Are these books all I need during medical school?

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I just had the Imperial Red Rye today after my exam (last day of M1!). Absolutely delicious. The bartender said there are 7 limiteds but this picture only shows 6 of them. Anybody know what the seventh keg is? Highly recommend the Imperial Red Rye :thumbup::thumbup:

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I am just going to enter my 1st year and my school gave me a huge list of books like over 20 that were recommended. Talking to current students though they told me First Aid, Review books and Pathoma were all that most of them used. Here are the books I have or plan to get. I also have some older editions which I'm not sure if that matters a great deal.

Have:
Bates guide to physical exam and history taking (8th edition) ... I dunno why. Waste of $$ Considering it's something you'll understand without studying.
Clinical microbiology made ridiculously easy (3rd edition) - YES. It's cheesy but memorable so you'll have an easier time dealing with micro. I may have been biased because I suck at micro... but it's worthwhile. And you can always sell it to underclassmen.
Clinical neuroanatomy made ridiculously easy I used it for neuro because it did alleviate the stress of studying pathways. Read it before a section and you'll feel less stressed. Also a good reference when studying boards.
Harrisons principles of internal medicine vol 1 and 2 (18th edition) I'd take Step Up over this.... Especially for 1st/2nd year.
Lippincotts Pharmacology I honestly preferred FA and BRS Pharm... I have lippincott's just in case, but I rarely touched it.
Pathophysiology of Heart Disease- A Collaborative Project of Medical Students and Faculty 5th - No? All the resources you have put more than enough information for you to understand these concepts.
Pulmonary pathophysiology No?
Robbins and Cotrant Atlas of Physiology Yes
Guyton Hall Medical Physiology Indifferent since I don't know.

Plan to get:
First Aid
BRS physio
Netter atlas of human anatomy
Pathoma
Robins Pathologic basis of disease (not sure if this is different or necessary since I have the atlas of physiology)

I was also thinking of maybe getting all the BRS books.

Luckily all the books I have already were giving to me for free so if I don't use them it won't be an issue, but I was wondering what you guys think about the ones I plan to get and which ones I will mostly use.

Thanks.

All the books you're planning on getting are good. The others I responded to in bolded red. I'm looking at my desk at all the books I used first/second year -

First Aid
Step Up Step 1
Step Up Medicine
BRS Path
BRS Pharm
Goljan/RR

Books I bought and NEVER used/still in packaging -
Immuno Text
Micro text I don't remember the name for
BRS Biochem
Histo book (I actually want to take that to a shooting range)
NMS

All in all, I think it just depends on what you think is really valuable. Some are good references but not really essential to getting the best education. The Neuroanatomy book I have is AMAZING but beyond the scope of what we had to know. It's still a good reference, though.
 
Never used my immuno or histo books, either. Sold them back for ammo money. Win-win.
 
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I can understand people who are used to using books (I am included), but if you have too many, it'll get too overwhelming; you won't know where to start and you'll never open one. FA is good for a quick resource; however, if you are struggling to understand something, FA isn't going to do you any good (at least it didn't help me). You'll need something to supplement it.

Since your upperclassman didn't suggest much, then that probably means you can get by with just lecture notes and any extra reading is supplemental and should only be used if you don't understand the lecture.

My school does normal 1st year/abnormal 2nd year, so here's what I've used so far - Physio was not the easiest thing for me to grasp, so I needed the extra info in Guyton to help put things together. After that, I used BRS physio (this is gold). Netter and Thieme atlases for anatomy. For everything else...google and wikipedia.
 
Wikipedia, UpToDate, and USMLE World will get you through medical school just fine.

Edit: this is for all four years. Don't waste time and money with casefiles, blueprints, NMS, etc. for third year shelfs. Just run through the question bank for that section the week before the exam.

Terrible advice if people want to do well (read: honor) their shelf exams. I recognize your name and recognize that you have a history of terrible advice. I don't know if you're a gunner that wants people across the country to do worse, or if you truly do these things and get by (especially if it's with honors). If it's the former, F you. If it's the latter, then massive kudos as you are able to do significantly less work than me with the same success.

To OP: Get First Aid when you're going to start using it. I got mine at the beginning of MS2 and intermittently flipped through it throughout the year. For M1 I had no books besides a Netter's atlas, and did fine. Depends on your school, but nearly all other books were useless. In MS2 we went through Dubin pretty extensively for EKGs as well.

