Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students

[desout777]

I'm starting med school in August and I want to figure out what specialties are out there and what I need to do to get into the right residency. Have you all heard of 'Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students'? If not, can you recommend a good book for me to look up this stuff?

Thanks in advance!

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[lilnoelle]

I think thats the book that is generally recommended. I think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself though.

 

[DoctorFunk]

Definitely recommend Iserson's for getting an idea of what is required of you in various residencies. I disagree with the previous poster and think that it is a great book to read heading into your first two years of school. There is a section specifically addressing things that can be done during that time and how (un)important your grades are in basic science classes. Certainly time better spent than the folks who think they can start memorizing First Aid months before even having their first med school lecture.

 

[lilnoelle]

There is a section specifically addressing things that can be done during that time and how (un)important your grades are in basic science classes. Certainly time better spent than the folks who think they can start memorizing First Aid months before even having their first med school lecture.

I stand corrected. Since I haven't actually looked at Iserson's, I didn't know that Iserson's addresses the unimportance of the basic science classes. So, DoctorFunk, for a person who's not freaking out about their basic science grades and how to prepare for Step I, is Iserson's useful? (Like should I buy a copy or wait till later).

 

[Luv2Dance]

i am a first year and i have this book. while the main focus of it is on your clinical years/application process as well as different programs and spots avaliable, it also goes into a great detail about picking a mentor as a first year medical student. It also talks about the grades you should strive to achieve and in what subjects depending on what kind of field you'd like to go into. it also gives you statistics and levels of difficulty for different residency positions so that you know your options ahead of time. the book is kinda pricy but i think it's worth it. medical school companion by princeton review is a good book too. it is very short and easy and it gives you a basic idea of what to expect in medschool and beyond.

 

[Gut Shot]

Iserson's has a lot of good info, but the overall tone of the book is highly gunneresque. It gave me the vague impression that if I wasn't AOA my only career option would be FP in Battle Mountain, NV.

 

[cdql]

I'm starting med school in August and I want to figure out what specialties are out there and what I need to do to get into the right residency. Have you all heard of 'Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students'? If not, can you recommend a good book for me to look up this stuff?

Thanks in advance!

Good book to look at. Although that's typically something people look at during 3rd year or so. Never hurts to get a jump on things though.

What I would really recommend is lots and lots of TV. Enough so that by the time med school starts, you're really really sick of it. Then! You will be ready for year 1!

 

[Chinnychin]

Personally I think the book is crap and offers wrong info. I am at the same hospital as the Iserson and it is well known around our school that the guy is cocky and thinks getting into ER is like getting into neurosurg-if you notice how highly and compeittive he makes ER sound-well it is nowhere near that. Even on his ER he has like 20 pages of stats from his various residents and ER programs in the country such as mean step 1, research etc etc-And the fact of the matter is the average step 1 for ER was 220 last year-hardddly anything near competitive compared to the true competitve things. What he says is not accurate unless you are gunning for IVy's or top 10 programs-which then it may be helpful. WOuld not recomend

 

[xTinaBna]

i'll be a first year in the fall and i already bought that book b/c someone recommended it to me..i heard it has good info for all years of med school. the latest edition is the 7th edition which u can order off of amazon.com easily. it doesn't hurt to get it and have some perspective on med school and what to expect in your potential career. 🙂

I'm starting med school in August and I want to figure out what specialties are out there and what I need to do to get into the right residency. Have you all heard of 'Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students'? If not, can you recommend a good book for me to look up this stuff?

Thanks in advance!

 

[desout777]

Amazon.com won't ship the damn book till March. Anyway, I don't really need it ASAP or anything.

I'm not planning on using this thing as a Bible or anything.. I just want a reference book so I can be clear about my goals 4 years down the road.

 

[southpawcannon]

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty by Brian Freeman MD, pub. by Lange, ISBN 0-07-141052-x

Says it's written by residents for students. Covers how to choose, factors to consider, combined programs and how the match takes place. It also dedicates approximately 12-15 pages for each specialty with on the scope of each practice, doc-patient relationship, lifestyle considerations, residency training, future of the specialty, and info on subspecialties. A section about the contributors to each chapter is provided at the end with an email address if wanting to know more.

I'm still taking some pre-reqs for med school, but saw this book and felt like it might serve as a good reference for later on.

Hope this helps👍

 

[sprinkibrio]

You can't go wrong with these...

Surviving Medical School by Coombs is good to experience what med school is like without being there. Lots of student interviews and opinions.

Study Without Stress: Mastering the Medical Sciences by Kelman is my favorite. It pretty much lays out what every day will look like in med school in terms of how much you should study and gives great tips on how to study. It emphasizes studying in med school is a whole different deal than studying in undergrad.

