others have, but you really never read that stuff
 
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Originally posted by @imtiaz
Sabiston's Atlas of General Surgery
NMS Surgery
Surgical Recall (good for residents)
Mont Reid Surgical Handbook (good to keep in your coat pocket)
Cope's Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen

I have Mont Reid and Copes (used them for my third year clerkship in addition to Lawrence Essentials of Surgery).

I have access to Sabiston through MDConsult, so it would probably be one of the later books I buy (if at all).

How good is the Lawrence Surgical Subspecialties book?
 
Here are the books I like:

For clinical quick reference:
Cameron - Current Surgical Therapy: easily the fastest read if you need to figure out what to do with someone. NO basic science to speak of. The book gets updated virtually every year so hang on to old editions as the following book may have chapters written by totally different people.

For a nice mix between an atlas and a text:
Fischer - Mastery of Surgery: two volumes. Reads well. Diagrams many operations in an understandable way. One of my personal favorites. New edition came out in the last year or so.

My favorite expositive atlas:
Chassin - Operative Strategies in General Surgery: To me, it is the best mix of pictures and text for an atlas (Zollinger is just too little text for my taste). New edition came out this year. Only covers general surgery. You'll need supplements for any subspecialties you rotate on.

Basic Science heavy textbook:
You're pick. I'd probably wait on this and figure out which residency you end up with as they usually each favor a different one. I think Greenfield probably does the best job with covering basic science, but go with whatever works for you (Sabiston, Schwartz, Greenfield, or Norton will all work fine for most people)

Other books worth considering:
Marino - the ICU book: a good basic text on ICU care, something you'll be expected to do as a surgeon.

ACS Surgery: also a good overview. Lots of algorithms on treatment, etc. I really like this and now that it comes on CD-ROM (it's a subscription based service), it's far easier to print out bits and carry it around.


Keep in mind, everyone is different and what some people love, others can't stand. Be prepared to return books that don't match your style of learning. Good luck
 
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What books would people recommend for a gen surg intern? I'll eventually be doing ENT, so I don't need something real in-depth. Ideally, I'd like to buy one good pocket-size book that gives me the essentials for the wards, and another text that covers things more in-depth. I'll rotate through various sub-specialties, so it would be nice to find something that covers them as well.
 
Originally posted by surg
Here are the books I like:

For clinical quick reference:
Cameron - Current Surgical Therapy: easily the fastest read if you need to figure out what to do with someone. NO basic science to speak of. The book gets updated virtually every year so hang on to old editions as the following book may have chapters written by totally different people.

For a nice mix between an atlas and a text:
Fischer - Mastery of Surgery: two volumes. Reads well. Diagrams many operations in an understandable way. One of my personal favorites. New edition came out in the last year or so.

My favorite expositive atlas:
Chassin - Operative Strategies in General Surgery: To me, it is the best mix of pictures and text for an atlas (Zollinger is just too little text for my taste). New edition came out this year. Only covers general surgery. You'll need supplements for any subspecialties you rotate on.

Basic Science heavy textbook:
You're pick. I'd probably wait on this and figure out which residency you end up with as they usually each favor a different one. I think Greenfield probably does the best job with covering basic science, but go with whatever works for you (Sabiston, Schwartz, Greenfield, or Norton will all work fine for most people)

Other books worth considering:
Marino - the ICU book: a good basic text on ICU care, something you'll be expected to do as a surgeon.

ACS Surgery: also a good overview. Lots of algorithms on treatment, etc. I really like this and now that it comes on CD-ROM (it's a subscription based service), it's far easier to print out bits and carry it around.


Keep in mind, everyone is different and what some people love, others can't stand. Be prepared to return books that don't match your style of learning. Good luck

Hi there,
Look at the three major texts and pick one. All are going to be in your school or hospital library so pick the one that works for you.

I would add Carlos Pestana's Fluid and Electrolytes in the Surgical Patient, 5th Edition. to your reading for third or fourth year clerkship.

