good book for the match

[sport29883]

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Hey,

Wanted to know what the forum thought was a good book for the match process (applications, interviews, ranking,etc).

Do people still rely on Isersons? I believe its a really old book and some of the stuff is outdated.

There are a couple of other new books like FA for the match, etc. so wanted opinions

 

[John Deere Gree]

there are no good books just read the threads from last year to get the best advice

 

[John Deere Gree]

double post

 

[John Deere Gree]

stupid triple post

 

[asmallchild]

Hey,

Wanted to know what the forum thought was a good book for the match process (applications, interviews, ranking,etc).

Do people still rely on Isersons? I believe its a really old book and some of the stuff is outdated.

There are a couple of other new books like FA for the match, etc. so wanted opinions

I read Iserson's, FA for the match, and The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty while on the plane rides to various interviews. There's nothing essential there but all 3 were light reads and kept my mind from going crazy on the plane rides. Out of all 3, I would say Iserson's was probably the best. There was one section in particular that provides common interview questions and how to possibly tackle them. (I don't necessarily agree with the way they answer all the questions but it's nice to see varying viewpoints)

I was able to find used copies quite cheaply on half.com, ebay, amazon, school store, etc... I would not recommend spending a ton of money to get these books new

The most important thing, however, is to attend all the sessions your school holds. You would be surprised how supposedly intelligent medical students could mess up something as simple as the ERAS application process or the rank order list. If your school doesn't have any formal sessions, it would be worth discussing with an advisor or dean rather than "winging" it. The books discuss this information as well but it's best to hear this advice in person.

 

[sport29883]

I read Iserson's, FA for the match, and The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty while on the plane rides to various interviews. There's nothing essential there but all 3 were light reads and kept my mind from going crazy on the plane rides. Out of all 3, I would say Iserson's was probably the best. There was one section in particular that provides common interview questions and how to possibly tackle them. (I don't necessarily agree with the way they answer all the questions but it's nice to see varying viewpoints)

I was able to find used copies quite cheaply on half.com, ebay, amazon, school store, etc... I would not recommend spending a ton of money to get these books new

The most important thing, however, is to attend all the sessions your school holds. You would be surprised how supposedly intelligent medical students could mess up something as simple as the ERAS application process or the rank order list. If your school doesn't have any formal sessions, it would be worth discussing with an advisor or dean rather than "winging" it. The books discuss this information as well but it's best to hear this advice in person.

Hey thanks man...appreciate it.

As for John, the other posts didnt show up when I entered in the title...you could say the title was wrong 🙂, but rather than wasting your time and the time of others reading this post, you could've taken an extra minute to copy-paste a link to the double/triple link 🙂. there have been such cases before and the refined way would be to remind them there has been a post before with a link. I'm sure no one does these things on purpose 🙂..see ya

 

[John Deere Gree]

Hey thanks man...appreciate it.

As for John, the other posts didnt show up when I entered in the title...you could say the title was wrong 🙂, but rather than wasting your time and the time of others reading this post, you could've taken an extra minute to copy-paste a link to the double/triple link 🙂. there have been such cases before and the refined way would be to remind them there has been a post before with a link. I'm sure no one does these things on purpose 🙂..see ya

Sorry you took my post the wrong way. Allow me to rephrase.

The books that have been listed above a pure crap. Basically people came along to write a book to fill a void they thought was there to make extra money. I don't mean to knock the First Aid series (as I think it is a huge benefit for Step 1, and declines from there), but if there was a First Aid for Buttkissing Your Attending (or Iserson's Guide to Buttkissing Your Attending), I'm sure it'd be a top seller in the med student community.

Going through the whole match process last year, the greatest asset was this message board. I asked a lot of questions, and answered a lot of questions by reading what people responded to in my posts and by reading threads other posters had started.

I don't think any of the above books are of any benefit. Everything you ever wanted to know about ERAS is contained somewhere on these message boards (and I'm sure will be asked again-which is absolutely fine). Everything you wanted to know about NRMP and setting up a Rank Order List (ROL) is on here (including a long thread about someone who didn't set it up properly and the consequences of such action). Commonly asked interview questions? That's here too, including Google searches.

All I was trying to say was save your money, ask questions here, do some Google searches for interview stuff, and you will get more out of reading this message board than any book can provide.