I second Iserson's although it's wayyyy too drawn out and 3/4 of it doesn't apply to us yet. Very good guide to getting a mentor.

The Ultimate Guide is a much clearer and shorter mirror of Isersons but leaves out what residencies want. Best guide to the day in the life of a certain specialty that I've found.

See what other titles amazon suggests for you...

 

[beefballs]

Isersons is the one you want to read. It took like a week, very informative and comprehensive.

and whats with all the ms0 telling people what books to read to understand med school, that would be like me telling someone what having a period is like (I am all tubesnake down below)

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Personally I think the book is crap and offers wrong info. I am at the same hospital as the Iserson and it is well known around our school that the guy is cocky and thinks getting into ER is like getting into neurosurg-if you notice how highly and compeittive he makes ER sound-well it is nowhere near that. Even on his ER he has like 20 pages of stats from his various residents and ER programs in the country such as mean step 1, research etc etc-And the fact of the matter is the average step 1 for ER was 220 last year-hardddly anything near competitive compared to the true competitve things. What he says is not accurate unless you are gunning for IVy's or top 10 programs-which then it may be helpful. WOuld not recomend

I noticed that too. I think the book is a good overview of the process and worth a skim for the M1/2 who wants to just have an idea of what the future holds.

That said, he does list EM as being equally competitive as stuff like Derm and Ophtho which is just wrong across the board. Such a grossly incorrect statement of the reality of application to his own specialty makes me suspicious of his ability to judge the realities of application to others...

Focus more on the general chapters and less on the specialty info, and keep in mind that as one poster put, he is sort of gunnerish.

 

[Marquis_Phoenix]

So...

Suggesting that one should aspire to excellence is "gunnerish"?

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty by Brian Freeman MD, pub. by Lange, ISBN 0-07-141052-x

Says it's written by residents for students. Covers how to choose, factors to consider, combined programs and how the match takes place. It also dedicates approximately 12-15 pages for each specialty with on the scope of each practice, doc-patient relationship, lifestyle considerations, residency training, future of the specialty, and info on subspecialties. A section about the contributors to each chapter is provided at the end with an email address if wanting to know more.

I'm still taking some pre-reqs for med school, but saw this book and felt like it might serve as a good reference for later on.

Hope this helps👍

My roommate has this book, and it is awesome for the specialty descriptions. Not worth a buy, but the descriptions are phenomenal, definitely worth a library visit. Iserson's is useful (I own it), but mainly for getting into residency, for 3/4th year. It doesn't offer much except for brief specialty summaries and to say "get a mentor, and do something clinical over the summer" for your first two years.


If you want to learn more about the different specialties though, get the Freeman book, it is great.

 

[Gut Shot]

So...

Suggesting that one should aspire to excellence is "gunnerish"?

No. Was that a real question?

 

[sprinkibrio]

and whats with all the ms0 telling people what books to read to understand med school, that would be like me telling someone what having a period is like (I am all tubesnake down below)

I don't think recommending a book is like recommending a website in that you might get faulty information. If you read enough books about what a period is like, I don't doubt you would know the good, clear, useful ones to recommend. I never claimed to be an expert on explaining the med school experience... just on some good books.

 

[sprinkibrio]

.

 

[xTinaBna]

Amazon.com won't ship the damn book till March. Anyway, I don't really need it ASAP or anything.

I'm not planning on using this thing as a Bible or anything.. I just want a reference book so I can be clear about my goals 4 years down the road.

amazon won't ship to march? that's so strange...i ordered mine around the 19th or 20th of january and it came about 7-8 days later (i didn't pay extra for faster shipping). maybe there's a high demand for it these days....🙂 oh well, order it anyway, maybe its just temporarily out of stock, you'll have plenty of time to read through it

 

[Guile]

amazon won't ship to march? that's so strange...i ordered mine around the 19th or 20th of january and it came about 7-8 days later (i didn't pay extra for faster shipping). maybe there's a high demand for it these days....🙂 oh well, order it anyway, maybe its just temporarily out of stock, you'll have plenty of time to read through it

You can just get it used if you would like. There are 14 used & new from $32.00. So you would save money, too.

 

[EM Doc to be]

Good book to look at. Although that's typically something people look at during 3rd year or so. Never hurts to get a jump on things though.

What I would really recommend is lots and lots of TV. Enough so that by the time med school starts, you're really really sick of it. Then! You will be ready for year 1!

HA! Love it

 

[DermViser]

HA! Love it

Considering he replied 7 years ago, I doubt he will respond to you.

 

[compstomper]

HA! Love it

Love the necrobump.