Preparation Books

This a very well presented book. It's legible, atractive and concise. It's very usefull material in reviewing differents and importants subjects in the surgical area for rounds, discussions and presentations with my medicine students and surgery residents.

How many times have you taken a written exam, an oral board type test, or been bombarded with questions while on hospital rounds that simple textbook consultation failed to prepare you to handle? This book is great for medical students doing surgery rotations as well as general surgery residents trying to improve their knowledge base. I read it twice during my surgery residency and found it quite helpful. Shell out a few bucks and buy this book. It's worth it.

This book is like having all the best advice one might hear during a 6 week clerkhsip condensed into a few dozen hours reading. Not to be missed

To prepare for the AP Calc test I bought two books: Cliff's AP Calc and Barron's AP Calc Review. I found this book much easier to understand, with comprehensive tests that include free-response questions. Also, the topics and tests were very similar to those presented on the test. As for the Barron's version, I looked at it for about an hour and never picked it up again; it was very hard to understand and had no practice free-response questions. Obviously, this is the better buy. When I took the test, I felt very confident and was able to do almost every question- although the results have yet to come in, I think I did very well. My best advice is to buy this book early and use it to complement your calc class. Your grades (both in class and on the AP test) will surely reflect this extra effort.

I really enjoyed working with this book. I bought it at the beginning of the year and very glad I did. It helped me prepare for every test, quiz, and even homeworks. It has a wonderful "translation" section where calculus terms are explained in plain english. Topic by topic the book is thorough in the explanations. What I liked most about it is that after each topic, there are practice questions, answers, and explanations. If you're going to buy a calculus preparation book, this is the one to have!

my calc teacher wrote this book! neat huh

You don't need this book to pass the ABIM. But this book will make you a better clinician.

Easily the BEST practical guide for physical diagnosis of all. A MUST for all physicians and trainee house staff, whether or not they are taking any examinations. The authors present an entirely different way of practising physical diagnosis, that is simple and easy to repeat.

Cases are listed in the order of their frequency of appearance in the MRCP examination and the skills and methods of physical examinaton are centered around the diagnosis itself.

Also, the methods focused on completing the entire examination of a case within a short period of time, which is key in acheiving success in the MRCP exam.

A wonderful book overall.

It is an excellent review of all the possible short cases for MRCP part 2. It is organised according to the frequency of occurence of the case and also includes experiences of several examinees which are extremely helpful. In the recent times, I do not know of a person who passed MRCP without using this book.

I went to Tulane Med and attribute a lot of the clinical pearls I learned to Wiese. I'm currently an intern and find his student/intern handbook indispensble. He's strength lies in effectively communicating complex teaching points by breaking them down into easily understood concepts that stick for years.

Torang Sepah, MD

I went to Tulane Medical School, and Dr. Wiese is my mentor! He's the best teacher I've ever had. This book will be priceless for any medical student or resident.

As a 4th year student who had a terrible 3rd year (poor teaching, malignant attendings/residents), I was dreading my AI. I felt I did not have a good handle at all on how to deal with patients on the wards. I wish I had read this book before my 3rd yr! It points out WHAT TO DO on wards, etc. in a crystal clear way.

Much better than 1st aid for wards or even scut monkey (which is too detailed for a 3rd yr students). For the 3rd yr who needs something quick and easy to read this is it.

Warning: If you are the type who does not like things being told to you and would rather "jump in" without prior knowledge, this book will suck for you. However, if you are like me, and want somebody to tell you what to do and how to do it....this book is great!

I got this book as a tech student and it is great if you study this book you should have no problem passing the certification exam. It is packed with alot of info. I really like how the explain the answers. Instead of just telling you the right answer it also explains why that is the right answer. I would recommend it to any tech student.

I have just finished recertifying and most of the questions in this review book were either word for word or a rearrangement of a question from this book. I have taken and passed the CST exam twice using this book as my primary source for study material. My advice as a surgical tech of 16+ years - Buy this book now, you won't be sorry !

Because of the many multiple choice questions and catagories of this review book; all subject matters and possible test questions are covered throughly. By repetatively performing the various test and reviewing the answers I got wrong, I felt well prepared for the certification test.

Very quick, excellent service. Thank you so much! Received the book today, November 5, 2007.

The book arrived almost immediately after I ordered it and was in inmaculate condition. I couldn't have been more pleased.

I find this to be very useful in practicing different parts of the new AP format with my Spanish Language level IV students. The listening is difficult enough that they get a challenge and the speaking seems to be what is described by the College Board for the as-yet-untried speaking section. It is harder to generate one's own exercises for this new way of testing, and I am quite grateful. Some students have bought their own copies as well, since there are vocabulary sections that are useful and we will never have time to do them all in class.

MY DAUGHTER FOUND THIS VERY HELPFUL. WE HAVE YET TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE TEST (TEST TAKEN 6/21/08 RESULTS POSTED 7/23/08), BUT SHE SAID THE TEST WASN'T AS LONG AS THE TESTS IN THE BOOK AND SHE WAS ABLE TO USE WHAT SHE STUDIED IN THE BOOK TO COMPLETE THE ACTUAL TEST. I GUESS THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS, IT WAS USEFUL, JUST WHAT WE WANTED. SHE THINKS SHE PASSED SO WE NOW JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.

