Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 7th Edition [Paperback]

Kenneth V. Iserson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 627 pages
• Publisher: Galen Press, Ltd.; 7th edition (July 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883620090
• ISBN-13: 978-1883620097
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., MBA, FACEP, FAAEM, FIFEM (1949- ) born in Washington, DC, migrated to the American Southwest at his earliest opportunity. After nearly three decades as a teacher, clinician and bioethicist at The University of Arizona in Tucson, he is now Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine at The University of Arizona, Medical Director (Emeritus) of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (search & rescue), a Supervisory Physician with Arizona's Disaster Medical Assistance Team (AZ-1), and a member of the American Red Cross disaster response team.

The author of hundreds of scientific articles on emergency medicine and biomedical ethics, he has also authored numerous books. His most popular book, "Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students," is now in its 7th edition. Another, "Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies?" was cited as one of the best reference books by the New York Public Libraries. His latest book, "Improvised Medicine: Providing Care in Extreme Environments," will appear in December 2012 (McGraw-Hill).

Dr. Iserson now limits his medical practice to global and disaster medicine. In the past few years, he has practiced or taught on all seven continents, including 6 months as Lead Physician for the US Antarctic Program, and work with NGOs in rural areas of Central and South America, Zambia, Bhutan, Ghana and South Sudan. He also runs the www.REEME.arizona.edu Project that freely distributes more than 700 Spanish-language PowerPoint presentations on Emergency Medicine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Iserson vs the others, April 8, 2009

By 

medstudent for now - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 7th Edition (Paperback)

Thought I would give you pros and cons of the residency books out there. This from someone who has probably all of them. Here goes:

1) Getting into a residency (by Iserson) - Pros: detailed, comprehensive, excellent for helping you choose specialty, good section on interviewing. Cons: can be too dense, sometimes you read a chapter and wonder what should I have taken away from it, personal statement section doesn't have too much info

2) First aid for the match (by Le) - Pros: not as long as Iserson, has personal statement examples, has CV examples. Cons: interview section not as extensive, not as good if you don't know what specialty you want to go into.

3) The Successful Match (by Katta) - Pros: actual quotes from program directors on what they are looking for, stats on how you stack up compared to people who have gotten into specialty before, easy to access key info from chapters, has personal statement examples, has CV examples, gives you info on how to answer interview questions Cons: not a book to help you figure out specialty if you are undecided

4) The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty - Pros: great if you don't know what specialty you are going into, lot of info on helping you decide specialty choice. Cons: Not as good as the others on actually getting you into a residency

Good luck!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Iserson's, December 8, 2007

By 

A. Copeland (Downers Grove, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 7th Edition (Paperback)

I bought this book thinking that I needed it to be able to apply for residency programs. I found the book, even the most recent edition, to be very outdated in terms of the matching process and what programs are looking for. I don't think much went into updating the new edition because for a few years now, the Board exams have been computerized and the book still refers to the old 2 day process and it also stated that the osteopathic residency process was not through ERAS, which it is and has been for the last few years also. Another very minute example: the book recommends that women should only wear a skirt suit to interviews. I know women who have, but it is just as common if not more so to wear pants-the author must be a dinosaur to think that women have to wear a skirt in order to appear professional. I know these are not the most important things when applying but I feel that they are a good gage on the quality of the rest of the information provided.

I also wanted information on what to include in my personal statement but the most I got out of this book was 1 paragraph stating that medical school students put more stress on this aspect of their application than is necessary-not helpful. In the end, now that my interviews are over, I realize that this book is useless for applying to residency programs. There is much more current and apropos information on the internet or through your school's administration. Luckily, I was able to return it for a full refund.

Don't get suckered into spending another $50 on useless books in med school just because they say you need it!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information, but I couldn't stand reading it., October 27, 2009

By 

George Wang (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 7th Edition (Paperback)

There is a lot of good numerical information and details about where to find more information, but the book sounds like it was written by the Queen Bee of the gunner hive. Here is a quote:

"Extend your hand to the other person with the thumb up and out. Make sure that the web between your thumb and index finger meets the other person's web. Try to shake hands from the elbow, not the shoulder or wrist. It is also desirable to have reasonably dry hands."

If you can stand all the nagging "should haves" and "oughts" and "absolutely critical that you do this," then it's worthwhile to flip through and read the important bits. Just don't let it raise your blood pressure too much.