Ms1

[medstu2006]

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I will be starting med school this aug. I have 2 months to kill, 1 of which I will be traveling to Asia. So, I am gonna have a lot of fun with summer. The first month, I will be basically doing nothing. I was wondering whether you could suggest a med school book or two that I could look at. I am not talking about hardcore studying or anything. I was a chem. major in undergrad and never took any bio. higher than seceond year. no anatomy, nothing. I know there have been million threads on this issue, but I would like something that would just introduce me to what i'll be facing in med school. Thanks.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Congrats on the acceptance, congrats on doing something sweet beforehand. Alot of people are going to ditto what I say here b/c this question gets asked all the time: Don't read med school stuff.

You will have plenty of time to study it when you're there and wish you had lived it up a bit more. If you enjoy reading for pleasure get some of that in, I was a HUGE reader even throughout M1 but it died during M2.

The other thing is that the chance of your retaining any amount of useful information through undirected reading is slim. Alot of your teachers will probably focus on very specific stuff in their notes and that's what you'll need to be learning.


IF YOU MUST READ MED SCHOOL STUFF BEFORE MED SCHOOL
I do think it might be fun for a few of us current med students to hypothesize on the top three, so here you go...

1. Big Constanzo physiology (easy to read, very indepth without being overbearing)
2. High Yield Biostatistics
3. Nothing related to anatomy.

 

[getunconcsious]

I will be starting med school this aug. I have 2 months to kill, 1 of which I will be traveling to Asia. So, I am gonna have a lot of fun with summer. The first month, I will be basically doing nothing. I was wondering whether you could suggest a med school book or two that I could look at. I am not talking about hardcore studying or anything. I was a chem. major in undergrad and never took any bio. higher than seceond year. no anatomy, nothing. I know there have been million threads on this issue, but I would like something that would just introduce me to what i'll be facing in med school. Thanks.

I'd recommend the BRS or high-yield in whatever subjects you're taking the first semester.

 

[UCLAstudent]

1. Big Constanzo physiology (easy to read, very indepth without being overbearing)
2. High Yield Biostatistics
3. Nothing related to anatomy.

I agree with the Costanzo suggestion --- it's a great book, very easy to understand without insulting your intelligence. Learning anatomy at this point would be futile. I, like you, had never taken anatomy, and it hasn't been a problem at all.

Honestly, though, the best thing you can do for yourself is to enjoy your time off. Skip the books. You will have more than enough time to study once you start school. 👍

 

[DoctorFunk]

I always recommend Iserson's "Getting into a Residency." Light reading that you may not have time for during M1 year, but that will help you feel a little more prepared for the hurdles that you will have to overcome on your way to intern year.

 

[Bfriccia1]

I always recommend Iserson's "Getting into a Residency." Light reading that you may not have time for during M1 year, but that will help you feel a little more prepared for the hurdles that you will have to overcome on your way to intern year.

I second the Iserson's book (it is really fantastic and gives you a good idea of what specialties are out there and what their resposibilities are). One of the hardest parts of first year is that you feel pressure to narrow down what you are interested in but you dont have any idea what most specialties are like to practice. This book is a good beginning for getting your ideas flowing about the types of opportunities that are available. Castanzo is pretty easy to understand so that would be a good book too. Also, if you havent taken any biochem, Lippincott's biochem is a good introduction so its not so overwhelming when you start. Don't bother studying any anatomy...it will be extremely low yield and there will be more than enough time to learn it all in the time you are given. Hope this helps.

 

[4 Ever]

no book will let you know what medical school is truly like. Once you get there and realize all the information being thrown at you, THAT's when it hits you that you have arrived.

BRS and HY books are not great to learn from the first time around. They are review books and that's all - review books (can't review if you don't know the stuff yet)

Costanza's physio however is a great recommendation. She explains everything so well and like other's stated "doesn't insult the intelligence".