What to read before PGY1?

[Dr JPH]

I have a small case of senioritis...especially bad because I am in my 5th year of a DO/MS program.

Hopefully I will match this sping and come next summer be a PGY1.

Any suggestions on books, articles, journals to read between now and then?

I still have a few months in the hospital but the rest will be research and teaching...so no direct patient contact or pimping but plenty of self study time.

Any suggestions or comments?

Much thanks!

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[cchoukal]

My usual answer to this question is "nothing!" In truth, whatever you read now will be out of context of patient care and won't really "stick" in a way that will help you at 3 AM on call. In addition, there's something to be said for taking advantage of the calm before the storm, so to speak.

That said, if you insist on reading something, I think it is beneficial to read things like:

Complications by Atul Gawande
The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett
Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington
Madness in the Streets by Isaac & Armat

And things in this vein to grant a little perspective and context to what your career is all about.

If you absolutely have to read something medical, I think getting familiar with a good guide in your field may pay off. If you're bound for medicine, ER, Anesthesiology, the Washington Manual is good. For peds theres a guide out of Johns Hopkins. For surgery I'm sure there's a similar "can't do without" floor manual.

 

[cchoukal]

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[Entei]

I have a small case of senioritis...especially bad because I am in my 5th year of a DO/MS program.

Hopefully I will match this sping and come next summer be a PGY1.

Any suggestions on books, articles, journals to read between now and then?

I still have a few months in the hospital but the rest will be research and teaching...so no direct patient contact or pimping but plenty of self study time.

Any suggestions or comments?

Much thanks!

Take your pick! (I recognize you from the surgery forum.)

I had big plans for those first four, but I find that I'm working hardest on that series represented by book 5. I'm halfway through Wizard and Glass.

 

[SLUser11]

Take your pick! (I recognize you from the surgery forum.)

I had big plans for those first four, but I find that I'm working hardest on that series represented by book 5. I'm halfway through Wizard and Glass.

I bought the Washington Manual Surgery Survival Guide and read parts of it during fourth year, but I think that's the last time I opened it. It sat in my white coat pocket for the first 3 months of internship completely untouched. I don't think it's necessary, but other people like it.......

I think it's good to read a little to keep your mind sharp. I, on the other hand, was drunk most of the time during the second half of fourth year, making reading difficult, so I stuck to TV. I did, however, occasionally watch a medically themed TV show, which is sort of studying.

But if you plan to stay sober some of the time, I would concentrate on more fun surgical reading: Complications is a good book, and you can always peruse journals in your school's medical library.

I would hold off on Sabiston and Mastery of Surgery until July........

 

[Dr JPH]

Thanks for all the advice thus far!

Complications is pretty good...half way through that.

I dont want to sound like a loser, but I am actually enjoying Cope's Early Dx Acute Abd. Reads really smoothly.

 

[Entei]

Well, I've been mostly spending my time with The Dark Tower and Gears of War. I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction medical books. I read Complications prior to med school, and that pretty much scratched that itch. I'd be interested in good books on surgical history, though. I think there was a thread about this a while ago, but I was never able to track down in print/affordable copies of the books they suggested.

That reminds me of some other good books that were brought up in that thread:

Feynman rocks!

 

[gutonc]

Read the inside of your eyelids. You will not get the chance again.

 

[SLUser11]

Well, I've been mostly spending my time with The Dark Tower and Gears of War. I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction medical books. I read Complications prior to med school, and that pretty much scratched that itch. I'd be interested in good books on surgical history, though. I think there was a thread about this a while ago, but I was never able to track down in print/affordable copies of the books they suggested.

That reminds me of some other good books that were brought up in that thread:

Feynman rocks!

The first chapter in Sabiston does a good job of summarizing the history of surgery. That actually might be a good read because at certain institutions (including the one I came from), history is a big deal, with everyone trying to trace their training roots back to Halsted/Hopkins. If you flexed some knowledge on that (appropriately, not forced) during an interview, some more old-school attendings might take interest.