What book(s) should I use for my Psych clerkship?

[JabsterL]

Hi all,

I'm so pumped as I'm finally gonna do a clerkship in the awesome field I plan on pursuing! I read on the "clinical rotations" forum that FA psych and case files (as well as question source like UWorld, Kaplan qbook, and/or pretest) are great for prepping for the shelf, but I was wondering as someone interested in pursuing Psych for a career and wanting to rock my rotation, should I also try reading through Kaplan and Sadock (either full textbook, concise textbook, or pocket handbook?) or another book? I always find there's not enough time to read that much (esp. in a rotation like this w/ only 6 wks, and where I'll want to be in the hospital learning and helping the residents as much as possible).

Since you all know what it takes to excel in Psych, any specific tips for rocking this rotation (besides mastering the psych hx and mental status exam), knowing I plan on pursuing this sweet field? Would it be impressive to present about a topic or 2? Also, should I go to the PD at Sheppard Pratt on day 1 and tell him I plan on pursuing Psych and ask him what all I can do to ensure a good LOR at the end of the rotation? If I'm interested in academics, should I try to setup research opportunities here or at Hopkins for after my rotation (when I'll be in Baltimore only until the end of July before doing my psych aways and other electives in Florida and Georgia)? Any advice would be most appreciated, as I know this is the place I'm likely to get the best of it from people who have achieved tons of success in this field!

Thanks so much!

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[masterofmonkeys]

As someone who entered medical school knowing he was headed for psych, I love your enthusiasm, but...calm down.

Here's the thing, psychiatrists, being well, psychiatrists will note your enthusiasm and if your medical school doesn't suck your residents and attendings will encourage you as they see fit. Let them do their jobs as professors.

I would recommend Concise Textbook of Psychiatry from the K&S series as I'm guessing this is just the right size for your rotation. As for the shelf, I'd recommend the Lange Q&A as they are the exact style and cover EVERYTHING you will see on your shelf. I got the highest score in my year and this is all I used to study for the Shelf. Stah's Essentials of Pychopharmacology is pretty polarizing, and I think he overextends himself a little bit, but I think it's a wonderful book to learn to appreciate the richness of psychopharm. His introductory chapters on neuroscience alone are worth the price of admission. Accessible, concise, and thorough. And I'm saying this as a former neuroscience major.

As for research opportunities, they can be pretty limited. It might actually be more worth your time to see if any profs are working on chapters for books or invited reviews or something of the sort. I also think it'd be a more educational experience. not to mention more likely to lead to a pub.

 

[notdeadyet]

My bias would be more towards clinical over book learning. Something like Kaplan & Sadock's Concise Textbook of Psychiatry is great, but it's still a 752 page that is not exactly a page turner.

Personally, my recommendation would be to study the appropriate review books to nail your shelf, then focus all of your other reading on things that will let you maximize your clinical experience. The first two years of medical school are great for being the bookworm, but I think med students carry this too much into third year and spend more time reading and less time doing. I find this particularly true in psych. I think a more EM-based approach of learning-by-doing is a healthier option. Like I said, it's a bias.

SHELF:
If you consume First Aid Psych and run through a good question book, you'll rock the shelf. I found it to be the easiest shelf of third year, though this is probably influenced by the fact that I loved the material (and also by the fact that many, many other med students around the country hate it and likely weakened the curve). For a question book, I'd second MOM's rec of Lange Q&A. It's the best I saw. Pick one question book and learn it well, rather than sprinkling yourself over multiple questions books and just doing a first pass.

ROTATION:
I'd recommend getting copies of the two Current Clinical Strategies pocket books, Psychiatry and Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs. Also have a pocket copy of the DSM and use it frequently to try to come up with a differential rather than just jumping to the biggies. Another good book is Interview Guide for Evaluating Dsm-IV Psychiatric Disorders and the Mental Status Examination, a tiny thing that is handy when you start out to give tips on how to approach interviewing a patient to come up with your differential.

 

[notdeadyet]

I always find there's not enough time to read that much (esp. in a rotation like this w/ only 6 wks, and where I'll want to be in the hospital learning and helping the residents as much as possible).

I think you hit the nail on the head. You should maximize your time in the hospital/clinic as much as possible to be a scutmonkey and kiss ***** but to have as much patient exposure as you can.

any specific tips for rocking this rotation (besides mastering the psych hx and mental status exam), knowing I plan on pursuing this sweet field?

While you may have entered medical school with psych on the brain, you need to approach each specialty with an open mind and your third year rotations are your only chance to see what's really a good fit. Reading won't accomplish that. And in fourth year, you'll probably get a lot of recommendations to only do 1 or 2 psychiatry rotations and focus the rest on other specialties in medicine, as it will be your last dedicated exposure to them and will make you a better psychiatrist.

Would it be impressive to present about a topic or 2?