My daughter is using this book to prepare for her CHSPE. It is well laid out and easy to follow. It presents itself in steps and makes going through the book a simple process of thirty days. If she passes it will have been worth much more than we paid for it!

I just took this test 6/21/08 and I have yet to receive my results.
I was a bit worried because older versions of barrons chspe books had bad reviews but I decided to purchase this guide anyway. Besides the book not noting that there is calculators allowed for the test now, I think it is very helpful and built my confidence before taking the actual exam. It had a bunch of practice questions, a self assesment exam [to see what area I needed work on] and 2 model tests (which in my opinion, after taking this test, are very much like the actual exam.) It has tips on how to write an essay in 30 min. and provides details on what they are lookin for in your essay. When I purchased this book I only had a month left until I had to take the exam, so it was perfect because you can cover this book in that amount of time. I'm pretty confident that I will receive my results and will have passed. :] So, yes I would probably recommend this book to people looking for a detailed guide on what to expect on the chspe.

This is a new book in Dr. Toy's case files series. It is the best book I read to help me prepare for the surgery shelf exam (better than NMS, Surgical Recall, First Aid, etc.) It contains 55 cases that cover the most commonly encountered problems students will see on the surgery shelf exam and in clinical practice. It covers definitions, diagnosis, and management of disease. Most importantly, this book teaches students how to think about and answer correctly questions on the exam, especially the many questions that ask, "What is the next step in management?" Format makes book easy and fun to read, great for reading a couple of cases even when students are very tired from the long hours of a surgery rotation.

This book is FABULOUS! It's well-organized, has the right amount of detail, and is extremely high yield in terms of learning & for the shelf. I bought 5 over-priced, yet useless surgery books before I found this one. After reading the reviews here, I decided to get it. I never write reviews, but let me tell you, after using this book, I had to come in here & comment...it was that good!!!!

For the new third year students out there, you'll be inundated with study materials to help you prepare for wards and shelf exams. But the way you learn and the way you are tested is totally different now. You are expected to learn independently and apply that knowledge on wards and on tests (shelf exams will ask what to do to manage patients or the next step in treatment)

This is where Case Files comes in. For the first half of the year, I used other texts that presented the information in a standard textbook way. While they were easy to read, I often forgot most of the salient points about each disease. It was extremely frustrating for me to waste so much time. But Case Files is different. Each book in the series presents 50-60 clinical scenarios that you'll see not only on wards, but also on your shelf exams and step 2 CK.

Each case is presented the same. First you read the scenario, then it asks you a couple of overview questions about things like diagnosis, treatment, and initial management. Then background information is present. First, there is an analysis section where key terms are defined, background info is presents, clinical considerations and management issues are addressed; it's like what you get in other texts but it applies to a real (albeit simulated) patient. Then questions are presented at the end to reinforce what you just read. One of my favorite things is that clnical pearls are summarized at the end of each case (these are great to review the day before a test).

The Surgery book in the series was no different. Having just taken the shelf exam, I feel like this book did a great job of covering the majority of the material with very little prep time because the book is easy to read and the information sticks in your head. Other books are frustrating in that they are boring and take too much of your precious time to have such a low yield. I kept wanting something better, and I found it with the Case Files series. With a minimal amount of outside reading, you'll be surprised with how fast you'll go through this book, remember important facts about your patients, impress your attendings, and see great shelf exam scores (I know mine went up)

Wow! We love this book even though we are not preparing for the MRCP! The book is completely up-to-date, and the cases are incredibly educational and thought-provoking. If you think you know everything in Medicine, this book will prove you wrong. Incidentally, the questions are much more difficult than what you would see on the American Board of Internal Medicine. An example: Case 1.4 is a 30 year old lady with dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed 2 years ago now undergoing transplantation because of rapid deterioration. Coronary was normal on cath. She had a PHx of premature menopause 2 years ago. The surgeon made the diagnosis at surgery. What was the diagnosis?----A Cardiology Fellow, New York City.

Be warned - some of the questions are very hard - but Goldsmith provides excellent explanations to the answers. Graded marks are given for possible answers, just like in the exam, which I really liked.

This was the only membership book I kept after passing the exam. It is very well written and is a real gem.

These cases tell your simulated patient exactly what to say and do during the H&P. It is excellent for student-student practice but also if you are practicing with a patient (like my husband) who does not have a medical background. In addition, it also has really good examples of SOAP notes and detailed diagnostic and management plans following each case.

I have also used First Aid and USMLE World to study for the Step 2 CS. I found "Case-Based Simulation" to be particularly helpful for studying the musculoskeletal components of the exam. This book has very easy to understand descriptions and diagrams of the maneuvers for examining the knee, shoulder and back. It also describes the pathophysiology that may be related to each type of complaint. After practicing the exams, I now feel that I can do these exams with confidence.

I would still buy First Aid or subscribe to UW to study, but this book is very helpful as a companion or to practice with classmates.

I found this book to be very helpful, with thorough discussions of the topics. The book is designed to be used for study with other people to practice cases. I have used this book and First Aid.