amichel Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Arg, now I have to rant... Toronto notes is like using a big stack of disorganized papers with random lists as your primary source. Also many of the lists are bull***t FYI, they are blatantly wrong. TO notes is like carrying around a big comfy teddy bear. You carry it around because it "summarizes" stuff you "need to know". It's big, it covers everything and everything albeit in a completely superficial and often incorrect manner. But it feels safe and useful. It is a one stop shop. How can it let you down? Can you pass your exams with it? Yeah of course. I used it occasionally during clerkship. Heck I even helped edit a chapter. But I regret using it. Why? The problem is that TO notes teddy bear is stuffed with old dirty rags. The content stinks. It's organized in a crappy manner. It's written by a bunch of med students trolling up to date. It's just a bunch of trashy lists. It provides no deeper understanding of anything. It reduces everything into a bunch of lists... This is exactly what is wrong with medical education today. Read a real source. Force yourself to think critically and constructively. Give yourself a good foundation upon which to grow your medical knowledge. TO notes as a regular resource will give you a meagre and superficial understanding of most important topics and waste your time with redundant, wrong or useless information as you sift through the endless rubbish it contains. Remember TO notes is designed for MCC exam review. Pick it up if you must when studying for the final exam. But not any earlier. My advice as a former user of this book. Take it or leave it. Makes sense. But it's useful for me to get a general overview, before small groups, which is where the understanding happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medmiss Posted September 3, 2014 Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 Do people think it's necessary to pick up an ECG book? I'm picking up Lilly's for cardio, but I'm hoping to get away with the library's ECG books or online resources. Any advice appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostLamb Posted September 3, 2014 Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 Try doing problems...ECGs are like math, you need to practice! I got Dubin's but it wasn't for me. I had better luck with online resources (do a few searches and see which one is most meaningful for you). I did not do this, but I bet there are cardiologists teaching ecg basics through a series of youtube videos that might be up your alley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrouchoMarx Posted September 3, 2014 Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 Arg, now I have to rant... Toronto notes is like using a big stack of disorganized papers with random lists as your primary source. Also many of the lists are bull***t FYI, they are blatantly wrong. TO notes is like carrying around a big comfy teddy bear. You carry it around because it "summarizes" stuff you "need to know". It's big, it covers everything and everything albeit in a completely superficial and often incorrect manner. But it feels safe and useful. It is a one stop shop. How can it let you down? Can you pass your exams with it? Yeah of course. I used it occasionally during clerkship. Heck I even helped edit a chapter. But I regret using it. Why? The problem is that TO notes teddy bear is stuffed with old dirty rags. The content stinks. It's organized in a crappy manner. It's written by a bunch of med students trolling up to date. It's just a bunch of trashy lists. It provides no deeper understanding of anything. It reduces everything into a bunch of lists... This is exactly what is wrong with medical education today. Read a real source. Force yourself to think critically and constructively. Give yourself a good foundation upon which to grow your medical knowledge. TO notes as a regular resource will give you a meagre and superficial understanding of most important topics and waste your time with redundant, wrong or useless information as you sift through the endless rubbish it contains. Remember TO notes is designed for MCC exam review. Pick it up if you must when studying for the final exam. But not any earlier. My advice as a former user of this book. Take it or leave it. You are so right. Everyone in my class swore by TO notes as if it were the Bible. I wonder if they knew it was written and edited by UofT medical students. I also wonder if, looking back now as residents, they realize how absolutely clueless medical students are. I would recommend perusing SDN for the up-to-date board study methods. Even if you're not planning on writing the American licensing examinations, their sources will provide a strong basis for your medical knowledge. Pathoma is a good start. Avoid the First-Aid books - they are merely the American version of the TO notes. Anatomy is not very useful by itself. I would recommend trying to correlate anatomy with imaging, since that's how most of your anatomy will be seen. Start with chest x-rays and body CTs (but not in too much detail) and work from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted September 3, 2014 Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 Do people think it's necessary to pick up an ECG book? I'm picking up Lilly's for cardio, but I'm hoping to get away with the library's ECG books or online resources. Any advice appreciated! Hey Medmiss, There are a lot of good introductory EKG resources out there. Some of the best are actually online. If you must get a book many people swear by Dubbin's. That said, I never really used it much myself. As a CC3 my first understanding of how to read EKGs was built up around an iPad app called ECG Guide by QxMD. It was quite good. If you have the basics down and want to look like a rockstar and impress by reading EKGs I suggest ECGs for the Emergency Physician. A great 2 volume book with amazing explanations and a ton of practice ECG's. I did a few of cases before bed for a few months, it is a minimal time investment, about 10-15 min, and my confidence around EKGs improved a lot. Looking back I think it really helped me during some key pre-CaRMS electives. One of my best reads during med school. I still use this book a fair amount well into residency. I couldn't recommend this book enough. If you plan on going into a residency program where EKG interpretation is required do yourself a favour and take a look at this text. With this said, this book is way beyond what you need to know to pass your med school exams. You really don't need a text book if you just want to get by, you only have a couple of the most basic rhythms you must know as a med student... And please don't buy this book as a MS1... You have better things to learn and spend time on, wait till clerkship. More info about the book can be found here: http://www.amazon.ca/ECGs-Emergency-Physician-Amal-Mattu/dp/0727916548 (volume 1) http://www.amazon.com/ECGs-Emergency-Physician-Amal-Mattu/dp/1405157011 (volume 2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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