Best books for intern year

[Handinhand]

Last thread that was similar to this question was back in 2011, and since then the amount of Ortho rotations during intern year has gone up quite a bit, and books always change and come into and out of popularity. Given the increase in ortho during intern year I was wondering what books you recommend interns have? I was thinking of Hoppenfields and Handbook of Fractures for sure, but am kind of lost on what else. Do you recommend getting Wiesel, Campbells, or Rockwood as an intern? How about Miller Review?

I know there's going to be an expectation that I know next to nothing as an intern, and that's why residency is 5 years long; however, I'd like to at least have a good rotation of books to fall back on if I happen to start on Ortho trauma or something.

Thanks for the advice.

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[4thQTHailMary]

Last thread that was similar to this question was back in 2011, and since then the amount of Ortho rotations during intern year has gone up quite a bit, and books always change and come into and out of popularity. Given the increase in ortho during intern year I was wondering what books you recommend interns have? I was thinking of Hoppenfields and Handbook of Fractures for sure, but am kind of lost on what else. Do you recommend getting Wiesel, Campbells, or Rockwood as an intern? How about Miller Review?

I know there's going to be an expectation that I know next to nothing as an intern, and that's why residency is 5 years long; however, I'd like to at least have a good rotation of books to fall back on if I happen to start on Ortho trauma or something.

Thanks for the advice.

Where did you end up?

 

[massmocha]

Last thread that was similar to this question was back in 2011, and since then the amount of Ortho rotations during intern year has gone up quite a bit, and books always change and come into and out of popularity. Given the increase in ortho during intern year I was wondering what books you recommend interns have? I was thinking of Hoppenfields and Handbook of Fractures for sure, but am kind of lost on what else. Do you recommend getting Wiesel, Campbells, or Rockwood as an intern? How about Miller Review?

I know there's going to be an expectation that I know next to nothing as an intern, and that's why residency is 5 years long; however, I'd like to at least have a good rotation of books to fall back on if I happen to start on Ortho trauma or something.

Thanks for the advice.

Don't need anything intern year (as you said), but Handbook of Fracture's and the AO App are still good. If you want to study for OITE, which you don't need to do as an intern (if your program even makes you take it), then Miller's is essential. After that, Wiesel's and Rockwood's are good for whenever you start operative rotations.

 

[Handinhand]

What is the general experience like for an intern on Ortho rotations? I fully expect to be the service b**ch while on SICU, Gen Trauma, etc... but is it more of the same on the ortho rotations? I never got much exposure to interns while on aways, so I'm still unsure of what to expect.

Also -- I'll be doing quite a bit of driving/commuting during residency, does anyone know of any good podcasts for Ortho? I've heard that Miller used to put out audio/podcasts for his review, but it doesn't look like he does that anymore. Any ideas for things to listen to while driving?

 

[akwho]

Congrats Diggidy! I'm starting intern year next year as well.

Books I have:
Hoppenfeld's Surgical Exposures
Millers Review of Orthopaedics
Anatomy*** Grays Anatomy + Netters Atlas of Human Anatomy + Aclands DVD Anatomy + Netters Orthopaedics
Trauma*** Handbook of Fractures (Kovall) + Essentials of Orthopaedics
Peds*** Pediatric Orthopedics (Lovell and Winters)

Books I'm considering getting:
Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics (Wiesel)

Online Resources:
Orthobullets
AAOS Journal
Radiopaedia


Anyone want to add more "essentials" to the list. Definitely won't even make it through all these books, but they are good references.

 

[orthojuniorfaculty]

Even with the increased orthopaedics rotations intern year, there is more flexibility that year. Great that significant reading is a goal.
I'd strongly recommend textbooks over journal articles at that stage - you need to build a strong foundation of knowledge that you can then build on. Choice for textbooks might depend on what your PGY2 rotations look like.
- If that year is heavy on trauma, I'd strongly recommend reading at least all the general chapters in Skeletal Trauma. The book is huge you might not get through the whole thing, though I know people who did.
- For arthroplasty, Dr Berry's new "Surgery of the Hip" has a TON of helpful general chapters on biomechanics, tribology, approaches and outcomes.
- For peds, Rang's Children's Fractures is short and sweet for getting ready for call.
- The "Orthopaedic Basic Science" book by AAOS gives a great foundation, and has the bonus of really helping prepare for the OITE.
- Hoppenfeld's Approaches is a must, but this is more about case prep then a textbook. Same with AO Surgery app, which is fantastic for that purpose.

