How Much Reading/Studying During Residency?

[ILikeGas]

I've looked at some anesthesiology texts and they look pretty interesting. No mind-numbing lists of differentials ala medicine or radiology. Little emphasis on rote-memorization, which I totally hate.

So, how much reading/studying are anesthesiology residents officially (told by their attendings) supposed to be doing a day or week?

Internal Medicine residents are told to read about an hour a day.

Radiology residents are told to read about 2 hours a day (I'm not making this up).

Thanks, anesthesia residents for answering.

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[UTSouthwestern]

Read 10.5 hours a week and you will easily pass your written boards. We did a survey over the past two years and compiled the statistics for a presentation at the most recent ASA.

 

[OldManDave]

Like in med school, the amount YOU require will vary. And some programs are much better than others at scheduling your life to facilitate this process. I would suggest that you do your utmost to set aside an hour or so each night, including weekends, to devote to reading. If you can squeeze in more, great. If not, you will simply have to learn to become more efficient with the time that you can allot.

How do you gauge whether or not you are reading enough? Everyone takes the annual in-service exam. That is a strong indicator. Some programs also have you take the AKT series (anesthesia knowledge test). That helps as well. Both not only provide an overall indexed score vs your peers; but also a topically-oriented breakdown of strengths & weaknesses.