Preparation Books

...this comprehensive book is amazing! It has provided me with an excellent source for review as well as information/concepts that I did not pick up along the way during nursing school. One must be committed to get through this very detailed book, but the end result is well worth it (as if you didn't already know that).

The questions at the end of each chapter and in the CD-ROM, in my experience, are similar to that of those found in nursing school exams. They strive to be in an NCLEX style, but are more geared toward testing your understanding of the content found within the chapter. This is helpful for content review purposes, but they are not as solid of examples of NCLEX questions as compared to the Kaplan book (another book I recommend). However, the rationales Saunders provide make up for that issue nicely.

If you are dedicated and really want to pass the first time, you won't regret this purchase!

If you studied and graduated from a non US nursing program you must prepare for the NCLEX thoroughly, I graduated 9 years ago in the UK and thought I had a good general knowledge base, however once I started using this book I realized how much my UK education had not prepared me for the US system and the NCLEX.

Allow yourself a few months studying hard from this book (it is 'no-frills', almost written in note form, but it is the closest thing to experiencing a proper review course you can get outside the states)

At first I found the rationales in the included chapter exams very difficult to agree with in terms of prioritization, coming from the real world critical care environment, but the more questions and rationales you do the more prepared you will be. I would also recommend a question and answer book - I used the incredibly easy NCLEX RN question and answer book and the Mosby one.

As much as I recommend this book I also found it very useful to answer questions from several different publishers as I found they would all be somewhat different but it is a very accessible way of learning and getting questions wrong really helps for the right answer to 'stick'.

Overall a 5 star recommendation, there are no other publications I am aware of that offer this sort of package. Buy it and work hard!

I found out this morning that I passed! in 75 questions!

Good luck, good luck, good luck!

This book is wonderful. I study it for my tests, including my online exit exams for my specialty classes. This book covers everything and eliminates all the "fluff". I bought this and the Question and Answer book and they are GREAT learning tools. I would recommend this book to any nursing student to use throughout school and for boards!

The review is excellent! There are a lot of graphics and test questions that help you really understand the material. The rationales for the review questions are also a plus. The outlines are very helpful, concise, and comprehensive. I recommend this book for every nursing student!

This book is easy to read and the CD is so helpful. This book is reccomended by all of the instructors in our NCLEX review courses. I feel better prepared for the NCLEX.

The book had a lot of concepts that really helped with my learning of physio throughout the course and later with prepping for the physio shelf exam. My only beef with the content was with the impertinent discussions of molecular similarities between some hormones, but overall, I was pretty satisfied with the book.

This book is an amazing tool for my Medical School Physiology class, it will be a vital piece of my USMLE study regimen.

This book is an excellent resource to supplement boards study. I have been very pleased.

I decided to purchase this book as a supplement to the textbook we use in class. You know, you read the complicated textbook and then the supplement next. Not so any longer. This guide gets right to the point. Reading it before class has facilitated my understanding of lectures and comprehension of the required readings.
You don't have to be a medical student to derive value out of this book. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.

I think this is the best BRS there is. I used this book for course exam prep as well as board review. It is a great tool to highlight important concepts, and it explains things in a simple and effective way with the right amount of information.

This book is great! You can carry it around with you to quickly review before cases, or even in the clinic. Almost every pimp question I have gotten was in this book!!

Surgery is a difficult rotation in terms of content and time commitment. Therefore, it's best to study to maximize your time. This book will prepare you for surviving rounds and those pimp sessions while you are retracting. The book is well organized by topic and great to quickly review before discussing/encountering a particular patient. The book saved me several times during a long surgery. However, of note, to survive the shelf exam and osce, you will need a textbook as well. Good choices to supplement this book would be Essentials of General Surgery or First Aid for the Surgery Clerkship.

A MUST for the MSIII General Surgery rotation. I can remember reviewing the Lap Chole section just before I went into that surgery, and EVERY QUESTION the attending asked me were in the 2 pages I had just glanced over! Probably the single most useful pocket guide I had during my clerkships, and I didn't even apply into a surgery residency after medical school. A terrific book.

I'm a first year medical student but have already begun using this book and the question/answer format is incredibly easy to use and time efficient. The topics in this book are taught in class and at the hospital (for the few times a week I am there).

Everyone talks about this book and the information in it is great and very relevant. Keep reading it and you'll do well on your shelfs, on the wards and whatever else. I used this as a third year and I just kept reading it until I had it almost memorized. The chiefs on my rotations were surprised the stuff I used to know from this book. By the way I got the advanced one too and not nearly as helpful as this one.

I'm a first year vet student and have read this text over the summer to get my feet wet. Excellent. Its just enough to explain the real mechanisms of specific cells and immune functioning. I would highly recommend as this text gives a thorough explanation to very difficult material.

