Intern year reading

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darkmansaad

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Hey just wondering what type of reading I should be doing for my CA1 year as an intern. Is baby miller enough or should I go straight for the big boys (Barash or Miller)? Any other resources I should be utilizing?

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Hey just wondering what type of reading I should be doing for my CA1 year as an intern. Is baby miller enough or should I go straight for the big boys (Barash or Miller)? Any other resources I should be utilizing?

First Aid For Step 3 then The ICU Book then Morgan and Mikhail.
 
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Hey just wondering what type of reading I should be doing for my CA1 year as an intern. Is baby miller enough or should I go straight for the big boys (Barash or Miller)? Any other resources I should be utilizing?

Agreed.
1) Focus on step 3
2) Get through baby miller. It is more than enough to kick start CA-1.
3) Rest and have fun. Work/school is fine, but you still should have a life outside medicine. Crucial if you want to stay sane. :scared:
 
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Step 3 is done
reading ICU book now on my SICU rotation
So baby miller it is!
 
you signed on for advanced anesthesia? awesome! congrats! - is it at the same program you're at for your prelim surg year? I'm applying to both anesthesia and prelim surg as well, so I'd like some advice on how you went about getting this done ... the intern forum has kinda scared me with this notion of "prelim surg = dead end" mentality :(
 
i agree. pass step 3 and then focus on what you're learning this year. from you profile i'm assuming your a surgery intern, so learn about what's going on if you get a chance to hit the OR, this way, you'll have an idea of what's happening even when you're on "our" side. the one thing that irks me is when we get CA1s that have no clue what's happening in the case.

as far as reading, baby miller will provide a solid base for CA-1 year (for boards and ITE you may need more detail, but you can impress attendings with baby miller.) use the big text as table levels. only open those once you're a resident and you need that additional detail.
 
Doc4Life - PM me regarding any questions you have. Everybody's story is different, alot of what you hear is true. Alot of what you hear isnt. And yes, just got an advanced spot at a program I couldnt' be happier about. Dreams come true even for caribbean IMGs.
 
Any hints at whether to read the original icu book or the new 'little' icu pocket book by Marino? And how do interns find time to actually read during icu with the long hours?
 
Any hints at whether to read the original icu book or the new 'little' icu pocket book by Marino? And how do interns find time to actually read during icu with the long hours?

Get the original one. The pocket one is supposed to be portable but I think it's still a pain to carry around. The original one is actually an easy read. There are some chapters on hygiene and stuff that aren't worth scrutinizing over. It looks thick, but one can easily finish it within a month.

Just to throw it out there, but keep an open mind when reading it, because the author says some stuff that seems outdated. For example, I think I remember him saying stuff about how the use of ultrasound is controversial in placing central lines, but my med school and residency program (different institutions) both routinely use it.
 
Any hints at whether to read the original icu book or the new 'little' icu pocket book by Marino? And how do interns find time to actually read during icu with the long hours?

Even during some busy months, it's still possible to read. Even on call during SICU (busy as hell....), I still found time to read, but you need to be proactive. This probably won't be possible during EM etc. and certain other rotations where you'll be "busy" doing busy work, but you can always get SOME reading done at work.
 
Reading the first 16 chapters of Morgan and Mikhail gives you a nice leg up. I have seen that those who start ahead of the curve usually stay ahead of the curve. You can read a little during your internship and still have some fun.

Cambie
 
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Found this thread with search, thought I would resurrect it to gather some more opinions.

I am doing a surgical prelim, is there any value in reading surgery based text? Or am I better off grabbing anesthesia based text?

If the latter are the choices above still solid? I hear Morgan & Mikail and Baby Miller thrown out there a lot, any advantage to reading one vs. the other (I prefer to stick to one text and know it very well)?

Sure I'll think of some other questions, but thanks in advance!

Edit: Wanted to add that M&M or Baby Miller wouldn't be my only text throughout residency, just during internship.
 
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Baby Miller is an easier read, and nearly every sentence (and every graph or picture) is important. If you can only read one anesthesiology text during intern year, read that one. You'll get to the others next year.

As for surgery books, you are going to be taking care of surgical patients for the rest of your career. Knowing what goes on on the other side of the drapes can be important.
 
So I was told to get baby miller and do hall questions as a starting CA-1. I bought the baby miller book and bought hall questions for my ipad - each was about $60. Baby miller is awesome - great read. I was looking through the app store recently for cool anesthesia apps and guess what I found for FREE - Hall questions in flash card form :smack:. They're exactly the same as the ones I BOUGHT on amazon, but in a much better format.

So, if you want to save money and still be prepared, look up anesthesia apps and the Hall questions should pop up fairly early. I feel like a wee todd. Enjoy!
 
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Any updates or thoughts about this subject? Thanks.

Reviving a 5 year old thread? Wow.

