Updated book list for 3rd year?

[SB100]

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The list on the stickies is from 2005. Are those books still the standards or are there certain books that are now recommended more than others?

 

[PTPoeny]

The stickies about PDA programs are just as old. And all palm based, could we start a new list that includes more operating systems?

 

[dude1344]

Just chiming in saying I would find this useful as well being a MS3 in July. 👍

 

[DrYoda]

This more recent thread had some good input on books for M3.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10716480

 

[turkeyjerky]

Here goes, these are the books, by clerkship, that I used and my thoughts:

Internal Med
--Step up to Medicine: not really all that impressed to tell you the truth
--NMS Medicine Casebook: very good, would definitely recommend
--MKSAP 3&4: did all of 3 and most of 4, thought they were pretty useful, although didn't replicate shelf all that closely, still good questions w/ useful explanations (so much better than pretest-ugh)

OB/GYN (read/did each of these twice)
--Blueprints: good, would recommend
--Case Files: also good
--Uwise questions: liked these a lot, but not as difficult as shelf questions

Surgery ( I was really motivated to read during this rotation, also there're no good question sources, which is why I got through so many books)
--NMS casebook: best resource, great for getting into the mindset that you need for the shelf (next best step)
--Kaplan Notes: also liked, good for last day before shelf
--Pestana word document: basically a more concise version of kaplan notes (which are already concise), useful to read the night before the shelf and can get through in an hour
--Case files: not all that thorough, but a decent ancillary source if you've read the above twice each already
--Blueprints clinical cases: not sure why I actually read this one, it was okay-wouldn't actually recommend it
--Cope's Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen: liked it, not really useful for the shelf at all though

Psych (easy rotation, easy shelf--read each of these once and then took it easy)
--FA Psych
--Lange Q&A
--Pretest

Peds (we took the Clipp test instead of the shelf, so may not be applicable_
--Clipp Cases--such a waste of time, I sped through them and then read the PDFs, which are still tedious as hell
--Blueprints--really not all that good
--Kaplan--liked it, would recommend

Family Med
--Case Files--really liked a lot
--AAFP Practice Questions--also liked, plus they're free

I also did the kaplan qbook questions for each rotation I was on--these were pretty good as well. I also heavily supplemented by reading uptodate articles on patients I had or common/important conditions. Got a 99 on every shelf I took.

 

[SB100]

I was told by some rising 4th year students to get the USMLE WORLD Qbank to use throughout 3rd year. Is this the Step 2 CK or is there a separate Qbank?

 

[silas2642]

I was told by some rising 4th year students to get the USMLE WORLD Qbank to use throughout 3rd year. Is this the Step 2 CK or is there a separate Qbank?

I didn't use it during third year-- it's pretty expensive. However, if you find yourself having difficulty with the shelf exams, then our school recommended purchasing it.

For me, the key to doing well on the shelves was to do question after question. Agree with the poster who put up an updated list.

 

[SB100]

How about pocket references? I've been told to get Boards and Wards or the MGH Internal Medicine pocket references.

 

[turkeyjerky]

How about pocket references? I've been told to get Boards and Wards or the MGH Internal Medicine pocket references.

keeping a pocket reference book on you at all times is much overrated imho.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

keeping a pocket reference book on you at all times is much overrated imho.

Turkey, I'm going to reflect on your posts a little. You've offered great resource information, but yours is only one perspective. I'm going to give a different method, hopefully with reasoning to back it up.

(1) Paradigm Shift. What Turkey has posted seems like a lot of reading and shelf prep. If you have the time and the willpower to do that everyday, thats great. I have no doubt Turkey did well on his shelves. But most people dont have the time. The wards are on some one elses schedule, not yours. The perspective of "i can study whenever I want, classes are optional, and its all about the exam" has to go out the window. It switches to "16 hours a day in the hospital, trying to play as a team player while crappy residents dump on me daily, and by the time I get home I really don't want to study."

(2) Study when you can. With this new perspective in mind, it becomes crucial that you study when you can. Jason Fried has a TED Talk that equates work with sleep. You have to do alot of it, uninterrupted, in order to get any meaningful work done. I agree with him. 3rd year just doesn't allow for it. You need to train your brain to go right into "REM work." You're going to have down time on the wards, the famous "hurry up and wait" mentality. Coming prepared for those downtimes is really going to open up potential studying moments.

(3) Questions are a must. Most people cannot just turn their memory-list into practical application, neither on the ward nor on the shelf. Since the shelf is usually a major component of the grade for the course, you have to train for it. Not doing any questions is shooting yourself in the foot. For those who don't need to do questions to do well, thats great for you. For most people doing questions trains the shelf.

(4) Learn for your patients. You are going to be expected to know just about as much as the resident about a disease AFTER you've taken care of a patient. You may know nothing walking in, but after 4 days with a patient, the information you should have learned will probably be tested by your attendings. That means you have to read for your patients, and read for the shelf. Since the shelf has a very limited scope, the readings for it are likewise limited. But for functioning effectively on the wards, you need more than that.

Example. The question on the test for Afib will be "shock" or "rate control" based on a time frame. The question you get pimped on is whether or not it is beneficial to anticoagulate a patient given their risk factors based on their CHADS2 score. CHADS2 has never been mentioned in any of the clerkship review books I've seen. It is in Pocket Medicine.​

(5) Jesus, this was a long post, what do YOU recommend, then?
- UWorld for the entire year
- First Aid or Step-Up for the entire year, recording Qbank info
- Pocket Medicine best pocket book... for medicine
- USMLE Secrets is a small, concise, easy-to-care pocket review book for Step knowledge

IM

- Pick one​

- Step-Up to MEDICINE​

- MKSAP / ACP combo​

Surgery

- Petsana Notes (the Kaplan notes). Get them legally.​

-Option NMS. Petsana >>> NMS for shelf.​

- Surgical Recall if you get pimped a lot​

OB

- At a loss, Blueprints is touted as the best, but I didn't use it​

- UWise for sure​

Peds

It was my first. I used Kaplan videos, didnt do great, only got a 74 on the shelf (60th percentile)​

Neuro

Kaplan notes​

Case Files​

Psych

Literally any resource. First Aid Step 2 is enough​

This is the easiest shelf and has the easiest content, since you probably did behavioral science in 2nd year, and its still the same​