Guest YongQ Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 Hi everybody, I'm going to start a rural family medicine elective in about 2 weeks - it's my first elective experience of any kind! Any suggestions on what to bring along (e.g. equipment, books, things to read beforehand)? I don't wanna lug in 10 textbooks, but I think maybe Bates and perhaps Ganong might be a good idea... Ian, I noticed you've gone to rural BC - how was it for you? Are there any tips you might have to give a 1st yr who might be asked to help deliver a baby on his first elective (yikes!)? YONGQ Just editing the title to make it more descriptive. -Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 I'd recommend going light. What I would bring includes: Books: 1) Good clinical skills book. Choose from Bates, Clinical Examination by Talley and O'Connor, or the very excellent U of Toronto clinical examination handbook. However, having only completed first year, your exams skills might warrant bringing Bates, which is a little simpler, more picture oriented, and therefore more readable than the other two books, which are great once you start to hone down your H&P's. 2) Good general knowledge book. I would only bring one. No point to lugging lots of stuff around. You'll use this to cover your butt when you see stuff that you've never heard of because you haven't yet reached that block in the med school curriculum. I would recommend the Merck Manual, or a smaller book that most people have never heard of, called: Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, ISBN: 0-19-262988-3, which is a fairly small pocket book that'll fit into your white coat, but has lots of good info within. 3) Little mini-books. This may be overkill now, but two mini-books that EVERY third year med student should have for rotations includes the: Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia, ISBN: 1-882742-18-4 (this little guy is the medication bible which will bail you out on so many occasions when you just don't remember the right dose and duration for amoxicillin), and Maxwell Quick Medical Reference, ISBN: 0-9645191-1-9 (this thing will give you tons of lab values, help you decode lots of obscure charting notations, such as recording electrolytes or blood gases in shorthand, or just knowing the key components of writing a delivery note after the baby is out, etc). These two books are really pricey for their size, but totally worth it. 4) Your favorite PDA, and a download site from the internet to send your rural doctors to for getting free medical programs. While I don't mean to paint rural doctors with a wide brush-stroke, chances are better away from the big city that your doctor may not be up on the latest PDA techo-gadgetry. After showing some of them the type of information they could pull up on a PDA, many became quite interested in trying my Handspring out, and then getting medical programs. If you have a PDA, and have a resource such as a web-site where your doctor can download and demo some of these programs, they you can truly become the teacher for a change. 5) Stethoscope. All other equipment is superfluous, as they have their own stuff. 6) Non-medical stuff like cameras, a little journal to record your experiences, etc. As you can see, I recommend going light. I would say however, that I had quite a bit more comfort zone doing my elective after Med 2. Still, I think the essentials include: a clinical skills book, a general knowledge book, the two above mini-books, a PDA, and a stethoscope. If you bring those, along with an open mind and a healthy dose of enthusiasm, you can learn everything else on the job. The motto "see one, do one, teach one" still applies in many respects to medical education. Have fun! Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YongQ Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 Hi Ian, Thanks for the advice! I don't have a PDA right now, but maybe I'll get one to play with seeing as I'll probably get one for clerkship eventually. I saw the PDA thread in the clerkship forum - Let's see if I have this right - the most important things I should consider are compatibility (i.e. don't go Microsoft), memory (8MB or more, but I can be quite the geek so I might very well go for 16MB right away), and expandibility (is Handspring Visor the only model with the expansion slot?)? Two books my PBL tutor recommended for rotations (not sure if they're appropriate for electives) are, "On Call" and "The Washington Manual." Have you heard of either of these? Thanks again, YONGQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 On Call is a great book that has bailed my sorry butt out on a number of occasions. This is a must-have book, and is particularly useful in Internal Medicine and General Surgery as it's a quick review of how to solve common ward problems (eg. low urine output, fever, hypotension, etc). It'll easily fit into a white coat. The Washington Manual is a book which is more detailed than On Call, and supposedly is pretty much a mandatory purchase for any Internal Medicine resident. Roughly translated, this means that the book has more pages, the text size is smaller and the book is therefore more detailed! I've thumbed through it on multiple occasions, but have never been able to persuade myself to buy it; I'm just not convinced that I would use it regularly. There's also a mini-Washington Manual for the PalmOS, which takes up just under 1 Mb. Both of these ward references (On Call in particular) are targeted to those times when you've got to make a decision or form a management plan on your own, which inevitably occurs at 3 am when you're on call. They're both very good books, and are highly recommended by lots of people. I like On Call more, but that's probably because it's a really simple and readable reference. The Washington Manual is more detailed and comprehensive by far. I think both of these books are over-kill for a med student just one year in, going on his/her first elective. There shouldn't ever be a time during this elective where you'll be required to make the final decision on anything covered in these books. It can't hurt to own them (chances are real good that you'll own one or both eventually), but I don't believe you'll use them anywhere near as much as the books I've mentioned up top. