First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship, Second Edition

4 STAR DOODY'S REVIEW

"This is probably the best overall review book for medical students doing a psychiatry rotation. Its organization and thoroughness are unsurpassed, putting it above similar review books. Students who thoroughly read this book should have no trouble successfully completing their psychiatry clerkship and passing the shelf exam. As course director for the core psychiatry clerkship at my institution, I will recommend this book to students."—Doody's Review Service

This is a study guide for students about to take their psychiatry clerkship shelf exams. The guide provides review information on the major forms of psychiatric disorders, as well as chapters on examination and diagnosis, psychotherapies, psychopharmacology, and legal issues in psychiatry. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:William Miles, MD(Rush University Medical Center)
Description:This softcover book is a "survival guide" for medical students doing their psychiatry clerkship. This is the second edition; the first edition was published in 2003.
Purpose:The purpose is to prepare medical students to successfully complete their psychiatry rotation and to prepare them for the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) shelf exam. The authors succeed in meeting these purposes.
Audience:The book is targeted specifically to medical students who are currently on their psychiatry rotation, but it might also be useful for students who wish to review psychiatry for the USMLE.
Features:This well-organized, thorough review book covers practically any and every topic a medical student may need to know to successfully navigate through a psychiatry clerkship. The book is divided into sections, with each section dealing with a psychiatric topic (e.g. mood disorders, somatoform disorders). Each section has clinical cases, definitions of key terms, clinical pearls, and USMLE-style review questions. DSM-IV criteria for each disorder are included. This edition has pocket-sized tear out cards with essential ward information, which students should find very useful. The last section is a "classified" section, providing things such as membership information for psychiatry-related societies and pertinent web-site addresses. An index is found at the back.
Assessment:This is probably the best overall review book for medical students doing a psychiatry rotation. Its organization and thoroughness are unsurpassed, putting it above similarreview books. Students who thoroughly read this book should have no trouble successfully completing their psychiatry clerkship and passing the shelf exam. As course director for the core psychiatry clerkship at my institution, I will recommend this book to students.

Latha G. Stead, MD, MS, FACEP is Chief, Division of Clinical Research and Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine at Gainesville. She is also Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (Rochester, MN) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Matthew S. Kaufman, MD

Resident

Department of Internal Medicine

Long Island Jewish Medical Center

New York