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Ref:
Gupta, A. Internal Medicine Medical Student, Pearls Of Wisdom, USMLE Parts II & III Board Review by Michael Zevitz, Scott H. Plantz, Jonathan Adler, Boston Medical Publishing Corporation (Book Review).
Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Book Reviews, 2011; Vol. 10, No. 1 (January - June 2011): ; Published January 1, 2011, (Accessed:
Email Dr. Anshul Gupta by clicking here
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Internal Medicine Medical Student, Pearls Of Wisdom, USMLE Parts II & III Board Review, 1st Edition by Michael Zevitz, Scott H. Plantz, Jonathan Adler, Softcover, 10.7” x 8.4” x 0.8”.
Boston Medical Publishing Corporation, 237 S. 70th street, suite 206, Lincoln, NE, 68510. 888-MBOARDS(626-2737), 402-484-6118, fax: 402-484-6552 E-mail: bmp@emedicine.com. Publication Date 1998. 344 pages, ISBN-10: 1890369217, ISBN-13: 978-1890369217. Price $52.95
Amazon Link: Click here to visit
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This book is written by Michael Zevitz, Scott H. Plantz , both working as assistant professors in Chicago medical school and Jonathan Adler, instructor of medicine Harvard medical school along with a number of contributing authors.
My initial (and inaccurate) assumption was that the book would present a series of question-answers comprehensively covering different systems of internal medicine.
In fact, turning through its pages I realized that the authors have intelligently tried to bring out the facts that the reader may be familiar with but finds difficult to recall, in a simple Q&A manner, avoiding any information overload. Therefore the text in the chapters is brief and the focus seems to be on the breadth of information rather than real depth.
Every section of the book begins with few basic questions about the topic, like “WHAT ORGANISM CAUSES AMOEBIC LIVER ABCESS ?” and gradually progresses with questions with increasing application of knowledge.
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A notable feature of this book which impressed me is the presence of questions of the type “WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF…….. ?”. More than decent space has been given to such questions in the book , which also happen to be a significant proportions of those asked in the USMLE steps.
As a student I often find it difficult to deal with questions based on clinical cases with long histories. Authors have kept this in mind and have incorporated number of such questions in all the sections, which provide sufficient exposure to the students before the exams.
The book begins with cardiology section. The questions range from simple ones like ‘What is true aortic aneurysm’ to the ‘clinical history’ based questions which are frequently asked in USMLE steps covering the entire spectrum of topics.
The book takes care of all the subspecialties of internal medicine, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurology, infectious diseases, rheumatology, Genitourinary, dermatology and hematology sections.
The sections on geriatrics and critical care deserve a special mention.
 ...Authors have also included a section on ‘clinical pharmacology and toxicology’ making it useful for those appearing for USMLE STEP1 too. Like other sections this one also includes simple questions like ‘WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR CYANIDE OVERDOSE’ but credit goes to the authors for also incorporating brain teasers like ‘CAN SOLVENT ABUSERS BE SCARED TO DEATH?’ making the book interesting to read... |
Authors have also included a section on ‘clinical pharmacology and toxicology’ making it useful for those appearing for USMLE STEP1 too. Like other sections this one also includes simple questions like ‘WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR CYANIDE OVERDOSE’ but credit goes to the authors for also incorporating brain teasers like ‘CAN SOLVENT ABUSERS BE SCARED TO DEATH?’ making the book interesting to read.
The book rightly concludes with random pearls covering miscellaneous questions from all the topics.
The ultimate question that has to be answered at the end of a book review is whether the reviewer would buy the book. The answer in this case is an unequivocal yes.
I think that any serious USMLE aspirant would find this book extremely useful. Though the book is not a substitute for textbook, it will definitely be a great aid for students, be it for quick revision of the subject or for self evaluation.
Final professional students, if they have money to spare would well be advised to add this to their shopping list.
I am disappointed about the lack of diagrams or flowcharts within the book making it a bit monotonous and expect the authors to address this in subsequent editions, but this is really a minor complaint when taking the book as a whole.
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-Anshul Gupta Anshul Gupta is an M.B.B.S. Student (2006 batch) in Maulana Azad Medical College. An excellent academician, he holds interest in other areas too, including dancing and travelling. He is adept at various forms of social dancing including salsa, chacha and jive. He has been closely associated with various curricular and co-curricular activities and functions of college alumni organization ‘MAMCOS’. He can be contacted at anshul_dr@yahoo.co.in, and by telephone at 9871599871. |
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