Good surgery clerkship resources to use during winter break?

[PaulineStay]

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I am using the DeVirgilio Surgery case based clinical review book and it is freakn awesome but feel like I need to add one more resource in there ... what do you guys recommend? Uworld qs? Another qbank?

I really want to do well on this shelf!

 

[operaman]

Pestana's cases have been a tried and true resource for this shelf. He also does the kaplan step 2ck videos in which he talks through all of the vignettes. Pestana is an easy read and a great way to get your mindset calibrated for this shelf.

Beyond that, any question source is good. PreTest, UWorld, Lange, Casefiles - you name it, it's good. The key is getting through ALL of 1-2 sources so you get some exposure to the breadth of topics covered.

Beyond that, enjoy your time off and try to get some rest. Hopefully you'll have some residents who will help point out shelf-worthy things that come up day-to-day on the rotation as there is no better way to remember something than to see it in a real human being.

 

[Favoritefarm]

Everything in the Pestana book is in the DeVirgilio surgery book. Devirg is way more comprehensive and the Pestana vignettes have been around a long time, NBME won't be using these "classic cases" as frequently cuz everyone gets them right. DeVirgilios book is the new gold standard

 

[padfoot777]

Pestana pestana pestana + uworld. if you had IM before this rotation you're already ahead of the curve, the exam is a ton of medicine

 

[hunterjumper14]

Pestana pestana pestana + uworld. if you had IM before this rotation you're already ahead of the curve, the exam is a ton of medicine

This is very accurate.
Here's what I did: reread pestana until you can recite it. Do the Uworld questions for surgery and do as many medicine ones that you can manage as well.

 

[bravomavo]

Everything in the Pestana book is in the DeVirgilio surgery book. Devirg is way more comprehensive and the Pestana vignettes have been around a long time, NBME won't be using these "classic cases" as frequently cuz everyone gets them right. DeVirgilios book is the new gold standard

Couldn't agree with you more!

Pestana could be read in 1 day which you should probably do before the shelf but it is definitely not enough.

The DeVirgilio surgery cased based book is probably the top resource out there right now.

And OP, you do not need a q-bank since the DeVirgilio book has like 300 questions in the back. Just stick to that and you will be very happy. On another note, if you are interested in doing surgery go in on 1-2 cases during your break. There will be no students and less residents so you may be able to do more in the OR. GL!

 

[PL198]

wtf is this devirgilio you guys are talking about? i've literally never heard of it before and now you guys are saying it's the go-to?

the go to has been pestana + uworld + nms casebook or case files

 

[PaulineStay]

wtf is this devirgilio you guys are talking about? i've literally never heard of it before and now you guys are saying it's the go-to?

the go to has been pestana + uworld + nms casebook or case files

Thanks for all the replies guys. I read pestana and I have to agree, its all in the devirgilio book.

PL198, this is the Devirgilio book: Amazon product ASIN 1493917250
I will stick to the DeVirg book and do the Uworld questions. thanks guys n gals.

 

[PaulineStay]

i am trying to put in the link but its not working; anyways its on amazon if you search for it

 

[Señor S]

OnlineMedEd and Emma Ramahi (sp?)

 

[ewax]

emma ramahi is good for review, maybe like a week or two before your actual shelf. I have no experience with the devirgillo book, but I'd highly recommend the NMS case book. Really good vignettes overall, but I think the trauma section is by far the best.

 

[Rvb1609]

Anyone else heard about the devirgilio book? I need to kill this shelf

 

[Señor S]

Anyone else heard about the devirgilio book? I need to kill this shelf

It's good. I found Pestana basically worthless and NMS not that helpful either.

 

[Psai]

It's good. I found Pestana basically worthless and NMS not that helpful either.

Those + uworld were my sources and I scored very well on the shelf

 

[Señor S]

Those + uworld were my sources and I scored very well on the shelf

When did you take it? I don't know anybody who took it in the last few months who thought Pestana was helpful.

 

[PL198]

When did you take it? I don't know anybody who took it in the last few months who thought Pestana was helpful.

its definitely helpful but I would say not as "straight from pestana" as people made it out to be

 

[Psai]

When did you take it? I don't know anybody who took it in the last few months who thought Pestana was helpful.

Now you know at least one

 

[Señor S]

Now you know at least one

Nobody I've talked to who took the test in the last ~4 months has found Pestana to be very helpful. Maybe it got me 1 question? Most of the test was pre- and post-op complications.