For the beer side-track: I don't have any significant microbrew additions, but I like your thought processes. I'm always interested in trying new beers (in familiar styles) and I'll try most of the suggestions (although I've had Arrogant B*stard when I was less refined [read: in undergrad] and I hated it) if I run into them out in the wild.
 
I recommend "A Little Sumpin Wild" by Lagunitas. Very fine IPA, one of my favorites.


I'll give Hopology a try if I see one.

But how is Samuel Adams' beer in general?

I have been avoiding it so far just because of the Samuel Adams label. Is it decent? or does it basically taste like an expensive "macrobrew"


The Latitude 48 is one of the IPAs in the Hopology set. The rest are in the picture. I agree with you, the Lat 48 and the Whitewater IPA are by far my least favorite of the bunch. The others are pretty decent for the price. I haven't always been a huge fan of Sam Adams varieties, but this Hopology variety is pretty good if you can't get to a craft beer store. Luckily I have a Total Wine around the corner, so I'm never too far away from enough different kinds of beer to make my head spin.

47697045d1337542763-beer-samuel-adams-limited-release-ipa-hop-ology-sa-2.jpg
 
I recommend "A Little Sumpin Wild" by Lagunitas. Very fine IPA, one of my favorites.


I'll give Hopology a try if I see one.

But how is Samuel Adams' beer in general?

I have been avoiding it so far just because of the Samuel Adams label. Is it decent? or does it basically taste like an expensive "macrobrew"

I've not had most of the special IPAs that NeuroLAX suggested, but I would say most of my experiences with Sam Adams have been meh. They make good beers and they provide a great service in that they probably introduce thousands of people to craft beers. Most of what I've had of theirs is a bit on the bland side compared to other representatives for the given style. That being said, if I'm at a restaurant that has a limited beer selection, I will get Sam Adams every time over AB-Inbev products, Corona, Heineken, or any of that crap.

If you guys haven't checked it out already, beeradvocate.com is an awesome website where thousands of hardcore beer fans rate beers. I've found it very educational.
 
Terrible advice if people want to do well (read: honor) their shelf exams. I recognize your name and recognize that you have a history of terrible advice. I don't know if you're a gunner that wants people across the country to do worse, or if you truly do these things and get by (especially if it's with honors). If it's the former, F you. If it's the latter, then massive kudos as you are able to do significantly less work than me with the same success.

To OP: Get First Aid when you're going to start using it. I got mine at the beginning of MS2 and intermittently flipped through it throughout the year. For M1 I had no books besides a Netter's atlas, and did fine. Depends on your school, but nearly all other books were useless. In MS2 we went through Dubin pretty extensively for EKGs as well.

For the beer side-track: I don't have any significant microbrew additions, but I like your thought processes. I'm always interested in trying new beers (in familiar styles) and I'll try most of the suggestions (although I've had Arrogant B*stard when I was less refined [read: in undergrad] and I hated it) if I run into them out in the wild.

Yup, most books during M1 were never read. Netter's, Bates', and 5-Minute Clinical Consult were the only books I ever used on a frequent basis. The rest of the ebooks went untouched.

I recommend "A Little Sumpin Wild" by Lagunitas. Very fine IPA, one of my favorites.


I'll give Hopology a try if I see one.

But how is Samuel Adams' beer in general?

I have been avoiding it so far just because of the Samuel Adams label. Is it decent? or does it basically taste like an expensive "macrobrew"

I don't know how their beer is normally, because I tried some of their variety beers in the past and didn't like most of them. Boston Lager is usually what you'll find in restaurants and bars. In my opinion, it's ok. I never order it. As for the Hopology, they are decently good. Definitely not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination, but still decent. The Latitude 48 and Whitewater IPA are kinda meh, in my opinion. Overall, I consider the Hopology set to be a decent grocery store IPA. Definitely try it once if you're sick of the typical Sierra Nevada you see in the beer aisle.

I've not had most of the special IPAs that NeuroLAX suggested, but I would say most of my experiences with Sam Adams have been meh. They make good beers and they provide a great service in that they probably introduce thousands of people to craft beers. Most of what I've had of theirs is a bit on the bland side compared to other representatives for the given style. That being said, if I'm at a restaurant that has a limited beer selection, I will get Sam Adams every time over AB-Inbev products, Corona, Heineken, or any of that crap.

If you guys haven't checked it out already, beeradvocate.com is an awesome website where thousands of hardcore beer fans rate beers. I've found it very educational.

