PGY1 textbooks

[pathology4me]

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So- I am a PGY1 and I am looking to invest some of my book fund in a set of surg path books and was wondering if anyone could help me narrow down my options. First, a bit about my learning style- I really like to read, in fact I will sit at home in the evenings and on the weekends and read through books in my spare time- I'm currently on CP and reading through relevant parts of Henry's which I have found helpful and, dare I say, enjoyable. I would like to work through a surg path text while on AP (although I realize I will have far less free time), apart from reading that I will do related to cases etc. I am trying to decide between investing in a Rosai or the Foundations series. Again, this would be something to read leisurely in my downtime to help build a general foundation and to supplement lectures etc- not necessarily case specific reading (I think I can accomplish that well with my program's library). I already have the Molavi text.

Any thoughts?

 

[KeratinPearls]

So- I am a PGY1 and I am looking to invest some of my book fund in a set of surg path books and was wondering if anyone could help me narrow down my options. First, a bit about my learning style- I really like to read, in fact I will sit at home in the evenings and on the weekends and read through books in my spare time- I'm currently on CP and reading through relevant parts of Henry's which I have found helpful and, dare I say, enjoyable. I would like to work through a surg path text while on AP (although I realize I will have far less free time), apart from reading that I will do related to cases etc. I am trying to decide between investing in a Rosai or the Foundations series. Again, this would be something to read leisurely in my downtime to help build a general foundation and to supplement lectures etc- not necessarily case specific reading (I think I can accomplish that well with my program's library). I already have the Molavi text.

Any thoughts?

I think most residents have one book from the Foundations series. Just make sure those books are written in the way you like. Sternberg is concise and if I had to choose between Sternberg and Rosai I would pick the former.

 

[mlw03]

I agree with Keratin. Sternberg is a good general surg path book to purchase. I do think the foundation series is good - I made good use of the resident library copies. But I think your money will go much further with a good general surg path book rather than trying to purchase all the different organ system texts in the foundations series.

 

[tco]

I went with Rosai. It's just a LOAD of facts...Not easy at all to read.

You have to think about which you want, though...A book that's easy to read or a reference book that you can pull facts from to study.

 

[KCShaw]

There are a number of threads more or less dealing with this topic. Totally agree it depends on what you want out of a book, and the style of reader/learner you are -- different people do better with different books sometimes. I got Rosai because I liked the images and thought the consistency of style throughout the book was helpful, but it's true that sometimes you can read the same paragraph 6 times and learn something new from it each time, while other texts have more tables with consolidated/high yield material. I'm not sure Rosai ever made such a distinction.

 

[dfer84]

- The Washington Manual of Surgical Pathology is a nice little read. It's around 800 pages (but they're on the small side, since it's a pocket manual). It's a condensed overview of the subject that's very readable and not too detailed.

- Diagnostic Histopathology of Tumors by Fletcher- 2 volume set; ~1500 pages total. Has tons of information, but is a relatively fluid read.

A good grossing manual and a solid foundation in dictation skills should be your main priority at first, even during your free time. Slow and inefficient grossing will eliminate any time you have to read during your PGY-1 year. Best to slay that mastodon before sinking your teeth into a 3000 page tome like Rosai or Sternberg (which are great for reading up on your cases, as mentioned earlier).