Customer Reviews

First Aid for the Match: Insider Advice From Students and Residency Directors

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

 

 

I really liked the First Aids for USMLE 1 and USMLE 2 and found this book a much weaker cousin and very expensive for the content. There's nothing here that you can't get from JAMA or your Dean's office. The Iserson's Getting Into a Residency gives you a lot more info for about the same price. There's almost nothing to help out the IMG (who I suspect are frequent buyers) and (again) nothing for anyone with special circumstances, such as older age, second careers, disability, couples match, gay and lesbian issues, etc. Borrow a copy from the library instead.

This book is very short and has outdated information about the match process previous to the current ERAS system. The specialty overviews are also short with graphs showing the pay scales from 10 years ago. There are other books much more helpful in deciding your specialty and coaching you through the application and interview process.

The First Aid books are a pretty good series (Step 1, Step 2, Wards) until you get to this book. It is noticeably thinner than the others, and there is a reason. Too little information. There are some good points, such as the Program Evaluation Worksheets and analysis on trends in the match process on each specialty. However, I would suggest Iserson's instead of or in addition to this book.