Essential books?
Started by Peeshee
Blueprints is pretty high-yield for pediatrics. That's all I did for peds (except some additional stuff on growth & development). I did rather well on the shelf test.
I read Lawrence for surgery. I'm not sure it prepared me that well for the shelf test. It definitely prepared me for the wards and the departmental exam, but not the shelf. Blueprints for surgery is very short -- probably too short.
Haven't done OB yet, so can't comment on that one.
Blueprints and pretest is all you need for OB and for Peds. The John's Hopkins handbook is also awesome for OB to carry on the floors, but blueprints is more than enough for the shelf. For surgery, I loved BRS surgery. I also used pretest and used recall for pimp questions before cases. Good luck.
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I highly recommend The Mount Reid Handbook for your surgery rotations. It's still of use to me - generous descriptions, some drawings, etc. I also like The Cleveland Clinic book "Managment of the Surgical Patient" (they also do a great ICU/SICU book).
Blueprints surgery is the only book that isn't sufficient for the shelf exams. I still bought it, but you will need to supplement it. The others are all excellent. I have heard that the new first aid subject books are excellent also.
High-Yield OB-GYN was awesome- covered all topics quite well and is a great last-minute review for the shelf. Probably would recommend reading something like NMS as you go through the rotation for more background (though it is much lengthier.)
Like a lot of things, its a matter of personal preference, but the Mount Reid is a very popular book.
I like its layout - I find it easy to read (and quickly - mostly outline form, which is better for me); the chapters include the basics of diagnosis, treatment and patient management (ie, which labs are important to know, common post-op complications, surgical options, etc.) and often include excellent line drawings.
It is appropriate for students - but like all handbooks, don't use it as your core text.
N
njbmd
Hey Kimberli,
I am the only person at UVA that uses Mont Reid since this place is the birthplace of Surgical Recall. I always preferred Mont Reid's outline format and wealth of information in a small space.
njbmd
