My ABSITE review plan (dilemma!)

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Blade28

So I just had to post this - I finally finished reading Sabiston's today! I started in earnest back in October, hit the book hard during January (for the ABSITE), took a break, then pick it up again in mid-March. My plan has always been to read 10 pages a day.

So my idealistic plan is to now go through my highlighted lines and create a brief outline of the ENTIRE book. I'm also going to Xerox and shrink down the key tables/charts/graphics that I always need (and forget) and paste them in a little Moleskine.

How feasible is this? Should I just abandon this idea and use the ABSITE Review, Rush, etc. again this year? Has anyone tried taking notes from the book like me?
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Blade28 said:
So I just had to post this - I finally finished reading Sabiston's today! I started in earnest back in October, hit the book hard during January (for the ABSITE), took a break, then pick it up again in mid-March. My plan has always been to read 10 pages a day.

So my idealistic plan is to now go through my highlighted lines and create a brief outline of the ENTIRE book. I'm also going to Xerox and shrink down the key tables/charts/graphics that I always need (and forget) and paste them in a little Moleskine.

How feasible is this? Should I just abandon this idea and use the ABSITE Review, Rush, etc. again this year? Has anyone tried taking notes from the book like me?
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First, what is Moleskine? My mother had a coat when I was a kid that she told me was made of "mole skin". Since I had seen moles in our backyard in Florida, I thought that was pretty gross.

Secondly, when do they start administering this so-called "Senior Absite?" The clinical information which is not always presented well enough in things like ABSITE REVIEW, Killer, Rush, etc. is in Sabiston or most other texts. Although I'm not sure Sabiston is the best clinically oriented book (I prefer Cameron or the ACS one).

Doesn't Sabiston actually have a review book - a handbook and a MCQ?

Anyway, my usual answer is to do whatever you feel comfortable with and will actually keep up with. You can read ABSITE REVIEW in a few days and its a nice change of pace from the text. But I think your plan sounds fine. I think the only reason to abandon your former plans would be a) if you didn't do well so the plan needs reformulating and/or b) you didn't study enough of the clinical surgery for the senior exam (if they start giving it 3rd year?).

BTW, whenever you read that "x" is the most common nerve injured/complication/etc of operation "y", know the SECOND most common as well. Seemed to be a fav on the ACS Board Exam.
 
If you somehow found time and the determination to read Sabistons then kudos to you.

I am sorry to say that I haven't even finished the "basic science" portion of it.

I think you will be just fine if you accomplished that.

I am getting ready to start prepping for the absite now myself, but I sure ain't gonna be able to read all of Sabistons LOL.
 
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Blade28 said:
So I just had to post this - I finally finished reading Sabiston's today! I started in earnest back in October, hit the book hard during January (for the ABSITE), took a break, then pick it up again in mid-March. My plan has always been to read 10 pages a day.

So my idealistic plan is to now go through my highlighted lines and create a brief outline of the ENTIRE book. I'm also going to Xerox and shrink down the key tables/charts/graphics that I always need (and forget) and paste them in a little Moleskine.

How feasible is this? Should I just abandon this idea and use the ABSITE Review, Rush, etc. again this year? Has anyone tried taking notes from the book like me?
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You're taking the senior ABSITE, so I don't think investing all of that time in Sabiston is a great idea.......I would think that a combination of Cameron and Fiser would be a better prep.

Then again, what do the lab rats do? Do you just take the junior ABSITE for 4 straight years? I've never thought about that.....if this IS the case, how is your score weighted? As a PGY-2? It seems a little unfair.....hmmm......

This brings a whole new concept into my mind, especially when programs brag about their ABSITE scores........

Dr. V said:
If you somehow found time and the determination to read Sabistons then kudos to you.

I am sorry to say that I haven't even finished the "basic science" portion of it.

I think you will be just fine if you accomplished that.

I am getting ready to start prepping for the absite now myself, but I sure ain't gonna be able to read all of Sabistons LOL.
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I was able to read pretty much all of Sabiston last year as an intern. I think it helps to have a strong curriculum, and be held accountable for your reading assignments (we had a weekly quiz on our assigned readings, and the PD was made aware of how you did on the quiz).

