is surgical recall enough to pass the surgery shelf?

[godfather]

hey guys i was wondering if you guys think surgical recall is enough to pass the surgery shelf. also do you guys think reading the specialty section(it's like 230pages of the 700 page book) is necessary or should i just stick to the general surgery portion of the book. All i want to do is pass as i have no intention of going into surgery and i got like 8 days left before the exam date. i'll thank you guys in advance for the information.

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[Djanaba]

Hi there!

No, surgical recall isn't enough. But if you've had your eyes open during surgeries, participated in surgery clinic, taken responsibility for following patients, listened to the presentations, surgeries, and courses of recovery for patients, and have looked at SR for pathophys, treatment, etc., you're good to go. The shelf is half what you've learned from books, half what you've learned by being there. You can't really study well for it, but it is doable. If you've got a good handle on the book, you're looking good going into it from the paper aspect. Just pray that your clinical experience matches or surpasses it.

 

[pags]

My two cents... Recall should be plenty to pass. I somehow received honors on my shelf using the whimpy Blueprint Series book and Recall. With respect to Djanaba, maybe your shelf came from the surgical boards. I found it to be plenty. Good Luck, Godfather.

 

[Djanaba]

I guess that's not my point: if you read Recall and just stayed home for the length of the rotation, you would have a hard time passing (unless you're an obsessive memorizer). But if you put effort into the rotation, you'll get plenty. It's the experience + the book that's the key, and you need to focus on the first being good and worry about the latter as the test gets closer.

 

[Amadeus]

If u know the book well, you'll pass and probably do well...period.

 

[Lt. Ub]

Yes RECALL is enough. I read it many times and did VERY well on the shelf. NMS sucks, Lawrence sucks, Blueprints sucks. I was truly shocked at how well Recall worked!

 

[Future GI Guy]

Recall is enough, and if you read it 2 times, you should get honors level on the shelf exam.