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BOOKS TO SURVIVE MEDSCHOOL

Hi! so, uhm, I haven’t really introduce myself properly. But now I will, my name is Sarah and I’m a third year medical student in Indonesia. Personally, medschool was so daunting, but over the years i’ve figured out several books that helped me to jolt down I am currently learning. 

When I entered my second semester, I was overwhelmed by the amount of materials that I needed to understand and memorize in order to be a good doctor (solving case problems) and of course to pass my exam. I felt like studying from slides only does not help me understand the material as a whole. Yet, if I had to read books, it will be too much and I thought I would not have the time to do it. So at that particular semester, I survived by relying on my senior’s lecture notes and slides. I tried reading a chapter of Sherwood but I could not get it (lol). But over the time, I started to adapt myself for reading textbooks and BOY they help A LOT! So just remember to try and never give up in reading textbooks, and read them chunks by chunks. DO NOT try to finish a whole chapter in just one day, or else you’ll be stressed out and pissed at yourself for not being good enough. Chill guys, changes takes time :)

And actually, I’ve been wanting to post about this for quite a few time, but I haven’t had the guts to do so. SOOO HERE IT GOES:

Physiology. I can not stress how important it is to understand how your body works physiologically. Because by understanding the way it works, it will be easier for you to understand the pathophysiology behind a disease. Personally, I love Sherwood for physiology. I think it is well explained and there are always pictures that highlight the important parts of each headings. For review, I use Rapid Review Physiology. ITS SO GOOD GUYS!!!! If you have been slacking all these time and finals are near I suggest you skip Sherwood and read Rapid Review directly. But, other overachieving friends of mine also love Constanzo as it is famous for its A rating in USMLE. I have tried reading constanzo, but I’ve set my heart for Sherwood. <3 ps: I’m using the 9th edition. But if it is too expensive, just buy the previous editions, its all the same inside, they only re-design the book. For practice, BRS Physiology is a good to go. Very analytical, if you can’t do it, its okay, I can’t too most of the time HAHAHAHAHA.

Anatomy. Actually anatomy is always a daunting subject for me, I mean, I tried but its not what I’m good at I guess. For anatomy atlas, I use Netter and Yokochi. I prefer Netter to Sobotta because 1. its cheaper 2. It is less bulky (My sobotta was comprised of 3 different books and its just annoying how I need to switch book if I wanted to see other body parts) 3. it is more detailed (I feel like Sobotta was missing some names of a body part). So I would read the anatomical check list given by the faculty and I would read and try to remember each parts in Netter and practice on Yokochi. Yokochi Atlas gives a realistic picture on what would things appear in cadaver. Because what you see in atlas like Netter and Sobotta are too good to be true. No, your blood vessels are not color-coded blue and red darling like you see in atlas(es). But if you want to understand theoretically where things are located, I suggest Gray’s Anatomy for Students or Clinical Anatomy (Blackwell Publishing). They also explain about clinical abnormalities that may happen in a certain organ, so you would have a sense the purpose of learning anatomy. PS: Yokochi has their own flash card too!! Good for practice!

Histology. Yay back to one of my fave subject. I use Junquiera for histology. Although my professor liked and used Gartner a lot, I prefer junquiera as it has pictures (ofc duh) with summaries just below the picture or in a box somewhere nearby, so you don’t have to read the whole thing, but you should. I mean it would take me two or three times reading to understand what the book is talking about and things started to make sense to me. But its all okay now.

Pathology. I use Robbin’s Basic Pathology and Rapid Review Pathology. Sometimes, there is just too much information in Robbin’s Basic Pathology and most of the time, I’m running out of time, hence I’ll retreat to Rapid Review Pathology. Its a concise version of Robbin’s Basic Pathology. Just keep in mind, in order to solve a pathology case problem, you need to understand how did it happen (the pathophysiology), the signs and symptoms of each disease, the risk factors and who is at a greater risk for that particular disease.

Biochemistry. Rapid Review Biochemistry is my go to book for biochemistry. I find Marks’ and Harper’s are a bit too overwhelming. 

Embryology. The Developing Human by Keith L. Moore and Langman’s Medical Embryology are the two books I used during embryology module. I switch between these two, but I guess I liked The Developing Human by Keith L. Moore more. There is also BRS Embryology for Qbank.

Immunology. I guess by finishing the whole Abbas Basic Immunology book will help to save you during Immunology? If you are interested in immunology, you can also read Abbas Cellular and Molecular Immunology.

Internal Medicine. Harrison is hands down best internal medicine books ever. I know, I know, there are too much information and it seems a little bit daring at first, but its okay, you’ll make it through. At first, I also had a hard time understanding, but when I put my efforts and continue reading, I began to see everything clearly and I don’t even have to write things down to remember the pathophysiology behind a disease. 

Pharmacology. The two most important books are Katzung and Goodman and Gillmann. But man, they’re a bit too much information so I use Katzung & Trevor's Pharmacology Examination and Board Review instead. Its a short version of the Basic and Clinical Pharmacology by Katzung, plus there are questions at the end of each chapter to make sure that you understand what you have read previously. Sometimes, I even found a couple of the questions here during my exams.

Microbiology. I use Murray’s and Jawets for microbiology. Go for Jawets for a more concise version. There is also BRS Microbiology and Immunology for practice.

Crash Course. Crash course are a great series of books! I was sent by Elsevier the Crash Course Pharmacology and I love it! Although, its a bit too concise for a module review tho’. I guess crash course is better for those who are prepping for USMLE or UKMPPD here in Indonesia. Not to mention the small size of the book makes it easier to carry anywhere around.

I guess that is it from me, I’ll updated when I find more books in the future.

Just remember, do not give up, beginning is always the hardest.