i really wouldnt buy too much before you start. textbooks are out of date even before they're printed and many hospitals have protocols or a just a culture of doing things their way, whether its supported by evidence or not.
besides a stethoscope and harriet lane (which we got free from the nestle good start people), i wouldnt get too much more. i had gift certificates to a medical textbook company that i had to use, so i got got a few books that i found useful, such as zitelli's atlas of pediatric diagnosis, a handbook on pediatric common on-call issues, and a nicu handbook. i really havent used them too much.
my hospital has online access to a million medical journals, and we have full access to up to date and other textbooks online throuhg md consult. we get a red book and subscriptions to peds in review, pediatrics journal, and other pediatric periodicals that are mailed to our homes through our membership in aap, which we are enrolled in as residents (find out if your program automatically enrolls you). plus many programs will have a handbook for certain rotations. for example, we have a nicu and picu handbook that previous residents made that provides us all the basics needed for the rotations.
so i would start your intern year and see what other residents in your program use. find out how much book money the program gives you and if you really need a book, see if you can use your book money to get it. and if you were planning to get some books before starting to catch up on some reading, don't do that. enjoy the last academic break you will have in a long time and catch up on some other enjoyable activities. and you wont have too much time to be reading a lot in your first few months of residency, so you definately have time to wait before you start stockpiling up on books.
