General stuff/Step 2 prep stuff
Unfortunately, I didn’t really like the review books I chose for reviewing for Step 2, and by the time
I realized I didn’t like them it was a little too late to get something else. But I figured I’d tell you about them anyway in case you wanted to avoid them, or maybe you will like them better. I did not try First Aid for the Boards, which I heard was great, so you might want to look into that. The question banks (Kaplan and UWorld), though, were indispensable.
First Aid for the Wards – Don’t waste your money on this. It doesn’t cover anything you won’t see in a rotation-specific book like the ones I listed above.
Crush Step 2 – I bought this because it got excellent reviews as a Step 2 study tool. But, I didn’t find it nearly detailed enough for use during the clerkships or for Step 2.
Kaplan Step 2 CK – This is a paperback with several tests on internal medicine and two each on the other clerkships (except Family). The difficulty is pretty representative of the shelf exams.
USMLE World – I got a 6-month online subscription about halfway into third year, which was very helpful. I like it because of the ability to zero in on the organ system you’re studying, and review all the questions you’ve missed. If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten it for the whole year. And it’s an absolute must for surgery!
Internal Medicine
Step Up to Medicine – This is my favorite book from the entire year. It gives you concise but detailed info on pretty much every disease you’ll ever be expected to know. I used it again for
Family Medicine, and reviewed the whole thing for the boards. If you took my advice on one thing on this list, buy Step Up!
Case Files Internal Medicine – Really not all that helpful for me, unlike the Ob-Gyn version, because it did not go into enough detail. The questions at the end of the chapters only assess whether or not you had your eyes open while reading them. You can’t expect to use this as your sole source of information, though it is a quick read if you’re tired and you need something lighter.
USMLE World for questions
Pediatrics
Blueprints Pediatrics – This was a great book, because it’s a quick read and really hits all the high points. Sometimes it can be a little too brief though, and it often doesn’t go much into pathophysiology, which always helps me remember things more. So if there’s something you’re not clear on, be sure to consult the textbook. Also, the cardiology section is very confusing and not worth taking the time required to decipher it ~ I would look somewhere else for that.
NMS Pediatrics – I bought this book because I’m probably going into peds and I wanted a more detailed review. It does a better job of explaining the physiology of some of the neonatal diseases, and the congenital heart disease section is helpful. But it’s also a little long (though not a difficult read).
CLIPP Cases – This is not a book; it consists of cases online, which you will be tested on each week. They’re very time-consuming and tedious. Do what you need to get to the end and study just the summaries. Some of the weird cases are covered on the shelf, except you might have to look elsewhere to learn about them in a better format.

PreTest Pediatrics – This was a big help for me. Made sure I hit the weird topics like nutrition and metabolic disorders. Do the whole thing if you can.
If your inpatient experience was like mine, you will have a lot of downtime, so carry around a book to study from. Use those two weeks to really study hard since you will be much busier on outpatient.
Ob-Gyn
Berek and Novak – This is the recommended text, available online. It was alright, but for some reason I never really felt like I learned much from it. It didn’t really put things into a useful clinical context.
Case Files for Ob-Gyn – My favorite resource. Far more helpful than the text.
While you’re on Ob-Gyn, always be prepared to catch a baby at moment’s notice. Figure out how to put on a mask and shoe covers while racing down the hall. And try not to shoot yourself over the OB packet (don’t worry, you’ll learn all about it ~ hopefully they make some improvements for your class).
They’ll also give you a link to some practice questions, which actually were very helpful.
Surgery
NMS Surgery Casebook – Very high yield. I found it impossible to keep up with the textbook readings and so I focused mostly on this book, which is a pretty easy read. It is very helpful for diagnosis and next step in management type questions, which is what makes up most of the shelf. It is a little skimpy on details sometimes, in which case I supplemented with the textbook.
(Make sure you get the NMS Casebook , because there’s another version out there that’s more like a textbook.)
Pestana’s Notes – Really brief review in short vignette format. There are copies of it that have been e-mailed around (let me know if you don’t have it and I’ll find it for you). Read it the day or two before the shelf.
USMLE World – Perhaps a bit ortho heavy. Pay lots of attention to the trauma questions. Use the timed test option, because time is a big issue for this exam. The question stems are very long, so read the last sentence first to see if they are after dx, tx, or whatever. Do the last couple of pages first when you get to the shelf.
This rotation requires a paper, which I would recommend doing during the first half of the rotation because you will be a zombie by the end. The topic will have to be a “controversy in surgery,” so ask your attending for some advice on what to do an d they’ll have tons of ideas. And practice your suture technique! Be a gunner and volunteer for everything. Never ever ever pass up a procedure. Intubate as many people as you can. And be nice to the nursing staff, even when they’re cranky, and they will love you.
Psychiatry
Kaplan and Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry – This is the recommended textbook for the course, and you can access it online. I read pretty much the whole thing (but I was a psych major in undergrad, so it was already review). But in case you don’t have time to do that, the case

studies scattered throughout the chapters are well worth looking at ~ they will help you get the
“gestalt” of what each type of pt looks like. There are also some excellent tables.
First Aid for Psychiatry – this book is very consistent with the textbook and hits all the main points. It also has some excellent pearls, and briefly lists the DSM criteria You could probably get away with never looking at the textbook as long as you know this book inside and out. And it’s short!
Desk Reference to the DSM-IV-TR – This has all the DSM criteria in an abbreviated format. Get it in the spiral bound version and carry it with you on the wards. You have to know this like the back of your hand for the shelf. (Make sure you get the desk reference, not the handbook… there’s a few out there and the look pretty similar.)
Appleton and Lange Psychiatry – This is a book of practice questions. Has some excellent sections on adult and child psychopathology, and on treatment. There are two practice tests at the end. You can probably ignore the section on psychological testing.
USMLE World – this was also pretty representative of the shelf.
This was a pretty easy rotation as far as the hours. Take a breather, but don’t forget this is supposed to be one of the harder shelf exams. They like to nitpick about the DSM criteria, especially based on how long the patient has had the illness or how old the patient is. Go back and review your year 2 psychiatry notes.
Family Medicine
I had IM, OB-GYN and Peds before family, so I just used my books from those rotations. I’m not sure if there is a better Family Medicine resource if you haven’t had those yet, but I hear Case
Files for Family Medicine is good.
If you haven’t had internal already, I would still go and do all of Step Up to Medicine. Especially focus on the ambulatory medicine section, which will really help you in the office. The shelf has far more medicine than OnGyn or Peds, but don’t forget about them! :)
USMLE World will be very helpful because you can do practice tests with all three subjects combined. Dr. Bernardo will also give you a question book which is helpful, but I used a lot
UWorld more and still did well on the shelf.
Good luck, and have a great year!
~Mary