Don't bother trying to read too many texts during your clerkships while in medical school. If you know the Lawrence texts inside and out, that will get you well into the intern year. The Marino ICU book is a great book to read while you are doing your ICU elective during fourth year.

During internship, I read the Basis Science Section of Greenfield which more that prepped me for ABSITE and kept the pimp questions answered. This is essentially the first half of that text. I love the Chassion - Operative Strategy text.

I keep Mont Reid in my pocket on most days and I keep the Surgical Intern Survival Guide, an updated Sanford Manual and my Palm Pilot.

The most useful thing for me was learning to read CTs, MRIs and angios so have some good experience there before internship. I had a great radiology elective at Mayo.

njbmd
 
Yes, this subject sounds interesting, indeed.
 
Don't bother with the Lawrence subspecialties book. Even in medical school it wasn't necessary. Advanced Surgical Recall's subspecialties sections are far better and more concise.

For a medical student Lawrence Surgery is definitely enough. Carrying around Sabiston or Greenfield is impossible, and you'll never read a page. As a MS4 carry the surgical intern survival guide and use it, it will serve you well no matter what field you go into, interns all have to do the same scut.
 
So, I have quite a bit of free time and am planning on spending a few hours of reading a day for the next few months before jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire...of GS internship.

I currently have surgical recall, Advanced Surgical recall, both Greenfield's and Sabiston's text, Marino's ICU and the new Zollinger surgical atlas.

I want to get the "absite killer book/booklet" and can not find it. I will be getting Rushes review.

Anyone got any suggestions where I can find the ABSITE Killer, and any other things I might want for ABSITE review? Please help me find this text and let me know were else my library might be lacking.

Also, any recommendations for Step III review, I will be taking this at the end of May this year.

:confused:
 
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For a junior resident/intern, I would recommend Current Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment from Way/Doherty. It's more detailed than Surgical Recall and lighter than the big surgical texts.

I would also recommend a basic science book, which will help with the ABSITE. I like the one from Penn.

I didn't study for Step III, and I don't think any of my fellow residents did either.
 
Originally posted by SurgResident
...I would also recommend a basic science book, which will help with the ABSITE. I like the one from Penn...

Can you give me some more details on this text, i.e. formal title and author so I can look it up and possibly order it???
 
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Hey Loki...

I like Cameron's "Current Surgical Therapy" - IMHO, the "Current Diagnosis and Treatment" series is a bit too basic/low yield even for junior surgical HOs (it was what we used for medical school). Cameron is an easier, faster read than Greenfield or Sabiston.
 
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A couple other books i've picked up over the past 2 years that i've found really helpful are: Skandalakis Pocket Manual of Surgical Anatomy and Technique (it's actually too big to fit into a pocket), also, the MD Anderson Surgical Oncology Handbook (a really easy read and quite up to date), and the Critical Care Handbook of the Mass. Gen. Hosp (i found this way more useful than Marino, good to have in your pocket when you're covering the SICU on call).
 
Anyone know if "Cope's Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen" is appropriate for interns, or is it more for a fourth-year surgical sub-i?
 
I would highly recommend Cameron's "Current Surgical Tx". It's just the perfect brevity & scope for reading.

Marino's "The ICU book" was very influential for me as 4th year student & junior ICU resident

The MD-Anderson Handbook is also VERY nice (although I never used it)


I would advise not really investing in a whole lot of texts in this era. So much is available for free on the internet from a variety of sources. I think the eMedicine.com site has a real nice collection (and not just because I was a contributor)

Make sure you get on the mailing lists for the free journals you can get for being an enrolled resident (Surgical Rounds, Surgery Times, contempoary Surgery,Archives of Surgery). These are all good reads with up to date discussions on very relavent topics. they also freq. have large overviews of contemporary treatments of surgical dz.

You should also join the Amer. College of Surgeons candidate group for $20. You get a subscription to the Journal of the Amer. College of surgeons with it......GREAT JOURNAL!!
 
Any opinions on books for surgical interns going into subspecialties (like ENT)? Does anyone have/recommend the Washington Manual of Surgery? Thanks for this thread, everyone. I have to get some books before I start next month.
 
