Any good review resources before internship?

[Jdobe]

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I am thoroughly enjoying my fourth year, and probably hemorrhaging information out of my ears at an alarming rate. It is definitely the truth that I will not have been in a hospital rotation since February when I get dropped into the middle of a hospital with a pager and a degree that lets me legally sign orders.

Does anyone have some advice on good reading material - or anything else - that is helpful for brushing up on skills before starting internship? I would REALLY appreciate any help with this...and so would my future patients.

Thanks!

 

[J-Rad]

This is from the perspective of someone who did A residency, not an FM residency, but I think the same principles apply:
You're not going to review all the necessary knowledge of your residency or even that which you will learn in your internship in the few months before your residency starts. Nor do you need to. All residencies are on-the-job-training and are teaching-by-experience. You'll read to bolster your knowledge base, but reading some random article out of AFP won't stick with you as much as when you read that article when you're taking care of a patient with the disease in question. So going hardcore trying to read Cecil's, Gabe's and Nelson's before you start isn't likely to yield much. Read some fun stuff. For a medically related book read Groopman's "How Doctors Think"-something you should read at the beginning and the end of your training. I As for true true medical stuff, brush up on the basic concepts that may span disciplines but isn't overly broad. If you're weak with ventilator concepts, review that. FM residencies have a fair exposure to the MICU especially. If there are rotations that you haven't been exposed to in med school, maybe ask for some basic readings. A lot of FM residencies have you do a NICU rotation, but many haven't done that in med school. You could read about 5 or 6 topics and that actually might help you for that rotation. But again, don't wade deep into the esoterica. I would take a relaxed approach to the "pre-learning" though, because you'll be neck deep in the learning in residency. By now you should know how to write admit orders, H&Ps, progress notes, orders (esp. peds med orders); but if not, that would be worth brushing up on before residency.

 

[yumita]

Good advice that I will also take, but as a FMG with 2 years out of med school, I feel I need a bit more review. Any other supplemental materials you could suggest?
Thanks

 

[Shinken]

You'll read to bolster your knowledge base, but reading some random article out of AFP won't stick with you as much as when you read that article when you're taking care of a patient with the disease in question.

So true.

Yumita, my advice to you is to get either a basic family medicine text and read it, or get a good FM board review book (my favorite is McGraw-Hill's Family Practice Examination and Board Review). Also, the AAFP has some good FM review materials.

As far as a basic FM text, stick to the books geared towards students (yes, students...the information is the same as in big texts like Rakel's or Gorroll's and much easier to read). A favorite of mine is Rakel's Essentials of Family Medicine. The Lange Family Medicine Current Diagnosis and Treatment is very good too.

 

[yumita]

Thank you Shinken! I will follow your suggestions.
👍

 

[DrJosephKim]

Agree about the utility of board review materials. It's best to start reviewing early and to get an early start. All the info will be relevant for each of your rotations.

 

[medicienne]

I am studying for Step 3 which covers mostly all the topics from a resident/PCP's perspective. Usmleworld's 88 cases, First Aid and a bit of Swanson's FMR works for me. So it's win-win, you get Step 3 over with and also brush up your knowledge 😉

 

[Shinken]

Good advice that I will also take, but as a FMG with 2 years out of med school, I feel I need a bit more review. Any other supplemental materials you could suggest?
Thanks

I forgot to mention, the first year of Family Medicine is heavy on the inpatient side of things. An FM board review book will stress more outpatient medicine than inpatient. If you're rusty you might want to start with a more inpatient-oriented text (such as The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics) for internship. Good luck!