Hm, I can't believe I haven't come across this website, but thanks for dropping the link! I just bookmarked it. This looks like it will be quite handy whenever I can't decide which beer to try!
 
Hm, I can't believe I haven't come across this website, but thanks for dropping the link! I just bookmarked it. This looks like it will be quite handy whenever I can't decide which beer to try!

I actually rate beers on it too. Mainly just for keeping track of everything I've tried.

Any thoughts on the difference between beer advocate vs rate beer?
 
After I took Step 1 on Friday I went through a whirlwind tour of various beers through the weekend. I finally got to try Old Rasputin. It was a beast of a stout but very smooth and creamy. I liked it a lot. I tried it in a flight alongside some other big beers, namely Stone's Enjoy By IPA (which was definitely one of the best IPAs I've had in memory). Probably should have had the beers individually to appreciate their unique glories. Just picked up a 750mL of Stone's Espresso Imperial Russian Stout today. It's 11% abv so I might save it for a special ocassion :p

Also, I looked at my local beer store; they don't have the Hopology sampler pack, just the individuals (and no Happy Monk). I'll keep my eyes open for it though.
 
After I took Step 1 on Friday I went through a whirlwind tour of various beers through the weekend. I finally got to try Old Rasputin. It was a beast of a stout but very smooth and creamy. I liked it a lot. I tried it in a flight alongside some other big beers, namely Stone's Enjoy By IPA (which was definitely one of the best IPAs I've had in memory). Probably should have had the beers individually to appreciate their unique glories. Just picked up a 750mL of Stone's Espresso Imperial Russian Stout today. It's 11% abv so I might save it for a special ocassion :p

Also, I looked at my local beer store; they don't have the Hopology sampler pack, just the individuals (and no Happy Monk). I'll keep my eyes open for it though.

Congrats on finishing Step 1 and getting to try Old Rasputin (in that order). Its one hell of a beer.
 
Haha so between all the comments on beer, I think I was able to compile a fairly good(?) list. Let me know what y'all think:

MUST HAVE! Buying ASAP
  • First Aid for the USMLE 1
  • Sattar's Fundamentals of Pathology + Online Videos (Pathoma)
  • Netter's Atlas of HA

Others (maybe buy once school starts, if I want them)
  • Board Review Series: Physiology
  • BRS: Path
  • BRS: Pharm
  • Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan
  • Robbin and Contran's Pathological Basis of Disease
  • Harper's Biochemistry + Lippincott Biochem
 
Haha so between all the comments on beer, I think I was able to compile a fairly good(?) list. Let me know what y'all think:

MUST HAVE! Buying ASAP
  • First Aid for the USMLE 1
  • Sattar's Fundamentals of Pathology + Online Videos (Pathoma)
  • Netter's Atlas of HA

Others (maybe buy once school starts, if I want them)
  • Board Review Series: Physiology
  • BRS: Path
  • BRS: Pharm
  • Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan
  • Robbin and Contran's Pathological Basis of Disease
  • Harper's Biochemistry + Lippincott Biochem

That sounds about right, but you probably won't need anything about path until 2nd year, unless you're on an integrated curriculum. You probably will never need the biochem texts or Robbins, however.
 
All the books you're planning on getting are good. The others I responded to in bolded red. I'm looking at my desk at all the books I used first/second year -

First Aid
Step Up Step 1
Step Up Medicine
BRS Path
BRS Pharm
Goljan/RR

Books I bought and NEVER used/still in packaging -
Immuno Text
Micro text I don't remember the name for
BRS Biochem
Histo book (I actually want to take that to a shooting range)
NMS

All in all, I think it just depends on what you think is really valuable. Some are good references but not really essential to getting the best education. The Neuroanatomy book I have is AMAZING but beyond the scope of what we had to know. It's still a good reference, though.

I like this list. Emphasis on Step Up to Medicine if your school has any type of clinical stuff in the first 2 years (or problem solving sessions / PBL).

I also enjoyed "Microcards" by lippincott. I think they are essential if you don't get bogged down in the details. Especially if your micro class is terrible.

That sounds about right, but you probably won't need anything about path until 2nd year, unless you're on an integrated curriculum. You probably will never need the biochem texts or Robbins, however.

I did like Robbins to reference. If something didn't make sense. However, many schools have online access to the book. I used Robbins a lot. It's obvious disadvantage is it's density, but it's one of the best texts for medical students.
 
I like this list. Emphasis on Step Up to Medicine if your school has any type of clinical stuff in the first 2 years (or problem solving sessions / PBL).

