Customer Reviews

Blueprints in Pediatrics

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Blueprints" is a terrific book for medical student use during a basic or advanced rotation in pediatrics, written by Pediatric residents at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Although it's certainly not exhaustive, the book provides a brief (usually 2-3 pages) discussion of a disease, its presentation, the differential diagnosis, and its treatment. The text is often in easy-to-skim bullet format, with illustrative tables/x-rays accompanying it. I read this book as I went through my rotation, and then when the test came along, it was a nice one-day review--I'm saving it for the USMLE step 2!

This book helped me score well on the Step 2 exam; I did particularly well on the peds section and I'm not going into that specialty! The book has too much detail in some chapters, but overall it's an excellent review. It goes well with the other blueprints books, particularly medicine and surgery. Ironically, this book helped me understand many adult diseases too! Well worth a buy.

Blueprints in Pediatrics is definitely a quick read. Good for preparing brief presentations and boning up on important topics. However, it is NOT a good prep for the boards. Much too basic. However, I recommend carrying it around for reading when you have breaks throughout the day while on your Pediatrics rotation.

I think this book is good for a quick review during the Pediatric rotation, but not advisable for USMLE preparation. While this book covers the important diseases, the points that it emphasizes does not reflect the content of the exam. Even if you have learned everything this book presents, you still cannot answer many exam questions in the area. On the other hand, it does give you the big picture, so it would be good for a quick general review.