Customer Reviews

Swanson's Family Medicine Review: Expert Consult - Online and Print, 6e

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am currently studying for my certification in Family Medicine. I started off with the Swanson 5th Edition while waiting for the 6th Edition to be released. This 6th Ed. blows the 5th Edition out of the water! There are so many great things to say about this edition that I IMMEDIATELY stopped reading the 5th Ed. Some things about the 6th Ed:

*Pertinent clinical cases, relevant EVIDENCE BASED material, current and reliable sources, easy to read format and explanations:

The cases have sources from 2001 to 2006, most of them around 2003-2004. The information is so new that I am able to read from my collection of AAFP articles (2004-2008) when I need more information, and they are cited in the Suggested Reading sections. USPSTF guidelines are current, as well as current CDC guidelines. Other sources cited are mostly from Harrison, Nelson, USPSTF, New England Journal, Lancet, and other well cited authorities.

*Sections that focus on Palliative Care, Addiction Medicine, Geriatrics, Urgent Care, and the random things you get tested on but can't find anywhere to study them from.

*I am studying by using the ITE 2006-2008 and the topics are all there. Very little waste in this Edition.

*Errors: I have gone through and cross referenced other sources, and the errors of the 5th Edition are not in this edition. The only thing you will find is that the answers to the letter options (in less than 10 of the 2200 questions) would be a typo. So if you answered B, the answer would say that D is the option, but the prose would explain why B is correct. Easy to figure out even if you don't know what the right answer is since it will explain the right answer anyway.

Overall I HIGHLY recommend this book for the ITE and the Certification exam! It's a great source for review, and the suggested readings at the end of every chapter will give you more than you need to know about the topic.

-- This review book did a very good job of covering all the pertinent topics you'll face on your initial or recertification for Family Medicine. I went through the book from start to finish over 3 months, and towards the end would cover 25 pages daily (which, if you know a lot of the answers and don't need to read the explanations goes quite quickly).

-- I took my re-cert today (finished in 6 hours including a total of 60 minutes in breaks). I sat down with this book immediately after exam completion to see if I could jog my memory for test questions I was uncertain of. Many of the answers were in the book (so I somehow retained these details when I read Swanson's) and I missed only a few.

-- I have two complaints:

1. There are some sections of the book with lots of typos (ie. What system is the heart part of: a> digestive, b> pulmonary, c> circulatory - then in the answers, they'd put a> circulatory - so the right answer is there, but they'd put the wrong letter in front of it). I'd estimate this happened at least a few dozen times which is really poor editing.

2. They advertise that you can claim 89 CME credits for completing the book, but you have to pay $600 to Kaplan Medical CME to claim it - which is absolutely WAY overpriced.

Overall, though, for your board preparation it is a good book and covers all the necessary topics well (just don't try to cram it in too short a period). Good luck!

(And I did pass!)

A lot of well written questions that helped a lot in the family medicine boards.

I did not think this book lived up to its reviews. It was not an accurate reflection of questions on the exam. The explanations of the answers were not always correct and I discovered too many editorial errors.

This new edition is easy to read and is an easy reference for clinical cases as it promotes the underpinnings of the field of Family Medicine. A new section on the importance of the family in Family Medicine is superb and should be mandatory reading for all those who care for children and their families. The review book is organized around cases involving clinical conditions that involve every aspect of caring for patients of all ages. This book can serve as an excellent board review course in that it deals with contemporary clinical issues around the life-cylce perspective as well as being a great content review of clinical medicine.

I liked this book, especially the way it is written with case presentations. However, I could not believe how many errors were in this book!! Did they not have an editor? I would find myself reviewing items, and thinking to myself, "I don't think that's the correct answer". Sure enough, when I would look up the answer somewhere else, I was right...and the book was wrong! How could a MEDICAL REVIEW book have SO MANY wrong answers??? It wasn't just one or two, it was MULTIPLE errors per chapter!! I started to make a list, wanting to send the errors into the editor of the book, but never got around to it. I found myself double checking my answers elsewhere. Not good for those students who might not realize the answers are wrong! Shame on you, Swanson!

Provids good review of pertinent topics and information on FM boards. Questions are similar to true board exam. Most topics are very uptodate, but a few have become out of date already. Very little inaccuracies. Editing for this book is lacking. Questions often worded poorly, given wrong answer but right explanation, or occasionally just totally off the mark. The frequency was great enough to be frustrating when practicing.

I used the Swanson 6th edition as my only study guide to take my first recert after 7 years. I am in private practice with no hospital and no OB. Only see kids > age 5. I took one week off work prior to the exam and studied with the book 8 hours per day. Then I went to the online prep questions that you have access to by purchasing the book. I scored twice the minimum passing grade and actually got 100% on my obstetrics! Although I agree that there were some errors in the book, they were obvious. Definitely a good purchase for me.

This book was recommended to me by another Physician Assistant. I used it to study for the Physician Assistant Certification exam. The book provided very detailed information on each topic through case studies which always helps me to remember information better. I do recommend it to any PA preparing for the PANCE.

I felt the need to review general medicine, and this book gives you a good dose of it. What I like is the frequent use of tradename of drugs in conjunction with generic names. I am tired of going to cme courses where lectors are forbidden to use tradenames. Then you wonder what drugs are your patients using. In real life, you have less than 10 minutes to see a patient, and not enough time to look up every drug you run across. So you can save yourself alot of time by only reading cme's that has both generic and tradenames.

I am about 1/3 of the way through the book. It is quite current, brief and to the point. The important points are hit 2 3 or 4 times. The details of the cases are discussed well, often important points are repeated 2 or more times. Yes, there are editorial typos, but you can catch it by reading the discussion (swapping choice a for e, etc).

I am not a family doctor, but do enough volunteering that I need to keep updated in family practice. I would strongly recommend this book for physicians of all specialties to keep current with changes in medicine - and be aware of the drugs that your patients are using. I am loving this CME activity - much better than the years of medical school and the dreaded internship.

As for paying $600 for 89 credits of cme - that is a bunch of poop. One can get tonnes of cme's on medscape for free.