Don't do it spontaneously, but if there is an interesting case going on, doing additional research and giving a relevant article to others on the team to read is good. Key word being relevant. Don't force fit.

Also, should I go to the PD at Sheppard Pratt on day 1 and tell him I plan on pursuing Psych and ask him what all I can do to ensure a good LOR at the end of the rotation?

I think it's completely acceptable to ask the Instructor (whoever is ultimately responsible for your evaluation) what it takes to succeed in the rotation. It's also fair to ask each evaluator/attending what they are looking for in the rotation. I think it's a little crass to ask "what do I do to get a good letter?" Ask how to do well in the clerkship and the letter will follow. Writing these letters is part of the job of the folks assigned to your training. They won't make it hard for you.

 

[flash]

lol re:'calm down'

Agree with shelf prep above. FA is good to just review stuff at this stage of things.

This is a great intro text, but at the price, may want to buy Synopsis K&S.
http://www.amazon.com/Introductory-Textbook-Psychiatry-Fourth-Andreasen/dp/1585622230

psychiatryonline.com if your school gives access is great.
iphone app "Psychiatry On Call" is good for DSM type details on go.

And, ENJOY the experience.

 

[JabsterL]

Thanks guys for your great advice! I will definitely look into K&S concise vs. introductory psych textbook, as well as the other books you guys mentioned, to see how much I could get through during my rotation. Did you all make it through FA and Lange through your rotation to nail the shelf, and then reference the other books, or were you actually able to get through the other books (including textbook)? Also, I know for my friends/classmates who dislike or don't plan on going into psych, they say it's an easy 9-5 rotation and they often still get an "A". For someone who wants to pursue this field, did you all find yourself volunteering to do way more clinical work than your classmates, coming earlier and staying later, reading way more, and so on to learn and impress while your classmates were going out more times a week since they were in college? 😎

 

[Chimed]

My bias would be more towards clinical over book learning. Something like Kaplan & Sadock's Concise Textbook of Psychiatry is great, but it's still a 752 page that is not exactly a page turner.

SHELF:
If you consume First Aid Psych and run through a good question book, you'll rock the shelf. I found it to be the easiest shelf of third year, though this is probably influenced by the fact that I loved the material (and also by the fact that many, many other med students around the country hate it and likely weakened the curve). For a question book, I'd second MOM's rec of Lange Q&A. It's the best I saw. Pick one question book and learn it well, rather than sprinkling yourself over multiple questions books and just doing a first pass.

ROTATION:
I'd recommend getting copies of the two Current Clinical Strategies pocket books, Psychiatry and Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs. Also have a pocket copy of the DSM and use it frequently to try to come up with a differential rather than just jumping to the biggies. Another good book is Interview Guide for Evaluating Dsm-IV Psychiatric Disorders and the Mental Status Examination, a tiny thing that is handy when you start out to give tips on how to approach interviewing a patient to come up with your differential.

I would second this to the letter. I always recommend to med students to know FA inside and out and do a LOT of questions.

 

[JabsterL]

Do you think MGH Psych Update & Board Prep text or questions could be useful at all for clerkship (including shelf prep), Sub-I, or electives before beginning Psych residency in preparation for the PRITE?

 

[notdeadyet]

Did you all make it through FA and Lange through your rotation to nail the shelf, and then reference the other books, or were you actually able to get through the other books (including textbook)?

Well, everyone's mileage is going to vary on that one. I'm one of those folks that needs to really pound in written material to make it stick, so I found that I spent an inordinate amount of time with First Aid making sure I knew the basics backwards and forwards. Ditto for the question book. I only used the K&S's for learning more depth about the particular cases I saw clinically. I definitely didn't make it through the whole book, let alone study from it as such.

Also, I know for my friends/classmates who dislike or don't plan on going into psych, they say it's an easy 9-5 rotation and they often still get an "A".

Yeah, that'll depend a lot on your individual school. Hours on psych rotations tend to be light for baseline. I tended to work later into the evening to make sure I was doing a thorough job. I debated if it would be smarter to cut out at 5pm and spend more time studying, but I wanted to focus more on the clinical and figured that would help when it came time to shelf prep. It worked for me, but everyone has their own system.

For someone who wants to pursue this field, did you all find yourself volunteering to do way more clinical work than your classmates, coming earlier and staying later, reading way more, and so on to learn and impress while your classmates were going out more times a week since they were in college?

Different rotations reward the gunner mentality more than others. I think it pays off in Surgery (definitely) and Medicine (somewhat). Much less so in Psych. I found on my clerkship in psych that it was very above board.

You don't need to heap on loads of patients on your plate to impress anyone, you just need to do a good job. A healthy amount of patients presented and managed thoroughly is more worthwhile than carrying a larger patient load and doing a mediocre job. Again, this might be institution-dependent.