That being said, I think the single best resource for ABSITE is "The ABSITE Review" by Fiser. People always talk about the mysterious ABSITE killer, but seriously, everything from AK is in Fiser's book......
 
Agreed...The Absite Review by Fiser is a great book. For those contemplating doing so, do not waste the time on the other books he put out this year (Senior Absite Review and Absite Q&As): they are essentially retreads of his Review, much less well done and not updated. They also look like they were done on the cheap.

But I am interested in which test the lab rats take as well.
 
Some great replies - thanks guys!

A Moleskine is a little black notebook that I like - see more here: www.moleskineus.com.

You take the junior level (PGY-1 and PGY-2) exam until you actually start your PGY-3 year...so I'll be taking the junior exam for another 2 years!

I've heard a lot of great things about Cameron - but am I just going to be re-reading all the stuff I read in Sabiston's, or can I just focus on the new clinical stuff?

I'll have to check out the ACS book - good idea! I also didn't know Sabiston's had a question book.
 
Kimberli Cox said:
For those contemplating doing so, do not waste the time on the other books he put out this year (Senior Absite Review and Absite Q&As): they are essentially retreads of his Review, much less well done and not updated. They also look like they were done on the cheap.
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Good to know, thanks.
 
Blade28 said:
Some great replies - thanks guys!

A Moleskine is a little black notebook that I like - see more here: www.moleskineus.com.

You take the junior level (PGY-1 and PGY-2) exam until you actually start your PGY-3 year...so I'll be taking the junior exam for another 2 years!

I've heard a lot of great things about Cameron - but am I just going to be re-reading all the stuff I read in Sabiston's, or can I just focus on the new clinical stuff?

I'll have to check out the ACS book - good idea! I also didn't know Sabiston's had a question book.
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From moleskineus.com website:

"...legendary notebook of artists, writers, intellectuals and travelers."

Well, that sounds perfect for you, Blade.
 
Blade28 said:
Why thank you!
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No problem. I wanted to have an anomaly in my post history at SDN; in this case, that anomaly was a generous compliment.

Enjoy.👍
 
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Meatwad said:
From moleskineus.com website:

"...legendary notebook of artists, writers, intellectuals and travelers."

Well, that sounds perfect for you, Blade.
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I've been a fan of moleskines since 3rd year.

FWIW, a number of people in my program use them for operative logs. And I've seen students use them on the wards to take notes during all the impromptu lectures they get on clinical topics. They're very versatile and handy.

I use mine as an operative log and to keep a list of all the different numbers we need to know to function on a daily basis. (i.e. door codes, DEAs, dictation codes, long distance codes, etc. Too many to remember.)
 
Samoa said:
I've been a fan of moleskines since 3rd year.

FWIW, a number of people in my program use them for operative logs. And I've seen students use them on the wards to take notes during all the impromptu lectures they get on clinical topics. They're very versatile and handy.

I use mine as an operative log and to keep a list of all the different numbers we need to know to function on a daily basis. (i.e. door codes, DEAs, dictation codes, long distance codes, etc. Too many to remember.)
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Good stuff! 👍

I use the small lined notebook to keep patient stickers for case logging purposes. I'm going to start another small one with one half for printed out sample dictations that I've done in the past, and the other half for commonly used tables/charts/graphs.

I keep frequently used numbers in my Treo.
 
MDhands said:
Hey guys,
I'm new to SDN and it's too bad I didn't know about it sooner. Anyways, I'm a GS intern and I was gonna start studying for then absite. I heard about this new book called Mastery of the Absite. It's supposed to be concise, to the point, and integrates all of repeated questions. Has anyone heard of it??? I would greatly appreciate you thoughts.
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I couldn't find it on Amazon and have never heard of it. Do you know an author?

FYI: Fiser has a new edition of The Absite Review coming out October 1st.
 
MDhands said:
The website for the book is www.absitebook.com and the author is Dr.Bardia Anvar. I heard its good and I personally think Fiser sucks! That just has a bunch of random info and is not geared towards the ABSITE tested topics
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I thought you were an intern...if so, then you haven't even taken the ABSITE yet.😕

There are several senior residents and at least one attending here who have taken the ABSITE several times and we all loved The ABSITE Review. Since you and Dr. Anvar share a purported locale, may I assume you are somehow related, employed or otherwise shilling for him?
 