I'd advise against Miller's for interns. That book is extremely dense, and assumes a reasonable degree of knowledge. If you buy it as an intern there will definitely be a new edition before you start really preparing for the Boards. But if you must, I'd say to read chapters from textbooks first, then read the Miller section to ensure your notes cover the high yield material from Miller.

So if you take a lot of trauma call as an R2, consider Skeletal Trauma (has good hand/spine chapters as well) and Orthopaedic Basic Science. Focus on building a foundation of knowledge. And, realize that you might never get to re-read these chapters in such detail, so try to take notes and be organized (like Evernote, OneNote, etc). Then you can add in later information from papers, etc into your foundation of notes.

I've posted some other recommendations for books elsewhere, for the really avid readers...

 

[numberwunn]

Good advice from OrthoJuniorFaculty. Would further advise you to wait to purchase too many texts. First of all, your program may have access to an electronic library from which you could download chapters as you go. Second, your program will likely have a physical library from which you could borrow/copy parts of the text. Third, there are programs (i.e. from Depuy Synthes) from various companies from which you can get free texts (Depuy's program is that you have to do lessons to earn points to get books, which range from basic science to essentially plugging for their systems). Fourth, the program may have specific recommendations/requirements (i.e. at our program we go through rockwood&greene every week).

I've found having a good tablet helpful - you can put articles and texts on there, easier than carrying the texts home.

So beyond a few basics (your anatomy atlas from M1, Netter's, hoppenfeld's), I wouldn't get anything until after you arrive.

As far as what intern year is like - I imagine this is extremely variable. My experience has been that, much like on other services, your primary responsibility is scut. You're not expected to know much when you show up, and they don't really expect much beyond managing the patients. 2nd year is when you get crushed and you're expected to know everything.

And I'd avoid too long of a commute. A half hour commute is an hour out of your day, and when you're only going to be home for 10 hours that makes a big difference over time. If anybody has any good audio recs, I'd be all ears (pun intended).

 

[Handinhand]

Good advice from OrthoJuniorFaculty. Would further advise you to wait to purchase too many texts. First of all, your program may have access to an electronic library from which you could download chapters as you go. Second, your program will likely have a physical library from which you could borrow/copy parts of the text. Third, there are programs (i.e. from Depuy Synthes) from various companies from which you can get free texts (Depuy's program is that you have to do lessons to earn points to get books, which range from basic science to essentially plugging for their systems). Fourth, the program may have specific recommendations/requirements (i.e. at our program we go through rockwood&greene every week).

I've found having a good tablet helpful - you can put articles and texts on there, easier than carrying the texts home.

So beyond a few basics (your anatomy atlas from M1, Netter's, hoppenfeld's), I wouldn't get anything until after you arrive.

As far as what intern year is like - I imagine this is extremely variable. My experience has been that, much like on other services, your primary responsibility is scut. You're not expected to know much when you show up, and they don't really expect much beyond managing the patients. 2nd year is when you get crushed and you're expected to know everything.

And I'd avoid too long of a commute. A half hour commute is an hour out of your day, and when you're only going to be home for 10 hours that makes a big difference over time. If anybody has any good audio recs, I'd be all ears (pun intended).

My commute will be ~10 minutes every day; however, my girlfriend will be living 2.5-3 hours away doing her residency in Peds, so I will be making that drive as often as possible and was hoping I could make it more productive than just listening to spotify or books on tape.

I appreciate all the advice -- I've since realized that we get an educational allowance for books at my program, so I'll hold off on buying the big guns until I start and find out what the program likes to use.

You mention the tablet -- I never found a good use for mine during med school; however, I'm curious about having all of these books as PDFs and carrying them around that way. Any experience with reading these large books through a tablet? I'd be most worried about formatting and not being able to see images well with their corresponding text.

