symptom to diagnosis

[yanon]

I am still a 2nd year Med student but I have a clinical medicine class which has problem based learning (PBL) sessions that simulate clinical rotations. During PBL sessions, my professors present cases and then pimp us on differentials and diagnosis. I can usually come up with 3 to 4 differentials but have difficulties in eliminating the differentials and making the correct diagnosis.

Which of the following books is a good resource to learn how to formulate a diagnosis base on symtoms?

1) Symptom to Diagnosis (Lange) (Paperback)
by Scott D.C. Stern (Author), Diane Altkorn (Author), Adam Cifu (Author)

2) Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints (Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints (Seller)) (Paperback)
by Robert H. Seller (Author)

3) In A Page Signs & Symptoms (In a Page Series) (Paperback)
by Scott Kahan (Author), Ellen G. Smith (Author)

4) Taylor's 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter (Spiral Manual Series) (Paperback)
by Paul M Paulman (Author), Audrey A Paulman (Author), Jeffrey D Harrison (Author)

5) Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis (Field Guide Series) (Paperback)
by David S Smith (Author)

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[Anka]

You might want to try something like CaseFiles (e.g., Internal Medicine), which has a format more like what your PBLs are -- it'll go through DDx, initial workup, and treatment.

Anka

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

You might want to try something like CaseFiles (e.g., Internal Medicine), which has a format more like what your PBLs are -- it'll go through DDx, initial workup, and treatment.

Anka

Yeah I like CaseFiles as well. 3-4 Ddx isn't that bad for an M2 though. Taking it the rest of the way is what the next few years gear you up for, so you shouldn't feel like you necessarily need to go buy $200 worth of books and be all hard on yourself.

 

[yanon]

Last semester, I took a laid back approach to those PBL sessions. Unfortunately, there were gunners in my PBL group who enjoyed making average students like me look bad.

Anyways, thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Anka]

Are you sure they weren't just trying to do a good job (like you are now)? It's important to make the most charitable interpretation of your collegues actions possible, or you're going to wind up very bitter during M3.

Anyway -- Casefiles will help walk you through how to think about differential diagnosis and workup. It'll give you a big leg up on the shelf exams your clinical years also.

Anka