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Clinical Textbooks by clinical attachments

woozy

Regular Member
Hi guys, my next rotation is general medicine and I was wondering if you guys could recommend me a book/s for it?
It would be great if you could help me out on this :D

Harrison's Internal Medicine 18th edition, tehe. :p Davidson's Medicine or Kumar & Clark Clinical Medicine would probably be your best bet. Supplemented by the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Failing that Toronto notes (Now called essential med notes) are gold!
 

Khorne

Member
Harrison's Internal Medicine 18th edition, tehe. :p Davidson's Medicine or Kumar & Clark Clinical Medicine would probably be your best bet. Supplemented by the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Failing that Toronto notes (Now called essential med notes) are gold!

If you're really keen on Harrison's, you can usually pick up the 2nd most recent edition on the cheap.
 

forevafrensbear

Regular Member
If you're really keen on Harrison's, you can usually pick up the 2nd most recent edition on the cheap.

I wouldn't pick up a copy of Harrison's locally. You can buy it cheaper in some Asian/subsidised countries. But Harrison's goes out of date with a new edition every few years. AND if you don't mind reading on your laptop - almost all universities and hospitals probably have access to the eBook through the hospital/university library or other subscription access.

I also like current medical diagnosis and treatment ... which is updated annually - and also available on eBook/iPad/often subscribed to by university or health services. Most libraries should have a copy. Textbooks are quite personal things. And even in a generla medicine textbook, as authors are different for each speciality, the quality differs between chapters so it' hard to generalise. Realistically and pragmatically, I jump onto Best Practice or UpToDate; MIMS or Therapeutic Guidelines more often than I access a textbook.

Talley O'Connor is a must. General Medicine is also a term you should be getting fluent in your technique for your OSCE
 

iddybiddy

Regular Member
I tried to study from Harrison's as a medical student... big mistake. Too much info.. not enough time!

These days I go on Therapeutic guidelines + eMedicine + UpToDate (in that order!). I don't access Best Practice that often but it's been good the few times I have. Your uni/hospital should have access to all of these.

However, I still use some generalist books as a reference:
- +1 for Common Clinical Cases - I had a flick through before starting internship and it's certainly proved quite useful!
- Medicine at a Glance (this series is awesome)
- On Call (Australian version); but the chapters are a bit bulky. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't think this book is particularly useful for carrying around on cover shifts/in ED.
- Handbook of Emergency Medicine (Brown/Cadogan) - similar size to On Call but more concise. Good to 'study' from + use as a reference. I even used it on a few ED shifts.. !

EDIT:
For paeds - sunflower book all the way.
O&G - Hacker & Moore
Psych - Psych at a glance and Kaplan & Saddock Pocket Handbook of psych (I love them pocketbooks.. although it IS psych so it still ended up being a bit 'heavy')
 
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inkblot

Member
Anyone have an opinion on Oxford Handbooks? The OH of Clinical Medicine (the yellow/red/green one) was useful for the first clinical year. Next year we're doing specialty rotations, and I was wondering if the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties (the dark blue/cyan/red one) is as useful.
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Did you guys ever refer to these texts on the wards? (I mean on a tablet/iPad or something, not carrying them around - except for the Oxford one?)
 

inkblot

Member
Did you guys ever refer to these texts on the wards? (I mean on a tablet/iPad or something, not carrying them around - except for the Oxford one?)
We didn't read textbooks on the wards. Medscape on your phone is usually more than enough. It looks rude to read your phone during teaching though, which is where the OHCM is useful. You can leaf through that quickly in front of a consultant and they know what you're doing. We would often end up crowding around someone's phone or OHCM to swot up before bedside tutes etc. If you have time to look something up in a textbook, and really need to do it, you'd just go to the hospital library anyway.
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
We didn't read textbooks on the wards. Medscape on your phone is usually more than enough. It looks rude to read your phone during teaching though, which is where the OHCM is useful. You can leaf through that quickly in front of a consultant and they know what you're doing. We would often end up crowding around someone's phone or OHCM to swot up before bedside tutes etc. If you have time to look something up in a textbook, and really need to do it, you'd just go to the hospital library anyway.

Ah ok, makes sense! Thanks for that :)
 

JeremiahGreenspoon

Regular Member
Anyone have an opinion on Oxford Handbooks? The OH of Clinical Medicine (the yellow/red/green one) was useful for the first clinical year. Next year we're doing specialty rotations, and I was wondering if the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties (the dark blue/cyan/red one) is as useful.