 

[massmocha]

My commute will be ~10 minutes every day; however, my girlfriend will be living 2.5-3 hours away doing her residency in Peds, so I will be making that drive as often as possible and was hoping I could make it more productive than just listening to spotify or books on tape.

I appreciate all the advice -- I've since realized that we get an educational allowance for books at my program, so I'll hold off on buying the big guns until I start and find out what the program likes to use.

You mention the tablet -- I never found a good use for mine during med school; however, I'm curious about having all of these books as PDFs and carrying them around that way. Any experience with reading these large books through a tablet? I'd be most worried about formatting and not being able to see images well with their corresponding text.

Ortho rotations at my program are much more intense than the gen surg rotations -- probably because you are working with faculty and residents you REALLY care about impressing, but also my program works the residents much harder than gen surg. It seems like all the gen surg rotations are "overstaffed" compared to ortho where we are managing tons of patients on our own.

Being on gen surg was like being on vacation, on SICU, we were covering 2-3 patients per intern... pretty sweet compared to the 70 ortho patients we cover on the weekend.

Tablet is good for accessing texts through the library or bringing to conference in the morning to read articles from.

 

[pd1112]

My commute will be ~10 minutes every day; however, my girlfriend will be living 2.5-3 hours away doing her residency in Peds, so I will be making that drive as often as possible and was hoping I could make it more productive than just listening to spotify or books on tape.

I appreciate all the advice -- I've since realized that we get an educational allowance for books at my program, so I'll hold off on buying the big guns until I start and find out what the program likes to use.

You mention the tablet -- I never found a good use for mine during med school; however, I'm curious about having all of these books as PDFs and carrying them around that way. Any experience with reading these large books through a tablet? I'd be most worried about formatting and not being able to see images well with their corresponding text.

Just an M3, but I've had an iPad throughout med school for this reason & it's worked out great. Most publishers have apps that let you download the PDF/e-version of the book; in particular the Inkling app that Elsevier uses for it's student-consult & expert-consult electronic versions is phenomenal. You can highlight, take notes, use bookmarks & mark sections that you've already covered. It also works on desktop as well & you can sync the two. Another one is The Point which Wolters Kluwer & LWW use; it's a little less user friendly but still better than carrying around the books.

 

[orthojuniorfaculty]

Just an M3, but I've had an iPad throughout med school for this reason & it's worked out great. Most publishers have apps that let you download the PDF/e-version of the book; in particular the Inkling app that Elsevier uses for it's student-consult & expert-consult electronic versions is phenomenal. You can highlight, take notes, use bookmarks & mark sections that you've already covered. It also works on desktop as well & you can sync the two. Another one is The Point which Wolters Kluwer & LWW use; it's a little less user friendly but still better than carrying around the books.

One note on electronic versions of textbooks - I think they are great, but remember that you might not always have access to the book in the future. Different residency programs/schools have varying subscription, same with when you finish training. If you take a lot of notes within the e-reader, you might lose them in the future. You will rarely have the time to re-read textbooks or even most chapters. I think it is really important, especially when using an electronic textbook, to be taking separate notes in something you'll have access to long term. If you use something like Evernote/OneNote, then you can have your notes on distal femur fractures from Skeletal Trauma, including images, and later add in what you learn from call, fracture conference, cases, articles, etc. Especially in busy orthopaedics residencies, I think being organized is really critical.

 

[pd1112]

One note on electronic versions of textbooks - I think they are great, but remember that you might not always have access to the book in the future. Different residency programs/schools have varying subscription, same with when you finish training. If you take a lot of notes within the e-reader, you might lose them in the future. You will rarely have the time to re-read textbooks or even most chapters. I think it is really important, especially when using an electronic textbook, to be taking separate notes in something you'll have access to long term. If you use something like Evernote/OneNote, then you can have your notes on distal femur fractures from Skeletal Trauma, including images, and later add in what you learn from call, fracture conference, cases, articles, etc. Especially in busy orthopaedics residencies, I think being organized is really critical.

Good point. I hadn't considered expiring subscriptions because I haven't had any expire yet.

 

[Bancrofti]

Thanks for the suggestions in this thread. Bumping it instead of creating a new one.