Wondering how the general surgeons feel about how appropriate it is to get a copy of Cameron's Current Surgical Tx for interns going into otolaryngology, neurosurgery, urology, or orthopedics following their intern year. Would it still be worthwhile to buy Cameron's textbook? If not, any recommendations for good general surgery texts for non-general surgery residents? Thank you all in advance for your replies.
 
:love: HI! I'm getting ready to start my internship in gen surg. Does anyone have advice on some good pocket reference books?? or good references for PDAs? Thanks so much!!
 
SOme of my favorites... (in no particular order)

Mt Reid Surgical Handbook - often used by medical students, but still helpful at the intern level; easy reading, portable

Cleveland Clinic Handbooks - Surgical Patient Management and Surgical Intensive Care - I've found these very practical and much easier to lug around than Marino's ICU Book

The Washington Manual for Surviving Internship (or some title like that) - has practical stuff not often found in other books; costs around $15

Those Intern Pocket Survival Books - pretty good, especially for the price (around $8) but I often don't use a lot of the information in them; put easy to carry

For Pharm - most people either choose the Tarascon's or other pocket types.

Take a look at your bookstore and see what's on offer...I wouldn't buy too much now because you'll proabbly get a book allowance.
 
Kimberly is right on it....that is outstanding advice.
 
Why aren't you the charmer, Charles12? ;)

For what its worth, here's whats in my pocket today (while on SICU service)...

-pocket calculator (esp. important for Peds)
-Maxwell's Quick Medical reference (shredded but still use the orange pages in it)
-lots of pens, including a red one to "highlight" important stuff on my patient list
-phone list
-pocket penlight...of course, the batteries are dead so its just for style ;)
-stethoscope - also just for "style" ;)
-small comb and Chapstick so those wags don't make fun of my "hat hair" and chapped lips
-Tarascon's Pharmacopeia
-Cleveland Clinic Surgical Intensive Care handbook
-patient lists

The above is generally static, with the exception of the handbook I carry and some other tools of the trade (ie, when on a surgical service I generally have shears although I think as a PGY-3 maybe I can give that up to the junior residents. ;) Tee hee. )
 
Originally posted by tussy
...Critical Care Handbook of the Mass. Gen. Hosp...

Is the "Clinical Anesthesia procedures of The Mass Gen Hospital" book any good or of any benefits to a Gsurgeon?

Thank you everyone. Your suggestions are very much appreciated. I have acted on just about all of them.
 
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I am in the process of searching this site for recommended ABSITE readings. I may have some time to study here and there, so any recommended books/sites would be quite appreciated.

Thanks
 
Hey Foxy,

"Absite Killer"

by adam Lipkins

best damn book ever written for the absite--it is small enough to fit in your coat and enough material for a good score. Plus, you can easily read the book in 2-3 hours. That is an avg of 2-3 time per call nights.

We estimated an avg of 30%-tile increase at my former residency program for most residents. If you are a PGY 1, it should help you get a score of 70 % tile or better.

Michigan state note is the next best.
 
been there,

do you know where you can buy those? i searched amazon and couldn't find it listed. thanks
 
well Tripod,

I got mine thru my residency program. They were sick of all of us blowing off the absite.

try writing to Dr. Lipkin

http://www.harborsidesurgery.com/AdamL_CV.htm

I heard it is out of print.

If Dr. Lipkin gives you and me the permission to reproduce it electronically, I might consider posting it on a web site or mail you a xerox copy.

This mean I would have to get a written statement from him.

otherwise try calling him at his place in Florida.

good luck

Otherwise try this site:

http://absite.org/

I personally never used it, but it has potential
 
I'm a fan of the Advanced Surgical Recall book for that test. Hell, I even used that to review some things for my General Surgery Written boards I took on Weds. (which is alot like the ABSITE without the gimmes or basic science)

I think those Mich. St. books are pretty poorly written, but what they do is key you towards topics that they repeat year after year.