For someone with no immunology background this is a great place to start. I wish I'd known about this book before taking immunology in medical school. It is short enough and such engaging writing that I'd strongly recommend reading it before taking an immunology course. This book isn't going to be one you go to for specifics about this receptor or that cytokine it's all about understanding how all the parts fit together.

This is one of the best books I have read in Medicine, for its ease and information. It stimulates you to go and read more.

The beauty of this book lies in its folksy language, brevity, completeness, and versatility.

First, the author avoids making you snooze over this potentially dry subject. The prose is clever and written basically as someone would talk to you. Of course, the prose does get a little too relaxed at time, but I find the language far more understandable than some stuffy textbook.

In addition, the author has compiled a brief yet very thorough composition on the immune system here. If you were seeking a very complete overview of immunology without needing to memorize all the details (like cytokines, names of cell receptors, etc.), you could read this book in one night and have a very good understanding of the immune system. However, if you're a medical student needing to actually memorize all those seemingly trivial details, this book is probably sufficient for you as well. That versatility really lends this book to a very diverse audience.

I think that anyone from a college student in an introductory immunology course up to a practicing physician needing a quick reference to the immune system would love owning this book.

I'm a first year medical student and hadn't had immunology until I was taught it in about two weeks this year. This book was exceptionally helpful in giving me the big picture while still providing enough detail to unite the big pieces together. The book isn't exhaustive, but it's not meant to be. It's also very easy to read and memorable. This book was quite useful to me and I highly recommend it.

Amazing book! Whether you are preparing to take the Internal Medicine boards for the first time or preparing for recertification, this is an

excellent resource. It is well-organized, concise, and comprehensive. Definitely a must-have for anyone interested in internal medicine. Highly

recommend! Thorough, beautifully-organized, and extremely well-written! Get this book....You won't be disappointed! A must have for all the

internal medicine residents!!! Extraordinarilly structured questions and even better explanation focused on the highlight topics in internal

medicine. If you are reading this, you are probably preparing for an ABIM internal medicine exam in addition to all your other duties. There is

never enough time, is there? Well, I was preparing for the ABIM recertification exam, since I'd finished residency. I had slogged through the

Medstudy review book over the course of five months, dutifully going over every page.... Tres painful. There were three weeks left before the

exam, and I figured I'd give this book a try. I quickly discovered how ignorant I was, despite doing the Medstudy book review. My friend taught

me a lot of critical care medicine way back when, and use Frontrunners Internal Medicine Syllabus and Internal Medicine Q&A Review, syllabus

companion for the board review and Turbo Mnemonics. Excellent materials to prepare you to pass the CERTIFICATION EXAM and Recertification exam.

The questions are well-written, and the answers give you really good feedback. The questions are highly relevant, reflecting what the ABIM wants

you to know. I got my pass notice from the ABIM today. I would recommend this book to anyone preparing for the boards.
Definitely a must-have for anyone interested in internal medicine. Highly recommend! Thorough, beautifully-organized, and

extremely well-written! Get this book....You won't be disappointed! Whether you are preparing to take the Internal Medicine boards for the first

time or preparing for recertification, this is an excellent resource. It is well-organized, concise, and comprehensive. The questions are

challenging and pertinent with clear answers that emphasize the teaching point being made. The outline format highlights important points about

each subject. In our program, we are also using this book as a resource for everyday teaching during morning report and other clinical

conferences. Overall, I am very satisfied with this book and highly recommend it!

I have been using both Medstudy and Frontrunners as an adjunct to board review for my recertification. Medstudy is by far more superior as it has a more comprehensive review of each topic, whereas Frontrunners is very abbreviated and in outline form in its review. The questions in Frontrunners are also very unsophisticated, lots of matching and not many case presentations. Finally, try to call customer service or contact the company through the phone number or e-mail on the website, the e-mail link didn't work for me, and it took several days to get a call back, no one answers except a machine even though it gives liberal hours for being open. All in all, the product strikes me as being crude. If you like an outline style and already have some other more comprehensive text, then you might like it, but its quite pricey, even for what it is.

As the Educational Director for our residency and a practicing internist, I found this to be hands-down the best resource out there as far as a database of old exam questions in prepping the internal medicine boards. We also found that the book to which this is a companion (i.e. Frontrunners Syllabus), was extraordinary in laying out all the key material in a nicely-organized, concise, and outlined format offering "recently and commonly asked material". Together, these 2 books form the core of our own ABIM Certification residency training program and were mission-critical to getting our perfect pass rates last year. [...]