I think I figured out what two books I want to read but I was wondering if I should try to ACTUALLY get through Netter's? I only used it for reference on aways, so I probably only got through maybe a quarter of it, if that. I remember hearing some residents say how they got through it multiple times while they were on aways. I focused on being helpful and knowing whatever what was on Orthobullets, so even though I brought Netter's, Handbook of Fx, and Approaches, I never really used them.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Thanks for the suggestions in this thread. Bumping it instead of creating a new one.

I think I figured out what two books I want to read but I was wondering if I should try to ACTUALLY get through Netter's? I only used it for reference on aways, so I probably only got through maybe a quarter of it, if that. I remember hearing some residents say how they got through it multiple times while they were on aways. I focused on being helpful and knowing whatever what was on Orthobullets, so even though I brought Netter's, Handbook of Fx, and Approaches, I never really used them.

Don't read netter cover to cover. Read it as a supplement to whatever body part/chapter you're reviewing.

Also, OP, I have some book suggestions in my AMA thread.

 

[Bancrofti]

Don't read netter cover to cover. Read it as a supplement to whatever body part/chapter you're reviewing.

Also, OP, I have some book suggestions in my AMA thread.

I actually used that post to look up books Did you have a preference between Rockwood and Green's and Skeletal Trauma?

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I actually used that post to look up books Did you have a preference between Rockwood and Green's and Skeletal Trauma?

I've read both, but I have a very strong rockwood connection, so I am biased. I think the nonunion and malunion chapters are better in Skeletal Trauma. OKU and masters are good too.

 

[Dires]

I wanted to see the Rec's so I'll go ahead and post it for everyone:

"Two very thin books that will make a big difference down the line. If you read anything before residency, these two are it:
1) Hoppenfeld, "physical examination of the spine and extremities" (has a green cover)
2) Radin, "practical biomechanics for the Orthopaedic surgeon" second edition (out of print but you can get on used book sites or amazon)Another good one, if you can track it down, is a tiny lifesaver called "the Orthopaedic intern pocket survival guide" by Derek Ochiai. That's more bulleted, but nice to have around in a pinch.

Otherwise, for the big textbooks, just start with hoppenfeld's surgical approaches, and also the first section of Rockwood and Green (or Skeletal Trauma, whatever your program uses) as that is the basis of many things including ER call. It includes functions of plates and screws, basic science etc before getting into the trauma stuff. I am partial to Rockwood, but I think Skeletal Trauma has the best sections on nonunion and malunion.

PS. Make sure you spend some time in intern year studying for and taking step 3. Take it in intern year--don't be tempted to push it off. The longer you wait, the more you forget the material--if you don't pass you can't graduate, and I've known chief residents who have had to take it several times before passing... Don't be the guy who causes your program director to bang his head against the wall."

 

[massmocha]

Thanks for the suggestions in this thread. Bumping it instead of creating a new one.

I think I figured out what two books I want to read but I was wondering if I should try to ACTUALLY get through Netter's? I only used it for reference on aways, so I probably only got through maybe a quarter of it, if that. I remember hearing some residents say how they got through it multiple times while they were on aways. I focused on being helpful and knowing whatever what was on Orthobullets, so even though I brought Netter's, Handbook of Fx, and Approaches, I never really used them.

I strongly recommend reading Netter's ortho anatomy cover to cover at least once, probably more than once if you can manage. It is only about 10 chapters. It takes about an hour to read a chapter. No reason you can't read the book in 10 days while enjoying time at the end of med school before starting. The one thing you'll be expected to know as an intern in conference is anatomy.

 

[Handinhand]

The one thing you'll be expected to know as an intern in conference is anatomy.

Woah woah woah -- I am also sometimes asked to half-assedly stumble my through reading an x-ray...

 

[seminoma]

I strongly recommend reading Netter's ortho anatomy cover to cover at least once, probably more than once if you can manage. It is only about 10 chapters. It takes about an hour to read a chapter. No reason you can't read the book in 10 days while enjoying time at the end of med school before starting. The one thing you'll be expected to know as an intern in conference is anatomy.

You talking about this one? Amazon product

 

[massmocha]

that's the one!