The Rush Review book is MUCH harder then the ABSITE & I never looked at it again after my intern year. The Amer. Board of Surgery publishes a review book for the recertifying exam called SESAP which is available on CD. Our program had a copy that we would make copies of to use. It's not quite like the inservice (much harder) but it is easy to work thru & you'll learn something from the explanations.

Again, if you get out that Adv. Surgical Recall book & look @
-the endocrine section (very high yield)
-surgical hormones & physiology
-GI hormones

you'll be off to a good start. There's a whole bunch of other little areas they always hit which you just need to look at at the last minute:

-Parkland Formula ?'s & the complications of the topical burn antimicrobials
-usually some hand question involving what nerve controls what, what nerve is injured with a fx., tx. of tenosynovitis, scaphoid fractures, Volkman's fx.
-tx. of melanoma asking width of excision & +/- LN disection
-trauma triage (DPL vs FAST vs CT vs OR) & pelvic fracture tx., bladder & urethra injury management
-usually at least one ? on the side effect of a chemotherapy agent & some transplant drug ? (side effect or mechanism of action). They often usually present some transplant patient who comes back the lymphoma in some scenario
-metabolic probs. after gastric bypass (ex. Oxalate kidney stones)
- usually some peds. congenital heart defect ?
-imaging & tx. of rectal CA, tx. of anal ca

These are just the ones I'm thinking of right now, & each one of these was also tested on the boards the other day. Again best bang for the buck is the Recall book as it covers most of these well eneough.
 
Thank you guys for taking the time to respond. I'm approaching a few relatively easy months so I will have more time to study. They encourage us to do well but haven't really given us any advice on how/what to study yet.

Thanks!
 
If you were to purchase one of those books for intern year (prelim), which would it be? Mont Reid Surgical Handbook versus Advanced Surgical Recall?
 
I was just wondering whether or not anyone could recommend a good book for suturing techniques. I'm a med student but want to get a jump on things for rounds/residency and have heard that learning to tie is a good way to pass the time in lecture. Thanks.
 
Maybe try Manual of Surgical knots - B.A. Zikria
 
Even better - have someone SHOW you how to tie knots. I frankly find it pretty difficult to translate the motions from a 2-D book to real life. Its much easier when someone shows you (and shows you again as you will forget until you get it down).
 
Go to the Ethicon website and down load their suture manual. They will send you a knot tying board to practice with if you ask.
 
what should we buy? (assuming no cash flow, so just the basics)

greenfield, sabiston, cameron....etc

zolinger/zollinger

icu book

???
 
I'd recommend Marino's ICU book, the M.D. Anderson surg onc handbook, and Sabiston's. That should set you back about $200 I think. Before you buy anything, find out if your program will provide you with a textbook or not. And ask the residents if they know of any drug reps that will donate one to you. I got Sabiston's and Mastery of Surgery that way.
 
I don't think which surgical text matters...which one you'll prefer is a matter of personal preference..

I would wait til after I start, though. You may find that your program tends to prefer one. Some places even base their basic science lectures on readings out of one particular text. You may get a book allowance or a free book, who knows. I'd also wait to get an ICU book until you know whether you will be doing an ICU rotation as an intern. Lots of places save that for 2nd year. An ICU book will do you no good if you will be personal non grata in the ICU (as it is where I am)

Also be aware that many of the standard surgical texts will be coming out with new editions soon. Cameron's update is out now. I believe Sabiston and Schwartz are due out later this year. You can stop by the bookstore after you've been in your program for a little while and look over them all, see which one you prefer.

Meanwhile, if you feel compelled to read prior to starting (though I recommend enjoying your last days of freedom!) whatever text you used for med school (eg Lawrence) should be fine
 
Cameron, Cameron, Cameron. This book rocks. I use it daily. Definitely all clinical and minimal basic science though.

I also bought Greenfield (probably too much basic science) and MD Anderson (a must have for later on but maybe not for interns). I really think the new Sabiston is gonna be the all around best text. I bought Corson's and really liked it but it definitely has some gaps.

