Best textbook to buy?

[link2swim06]

I am a M3 but would like to buy a comprehensive textbook that will last me through residency that I can start using now.

Just from amazon reviews it looks like the top few are:

Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine

Rosen's Emergency Medicine

Emergency Medicine: Expert Consult by James G. Adams MD

I don't plan on "reading any of them cover to cover" but it would be nice to be able to read up on a disease/treatment plan after I see a pt with it.


What textbook would you recommend?

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[Aesculapius]

Usually you can get those either when you enter residency (for free), or through online access through your school. I would check those options out first, since they cost like 250-300$.

 

[haroldandkumar]

I think Rosen's and Tintalli's can be overkill as a med student. I've this text to be far more readable and easier to digest (and if you read it cover to cover, you'll look like a rockstar):

http://www.amazon.com/An-Introducti...n+introduction+to+clinical+emergency+medicine

 

[DeadCactus]

If you insist on a textbook, I vote Tintinalli. Rosen's is too large and I personally think the best strategy is reading through a solid but shorter textbook (to build a foundation) and then quickly moving on to reading the literature or more focused textbooks.

I really like the "An Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine" book for the medical student level. If you prefer a Q&A format, "Emergency Medicine Secrets" gets a lot of positive reviews...

 

[b-real]

As others have said, you'll likely get a copy (print or online) through your residency program. If you must buy a text, I would wait a few months before buying Tintinalli, as the new (8th) edition will drop early 2013.

 

[RPedigo]

As a medical student I read Emergency Medicine Secrets cover-to-cover and I thought it was a good book. I also read some of that Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine book and it was a good basic introduction. Now I've read some of Harwood and Nuss, read the entire first volume of Rosen's, and a bit of Tintinalli and I vastly prefer Rosen's. I really enjoy learning the pathophysiology and mechanisms of everything I see, so although it's not necessarily the best "what to do in x and y situation" to-the-point book, it gives really good basic understanding of everything. There will be a new Rosen's approximately April 2013 though, so I'd hold off for now if you decide to use that and get the new edition to last you through residency.

If your school has online access to various websites, you may already be able to read some of these online and see if you like it:
www.accessmedicine.com -- Tintinalli
www.mdconsult.com -- Rosen

 

[link2swim06]

Ok thanks for everyone's replies. I'll at least wait till spring when new editions come out.

 

[RustedFox]

If you insist on a textbook, I vote Tintinalli. Rosen's is too large and I personally think the best strategy is reading through a solid but shorter textbook (to build a foundation) and then quickly moving on to reading the literature or more focused textbooks.

I really like the "An Introduction to Clinical Emergency Medicine" book for the medical student level. If you prefer a Q&A format, "Emergency Medicine Secrets" gets a lot of positive reviews...

This. - but really, don't buy one yourself. Not at your level, and not at that price. Your residency program will give you a copy of one (or both) for free, and All of Tintinalli is available for free online in sooo many forms. Ask your home program (one of the faculty members or residents) for some sort of access, and they'll most likely ante something up.

 

[gman33]

See if your school has online access. They probably do.

The section in Rosen's on common complaints is very well done.
I read a few as a student and thought it helped.
Pick a few high yield like: chest pain, abd pain, HA.

This is the book I'm using in residency as well.
Sometimes it's way overkill, but there is a lot of good info.

Save your money as you might get something for free or have a different required text at your program.

You can always check one out from the library as well.

I bought the kindle version because I prefer reading in that format, plus having access on my phone as well.

 

[edgesofsanity]

Another good source - the faculty. I got a set of the "old" Rosen from a faculty member once the new books came out - CME is a wonderful thing. You don't have to be crass about it either. Just ask a faculty member (or three) which textbook they recommend purchasing, and you'll be in business. We all remember being a broke medical student.

 

[link2swim06]

I just figured out that I have free online access to both Rosen's and Tintalli's.

Is one superior to the other?

I realize they are both "overkill" for my level, but it would be nice to have a single, solid source with more discussion and pathophysiology than uptodate provides. Also it looks like both textbooks have a boatload of good flowcharts/diagrams.

 

[RPedigo]

I just figured out that I have free online access to both Rosen's and Tintalli's.

Is one superior to the other?

I realize they are both "overkill" for my level, but it would be nice to have a single, solid source with more discussion and pathophysiology than uptodate provides. Also it looks like both textbooks have a boatload of good flowcharts/diagrams.

They are both thorough textbooks; some people will prefer one, some will prefer the other. Try reading a chapter or two on the same subject in each (i.e., airway is the first chapter of Rosen's, it's the 30th chapter of Tintinalli's) and see which you like better.

 

[RustedFox]

I just figured out that I have free online access to both Rosen's and Tintalli's.

Is one superior to the other?

Both are 'supreme EM textbooks'.

Rosen is supremely long.

Tintinalli is supremely dry.

Together, they are both supremely long and dry.

I recommend "EM: Just the Facts". Otherwise known as the "Baby Tintinalli".

I can't really "sit down and read". A longtime buddy of mine sent me a novel the other week in the mail; some popular book about an American SuperSpy named "Mitch SomeBadAss". "American Assassin" or something like that. He says to me on the phone: "Dude. This character is so cool. You're gonna love him. He's way cooler than Bond and Bourne put together as as spies."

I didn't know how to tell my buddy that I don't like to sit down and read.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Both are 'supreme EM textbooks'.

Rosen is supremely long.

Tintinalli is supremely dry.

Together, they are both supremely long and dry.

Heh heh heh...