Which books you guys recommend to use during Internal medicine, pediatrics and ObGyn rotations?

[iamironman]

In 3rd and 4th year what resources should I use to nail the wards and also the boards/CK?
Which are clinical books most important to get the most out of rotations?
My rotations are going to start soon so a bit worried about this.

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[wegh]

Firecracker+uworld got me honors on every shelf but neuro (I stayed out late that night FUUUUUU)

But if you like books try and get kaplan+uworld and then one book. I have heard the following: pestanas for surgery, brs for peds, case files for ob and family med, step up to medicine for internal, master the boards for step 2

edit: I did online med ed as well, but TBH just because it was something different than firecracker. It is very simplistic (which many people like) and if I had already covered the topic in firecracker, it was not very helpful. But still good to do because it's free and different method of learning

 

[AgentRaiden88]

Firecracker+uworld got me honors on every shelf but neuro (I stayed out late that night FUUUUUU)

But if you like books try and get kaplan+uworld and then one book. I have heard the following: pestanas for surgery, brs for peds, case files for ob and family med, step up to medicine for internal, master the boards for step 2

edit: I did online med ed as well, but TBH just because it was something different than firecracker. It is very simplistic (which many people like) and if I had already covered the topic in firecracker, it was not very helpful. But still good to do because it's free and different method of learning

Firecracker or OnlineMedEd is free? I checked both and there seems to be a sub fee. Did you go about it in a particular way? Thanks!

 

[Hakuna Matata]

I did pocket OBGYN and pocket medicine. Worth every penny. I also bought a qbank to run through the week before shelf exams


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[whatisthisstuff]

What about those who don't really use books at all? I hardly even used FA in pre-clinical as I used the Brosencephalon Anki deck to supplement lectures. Certainly never used the other books people mention (Robbins, etc).

From what I've gathered people say to: Look up info on your patients (Uptodate) and UWorld Step 2 CK deck. Not sure how people use the Step 2 deck. I would guess just do a certain amount of questions a day based on the rotation? I was thinking about doing this and making my own Anki cards alongside. Anything else a must do? Like I said I really hate just reading books and did well in the first 2 years without doing it. I had such a system in 2nd year and I am a little unsure on how to transition it to 3rd year. Thanks for any help.

 

[Dr. Immune]

Step Up to Medicine is great for Internal Med. For Peds, I liked Case Files. Pestanas is good for surgery. I agree that you really don't need any books to achieve honors on the shelf exams. I stopped using books halfway through 3rd year, just did a lot of qbank questions for each exam, and did just as well

 

[Jesus1]

For OBGYN-Casefiles is what you need.
Peds-BRS.
Medicine-NMS Casebook, SUTM.

 

[doyouhaveaflag]

What about those who don't really use books at all? I hardly even used FA in pre-clinical as I used the Brosencephalon Anki deck to supplement lectures. Certainly never used the other books people mention (Robbins, etc).

From what I've gathered people say to: Look up info on your patients (Uptodate) and UWorld Step 2 CK deck. Not sure how people use the Step 2 deck. I would guess just do a certain amount of questions a day based on the rotation? I was thinking about doing this and making my own Anki cards alongside. Anything else a must do? Like I said I really hate just reading books and did well in the first 2 years without doing it. I had such a system in 2nd year and I am a little unsure on how to transition it to 3rd year. Thanks for any help.

I didn't really use books 3rd year, I don't get much from just reading. I tried to read Step Up to Medicine in the beginning, got through one chapter, and wanted to poke my eyes out.

Q banks and flashcards are key for me. I made all my own flashcards through 1st and 2nd years, but there isn't time for that in 3rd year. So I did a combination of Firecracker, Bros, and my own cards. I used U World for all except FM (there aren't FM questions). I didn't do a certain # of questions per day, just made sure I finished it by the end and redid incorrects.

For FM, I did about 1000 of the AAFP questions (you have to request a log in a few days in advance - and be careful, a lot of the questions use outdated guidelines) and the University of Virginia questions: Family Medicine Clerkship. For OB/gyn, definitely use the APGO questions, the shelf is very similar to them. I used the Lange question book for psych but I'm not sure how helpful it was. If I had more time, I would have tried to do some Pretest questions as well, especially in surgery because I don't think U World did a good job preparing me for the type of questions I saw on my surgery shelf.

Without using textbooks, my average shelf score was 92 raw. Who knows if it would have been better using the texts people recommend. Haven't taken step 2 yet.

 

[versary]

I used the Kaplan Step 2 Q-bank for everything
I added Case Files for IM and Peds

 

[iamironman]

Thank you, guys.
1) Do you think prep with Case files for IM Surgery Pedia Psych + UW will be helpful in CK too?
2) Should I add any other book like SU2M or FA for CK?
3) What you guys think helped you the most in your step 2 CK?
4) How useful were other sources for CK? like firecracker, onlinemeded or kaplan qbank?

 

[Dr. Immune]

Thank you, guys.
1) Do you think prep with Case files for IM Surgery Pedia Psych + UW will be helpful in CK too?
2) Should I add any other book like SU2M or FA for CK?
3) What you guys think helped you the most in your step 2 CK?
4) How useful were other sources for CK? like firecracker, onlinemeded or kaplan qbank?

For me, question banks were the absolute best resource. I almost exclusively used a qbank and Step Up to Medicine to study for Step 2 and did very well. I also had First Aid that I tried to use, but didn't get through a full read. I did read most of it, but I don't think it was all that helpful. It has a bad reputation for Step 2 and 3. I didn't try Firecracker, OnlineMedEd, or Kaplan and I don't think many of my classmates did either

 

[hitachi47]

A book I have found recently for Internal Medicine, and shared with many other interns and the med students I worked with is:

Guide to the Most Common Internal Medicine Workups and Diseases: An evidenced based guide for all healthcare providers regarding common hospital based workups and diseases seen in Internal Medicine. You can search for it easily on amazon.

It is covers the most common topics seen on wards, and is very succinct, yet detailed on those topics. It also cites major landmark trials that you can present during rounds to support your plan. It is available in both paperback (great size to fit in your whitecoat), or a cheaper kindle version.