Intro text to prep for 1st PMR exposure?

[gbear97]

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Hi all,

I'm contacting PMR docs that I can shadow/volunteer with this summer and during M1. I'd like to prep for the experience (pick-up terminology, get background info on some of the things I might see performed, etc.) by doing some reading beforehand.

Since I don't have access to a medical library yet (i.e., no access to journal articles--not that I would understand them 🙂), I thought I would try to find a nice intro textbook.

Which textbooks did you guys find to be the MOST BASIC (easiest to understand) when you prepped before your PMR rotations?

After scoping Amazon.com, the most reasonable options--in terms of text difficulty and price--appear to be:

1.) Practical Manual of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Basic Problems by Jackson C. Tan ($39.95 used)

2.) Chronic Disease and Disability: A Contemporary Rehabilitation Approach to Medical Practice by Ross Hays ($12.00 used)

3.) Handbook of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: The Basics by Susan J. Garrison ($3.99 used).

What are your thoughts? Should I just go the cheap route ($3.99) until I actually know something about medicine?

Thanks!

 

[drvlad2004]

I actually used Garrison's handbook and found it to be pretty good. It misses out on some detail though. I would also recommend getting PM&R secrets and the PM&R pocketpedia, which is a great handbook. PM&R secrets is very detailed but provides important info related to rehab. I recommend brushing up on your anatomy, neuroscience, and musculoskeletal medicine.

 

[Stinky Tofu]

As a first year medical student, I'd get the Garrison book since it's so cheap and possibly the PM&R Pocketpedia by Choi (mentioned above) since it is relatively cheap as well. There are lots of good books for PM&R, but I don't think you need to spend that type of money right now. My guess is that you'll probably shadow a Physiatrist who primarily does MSK/Spine so this would be even more reason not to spend too much money on a general PM&R textbook/handbook. If you are going to spend more money, try and get books you could use for a few different fields. I think Netter's Concise Atlas of Orthopaedic Anatomy would be a good book. This book would be useful for your Anatomy class, FP, Orthopaedic Surgery, PM&R, Rheumatology, etc.