Anybody else wondering about what to do for books? Do we (or should we) pick a standard IM textbook to go through like Harrion's, Cecil's, or ACP Medicine? What about a board review book like MKSAP or MedStudy? And what books should we use on the wards for day-to-day stuff (Ferri's Guide, PocketMedicine, Washington Manual, Sanford Guide etc)? Are we provided with any journal subscription (JAMA, NEJM) and is any particular journal recommended or used for a journal club series? What exactly is provided online through the Mayo library (MD Consult, Stat!Ref, Lange Series, etc)? Do any of the resident work rooms come stocked with some books? Does Mayo provide or recommend any of these? I know I'll be needing a Sanford Guide and I know we can get a group discount - anybody else interested?
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3 comments:
I think picking up a standard textbook of medicine is a good idea (Harrison's is my personal favorite). MKSAP14 is out and I think it's pretty good. I have it on cd and would gladly make anyone a copy if interested. As far as day-to-day stuff, i hear pocketmedicine is a must-have. Ferri's guide is crap in my opinion (you can have mine). Not sure about the journal subscriptions but wouldn't be surprised if we got those. Mayo has computers EVERYWHERE which all have access to UpToDate, MDconsult, etc; pretty much everything you need. If you have a PDA, i would recommend Epocrates as a good drug guide. Hope that helps.
I know that we have a program where if you join a certain organization (ACP? I forget...) MKSAP is free. So certainly don't go out and buy it. I would echo aziz in that the computers have MDConsult, UpToDate, Micromedex and more. Mayo also has access to several books online (including Harrison's), but I don't think that we get the actual book.
There are hundreds of free eJournals that Mayo has access to, but as far as I know of there are no actual journal subscriptions given to us...
Today I heard from John Kisiel, who is going to be one of our Chief Residents. His comments are below:
I would hold off for now before purchasing anything. This includes devices. Our IT departement has NOT YET INTEGRATED WINDOWS VISTA for connections from home, though we are told they are working on it.
The electronic resources available on the job and from home are extensive. As an intern I started with the Sanford guide and the MGH medicine pocketbook. Over time, I came to appreciate that things are often done differently at Mayo. For example, the antibiotic dosing and selection is based on our free, in-house "Greenbook" antibiotic guide; using the Sanford guide (and often Epocrates) guarantees that you will get paged by either pharmacy or ID in the middle of the night. I also quickly found other pocket references falling by the wayside in favor of our easily accessible computer-based material.
Harrison's and Up To Date are available on-line as are all the journals in the Mayo catalogue. As a Mayo resident, Mayo Clinic Proceedings will come to your clinic mailbox. I did join several professional societies, which will get you additional hard-copy journals. Once you are licensed, you will get still more journals that you never asked for. My wife (also a resident) and I recycle about 30 pounds of journal paper monthly. Do join ACP (comes with subscriptions to Annals and ACP Journal Club). It has been stated that a 90% compliance rate across the whole program will get everyone a free MKSAP. That compliance is determined by the ACP; no-one has sent me a free MKSAP yet.
Hard copies of Med Study and the Mayo IM Board Review book, as well as the entire online slide catalogue of the Mayo IM Board Review course will be provided to you by the program, free of charge. I bought MKSAP 13 as an intern and found it useful to learn by doing questions. Try it before you buy it and realize up front that another edition will be probably be available before the time you are actually ready to sit for boards and that you might want to buy that one (instead/as well).
I strongly encourage you all to enjoy your spring and the (hopefully) relaxed schedule between now and the start of orientation. Use this time to settle into your new housing, spend time with your spouses/children/pets/parents, learn a new song on your favorite instrument or take a trip someplace fun. When internship starts, the playing field will be completely re-leveled and virtually nothing you do now will change that.
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