What's a good surgical textbook to read for intern?

[drmedstudent]

now that absite is over and scores are in...i wanted to read a good concise textbook which will keep my short attention span focused (aka not greenfield). whats recommended?

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[Arzamus]

I like the Washington Manual. Fairly comprehensive, concise and readable.

 

[filter07]

The Surgical Review from Penn served me well my intern year.
http://www.amazon.com/Surgical-Review-Integrated-Clinical-Science/dp/1605470651

I read a handful of Greenfield/Sabiston/Schwartz chapters here and there but still answer the basic science questions well. (Fizer is more than enough for these)

Cameron is great for PGY3+. Supplement with Mastery of Surgery and ACS Manual, fill in the rest with primary articles and reviews.

 

[thedrjojo]

now that absite is over and scores are in...i wanted to read a good concise textbook which will keep my short attention span focused (aka not greenfield). whats recommended?

does your program have a curriculum?

ours uses ACS textbook, which is decent, not stellar IMO.

Textbooks by definition aren't really concise... The Washington Manual is definitely concise, but its really a reference and review book, not to the level of detail you'd get in a full on textbook (and resident written keep in mind). The Mont Reid Handbook is comparable as well, and just depends on which one you fancy more. Washington Manual has an edition that just came out in 2011 (I use WashU manual, 2007 edition), while mont reid is most recently updated 2008.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

The Surgical Review from Penn served me well my intern year.
http://www.amazon.com/Surgical-Review-Integrated-Clinical-Science/dp/1605470651

2nd The Surgical Review. Pretty concise and readable coverage of most of the basics. Doesn't really have enough detail for anything beyond intern year, though.

I think ACS is pretty good because it has a good mix of basic info about disease processes as well as operative technique.

I honestly hate Sabiston/Greenfield/Schwartz. They're too broad to be comprehensive on specific topics, and too long to be reasonable options for "quick reading". Still have to hit them up for a lot of the basic science/pathophys, though.

I think the sooner you move on to Cameron, Mastery of Surgery and textbooks dedicated to specific fields for given topics (Colorectal, Thoracic, Vascular, etc.), the better. When I need to do some quick reading, I usually browse through Surgery Clinics of North America and SUrgical Oncology Clinics of North America. Not a replacement for good primary sources, but they tend to have some pretty good overviews of high yield topics.

 

[survivordo]

Second on Surgical Clinics of NA. When I am just looking to read "something" this is what I turn to. Good review articles on very pertinent topics and if you go through the entire edition you really feel like you have come away with some solid, and applicable, knowledge.

Survivor DO

 

[SLUser11]

now that absite is over and scores are in...i wanted to read a good concise textbook which will keep my short attention span focused (aka not greenfield). whats recommended?

Everything in surgical education is moving toward the SCORE curriculum. While I'm a fan of Sabiston's book and several others, I think it's in a resident's best interest to just stick to the SCORE curriculum. It used to be a glorified online version of Greenfields and ACS Surgery, but it has evolved over time.

 

[Buzz Me]

I read Sabiston's during intern year...sounds daunting, but since I set a reading schedule of 10 pages/30 minutes a day (less during call days, more during post-call days or days off), I finished it in 9 months.

Good for all that basic science and fundamental baseline knowledge you need during intern year.

 

[balaguru]

It might be more than just residents that can benefit from SCORE. It was originally funded by the ABS, the same folks that administer the boards and recerts, and they still maintain a close relationship. If it's not on the curriculum it shouldn't be on any of the tests that we take.

Everything in surgical education is moving toward the SCORE curriculum. While I'm a fan of Sabiston's book and several others, I think it's in a resident's best interest to just stick to the SCORE curriculum. It used to be a glorified online version of Greenfields and ACS Surgery, but it has evolved over time.

 

[Black Surgeon]

Everything in surgical education is moving toward the SCORE curriculum. While I'm a fan of Sabiston's book and several others, I think it's in a resident's best interest to just stick to the SCORE curriculum. It used to be a glorified online version of Greenfields and ACS Surgery, but it has evolved over time.

Many residents at interviews told me they were using the SCORE curriculum. Could this be a comprehensive study source for the basic science knowledge needed for the junior absite, clinical knowledge and also serve as an operative guide for an intern?

Also I here the absite is moving to a single examination, hence there will be no more junior and senior absite as of 2014.

 

[idiot07]

I'm personally not that huge a fan of the SCORE curriculum. If it had actual links to all the references it'd be better, as it is now it's a pain to go looking for stuff. It is also quite comprehensive and there is a whole lot to read if you do it all. Finally, I find I retain information better if what I'm reading is relevant to the rotation I'm on rather than some arbitrary curiculumn. That said if you can actually read everything in SCORE and retain it you'll be in awesome shape. I think you'll have to supplement it with some last minute Fizer cramming for the absite, and preoperative review of operations in Mastery, Chassin's, Operative Anatomy (etc) (You'll probably be able to get an electronic version of one these for free through your insitution).

 

[thedrjojo]

I'm personally not that huge a fan of the SCORE curriculum. If it had actual links to all the references it'd be better, as it is now it's a pain to go looking for stuff. It is also quite comprehensive and there is a whole lot to read if you do it all. Finally, I find I retain information better if what I'm reading is relevant to the rotation I'm on rather than some arbitrary curiculumn. That said if you can actually read everything in SCORE and retain it you'll be in awesome shape. I think you'll have to supplement it with some last minute Fizer cramming for the absite, and preoperative review of operations in Mastery, Chassin's, Operative Anatomy (etc) (You'll probably be able to get an electronic version of one these for free through your insitution).

Score has licensed a lot of textbooks, but dont require the authors of the modules to be limited to just those sources, but if score tried to license them all it would be too costly. The score modules are very hit or miss, but some are nice. Im actually working of creating one with one of my attendings, so hopefully you'll be reading me sometime soon

 

[squareknot]

I read Sabiston's during intern year...sounds daunting, but since I set a reading schedule of 10 pages/30 minutes a day (less during call days, more during post-call days or days off), I finished it in 9 months.

how do you remember all that with 1 pass? i know it's not about memorizing, but isn't part it memorizing too?

 

[Buzz Me]

how do you remember all that with 1 pass? i know it's not about memorizing, but isn't part it memorizing too?

I highlighted as I read, so reviewed just the highlighted portions in the weeks leading up to the test, in addition to notes from didactic conferences, Fiser and my own bank of recalled questions (that I did after each test each year).