Preparing for PGY2 year

[ashar008]

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Hello I matched radiology this year and will be starting my transitional year this july. Any recommendations on books to get me jump started on pgy2 next year. Ive finished felsons and am starting to look at Brant and helms. Any other good intro books? Also any books recommended for anatomy for radiology. Thank you.

 

[Rad2013]

Core Radiology: A Visual Approach to Diagnostic Imaging by Jacob Mandell

 

[radnonymous]

You probably won't listen to me, but coming from someone who had the same line of thinking, it's really a waste of time. It's mostly going to be foreign to you and you will likely forget whatever you read by the next week, definitely well before you're on the respective rotation and able to apply that knowledge daily. Think pre-studying for step 1 your last summer before med school. Even anatomy comes quick when you're going through scans every day.

Congrats on the TY and the free time that comes with it. Consider consider catching up on old hobbies or picking up new ones. Spend time with your family/friends. Study for step 3 early and get it out of the way. Spend a little time on your QI research and turn it into something publishable. Take 1-2 challenging electives (any type of subspecialty surgery with OR time and not scut) that are applicable to radiology and ask them what they look for in imaging. All of these will probably be a better use of time than trying to pre-learn radiology.

 

[clutch21]

Just to echo the sentiment above, studying radiology becomes worthwhile once you have good bank of normal images built up in your head (e.g. what a normal body CT looks like). Once these images are burned in your brain, it makes learning pathology from a book far easier. Before that, it’s largely a waste of time.

If you insist on pre studying, I’d recommend brushing up on normal anatomy. Spend some time scrolling through/quizzing yourself on the head/neck/brain/spine website. Having a good foundation of macro anatomy will make things easier starting PGY 2 year.

Once you’re in your PGY2 year, Core Radiology is where it’s at.

 

[Radology]

Disagree. I read all of brant and helms, Webb’s body ct and Felson’s as an intern, and a couple other intro radiology texts.

I was noticeably ahead of my peers when I started, and my reputation lasted all throughout my residency, even when they surpassed me in knowledge by the end. First impressions are powerful.

You are all intelligent enough to know that no reading is a “waste of time”. Sure, you’ll grasp it better if you’re reading intro books as a pgy2. But you’ll definitely retain more than the nay sayers think by prereading. I speak from experience.

 

[daffy duck]

Did you do a TY or IM prelim year? What was your typical day like ? AKA how many hrs/day would you read on weekdays and weekends an on lighter rotations vs harder rotations.

Disagree. I read all of brant and helms, Webb’s body ct and Felson’s as an intern, and a couple other intro radiology texts.

 

[clutch21]

Disagree. I read all of brant and helms, Webb’s body ct and Felson’s as an intern, and a couple other intro radiology texts.

I was noticeably ahead of my peers when I started, and my reputation lasted all throughout my residency, even when they surpassed me in knowledge by the end. First impressions are powerful.

You are all intelligent enough to know that no reading is a “waste of time”. Sure, you’ll grasp it better if you’re reading intro books as a pgy2. But you’ll definitely retain more than the nay sayers think by prereading. I speak from experience.

More power to you then, but I think you’re in the minority. I was speaking from experience as well, albeit more recent experience.

Will it help to pre study radiology? Sure it will. Is it an effective use of time during an already busy intern year? I guess it depends on the person. But for most, the time trade off for a modest gain in radiology knowledge, most of which you won’t retain, isn’t worth it.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Felson's Principles of Chest Roentgenology was a worthwhile read during intern year. I made management decisions off my own interpretations without having to bother my future colleagues.

I already read through William Herring's Learning Radiology: Recognizing the Basics during my 4th year radiology elective. IMO, it's a small but good head start.

Wouldn't bother going through Brant and Helms or anything huge during PGY1. Core Radiology is gold once you officially start.

 

[Radology]

I did a TY. Had 1/3 of the year off, hence the reading.

If you have an 80 hour a week internship, don’t even bother.

But if you have a Cush internship, it’s far from a waste

 

[daffy duck]

Awesome, I'm in a similar situation ~ relatively cush intern year with lots of elective time, dont anticipate working anywhere near 80hrs/wk (from the previous intern class)

I have been asking around and from my conversations with faculty, they have told me not to read radiology at all and just focus on taking care of patients and building a strong medicine foundation. Residents have told me to not read ahead and focus on hobbies and living life.

I feel stupid but I still feel the need to read and be doing something productive (just something wired in me since medical school started I guess). I dont have the intention of reading ahead to stand out and be the most knowledgable resident once radiology years start, but its more to help me get rid of the urge to constantly do things.

I did a TY. Had 1/3 of the year off, hence the reading.

If you have an 80 hour a week internship, don’t even bother.

But if you have a Cush internship, it’s far from a waste

 

[Radology]

Trust me, you’re not gonna be missing out on life. theres only so much you can do during normal working hours when your colleagues are at work.

Just use some of the time from elective days on the anesthesia, radiology, pathology to read. I didn’t even have to show up for those rotations. Set an alarm, Read a couple hours 3 days a week on your rooftop with some coffee, and you’ll still have the rest of the day free to work out, day drink, hike, enjoy whatever city you are in.

 

[LittleFoot]

Trust me, you’re not gonna be missing out on life. theres only so much you can do during normal working hours when your colleagues are at work.

Just use some of the time from elective days on the anesthesia, radiology, pathology to read. I didn’t even have to show up for those rotations. Set an alarm, Read a couple hours 3 days a week on your rooftop with some coffee, and you’ll still have the rest of the day free to work out, day drink, hike, enjoy whatever city you are in.

I wouldn't necessarily say he will have as much free time as you had just because he's doing a TY. I am doing a notoriously chill TY year and my electives are nowhere near as chill as yours. Lots of half days, but not weeks and months off at a time. Also, I definitely interviewed at other TY programs that were not really that chill.

I certainly could have made the time to study this year while on electives but I think enjoying life was 100% worth it for me. But I don't really care about having a slight edge at the beginning of residency. If I had your schedule, could be different though haha.

 

[clutch21]

On a side note, I strongly recommend reading some finance/investment books intern year if you’re not already well versed. Now is the time to make sure you have a strong foothold on approaching student debt, understanding investing options, and developing good spending habits. White coat investor is a good jumping off point, but books like Bogleheads guide and anything by Bernstein are fantastic. White coat investor has good book recommendations on his website. After intern year, you’re also unlikely to be doing much non radiology reading.