For example, read this thread about interview attire. What book is going to provide you all that info. The book would say "Guys-wear a suit" and then move onto the next topic.

Sorry I spent more time hitting the submit button on my previous post than I did typing a response. I hope this time it helps.

Enjoy your last year of med school and good luck on the interview trail.

 

[sport29883]

Sorry you took my post the wrong way. Allow me to rephrase.

The books that have been listed above a pure crap. Basically people came along to write a book to fill a void they thought was there to make extra money. I don't mean to knock the First Aid series (as I think it is a huge benefit for Step 1, and declines from there), but if there was a First Aid for Buttkissing Your Attending (or Iserson's Guide to Buttkissing Your Attending), I'm sure it'd be a top seller in the med student community.

Going through the whole match process last year, the greatest asset was this message board. I asked a lot of questions, and answered a lot of questions by reading what people responded to in my posts and by reading threads other posters had started.

I don't think any of the above books are of any benefit. Everything you ever wanted to know about ERAS is contained somewhere on these message boards (and I'm sure will be asked again-which is absolutely fine). Everything you wanted to know about NRMP and setting up a Rank Order List (ROL) is on here (including a long thread about someone who didn't set it up properly and the consequences of such action). Commonly asked interview questions? That's here too, including Google searches.

All I was trying to say was save your money, ask questions here, do some Google searches for interview stuff, and you will get more out of reading this message board than any book can provide.

For example, read this thread about interview attire. What book is going to provide you all that info. The book would say "Guys-wear a suit" and then move onto the next topic.

Sorry I spent more time hitting the submit button on my previous post than I did typing a response. I hope this time it helps.

Enjoy your last year of med school and good luck on the interview trail.

Hey thanks man. Appreciate it.

I agree..I've got a lot out of this forum even before embarking on the interview trail. I can only imagine how helpful it will be when I need to evaluate programs,etc. Enjoy your program!

 

[Law2Doc]

Sorry you took my post the wrong way. Allow me to rephrase.

The books that have been listed above a pure crap. Basically people came along to write a book to fill a void they thought was there to make extra money. I don't mean to knock the First Aid series (as I think it is a huge benefit for Step 1, and declines from there), but if there was a First Aid for Buttkissing Your Attending (or Iserson's Guide to Buttkissing Your Attending), I'm sure it'd be a top seller in the med student community.

Going through the whole match process last year, the greatest asset was this message board. I asked a lot of questions, and answered a lot of questions by reading what people responded to in my posts and by reading threads other posters had started.

I don't think any of the above books are of any benefit. Everything you ever wanted to know about ERAS is contained somewhere on these message boards (and I'm sure will be asked again-which is absolutely fine). Everything you wanted to know about NRMP and setting up a Rank Order List (ROL) is on here (including a long thread about someone who didn't set it up properly and the consequences of such action). Commonly asked interview questions? That's here too, including Google searches.

All I was trying to say was save your money, ask questions here, do some Google searches for interview stuff, and you will get more out of reading this message board than any book can provide.

For example, read this thread about interview attire. What book is going to provide you all that info. The book would say "Guys-wear a suit" and then move onto the next topic.

Sorry I spent more time hitting the submit button on my previous post than I did typing a response. I hope this time it helps.

Enjoy your last year of med school and good luck on the interview trail.

I tend to agree. There really isn't a particularly useful book out there, but lots of info can be gleaned from web sources such as SDN, and the rest really should come from your med school. You are better off asking questions rather than find a book that answers everything.

 

[EternalMD]

I had bought Iserson's guide prior to 4th year and while there was some tid bits of useful information, a lot of stuff is more useful for 1st year students - i.e. usefulness of basic science grades, research, extracurriculars etc. By the time you're a 4th year, most of this stuff is set in stone so reading that book doesn't help tremendously. This forum however has been great because you often get advice from people who have gone through the match recently - You could always utilize a friend who has gone through matching but you only get one opinion then. SDN allows for numerous responses and different opinions allowing you to make a much more informed decision with how to proceed

 

[kenfused]

I think a nice book is the one by Samir Desai, on residency match
It's a light,easy read and interesting as well. about half the info is actually useful too!
I think it's never too early to read a good match book