I think supercut's right. Your residency will likely have a preferred book (ours is Greenfield) and you may be able to get it for free.

I would sit in the library and read a section out of each of the main texts and see what fits your style. That's the best way to go I think.

BTW, I'm about to start 3rd year and still don't have Mastery and have survived. I do think it is invaluable the further in training you go though. I also don't have Marino's but used it from our library daily while on my Critical Care months. It really rocks overall.

So if I was poor, I would buy Cameron and see if I could get another text for free.
 
A lot of the text books now come with a CD Rom that has the entire text. What my PGY1 class did is that we each bought a different text, and then burned copies of the CD Rom for each other so we all have every book!

I agree with waiting until you start to buy a book. Talk to your seniors and get a consenses about what they think is best.
 
I would save my money with respect to Sabiston since it's on MD Consult online. Most school provide free membership and I agree that it's a great text.
 
To me Cameron's is a little too basic. Maybe I feel that way because I didn't really look at it until I was further along in my residency though. I was also annoyed by the lack of attention to detail. When I read it a few years ago, I couldn't help but notice lots of errors. One of my junior residents just got the new edition and he's already pointed out several errors to me. Those errors, albeit small, still make the text hard for me to rely upon. IMHO, a book that's through this many iterations just shouldn't have that problem.
 
Call your program and ask what textbook they use. I made the mistake of buying Sabiston and then finding out the my program uses Greenfield.

I've been reading Greenfield periodically. It's pretty solid. Covers the basic science aspect, and the clinical aspect well.

I agree that the Marino ICU book and the MD Anderson surg onc books are good too.

Also, the "Surgery intern survival" book is very useful. I learned how to do ~ 90% of intern stuff just from just reading that one book. Very high yield.

The hardest part of the year for me was the first 3-4 months. I didn't know anything, I was inefficient as hell, had little time to read, and was always tired. I really recommend just using the intern survival guide for the first 2-3 months until you get to be an efficient intern. Then I would start reading all of these other books. Take it easy on yourself at first until you can handle intern stuff. How anyone could possibly expect you to know all of the treatment options for every type of bowel cancer in the forst few months is beyond me. I got used to saying "I don't know" a lot. BUT, my team liked me a lot because I took care of all but the most wacked out floor situations myself. Thanks to that little intern survival pocketbook.
 
Can anyone recommend some good critical care/trauma books that are written at an MS III level? I am looking for something that will give me an introduction to the field because I find it interesting, but unfortunately, have never been exposed to these fields in a clinical settings. I am considering doing an elective in it, however, I do not want to walk in blind and would like to have some base of knowledge before I do so.

Thanks in advance!
 
Try the Parkland Trauma Handbook. It's a good quick review for residents and would give a medical student a good idea of what's going on.
 
Thanks for the quick response. It is much appreciated. I'll definitely check it out.

Any other suggestions out there?
 
Hi there,

Pick up a copy of the ATLS Handbook/Guidelines. There is also a great Trauma chapter in Mont Reid that will get you up to speed pretty quickly. Have fun!


njbmd :)
 
Thanks for the good advice guys. I'll pick up the books ASAP.

I knew I could count on you SDNers. :)
 
For Critical Care, mainly of surgical patients Marino's 'The ICU Book' is awesome. Very much written to the student/resident level but in depth enough to get a lot out of it. Definately for SICU, you'll get kicked out of the MICU if you walk in with this book, but why would you want to walk in there anyways. No trauma surg stuff though, so if you are spending most of your time in the OR don't get it. If you are asked to help manage the patients on the floor in the ICU though, get it.
 
2ndyear said:
For Critical Care, mainly of surgical patients Marino's 'The ICU Book' is awesome. Very much written to the student/resident level but in depth enough to get a lot out of it. Definately for SICU, you'll get kicked out of the MICU if you walk in with this book, but why would you want to walk in there anyways. No trauma surg stuff though, so if you are spending most of your time in the OR don't get it. If you are asked to help manage the patients on the floor in the ICU though, get it.
If you don't mind spending the money, I'd also second the Marino book.
 
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