starting 3rd year... need some advice

[amic1283]

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Hey guys,

So I'm starting rotations (peds) in about a week, and have read from previous threads about the intro to 3rd year books which are helpful, as well as what is helpful for the peds rotation. I've got that down, but now what I'm wondering, which I haven't seen a specific thread on, is how to balance each day's studying. I know i will probably get the hang of it after my first rotation, but don't want the grades for that rotation to suffer because of that. So I was hoping for a head's up- how did you guys manage studying for your shelf (reading a bit of the peds review books/doing q's) as well as reading up on your patients each day, compiling your notes/h and p's for presentation or just to archive them (by typing them up) as well as somehow finding the time to review for step 2 (even if this means just reading a bit of FA CK each week thats relevant to your rotation at that time). I guess im a bit confused as to how to handle it all.
Also- what are the best reference books in which to look up info when you are reading up on your patients?? Did you use books or online resources such as medline for articles more often?
Thanks a lot!

 

[nebrfan]

I would try to read an hour or so every day when I got home - obviously, this isn't always an option - but it was something to shoot for. Remember, reading up on your patients conditions IS studying for shelf, which IS studying for step 2. Every time you have a patient with a disease you haven't seen before, read about it - connecting information with a face, a person will help you remember. Try not to search medline too much, you'll get bogged down. My school provided many texts online, which made access easy. I did find myself searching the journal American Family Physician for some of the more common conditions - they have very nice review articles that at a generalist level. As for presentations - make sure you don't just read from a note card. The best way to get better is practice - you just have to do it. Plus, you'll learn that different attendings like things differently - you'll pick up on that. 3rd year is the only year where you'll ever do full, complete presentations - later in the year when you've proven you can do it, the attending will often get impatient and tell you to tell him/her "what's important".

 

[nebrfan]

Forgot to add.... If you haven't heard of it, check out med fools ( http://www.medfools.com/downloads.php )

Medfools has a lot of templates to keep track of patients, etc. - helped me keep information organized, esp. early on.

 

[yohimbine1]

How much do people rely on uptodate? I've never practiced with it but people talk about it a lot. I prefer to minimize the number of resources I use, so I am hoping to count on this uptodate thing.

Medfools looks awesome. I printed out some forms already to bring with me when I start in Medicine next week.

 

[DoctorFunk]

How much do people rely on uptodate? I've never practiced with it but people talk about it a lot. I prefer to minimize the number of resources I use, so I am hoping to count on this uptodate thing.

Medfools looks awesome. I printed out some forms already to bring with me when I start in Medicine next week.

Uptodate will probably be one of the first resources you turn to when reading about your patient's diseases. It has its rough spots, but for most conditions the reviews are easily understandable and surprisingly thorough (at least from a generalist perspective).

Never, ever, ever let your attendings know that you get your information from uptodate. Many of them have a deep-seated hatred of the site for some reason. Feel free to throw around the citations listed in uptodate after reading the abstracts though. 😉

 

[medstu2006]

Thank you for sharing the medfools website. I begin my 3rd yr tomorrow and im beginning with family medicine. I'll prolly use some of the templates on medfools.
Just a quick question. What kind of things should we carry in our pockets? All I have is my stethescope and a pen. Do we need to keep a reflex hammer?