MDhands said:
The website for the book is www.absitebook.com and the author is Dr.Bardia Anvar. I heard its good and I personally think Fiser sucks! That just has a bunch of random info and is not geared towards the ABSITE tested topics
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Website doesn't seem to be working right now.

You didn't like the outline-format organization of The ABSITE Review? Most residents use this book, in addition to their primary textbook (usually Sabiston's, Cameron or Greenfield) and a question book (e.g. Rush).
 
MDhands said:
I read through it and I don't think it is well organized. I have asked some people and they said it wasn't great. I am just asking for opinions and giving mine as well. There is no reason to make is seem like I don't know what I am talking about. I am entitled to my opinion. Thank you
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You are absolutely entitled to your opinion.

However, in your earlier post you claim to be a GS intern. When I noted the discrepancy you edited your post to change the story.

Then in a later post, you state that Dr. Anvar's book is much better than The Absite Review. Fair enough. You are entitled to that opinion. All of us are...who's to stay which book is better? Everyone has a different opinion and we have not had the benefit of reviewing Dr. Anvar's book alongside Dr. Fiser's.

BUT you state that the Absite Review is NOT geared toward ABSITE tested topics. Since you have never taken the exam, I am unsure as to how you can claim that. You also cannot claim that a review book "sucks" if you have not taken the exam like the rest of us have and know how well the book helped you prepare.

Finally, Dr. Advar has a brother with a business background who is located at the same IP locale and university as you. I find this highly suspicious that you might be Dr. Advar's brother who is shilling for him.

This doens't mean that his book might not be excellent and we welcome all discussions of relevant materials. If I am wrong, please accept my apologies but it seems a bit suspicious given the above, your refusal here and in a PM to answer my questions and to register with SDN making your first post an advertisement.
 
Ouch somebody got regulated!!! Nice catch!
 
jubb said:
Ouch somebody got regulated!!! Nice catch!
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Its usually pretty obvious when someone's first post touts a product.

Which is unfortunate, because the book may be excellent. I don't want anyone here to think that I have any preference for Fiser's book (other than I have used it and found it helpful) or any reason to doubt that Dr. Anvar's book is less than excellent and perhaps better than Fiser's.

You just gotta be a little more sneaky when I'm bored with nothing else to do but read these posts carefully. Plus I have a very suspicious nature lately.😡
 
If one does a google search for ABSITE review, the Anbar book comes up at the top of the advertisements. Sounds like they are working hard to get it advertised through the internet. It is not cheap either. All that aside, I was wondering if anyone has actually looked at it or has an opinion on it.
 
Yeah, for $80+, it'd better be great!

BTW, it "guarantees" at least a 5% percentile increase. Risky, IMHO.
 
Blade28 said:
Yeah, for $80+, it'd better be great!

BTW, it "guarantees" at least a 5% percentile increase. Risky, IMHO.
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I've often wondered about these guarantees. The book by Blecha and Brown, which is just AWFUL IMHO, rife with errors, promises a money back guarantee if you don't pass your boards after using their book.

But how many people actually go to the effort of saving the receipt and returning the book to get their money back? Probably not many which is perhaps why these offers work (for the authors and publishers).
 
From the website:

After scoring a single digit score in his fourth year of general surgery residency, Dr Anvar spent hours studying review books and old ABSITE score reports to find all the most highly tested topics.

Dr Anvar's chief year score after intense review went from the single digits to an 88th percentile.

This book comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you purchase this book 1 month prior to the ABSITE test date and you do not see a 5% improvement in your ABSITE score, your money will be refunded.
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Sounds a little fishy, IMHO.
 
hey blade are u intern or 3rd yr
n none of ur posts have u mentioned schwartz ...any negatives ???
input appreciated
 
docno1 said:
hey blade are u intern or 3rd yr
n none of ur posts have u mentioned schwartz ...any negatives ???
input appreciated
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PGY-3 but in the lab this year and next year (look at my signature!).

I personally don't like Schwartz - when I was an MS-IV I compared Schwartz and Sabiston's and much preferred the latter. The best thing you can do is look through a copy yourself, either at a bookstore or library and see if you like its style.

There's a good thread talking about surgical textbooks here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=189749&highlight=textbook
 
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