Iserson's Getting into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, Sixth Edition [Paperback]

Kenneth V. Iserson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1883620309 | ISBN-13: 978-1883620301 | Publication Date: March 2003 | Edition: 6th

Univ. of Arizona, Tucson. Step-by-step guide through the process of selecting a medical specialty and obtaining a residency position. Provides information about the different medical specialties, including the difficulty of obtaining a position and the number of available slots. Previous edition: c2000. Softcover. DNLM: Internship and Residency--United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Galen Pr Ltd; 6th edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883620309
• ISBN-13: 978-1883620301
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #693,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts from a 4th year, soon to be intern, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

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

Having just gone through the residency application/match process, I'd like to offer some of my thoughts on the keys to matching successfully with the residency program of your choice. At my medical school, we have a committee that is responsible for providing our students with the guidance needed to match successfully. This year, I had the opportunity to participate on the committee. The other members include several residency program directors, deans, and clerkship directors.

We all agreed that there are no books that can take the place of a good advisor. The right advisor can make all the difference in the world. However, few students would feel comfortable relying solely on an advisor and therefore, most students buy one or more books to help them. Iserson's Getting into a Residency is one such book our committee recommends. This is a book that is now in its sixth edition and has a lot of information essential to the residency application process. In our opinion, every student should buy this book on Day # 1 of medical school because it offers useful advice for years 1,2,3, and 4.

There are several other books that also deserve mention. One is First Aid for the Match by Vikas Bhushan, which is one of the books in the popular First Aid Series. Our committee did not find it as useful but its strengths are the CV and personal statement examples it provides. Another book that we recommend is The Residency Match: 101 Biggest Mistakes And How To Avoid Them by Samir Desai. This book is unlike the other two in that its focus is on the mistakes students make, which are not addressed in the other sources. This book was not available when I applied but had it been, it would have been very useful to me. I can recall making some of these mistakes and I can tell you that it's easy to fall into these traps.

I hope that I have been helpful. Good luck to all of you in your efforts to match with your desired residency program.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative. Very much., February 5, 2004

By 

Paul Kim "Med Student" (Los Angeles, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Being a second year, this book is a God-send. I should have gotten it last year. Now I really feel that I have insight into the things that I need to be a really competitive candidate. Whenever I asked my preceptors and mentors what I should do, I would receive really vague answers and was often told to not worry about doing research and all of the other things that everyone else was doing. I also feel that after reading the book, I have a much better understanding of the fellowships and residencies, as well as how to schedule my rotations for my third and fourth years.

Very comprehensive. Even has instructions on how you should pack when going for interviews. Compared to the high cost of a medical education, the money you pay for this great resource is a drop in the bucket with tremendous benefit. Really.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IMG, intern in FP residency, September 8, 2003

By A Customer

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

Being an IMG, I had to learn the completely different approach of getting into residency than that is in my country. Though not one book is ever going to tell you all the tiny details of that process, I have to admit that this book was my bible during the whole interview season. It's very good in revealing the mechanics, timelines, expectations and requirements as well as things like how to look for the interviews, what to tell and ask and what not to. It's better to buy and read early, since it helps to understand how to build solid resume which in turn takes some time to do. I bought it in August - right before interview season, and it still helped me a lot. I highly recommend it for everybody, especially for medical students, who are thinking about specialty choice - it gives statistics and insights into different specialties from different perspectives.