surgery without medicine first?

You can do reasonably well on the surgery shelf without resorting to a medicine book. You'd probably be over-extending yourself anyway. It's not like you have a ton of time to read about surgery, let alone prepare for a medicine shelf as well.

But if it's really bothering you, maybe you could pick up a pretest for medicine and go through a few chapters when you get a chance, see how the IM questions are asked. I rememer getting pissed when I had questions about pyelo and pericarditis on my shelf (didn't do medicne yet). Everyone knows those are "surgical" problems right?

 

Hi there,
Don't buy into this nonsense. I honored the surgery rotation and aced the shelf without medicine. Study Lawrence and you will be fine. My surgery shelf contained surgery but realize that things like pancreatitis can be under surgery or medicine. This is well-covered in both NMS and Lawrence. Don't make more work for yourself.

Also, see the Sticky thread at the top of this forum. There is loads of good info about every shelf exam there.

njbmd

 

...Welcome to surgery

 

1. Use downtime (between cases, the five minutes you're waiting for your team to show up before rounds, etc) to study. Carry a book with you, or in your pocket.

2. If you're having a hard time studying after a day of running around or standing like a statue, try waking up an hour earlier. You'll be tired, but fresher. Yes, I know that means you'll be waking up at 3 a.m. But if it works, it'll be worth it.

Anka