My partner and I studied together this time, as we'd both missed the mark terribly on several prior administrations of the exam. We both passed easily owing in large part to this book. (incidentally, we found the book samples far easier to read (translation: not blurry) and far easier to evaluate from their main site). The outlined and user-friendly layout of the syllabus, with its boxed-in/bolded/starred points really made a huge difference and we saw the starred points ALL over the exam. We also owe our success on the exam to the 1300 Q&A book, which gives a massive number of old exam questions. We also found the Slide Shows (CD) essential for all the image questions, EKGs, etc. Bottom line, we're extremely happy we found this curriculum, and we're equally happy to have this exam behind us (finally). We easily score this curriculum a zealous four thumbs up.

This is a must-have for the I.M. CERT exam. The starred items, my favorites, pointed to recently asked material, which made my studying alot more enjoyable. In my opinion, nothing comes close to Frontrunners' review. My partners used it for their internal medicine RECERT and were equally pleased. As for me, I wouldn't have passed without it. Make sure you get through it at least twice before the exam since there was a load of material on the exam right out of the syllabus. I also went hit all of Frontrunners practice Q&A for the I.M. boards and got both from their www.frontrunners.info website (they had samples there, etc). In my opinion, if you're serious about passing or want to excel, you'd be foolish NOT to get a copy of these, even from a friend, before sitting for the exam.

While drinking from the firehouse of knowledge this book is your best friend. It's really a must buy for any med student. Her other book is less helpful. Boron & Boulpaep (etc) take WAY too much time.

This physio book is great. It easily and effortlessly breaks down the physiology that occurs in the human body without getting too technical or clinical. It delivers the basics and little fluff. Great book to read.

fantastic. This book is an awesome read. very well written, concise, great figures. I use this and the brs physio from costanzo and they are both great.

This the most clearly written physiology book out there. Very concise with helpful figures. Costanzo knows her stuff!

This is a great physiology text! This book helped me get through physiology, and although it is not the perfect medical text (it doesn't go into the detail that some of the other books do), it's very concise and clear in its explanations. I found it very easy to read and a great study resource.

I am currently in nurse practitioner (NP) school and am studying within the acute/critical care track (ACNP). As a NP student, I believe this book to be a valuable 'quick and dirty' reference. I will be using this as a supplement throughout practice, residency and for my certification boards.

Just finished taking step 2 & 3...I highly recommend NAIL THE BOARDS, The Ultimate Internal Medicine Review for USMLE STEPS 2 & 3 ... , it is concise and, most importantly, the information in the text is relevant to the actual exam. This book is the most current resource reflecting the new changes to USMLE step 2 and 3. The book is up to date and contains all the major topics needed for step 2 & 3. This book contains a lot of excellent contains and summaries that I could not find in any other review book. It seems to be a great companion while doing review questions. I also found this book to be an outstanding source when I prepared for work rounds to teach the interns and students. I can highly recommend this book to all residents. I wish I had it when I started my residency. Great Book!

I initially heard of this book from the 2nd & 3rd year residents in our program. A lot of them used it for their Step 3 and were successful and loved it. I was skeptical at first because this exam was important to me for a number of reasons. In any case, my experience was much the same as theirs, and I did extremely well, as with my predecessors, but I wanted to provide greater detail that I know will help you. I was pleasantly surprised, but at the same time totally relieved, when I sat for the exam because everything I'd studied here was right there on the exam. Specifically, I found the book was incredibly helpful in all of the following areas, which are the key areas required on the exam:

** Associating current complaints with presented history and identifying pertinent factors.
** Interpreting elicited history.
** Interpreting mental status & identifying neuro exam findings
** Interpreting specific physical findings as relates to differential diagnosis
** Knowing appropriate directed physical examination & required technique.
** Recognizing commonly associated pertinent history
** Identifiying risk factors--especially oustanding
** Recognizing signs & symptoms and physical findings

I also found the book super useful for all the lab stuff, specifically:

** Knowing when NO diagnostic or lab studies are indicated
** Knowing which studies to select and when
** Interpreting all the key tests
** Basic lab/diagnostic study algorithms
** Identifying which study/procedure will most likely establish the dx or differentiate it from another
** Predicting the most likely lab or diagnostic test result

Bottom line: I passed easily and I'm thankful to those who recommended this gem. But I also wanted to take a few minutes to "pass" this on to others as well. I know there's a lot of other favorable reviews below, but they really didn't go into much detail. I'd also give a top recommend to the Frontrunners Q&A book which was another treasure trove and landed me a lot of extra points on the exam. As far as I'm concerned, it was the perfect combination.

Solid review for Step 3. My friend used it for his Step 2 too and loved it, but my only experience was for 3. I like the way the book's organized by medicine subspecialties (Cards, GI, Renal, Tox, etc) and the outline is a huge time-saver while leaving nothing to the imagination. GREAT book and a zealous recommend.

