Medscape. Good Resource?

Started by lichen
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lichen

Full Member
7+ Year Member
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Hey All,

Is medscape a good resource for medical students? I guess criteria could include general review, step 1 studying, broadening knowledge of medicine, etc.

Thanks all
 
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Its good for basic and quick info, but sometimes its a bit too general to be really useful. Get used to using up-to-date, at least in 2nd year (you'll need it for 3rd - that or the AAFP topics). Its actually an awesome resource, but kind of floods you with a ton of info, and as the above poster mentioned isn't always laid out in the best way to get info quickly.
 
To answers your questions:

1) General review, yeah it's okay

2) Step studying, nah. You need to know details. Medscape won't work for that.

3) Broadening knowledge of medicine, I guess, but it is woefully inadequate. If you want a broad stroke of a disease or treatment it'll give you that. If you actually want to learn about a disease (and want to impress someone on a rotation), you need a systematic review and those are on PubMed.
 
I prefer UpToDate. I can see where some might complain about the layout or amount of content, but if you use it enough you'll develop a system for navigating the topic pages efficiently and skimming over extra info. Dynamed is good if you like a bullet point format. I only use MedScape if I have to look up pharm info quick, but it's the best source I've found for a quick pharm reference.
 
Agree with most of the comments already stated. Medscape is great for general overview. I use it a ton as a resident to get the quick and dirty of condition workup and treatment. That said, it isn't updated as often as Dynamed or Uptodate. You won't find "cutting edge" EBM stuff on all the articles. I would tend to use it a lot more from a practical standpoint and less from a studying or atypical case standpoint.