General Third Year Book

[HLxDrummer]

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Does anybody have a suggestion for a general "how to do clerkships" book? I don't know any upper class men and no medical people in the family so I have no clue what to do on clerkships and what I need to do to do well.

Would reading something on the topic but helpful or will I figure it out quickly?

 

[IamPsychiatrist]

Does anybody have a suggestion for a general "how to do clerkships" book? I don't know any upper class men and no medical people in the family so I have no clue what to do on clerkships and what I need to do to do well.

Would reading something on the topic but helpful or will I figure it out quickly?

Success on the Wards by Desai

But in reality, it's overboard. Just keep it simple. Learn the medicine really well (a book like Step Up To Medicine) and then know your clinical skills (physical exam, review of systems and excellent history taking). If you can do those 2 things well, then copy people who have excellent presentations - then you're set. Attitude and hustle go a long way too.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I believe there's a first aid for the wards. I didn't bother reading it, but I know a couple friends used it to help with acronyms and other minor stuff.

 

[scummie]

Does anybody have a suggestion for a general "how to do clerkships" book? I don't know any upper class men and no medical people in the family so I have no clue what to do on clerkships and what I need to do to do well.

Would reading something on the topic but helpful or will I figure it out quickly?

Firstly, relax a little bit. You are going to be fine. At the beginning of every rotation, figure out who your "boss" is and who does your evals. It's really important to figure out what is expected of you. If they say be ready to round at 8 AM, you at the very least, should be there at 7:45 AM.

Commandments for being a great medical student include, but are not limited to:

1. If you are not seeing a patient, writing a note or rounding, you shall be reading. (Green medicine book, red medicine book, Up To Date, something).
2. Thou shall not annoy your resident. Be helpful, but do not bug. Find out which residents are into teaching and take advantage of it.
3. Every day, you need to read for 30 minutes. Doesn't matter what (unless they told you to read something), but it really helps you to stay sharp.
4. Thou shalt always be on time.
5. Thou shalt stay as late as the intern, if not later.
6. Do not complain about patients, other residents, students. No matter what. You never know who is listening and going to turn back around and repeat what you said.
7. Work hard. If you don't fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow, you're not working hard enough.

Otherwise, with practice you will figure out the subtleties of each attending and how they like their presentations, notes, etc. If you can figure out when to get the resident and be like "Hey, so and so in room whatever looks like crap, you need to do something" or "this glucose is super high, what do you want to do", you will get major brownie points. Also, as time goes on, you will figure out the medicine "cook book" and be able to start recommending A/Ps. Yes, July will be a train wreck, but you should be getting the hang of things soon enough. Good luck!

 

[Wolverines83]

Another book to consider in addition to step up is harrison's manual (the small book, not the big two volume set). It's a good combination of depth and brevity. Every now and then I read step up and I'm like "why the hell do they do that?" Harrison's says why. I think it's better for actually learning material. Then again I've never been a huge fan of the outline format for anything but review. Might not work for you but it worked for me. Be good at physical exam, always have a few differentials from different organ systems, work hard, don't gun, look like you care and you're good to go. And don't be afraid to be wrong (as long as the attending isn't a tool).

 

[HLxDrummer]

Thanks a lot guys, really helpful posts!

 

[syncrhodes]

Does anybody have a suggestion for a general "how to do clerkships" book? I don't know any upper class men and no medical people in the family so I have no clue what to do on clerkships and what I need to do to do well.

Would reading something on the topic but helpful or will I figure it out quickly?

UCSF Hospitalist Handbook, hands down, is the best step-by-step guidance for the medicine inpatient wards.
Basically whenever I had a patient, I would look up the diagnosis and management steps as outlined in the Hospitalist Handbook. It gives way more step-by-step details than the Red/Green book. All the residents would be surprised at how much practical (not esoteric and irrelevant) diagnostic and management steps I'd have in my presentations. They thought I was a genius...(and I wasn't too keen on letting them know where most of that genius was coming from 🙂

Free but super old website version (2002) on google.
Updated version for iPhone and Android through the AgileMD free platform (cheaper and carry it around on your phone!).

 

[HLxDrummer]

Anybody have a ebook version of success on the wards? Don't mind paying but don't really want a physical book.

 

[username456789]

 

[DermViser]

There are some residents that could use this book.