Relatively inexpensive as for as board reviews go, but POWERPACKED with all the key info, concisely presented, and beautifully organized. I passed my USMLE Step 3 with flying colors. Definitely have to recommend this one.

Book received in a timely manner and in good condition. I am impressed with my Amazon.com purchases.

This book is awesome!!!!!!! If you want to pass the NCLEX-PN, you have to purchased this book. This book was a blessing for me to prepare for the NCLEX-PN. Hey, I'VE PASSED TOO!

The book itself is broken down to help you learn the key elements. The cd worked fine with my computer; and I had no problems with it crashing. The cd questions can be repetitive in some sections and all of the questions in the text are on the cd.

This is a well organized book with all the information you will ever need. Also came with a disk that is very helpful, if the disk crashes like another customer mentioned its your computer not the disk. Diffently a great buy.

I purchased this book to review for the NCLEX-PN. It is well put together and easy to find the topic I am currently studying. The CD has been extremely helpful, as well.

I love this textbook (as much as you can love a textbook). This is the bible for your cardiology block. I've read it cover to cover and think it's probably the best textbook (by far) I own. Not only does it provide information in a concise fashion, but it explains it very well too.

I am a first year medical student in the middle of my cardiac module and have really enjoyed using this book. It is easy to read, high yield, and very clinical. I would recommend this book to any student trying to really nail down cardiology.

If you are in medical school this book is the greatest thing you will ever buy. For our cardiology block I read this cover to cover and made the highest grade I have ever gotten on an exam.
Get it right now!!

I picked this book up at Barnes and Nobles while studying for the boards. It is excellent, both concise and thought provoking. My only regret is that the faculty and students have not written these books to cover every topic in medical school.

I read this book cover to cover for my cardio theme. It was clear and well written. I would recommend it highly to anyone in medical school who wants a clear easy read. It has all the detail you need to know, without extraneous material.

To prepare for my Biology exam, I bought three books. The Barron, the Princeton Review, and the Cliffs. Even though I only covered 1/2 of the Cliffs book, I ended up with a 4. Reason - because I used this book. The Princeton Review doesn't cover enough. The Barrons was written too much like a textbook. I found two advantages of this book: 1) I was able to answer all 4 essay questions fully, because it was material covered in the Cliffs. 2) The Cliffs is written in such a way that the material is easy to study. There is no unnecessary language. It is all only the important facts. 3) Lastly, the laboratory review was very useful. In class, we had been unable to cover all the labs. The Princeton Review and Barron don't cover the lab part well enough compared to the Cliffs. I reviewed the lab part the night before, and it was very easy to understand.

In some ways, I feel that I have learnt much more in my review during the past few days, than what I have learnt in class.

Had I covered the whole book, yes, a 5 would have been expected.

This book was one of my many test prep books for AP Biology. Its strengths and its weaknesses lie in its conciseness. The subject reviews are very brief and would probably not be helpful in teaching you the material; however, if you are using the book as a review tool, it is perfect. The subject reviews always stayed on topic and contained just the right amount of detail for the AP test. It also contained a review of the 12 labs of the AP Biology course, which are a big part of the exam. My biggest complaint is that there was only one full practice test, and there were very few practice quizzes throughout the book. This is where it falls behind the other AP Bio test preps. But for a quick (last-minute) review, this book is definitely your best bet.

Buy this book, borrow this book, steal this book. I don't care how you get this book, just get this book! There is no better book out there for the AP Biology test and I am living proof of that. The Princeton Review is a great book that helps you get all of the concepts nailed, but you won't get all the details from the Princeton alone. You will, however, from this book. I normally don't say this about prep books, but you really don't need a textbook. This book does not just offer you a review, but used properly, it can teach the material as well. The text book we used was horrible and unreadable(If you're using Biological Sciences by Keeton and Gould, know that I feel for you) and our teacher was not exactly much help either. Oh yeah, this book features a great review of the labs too. This was extremely helpful considering that out of the fourteen required labs, our class managed to do none of them. How did I get a five? The question baffles me too. But I certainly know where to start. This book and the Princeton Review, nothing more, nothing less.

I took an AP Biology class this year and it was a joke! We didn't learn anything, NOTHING the entire year. I used this book from the beginning of the year and, along with my textbook, which was horrible, and the Barron's Guide, managed to learn everything about AP Biology. No Joke! I taught myself biology out of this book. I even got a 5 on the AP test! Many of the questions in this book were almost exactly repeated on the AP exam. Another especially helpful thing was the Laboratory Review in the back. Even though our class didn't do the labs, I understood everything about them. If you need to learn biology. Get this Book. Today!1