So here you are! You’ve conquered
your first two medical school years of boring lectures and impossible tests!
Now you are entering the world of long hours of scut monkey servitude but the
good news is you are seeing patients! But not so fast there buddy…you don’t
know the first thing about actually treating patients yet do ya? That’s
alright because Richie’s got your back with the best books for getting you thru
your 3rd year rotations! 
Awesome! How do I know
these books are good? Well I’ve gotten straight A’s and some stellar feedback
on my 3rd year rotations. I could not have done it without these books.
Used or New?
My personal recommendation is that
you order your books through Amazon.com since you can buy books both used or
new. I prefer some books to be new since they are guaranteed to not have
writing and highlighting in them. However, I’ve bought many a used book off of
amazon and have not been disappointed yet! As such all links to books will
be thru amazon.com. Just click the blue links to goto the particular book.
Be sure to look for used copies at the top. You could buy these books from your
school’s bookstore but you’re gonna pay top dollar every time. So with that
said here is a picture of my bookshelf!
General Clinical Rotation Books (Read:
Mandatory)
Welcome to the wards my fellow white
coated soldier! You are going to need some books to teach you the ropes and
prepare you for your USMLE or COMLEX step II.
Clinician’s Pocket Reference, 11/e (Scut Monkey
Manual)
So here is the famous “Scut Monkey
Manual.” This book has introductions to each service and also contains
information on how to do routine procedures, step-by-step. We are talking
starting central lines to managing a ventilator! It even has a pharmacology
reference in the back. This is a great manual to keep in your coat pocket on
rounds. It gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
Boards and Wards: A Review for USMLE Steps
2&3: A Practical Guide (Boards and Wards Series)
This book is awesome! Clear, concise
and to the point. Contains about every specialty and gets down to the nitty
gritty. It’s chocked full of good information and neumonics to help you
memorize and synthesize. The new edition has a couple errors in the medicine
section but overall this is one heck of a book. Keep it with you so you can
learn in your downtime! 4.5 out of 5 Stars from me.
This is, hands down, my favorite
Step II book. It has everything in a question and answer format. It doesn’t
just have a laundry list of stuff, it tells you the reasoning behind every
treatment. Not only is this excellent for boards but you can really shine on
rotations when you know why you are giving the attending a
certain answer. (Many students I’ve run into have great memory for recalling
lists of buzzwords but have no clue beyond that) Some people will not like the
format and prefer the abbreviated version. Luckily, Crush Step II is by the
same author and has the same information, just in a different format. My
recommendation? Pick the book that suits your study style best. 
5 out of 5 stars!
Crush Step 2: The Ultimate USMLE Step 2 Review
Pretty much the same as USMLE Step 2
Secrets (see above entry) but in a different format. Written by the same
author! People swear by it. I like it but I enjoy the Secrets book better
because of the format. Still, people love Crush and you should by either
Secrets or Crush (but not both). 5 out of 5 stars!
Maxwell Quick Medical Reference (Pocket Edition)
If you do not own this, click the
above link and order it….NOW. It’s 8 bucks and the best 8 bucks you’ll
spend on a book. This little sprial book has your history and physical
cheatsheet, ACLS algorithms, fluid management, labs, orders template,
admissions template, mental status exam, Dermatome mapping, glasgow coma scale,
OBGYN note template, Surgery note template, and an eye visual acuity chart to
boot. And it all fits in your front breast pocket of your white coat. How many
times have I opened Maxwell’s to the H&P blue page and clip it to my
clipboard? Oh yes my friend. It is the H&P scut monkey’s best friend
indeed! 5 out of 5 stars (I’d give it 6 but you’d shoot me 
)
How to be a Truly Excellent Junior Medical Student
This book is good and explains alot
to those who have never rotated thru a hospital before. It’s only 10 bucks too.
You can always resell it when you’re done with it.
Internal Medicine
Medicine Recall
: Memorize all of your pathology here. Quick question and answer format helps
you remember what Henloch-Scholein purpura is when you get pimped by your
attending. It’s down and dirty. Excellent pocket book even if it is a little
thick…but you are a 3rd year student so you know all about having a big bulging
white coat! 5 out of 5 stars.
MKSAP 3 (Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Exam)
: Study for the shelf exams with this book. Will make your scores go up. And we
all know about having good shelf exam scores right? They make for better
rotation grades! 5 out of 5 stars.
Pocket Medicine: U Mass. General Medicine Manual)
: A bit better than the washington manual and less wordy. Some attendings
prefer you have this one. Has some figures in it and explains things a smidgen
better. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Washington Manual (32nd Edition)
: The gold standard for internal medicine rotations. It’s very verbose but it
has your back when it comes to writing your orders on your sub-internship. Alot
of attendings require that you have this book so you might as well get it if
you have to. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars for a lack of pictures and
diagrams.
General Surgery
Surgical Recall (With MP3 Audio!!!)
: CLICK NOW!!! If you do not have this book you are missing out. You know all
those horrible pimp questions you get asked? Want to know fluid management?
Want to figure out procedures? Learn to suture? It is all in here. Definitely
one of the best books I’ve ever bought period! Rocks hard! This edition even
comes with audio!!! You don’t need another surgery book unless…. 5 out of 5
stars!!
Advanced Surgical Recall
This one is meant for surgical residents but if you want more detail you can
buy this book also. Recommended only for those interested in surgery or a
surgical subspecialty. 4 out of 5 stars.
OB/GYN
OB/GYN Recall
: Yes another Recall Series book…they are great for memorizing stuff. OBGYN
Recall is no exception. Get it! 4.5 out of 5 stars.
OB/GYN Cases Blueprints Series
: The Blueprints series are a very nice introduction to the various cases
you’ll encounter. They also offer questions and answers to each case to
solidify understanding of some of the weird delivery associated scenarios. 4
out of 5 stars.
Pediatrics
Pediatrics Recall
: More Recall! It’s Pediatrics. Whereas I am not fond of the same old
repetitive pediatric medicine cases, this book has all the rare stuff too. Get
it! 4 out of 5 stars.
Blueprints: Pediatrics:
Great book! Can pass your shelf exam in Peds with this book alone. It has all
of your common cases laid out for you. I recommend reading it cover to cover
and doing all of the questions! Buy it for peds. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Family Medicine
Lange: Family Medicine
: Normally I don’t like all of the Lange books but this book is a great deal
for the money. Will take you thru your common cases and give you a foundation
to build upon for other rotations. 4 out of 5 stars
Lange: Family Medicine Case Files::
A supplement to the book mentioned
above that has all of your common, boring, run-of-the-mill outpatient medicine
cases. Great for learning your most common bugs and drugs. Still sits on my
shelf and gets read from time to time. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine Recall
: Great book, alot of overlap with the other recall series but has some pearls
in it. Plus it’s a smidgen thinner. Since you will have hardly any downtime
during ER, this is a good thing. great to open up and get a quick 2 minutes of
reading in. 4 out of 5 stars.
Emergency Medicine Case Files (Lange):
Good book with lots of cases on the common ER presentations. Easy to carry
around too!