The OHCM is now out as an App on the app store. I only mention this because, though yes it doesn't look great to be swiping through your phone during a round, it's bloody convenient. I have the Merck Manual app on my iphone and find it really useful, but have had docs suggest the OHCM would be better. But I'm not paying for both!
I find it hard to surpass the convenience of an app, and they really stand out when it comes to searching for terms, rather than flicking through an index or trying to find something relevant to the tiny bit of knowledge you've got.
 

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Havox

Sword and Martini Guy!
Emeritus Staff
The OHCM is now out as an App on the app store. I only mention this because, though yes it doesn't look great to be swiping through your phone during a round, it's bloody convenient. I have the Merck Manual app on my iphone and find it really useful, but have had docs suggest the OHCM would be better. But I'm not paying for both!
I find it hard to surpass the convenience of an app, and they really stand out when it comes to searching for terms, rather than flicking through an index or trying to find something relevant to the tiny bit of knowledge you've got.

I've got both and they're both great
 

chinaski

Regular Member
The OHCM is now out as an App on the app store. I only mention this because, though yes it doesn't look great to be swiping through your phone during a round, it's bloody convenient.

Can I just say, some of us get really, really irritated when students dive nose-first into their iPad or phone during a round. It really should be a time wherein you give your attention to your supervisors and patients (however boring the round is!), rather than doing study on the run or looking up answers to questions (the reason we ask a question is to see if you KNOW the answer, rather than to see if you know how to look it up on the internet!). You absolutely should read around cases you see, but do have the courtesy to wait until the round is over, and do it on your own time. I totally agree it's convenient to use devices on the ward, but please do be aware of how things come across to those who are giving up their time to teach you. There's a time and place for everything.
 
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JeremiahGreenspoon

Regular Member
Can I just say, some of us get really, really irritated when students dive nose-first into their iPad or phone during a round

Yes i agree - that was poorly worded - none of us dare using them while there is a teacher there, just for the outright rudeness. However when our tutor has run off to find another patient and we are all standing in the corridor for five minutes wanting to know more about what we've just seen, it's a really useful and immediate thing to have.
 

chinaski

Regular Member
Yes i agree - that was poorly worded - none of us dare using them while there is a teacher there, just for the outright rudeness. However when our tutor has run off to find another patient and we are all standing in the corridor for five minutes wanting to know more about what we've just seen, it's a really useful and immediate thing to have.

Agreed! Furiously swotting before being pimped is an age-old tradition. ;)
 

akas1000

Lurker
Hi everyone, my first rotation next year is Gen Med and I'm looking for a book as a reference in addition to online sources and qbanks. Is something like toronto notes used and suitable these days?

Thanks so much!
 

forevafrensbear

Regular Member
I quite enjoy Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment and MKSAP though be aware that it is usually beyond the level of a student and American. I did however read it through once upon a time.

the therapeutic guidelines are probably are good resource also. Large format Textbooks are now so outdated that most people refer to online resources or websites.

you could always browse the library reserve section for general medicine.
 

akas1000

Lurker
I quite enjoy Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment and MKSAP though be aware that it is usually beyond the level of a student and American. I did however read it through once upon a time.

the therapeutic guidelines are probably are good resource also. Large format Textbooks are now so outdated that most people refer to online resources or websites.

you could always browse the library reserve section for general medicine.
Thank you so much :) Therapeutic guidelines look very promising! Just a follow up, do you find reading through them sufficient or do you take notes from online sources such as eTG?
 

forevafrensbear

Regular Member
I enjoy the therapeutic guidelines for their conciseness. Whether you take notes depends upon your memory and whether you have access to the eTG via your library (usually easy to access on the phone). The antibiotic and endocrine ones are a good starting reference.
 

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Crow

Staff | Junior Doctor
Moderator
Thank you so much :) Therapeutic guidelines look very promising! Just a follow up, do you find reading through them sufficient or do you take notes from online sources such as eTG?
I’m not sure how your curriculum is structured but we have learning objectives that need to be answered for PBLs.

Personally I take relevant notes from eTG to answer the LOs but I find it most valuable for looking up conditions and checking management guidelines when I’m studying or just on a train of thought about something.

As above, the phone app is awesome - if you’re a car passenger, catching a bus/train or just have a spare minute while you’re waiting for something, you can look what you want to up in a very convenient way.
 

fratboy

Lurker
eTDG is an excellent resource - use it all the time.

The My Osler app is great too - loads of free modules and podcasts
 

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