Harrisons or Cecils

[Docgeorge]

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I'm thinking about getting either Harrisons or Cecils for more indepth understanding of topics. I was wondering if anyone here had any opinions on either of these books. I'm open to any suggestions that any one might have.

DocG

 

[ckent]

I have both books, and I can't recommend either. Cecil's is not practical and not current, and Harrison's has too much information to read through. I would buy "current medical diagnosis and treatment", I've never seen a text book as well written as that. It has more then enough information that you will ever need in med school and beyond, but it's written succinctly enough cut out all of the extra info you don't need to know that is in Harrison's. Harrison's is much better then Cecils though.

 

[vitaminj]

I can't comment on the last respondants book, but I have found that Harrision's is ideal for giving a presentation on a topic that an attending may give you so as to present at rounds the next day and that Cecil's is a very readable book for more indepth understanding. If you are looking for that I would say Cecil's I found it very helpful, I don't own but was able to borrow, I do however own Harrison's as it was a gift from our alumni society.

Hope that helps.

 

[PTCA]

i am a med student not a resident
only my two cents
i assume you are referring to Cecil?s a textbook of medicine (a monster) and not Cecil?s essentials of medicine (a great book but not a reference like the one you are looking for) and Harrison?s (the other monster) .if you are trying to learn what?s wrong with a patient and how to treat him Current just seems to contain everything you?ll need (but I am a med student, I have only cared for im patients under supervision). However like it is previously stated if you have to do a presentation then you do need more (especially for miscellaneous conditions). Harrison?s is better than Cecil?s but none of the two compares to reading a recent review paper in a prestigious journal (more up to date data written by someone who actually knows what he is talking about

 

[Docgeorge]

Great! Thanks for the replys guys any body else want to weigh in?

 

[theodore]

I think I'll go with Kent on this. Harrisson's is one of the worst money for value books I've come across. It's not only the volume that is overwhelming, it lacks the concise organisation that Current has. It will present all aspects of a case and its management, but in a very blurred and heterogenous mix. It looks like it emphasizes as much the rarest and the most common cases. Current was definitely worth the money(and it's much less than Harrisson's). You re looking for symptoms, you have symptoms, you're looking for differential, you ve got it separately. I would say Harrisson's is more academic though. In the end, it all comes down to what you're looking for in a book.

 

[Stormreaver]

I love Current-- I use it all the time. I was also given a copy of Harrison's by a drug rep but I rarely use it. Instead I use Uptodate as a reference-- its available for free at the hospital.