Customer Reviews

First Aid for the Pediatrics Clerkship

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

 

 

I am a third year medical student and just finished my Pediatrics rotation. I felt like this book hit the highlights of what was covered on the shelf exam. I wish that I would have started reading it sooner, but due to a rerouting problem I didn't get the book until about 2 weeks before the shelf exam. Like many medical books, it is not a quick read even when you have reviewed. This is not a learning book, but a review book. I used NMS as my primary source but used this to review. It does take quite awhile to get through, but the outer margins have valuable information for both clinical and testing uses. The important points are outlined in the margins and coded with symbols to let you know if it is a testing point or procedure point, etc. I though it was a valuable book though, but start it with some other primary source near the beginning of your rotation. Hope this helps!

Pros:
1. very readable outline format.
2. covers a lot of pediatric issues and diseases.
3. more integrated mini-cases were added to this edition.
4. silly looking sketches inside the book were replaced with more professional drawings, and the cover looks prettier now with the picture of smiling freckly girl on it. :)

Cons:
1. sometimes too simplistic and superficial. hematology is especially weak - Diamond-Blackfan Anemia is mentioned only as a differential diagnosis for Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood, and Fanconi's Anemia - only as something which should be distinguished from Fanconi Syndrome. treatment issues need much more detailed discussions - for example, no mention that treatment for tuberculosis follows 2 months + 4 months guideline (though its more 'advanced' sibling 'First Aid for the Pediatric Boards', 1st ed., doesn't provide any info about tuberculosis at all, except for PPD interpretation).
2. some typos or factual errors:
on page 450 says that stage 4 of Neuroblastoma is 'self-limited with good prognosis'. that's wrong - stage 4 is the most advanced and incurable stage. it's stage 4S which is 'self-limited with good prognosis'. so, they somehow managed to lose this important 'S' between previous and current editions.
on page 559 under the heading 'Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder' gives definitions for obsessions and compulsions, and then goes on to describe diagnosis, signs and symptoms, and treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, never mentioning the name 'Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder' itself. so, you're getting a nice mix of these classically confused psychiatric disorders.
3. there are some redundant repetitions - for example, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is covered twice, in different chapters; the same about Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.
4. needs more illustrations.

this book has good information and is helpful for a systems based approach, and would be good if you want a more in-depth look at peds. i found the clinical blurbs in the margins particularly useful

I bought this for my peds clerkship - it was recommended by the MS4s. There was no way I could have read this book! It was way, way, way too long. I ended up reading the intro (well done, I know), and then using pre-test and 1/2 of casefiles. I did fine on the shelf. But if you're really interested in pediatrics, well, why not buy this for some light bedside reading? It is typical First Aid style.

This book is an incredibly awesome asset to third year medical students. It goes from the ground up and really gives the high yield details needed to do well on exams. This is one of the best books in the first aid series because it explains things so much better than the other books in the series. It also has a lot of intangables to really shine on your rotation. For example, a basic review on echocardigrams is included in the cardio chapter, PALS is reviewed at the end of the book, and practical points on routine health and supervision are included. It coveres just about every topic that you'll encounter on pediatrics and is managable to get through. Don't let the 500 pages intimidate you. The first aid format is notorious for an outline form, diagrams, and pictures. It's really not that hard to get through. The high yield notes in the margins are A+. They aren't stupid/often useless details that Step up to Medicine often adds (great book but often bad margin notes). They are almost all good tid-bits to answer questions. Grab this book and tear up your miniboard and Step 2.

Helpful book to carry around / write notes in on the ward. I would recommend BRS Peds over this one though.

The book was a good reference, but its bulky size makes it impractical for carrying around the hospital. I used it mainly to quickly look something up when reading from Blueprints at home. If you get the time to review it before the shelf, like they recommend, I'm sure it would be more useful. Practically, that is unlikely to happen.

My order was for a new First Aid for the Pediatric Clerkship, and that is exactly what I received. I was very satisfied with my purchase.