I also enjoyed "Microcards" by lippincott. I think they are essential if you don't get bogged down in the details. Especially if your micro class is terrible.



I did like Robbins to reference. If something didn't make sense. However, many schools have online access to the book. I used Robbins a lot. It's obvious disadvantage is it's density, but it's one of the best texts for medical students.

I admit I used Robbins some at the beginning of 2nd year. It is a great text and it's written very well. You can learn a lot by reading it. That said, I don't think I opened it once the 2nd half of the year and my exam scores didn't change/went up. It's just so damn dense like you said. If pachewisc has online access, that's all you will need.
 
I admit I used Robbins some at the beginning of 2nd year. It is a great text and it's written very well. You can learn a lot by reading it. That said, I don't think I opened it once the 2nd half of the year and my exam scores didn't change/went up. It's just so damn dense like you said. If pachewisc has online access, that's all you will need.

:thumbup:

some have said only the first 7 chapters of Robbins are even worth reading. As they lay the foundational topics for Path well. The systems (chapters 7 and beyond) are too dense unless you're clarifying.

I bought a LOT of books unfortunately and used few. Take everyone's advice in here.

In the future I would just use online reference + review books. Textbooks are great but the info is somewhere online usually and there's no time to read them.
 
Haha so between all the comments on beer, I think I was able to compile a fairly good(?) list. Let me know what y'all think:

MUST HAVE! Buying ASAP
  • First Aid for the USMLE 1
  • Sattar's Fundamentals of Pathology + Online Videos (Pathoma)
  • Netter's Atlas of HA

Others (maybe buy once school starts, if I want them)
  • Board Review Series: Physiology
  • BRS: Path
  • BRS: Pharm
  • Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan
  • Robbin and Contran's Pathological Basis of Disease
  • Harper's Biochemistry + Lippincott Biochem

I start my second year in August so I can't comment on Pathology or Pharmaco.

You should wait until you start school and get to view the books for yourself. Your class will probably do what mine did: share ebooks on box.com or dropbox.com. You will have all of the books you need in PDF format. They will be just a click away.
 
This thread has gone too many posts now without mention of beer.

Anyone into Belgians, sours, wild ales, lambics, farmhouse ales etc? I've been trying a few things around and have been intrigued (they're definitely something that takes getting used to). Over the weekend I had Schlafly's Flanders Red which was the sourest beer I've ever tried, almost vinergary. Not my thing yet, but I've also had a couple farmhouse ales that I liked quite a bit. Anyone with recs?
 
This thread has gone too many posts now without mention of beer.

Anyone into Belgians, sours, wild ales, lambics, farmhouse ales etc? I've been trying a few things around and have been intrigued (they're definitely something that takes getting used to). Over the weekend I had Schlafly's Flanders Red which was the sourest beer I've ever tried, almost vinergary. Not my thing yet, but I've also had a couple farmhouse ales that I liked quite a bit. Anyone with recs?

Lambics are... idk, not a fan lol. Not yet, at least. Belgians are great, though. What do farmhouse ales taste like?
 
Lambics are... idk, not a fan lol. Not yet, at least. Belgians are great, though. What do farmhouse ales taste like?

Directly from BeerAdvocate.com:

"This is a very complex style; many are very fruity in the aroma and flavor. Look for earthy yeast tones, mild to moderate tartness. Lots of spice and with a medium bitterness. They tend to be semi-dry with many only having touch of sweetness."

As I understand it, like some of the other Belgians and wild ales, they are often made with more unusual yeasts like Brettanomyces, which impart "funkier" flavors. BeerAdvocate lumps Farmhouse ales and Saisons together.
 
Haha so between all the comments on beer, I think I was able to compile a fairly good(?) list. Let me know what y'all think:

MUST HAVE! Buying ASAP
  • First Aid for the USMLE 1
  • Sattar's Fundamentals of Pathology + Online Videos (Pathoma)
  • Netter's Atlas of HA

Others (maybe buy once school starts, if I want them)
  • Board Review Series: Physiology
  • BRS: Path
  • BRS: Pharm
  • Rapid Review Pathology by Goljan
  • Robbin and Contran's Pathological Basis of Disease
  • Harper's Biochemistry + Lippincott Biochem

You absolutely do not need FA as a 1st year.
I believe that amongst your anatomy group, having one copy amongst your entire group would be a good idea.
You shouldn't need Pathoma until 2nd year, and I personally didn't use their books (just the online review series, which is excellent).

Everything else is as needed, really.
 
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