A serious (gasp!) post

[sore eye asses]

To all the PGY3s:

During the first 2-3 months of your residency, how did you prioritize your studying with all the various competing interests?

I'm finding that there's so much material I don't even know where to begin. At least in medical school they gave you the info in digestible units that were then tested to assure some level of retention.

e.g. reading for clinic patients, reading for inpatient consults, reading basic curriculum from Fitz or Bolognia, learning dermpath, etc?

thanks

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[werd]

the answer is it's never easy. it probably took me 4 mo. to plant my feet and actually figure out how to study for derm. my advice is andrews > bolognia >> fitz for textbooks. fitz is just too detailed to study and learn from. rapini or another <250 page path book is good for dermpath. there's also http://dermatologyinreview.com/Galderma, which has a 600 page study guide and question bank (the qbank is very difficult until you've had 6 mo. + to study, but the study guide is useful from the start).

during the first 2-3 mo., I would focus on the basics/common stuff, ie papulosquamous, eczematous dermatitis, connective tissue disease, skin cancers, acne, basic peds derm, pharmacology for systemic meds, and then start branching out once you're comfortable with those topics.

hope this helps a little.

 

[Skinternist]

Pubmed

 

[sore eye asses]

the answer is it's never easy. it probably took me 4 mo. to plant my feet and actually figure out how to study for derm. my advice is andrews > bolognia >> fitz for textbooks. fitz is just too detailed to study and learn from. rapini or another <250 page path book is good for dermpath. there's also http://dermatologyinreview.com/Galderma, which has a 600 page study guide and question bank (the qbank is very difficult until you've had 6 mo. + to study, but the study guide is useful from the start).

during the first 2-3 mo., I would focus on the basics/common stuff, ie papulosquamous, eczematous dermatitis, connective tissue disease, skin cancers, acne, basic peds derm, pharmacology for systemic meds, and then start branching out once you're comfortable with those topics.

hope this helps a little.

very much appreciated.

 

[sore eye asses]

follow up question:

how do we know what's high yield for boards? e.g. is it a wise use of time to memorize dosing schedules in wolverton for various drugs? excretion mechanism for drugs? can this possibly be on boards?

 

[dermathalon]

follow up question:

how do we know what's high yield for boards? e.g. is it a wise use of time to memorize dosing schedules in wolverton for various drugs? excretion mechanism for drugs? can this possibly be on boards?

You won't need to know that much details on the different dosing schedules for every drug. What I would say is learn the basic stuff first like the mechanisms for the drugs and their uses. The Galderma review book (you can download this online) has most of the high yield information (but not all).

 

[asmallchild]

the answer is it's never easy. it probably took me 4 mo. to plant my feet and actually figure out how to study for derm. my advice is andrews > bolognia >> fitz for textbooks. fitz is just too detailed to study and learn from. rapini or another <250 page path book is good for dermpath. there's also http://dermatologyinreview.com/Galderma, which has a 600 page study guide and question bank (the qbank is very difficult until you've had 6 mo. + to study, but the study guide is useful from the start).

during the first 2-3 mo., I would focus on the basics/common stuff, ie papulosquamous, eczematous dermatitis, connective tissue disease, skin cancers, acne, basic peds derm, pharmacology for systemic meds, and then start branching out once you're comfortable with those topics.

hope this helps a little.

solid advice, the other thing to keep in mind is that unlike internship, you will be (or theoretically should be) engaged in learning this material over the course of 3 years

there's certainly some panic at the beginning, and the urge to "learn it all" at once but things will eventually begin to gel and you will be revisiting similar material over and over throughout the course of your residency

 

[N-Surge]

The following is what I think might be best to help you get the whole picture on first pass of the materials. These are the materials I am focusing on as a second year. Like smalls said, it is a 3 year process:

Foundational reading:
- Andrew's
- Dermatopathology (Requisites in Dermatology series)

High yield study:
- Handbook of Dermatology (The orange pocket book, you want this!)
- Dermatology: A Pictorial Review (Or the Galderma binder...)

Specifics (Additional reading materials):
- Comprehensive Dermatologic Drug Therapy (For drug details)
- Treatment of Skin Disease: Comprehensive Therapeutic Strategies (AKA "Lebwhol")... I use this in the clinic, see if you program has a copy in clinic.
- Neonatal Dermatology (For additional pediatric reading)

Hope this helps! (I felt EXACTLY as you do right now for quite a bit of my first year, hope to make the pain last shorter for you...)

 

[sore eye asses]

you guys are rad. i will make out with each of you at AAD some day soon. You'll recognize me as the guy who comes at you mouth first.

 

[DermViser]

you guys are rad. i will make out with each of you at AAD some day soon. You'll recognize me as the guy who comes at you mouth first.

I was about to congratulate sore eye asses on his first posted thread that was actually mature and grownup. I spoke too soon.

 

[sore eye asses]

I was about to congratulate sore eye asses on his first posted thread that was actually mature and grownup. I spoke too soon.

i live and die by your perpetual concerns regarding the maturity of my posts, as I'm sure most others do as well. It's good to know we have someone dedicated to the policing of an anonymous forum about the maturity level of it's content.

strangely, i've never had anything censored by a mod. hmmmm.....

 

[Nellyakgo]

strangely, i've never had anything censored by a mod. hmmmm.....

That says something about your sense of humor. I am a fan...