First Aid for the® Wards: Fourth Edition (First Aid Series) [Paperback]

Tao Le (Author), Vikas Bhushan (Author), Julia Skapik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0071597964 | ISBN-13: 978-0071597968 | Edition: 4

The perfect primer for the core clerkships written by students who excelled!

Don't begin third year medical school without reading this book! Written by students for students, this high-yield guide helps you move smoothly from the classroom to the wards. Thoroughly revised and updated, this comprehensive book explains what to expect in each required rotation and includes sample notes and reports, key facts, formulas, and protocols, and answers to "pimp questions" you will be asked on rounds.

• Student-to-student advice on everything from what to wear to how to impress the attending physician
• Know what to expect in every core rotation: medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine
• Advice on presenting cases to attendings
• How-to guides for common procedures
• High-yield facts on the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases
• Sample patient notes, clipboard and note-card patient templates
• Updated student ratings of popular clinical handbooks, reviews, and texts

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tao Le, MD, MHS, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville.

Vikas Bhushan, MD, is a practicing diagnostic radiologist based in Los Angeles, California.

Julia Skapik, MD, MPH, is a Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 556 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Medical; 4 edition (October 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071597964
• ISBN-13: 978-0071597968
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, but possibly redundant, May 1, 2008

By 

Intern Year Is Glorious (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Aid for the Wards (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewers that when it comes time for each rotation, you probably will end up turning to more focused review books in each specialty.

On the other hand, if you are disciplined enough, this is a great quick read to do before each rotation. It'd be much harder to finish Step-up or impossible to read to Washington Guide in a weekend for internal med! The hard part is motivating yourself to sit down and work during your golden weekend!

Also, I find myself frequently getting bogged down in the nitty-gritty during each rotation and forgetting to get a big picture overview. It's great to read uptodate all the time, but the shelf exams don't really care about the most recent meta-analysis on prophylactic antibiotics for pancreatitis, for example. This is a good book to give you a quick broad-picture overview and make sure you know your basics.

I decided to write this review to give the book credit b/c right now I am doing an Emed rotation without having rotated in Peds. First aid for the wards is giving me just what I need - a QUICK reference on peds. I'm probably going to re-read the surgery part to review abdominal complaints. And maybe the ObGyn part too if I have time.

So, yes, you will get this info in other books. But it is useful. It covers 7 specialties, so even if you don't read three of the sections, you're paying about 10 dollars per specialty. It's up to you if that's worth it.

Oh yeah, other nice perks that I haven't found elsewhere are their "ward tips" sections for each specialty - it tell you the general structure, what attendings expect, etc. Also, at the end it has a database of references/books. This is similar to the back part of First aid for USMLE I. I found it useful to see what other books are out there and how they are rated.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have Resource for clinical rotations!, February 1, 2007

By 

J. Lynch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Aid for the Wards (Paperback)

I love the fact that this book has just a few pages dedicated to each discipline which allows for it to be read rather quickly. It is perfect for those 10 minute periods of down time you frequently get on rotations. This book doesn't dawdle on the tiny details, but it focuses on the key points needed to succeed without leaving important information out. A must have for any 3rd or 4th year student!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good to have, September 8, 2009

By 

William Largen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Aid for the® Wards: Fourth Edition (First Aid Series) (Paperback)

best thing about it is the review of what other books to buy in the back of it. Good to read before a clerkship starts. Certaintly not even close to complete, but I felt more confident going into clerkships and the familiar format as first aid step 1.