Best Anesthesiology Textbook?

[970609]

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Hi everyone,

I’m an Advanced Care Paramedic with aspirations of medical school to pursue anesthesiology. I’m looking for the ‘best’ anesthesiology textbook that is readable, not simply a reference manual (think Rosens Emergency Medicine vs. Tintinalli’s).

I recently purchased Morgan & Mikhail’s Clinical Anesthesiology (6th ed.) and while it is easy to read, I’m worried it might be too superficial and I will be required to purchase other indepth books later, thus rendering this useless However, not being an anesthesiology student I don’t have perspective to know if this book actually sufficient/appropriate.

I have heard Miller’s Anesthesiology (aka ‘Miller Heavy’) is ‘the’ book-set to have, but I’ve also heard it’s more of a reference series than something you can read and learn from.

Any input is very much appreciated.


Thank you,
- C

 

[ucladoc2b]

M and M is probably fine for basic purposes.

I wouldn’t worry about anything else until you are in an anesthesia residency (following medical school).

 

[IMGASMD]

You’re too far away from anything to be picking out a medical textbook. Spend time reading your MCAT prep books, rather than an anesthesia textbook is the way to go.

Four years of college with pre-requisite.
MCAT
Two years of medical school.
Step One.
One year of medical school.
Step Two.
One year of internship
Step Three.

Away from before you will need any of these books that you want to read.

 

[UscGhost]

Way too early for that.

Spend that time reading and studying for the MCAT.

Once you are a 3rd year med student...Mikhail is great to learn the fundamentals. Miller is ok but more of a reference for specific topics

 

[970609]

@IMGASMD @UscGhost — I appreciate the feedback, however I forgot to mention in my original post that I work in a critical care flight setting, so I already utilize many of the fundamentals (drugs, airway management, mechanical ventilation, etc.).

 

[IMGASMD]

@IMGASMD @UscGhost — I appreciate the feedback, however I forgot to mention in my original post that I work in a critical care flight setting, so I already utilize many of the fundamentals (drugs, airway management, mechanical ventilation, etc.).

I tried to start the reply a few times, just don’t have a good response.

To original question. Morgan and Mikhail is good. Barash is excellent. Miller is the “gold standard”.

 

[AdmiralChz]

I was a paramedic before medical school. M&M is far and above anything you’d need for your career. The subspecialty sections on vascular, cardiothoracic, chronic pain of the larger texts won’t apply to you in any way and the few chapters you do grasp won’t be written for you in mind. Also the medications you have available to you is a fraction of what we use and learn about for the operating room. Honestly your best bet is a solid Paramedic textbook - Mosby’s was the most popular a decade or so ago. Has all of the stuff you want in it.

Don’t be that medic walking around with some subspecialty text acting all high and mighty. I had friends tout around trauma surgery and pediatric critical care tomes... it looks ridiculous. For someone who is looking for an introductory text to anesthesia with an interest, stick to M&M or maybe even a more introductory text like Clinical Anesthesia Fundamentals.

 

[Gern Blansten]

@IMGASMD @UscGhost — I appreciate the feedback, however I forgot to mention in my original post that I work in a critical care flight setting, so I already utilize many of the fundamentals (drugs, airway management, mechanical ventilation, etc.).

Then you should skip college and med school and go straight to residency. Most here likely didn't recognize you were that advanced.

 

[rakotomazoto]

AdmiralChz speaks truth (as usual). Even though you are in a setting where you deal with many of these same topics, always maintain situation awareness and recognize that you come across as pretentious and inexperienced in your sincere attempt to express genuine interest and enthusiasm for what you hope to be one day.

For now, spend your limited time and energy on becoming the best you can be in your current circumstances. There will be more than enough time to read anesthesia textbooks towards the end of medical school and during residency and in the meantime, there is plenty of more relevant material to cover that will sharpen your skills and make you better at your job.

Becoming an excellent paramedic will lead to being an excellent medical school applicant which will lead to being an excellent medical student which will lead to being an excellent candidate for residency, then an excellent resident, etc. We are just hamsters on the wheel, pace yourself. You have so many hoops to jump through if you proceed as planned. Be patient, young grasshopper. Don't let the trolls on here get you down. Just conserve your energy because you are signing up to run a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[GlowInTheDark]

Stoeltings Pathophysiogic Basis of Disease

 

[deleted171991]

@IMGASMD @UscGhost — I appreciate the feedback, however I forgot to mention in my original post that I work in a critical care flight setting, so I already utilize many of the fundamentals (drugs, airway management, mechanical ventilation, etc.).

I admire your passion. You may want to read something like the EmCrit/PulmCrit blog, instead of anesthesia books.

Another option would be handbooks (instead of textbooks). There are two great ones for anesthesia: Oxford, and The Anesthesia Guide by Atchabahian. I have used both for anesthesia oral boards, so they are more than good, and contain a lot of useful information about co-existing diseases, too.

 

[vector2]

Agree with FFP about using the blogs and handbooks. What you need to know about drugs, airway management, and MV is high yield clinical info, not basic science textbook info. While it’s great you’re interested in learning, it doesn’t serve you a lot of good right now to learn the context sensitive half time / liver clearance of propofol, the innervation of the intrinsic muscles of the larynx, or the alveolar gas equation. M&M will give you some clinical pearls about these topics, but it along with denser textbooks contain mostly foundational material meant to help residents understand the physiologic and pharmacologic basis of anesthesia- and to pass exams.