 

[Favoritefarm]

Ya Pestana was helpful like 10 years ago but those vignettes are played out and not tested anymore. There are new classic cases... and they are all in the DeVirgilio book. It is the new Pestana lol .. but way better. The questions in the back of the book alone make it better than Pestana.

 

[hunterjumper14]

its definitely helpful but I would say not as "straight from pestana" as people made it out to be

I took it mid october and had probably 3-4 questions straight from pestana. It's short enough that you can pick up a few easy points!

 

[Doctor Strange]

Pestana (the word doc, not the book) for the shelf. Surgical Recall for actual cases and pimping.

 

[padfoot777]

Nobody I've talked to who took the test in the last ~4 months has found Pestana to be very helpful. Maybe it got me 1 question? Most of the test was pre- and post-op complications.

Took the exam a few months ago as well and scored really high , thought pestana was fantastic. All I did was that and uworld.

 

[FriedKEEN]

everyone uses the devirgilio surgery book at my school. my friend who just took the surgery shelf said that maybe 10 questions from his shelf exam were prettttttttttttttttttttttty darn close to the questions in the back of the devirgilio book. anyways its all he used and he got like a 98.

 

[Psai]

Ya Pestana was helpful like 10 years ago but those vignettes are played out and not tested anymore. There are new classic cases... and they are all in the DeVirgilio book. It is the new Pestana lol .. but way better. The questions in the back of the book alone make it better than Pestana.

Can you read it in one day? Pestana also has a lovely accent

 

[mcloaf]

Ya Pestana was helpful like 10 years ago but those vignettes are played out and not tested anymore. There are new classic cases... and they are all in the DeVirgilio book. It is the new Pestana lol .. but way better. The questions in the back of the book alone make it better than Pestana.

I took the shelf less than a week ago and thought Pestana was worth the time I invested in it. It may not be the most up to date or the fanciest resource but it has more than enough info to help you do well on the shelf.

 

[Favoritefarm]

Can you read it in one day? Pestana also has a lovely accent

No. But if you only want a resource to study from for one day then you aren't interested in doing well in the rotation. 😉

 

[mxmd]

i'd say do uworld (though I feel it does a sorry job since only 150qs and not very representative). Pretest surgery is a lot more representative of the actual shelf, so i'd recommend doing that.

 

[mcloaf]

No. But if you only want a resource to study from for one day then you aren't interested in doing well in the rotation. 😉

I mean it's not as if you can power through NMS the day before your shelf to review. With Pestana you can. The level of condescension ITT about DeVirgilio (which I've never heard of and I know plenty of people who killed the shelf) is both odd and grating.

 

[Psai]

No. But if you only want a resource to study from for one day then you aren't interested in doing well in the rotation. 😉

But I already did well in the rotation? 😉😉

 

[PL198]

I mean it's not as if you can power through NMS the day before your shelf to review. With Pestana you can. The level of condescension ITT about DeVirgilio (which I've never heard of and I know plenty of people who killed the shelf) is both odd and grating.

ya idk if it's marketing or what. never even heard of the book but apparently it's changing the game and everyone uses it? ya right

 

[Favoritefarm]

I mean it's not as if you can power through NMS the day before your shelf to review. With Pestana you can. The level of condescension ITT about DeVirgilio (which I've never heard of and I know plenty of people who killed the shelf) is both odd and grating.

I don't mean to be condescending. My bad.

 

[Hangry]

I mean it's not as if you can power through NMS the day before your shelf to review. With Pestana you can. The level of condescension ITT about DeVirgilio (which I've never heard of and I know plenty of people who killed the shelf) is both odd and grating.

Agreed. I believe that it could be a great resource, but with the weird way a few users keep blowing up the forums about it this year, it almost seems like a marketing scheme. In the end I decided not to drop a cool $70 on an unknown resource and stuck with the classics.

Another major advantage of Pestana in my mind is the audio. Driving is the obvious time to listen to it, especially if you have a long commute, but you can throw it in your ears and do anything (chores, exercise, etc). On a clerkship as time crunched as surgery, being able to multi-task while studying was huge. If I had only had books to study from, I would have gotten in about 1/3 the studying I did. Who knows though, I'm just another random student trying to justify their decision as the best way.

 

[Favoritefarm]

1. It came out this year so that's why you haven't heard of it
2. My school actually paid for everyone to have a free copy of the book so alot of people are using it by virtue that it's free. The publishers did this for several other schools I heard.
3. It is also free on the Internet if you look hard enough wink wink

What would anyone get from marketing it. I just think it's an awesome book.