I have a different take from the comments above. You can do a bit of light anesthesia reading, but i think your main focus should be to learn medicine and do procedures. The anesthesia knowledge will come with your residency training. Without application you will forget the anesthesia reading u do
 
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I’d have to agree. Know medicine very well and you’ll be light years ahead of everyone doing a surgery year in terms of preparing for the ITE and basic exam. I think it makes sense to ready baby miller intern year, since you’ll quickly outgrow the depth of detail in the baby miller book during anesthesia residency.
 
Any updates or thoughts about this subject? Thanks.

1) House of God
2) Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik
3) any Elmore Leonard novel
4) some Christopher Moore for a few laughs
5) Fahrenheit 451
6) Zone One
7) all the Harry Potters
 
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I mostly recommended novels because I feel like it's the only year of residency you can be caught reading a novel and not be shamed, although you'll still be shamed. I have always felt that "House of God" is a must read, as a matter of fact, it should be required 4th MS reading.

You can read anesthesia books for CA-1 if you want to try to look good in the first month, but understand, no matter how much facts you can spew off first few months in the OR, very few attendings/surgeons will trust in a room alone with a patient, therefore, no one really expects you to know anything. If you do feel like you're in "gunner" mode, pick ONE book and know it front and back. This is a general piece of advice. Morgan and Mikhail is a good one or Baby Miller. Another trick, if you're dying to be a reader intern year is to buy two copies of the same book. Keep one at home for your home reading. Take the other and tear all the chapters out and staple them together so you can carry a chapter at a time in your white coat and read in the the hospital during down time. It lightens your load and you still get your reading in.
 
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Instead of the above, you can just get the book in electronic format, and load it onto your phone, tablet, or e-reader (depending on file format). Electronic copies are expensive, but buying two physical copies is more so.

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Opened this thread to post House of God, but Twiggidy beat me to it.

Seriously it should be mandatory reading for every intern.
 
Instead of the above, you can just get the book in electronic format, and load it onto your phone, tablet, or e-reader (depending on file format). Electronic copies are expensive, but buying two physical copies is more so.

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This is true. i'm from a pre-IPad era, as far as textbooks are concerned and I keep forgetting that they're making electronic versions of these thing. I still have the Kindle I (no color. no video). I just saw on Amazon that baby Miller is like $70 in Kindle format. Damn you kids have it so good.

Edit: The big Miller is $300 electronic and $120 in hardcover. I'd pay the extra $180 to not have to transport that big 2 volume set.
 
As mentioned above, read House of God. For medicine stuff, Marino's ICU Book, M&M, and Baby Miller are all good (preferred M&M). For basic finance, pick up the White Coat Investor guide or any one of the recommended books on Jim Dahle's website. You can put all of these on your electronic reading device of choice.
 
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Remind me of the days I read pdf files on subways.

I made my own pdf files. Get the M&M html pages (still available?), c/p to MS Word chapter by chapter, enlarge the font, adjust the size of pics and the page margins before converting to pdf, make it eye-easy on my phone.
 
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Am I the only crazy anesthesiology PGY-1 who took Step 3 last week and got it the f#%k done and over with???
 
Am I the only crazy anesthesiology PGY-1 who took Step 3 last week and got it the f#%k done and over with???
No, that actually makes more sense than putting it off. When I was an intern, in the event one went to a GMO tour after internship, the Army required that we passed step 3 prior to finishing internship, and acquired a permanent license as soon as it was finished.

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A little off-topic but do programs pay for your Step 3 fee? If you were to take it during PGY1
I've heard of some programs doing that, but mine did not.
 
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A little off-topic but do programs pay for your Step 3 fee? If you were to take it during PGY1
I’ve heard of some programs that do, but most have to use their CME fund money for it instead.
 
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I’ve heard of some programs that do, but most have to use their CME fund money for it instead.
Usually how much of CME fund should one expect per year? Does it roll-over to the next year? What do residents usually spend the fund on?
Hhaha I guess these questions are more suited for the interviews.
 
I hav


I haven’t even started intern year tho.

... that’s very gunner of you, but ok!

I was very fortunate that my program paid and had us all take it at the same time when we were together on an anesthesia rotation during internship. Our program required a pass by 6 months into CA-1 year.

I spent the 4 weeks from graduation to moving on the beach and relaxing. Looking forward to doing it again between fellowship and my job!
 
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Usually how much of CME fund should one expect per year? Does it roll-over to the next year? What do residents usually spend the fund on?
Hhaha I guess these questions are more suited for the interviews.
Think we got $500-1000 a year based on ITE performance, and the money rolled over. Almost all of it went to various test and license fees, question bank subscription, and an e-book or two.
 
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I’ve heard of some programs that do, but most have to use their CME fund money for it instead.
To me, that's as good as them paying for it! My bank account had to pay for it.
 
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... that’s very gunner of you, but ok!

I was very fortunate that my program paid and had us all take it at the same time when we were together on an anesthesia rotation during internship. Our program required a pass by 6 months into CA-1 year.

I spent the 4 weeks from graduation to moving on the beach and relaxing. Looking forward to doing it again between fellowship and my job!

I was sheet-faced every day in Rocky Pointe for 10 days while I stayed in my buddy’s $800K condo. Came back with a bitchin’ tan too.....
 
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