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted May 20, 2002 Report Share Posted May 20, 2002 Wow - thanks from me to both Ian for this advice, and YongQ for bringing the subject up. I'm heading off to do an elective myself this summer and hadn't thought of what books to bring yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Hey Ian, It's been a wee while since I've heard anyone mention the "Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine". My cousin, who graduated from the University of Glasgow meds a bunch of years back, noted at his graduation that that wee tome was in the pocket of almost every one of his classmates--most especially around oral exam time. Apparently many of them relied on that wee thing, pretty much, solely. Shortly after he mentioned it, out of curiosity/interest, and the fact that it didn't cost the regular $150 of many meds texts I picked one up, and it's sitting on my bookshelf above me as I type, hopefully waiting to be bona fide-ly opened this September! Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carolyn Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 I noticed on elective that a lot of European's use this like we use palm pilots now... It is excellent - similar to the Washington manual... I would echo the above suggestions. I use my palm pilot which has Harrison's, Washington, 5 minute consult and epocrates plus a huge assortment on it -- very helpful when someone mentions a pathology and you get that panicked "What is that again??" Plus great for treatments... I would also add Sandford's Antibiotic guide as useful - great way to learn some ID on the job... Another really helpful thing to take along in your jacket is a small pad, I often make notes of things to look up/learn that evening, note research topic ideas, elective contacts etc... Enjoy your first elective... Carolyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 Doh! I was hoping to hold off a bit on purchasing a palm pilot... hoping that the price would come down and the features would be increased by mid-way through second year. Are they that vital? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carolyn Posted May 21, 2002 Report Share Posted May 21, 2002 I'm not sure Palms are vital until clerkship - you can definitely get away for your first summer without one - it is nice though to get one and be used to using it before clerkship... The Washington manual or Oxford handbooks would both be really helpful (of course it all depends what you are doing!) One hint that has worked well for me has been buying my PDA (Visor) at Future Shop -- they have a warranty (relatively inexpensive) that allows you to walk in if it breaks and they hand you a new one which is equivalent - except that by the time they konk out, the most equivalent is way better than what you bought... and there is the option of upgrading (just paying the difference)... I have found it very helpful... as I haven't paid full price for one for a couple of years now and yet still have a high quality... Enjoy the elective! Carolyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 19, 2002 Report Share Posted July 19, 2002 I've added the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobials to my jacket pocket, and this is a pretty useful little book that has served quite well in my Internal Medicine rotation. Basically, it is an annually updated little pocketbook that contains first and second line antibiotics for most of the infections that you'll be treating. Nice to have as a little reference, although I think it's ridiculously over-detailed and not at all reader-friendly (unlike the Tarascon Pharmacopeia which is the epitome of a stripped-down yet totally functional book. ISBN: 1-930808-04-6 I've also added the Saint-Frances Guide to Inpatient Medicine, which is a kick-butt little book quite similar to the On Call book described above, except that this one covers a wider assortment of problems, and your approach and management of these problems. The level is probably about right for a senior medical student or an intern/junior resident, and I wish I'd known about it for some of my earlier rotations, because it's a pretty cool book. If you like mnemonics, this is a good book to have because it's chock-full of them, many of them good ones. ISBN: 0-683-07547-0 A last wicked book which is a resident-level pocketbook that, if you know would make you look like an absolute superstar on the wards is a little black binder entitled: Pocket Medicine, and it's put together by the residents at the Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the feeder hospitals to Harvard Med. This book has supplanted the Washington Manual among all the Internal Medicine residents I've worked with on the wards. They don't refer to the Washington manual to figure out how to diagnose and treat many of the common IM problems, they use this book. ISBN: 0-7817-1649-7 Currently, in my Internal Med jack pocket, I'm carrying the following: Maxwell Lab Guide and Tarascon's in the breast pocket, Pocket Medicine and St. Frances in one coat pocket, and the Oxford Handbook in the other. There aren't too many occasions where I'm at a loss to figure something out. If I was earlier in my clerkships, I'd replace the Pocket Medicine with On Call. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asdf Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 Does anybody have the ISBN (or publisher/author) for On Call and the Oxford Handbook? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 Here you go: Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, ISBN: 0-19-262988-3 On Call, ISBN: 0-7216-5079-1 Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gucio93 Posted August 12, 2002 Report Share Posted August 12, 2002 What do you guys think about "Practical Guide to the Care of the Medical Patient" by Fred Ferri (ISBN: 0-323-01284-1)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Floating to the top... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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