Book cover of How to Be a Truly Excellent Junior Medical Student

How to Be a Truly Excellent Junior Medical Student

by Robert J. Lederman

Publisher: Jones & Barlett Learning
Paperback
ISBN: 9781882742127

Synopsis of How to Be a Truly Excellent Junior Medical Student

This is the essential guide for the third-year medical student newly embarking upon ward rotations! It's a strange new world out there, and this masterful handbook guides these oft-unprepared students through the maze of stressful duties and bizarre expectations that will be thrust upon them! How to be a Truly Excellent Junior Medical Student, Sixth Edition is written with cleverness, insight and wit, and is designed to give students the perspective they need to gain the most from their clinical training.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Terry M. Wolpaw, MD(University Hospitals of Cleveland)
Description:This pocket-sized guidebook, written to help third year medical students get off to a good start as they begin their clinical rotations, is full of practical advice and step-by-step guidelines for the tasks and expectations that arise in the hospital. A direct, common-sense approach is used to discuss a range of topics, spanning the most anxiety-laden, such as night call, to the most pragmatic, such as writing progress notes.
Purpose:This book tries to decrease the fear and disorientation of third year medical students as they leave the comfort of the classroom and enter the unfamiliar environment of the hospital. The author hopes that the guidelines in his book will lessen the period of anxiety and frustration for new student clerks and allow them to relax, use common sense, and function effectively on the wards. This book meets an important need for medical students, targeting the first months of clinical training when students feel inadequate and frustrated by how much they have to learn. It guides students well through those early months of clinical rotations by offering step-by-step instructions for acquiring new skills.
Audience:The audience for this how-to book is medical students about to begin core clerkships. The author clearly focuses on his audience and provides information appropriate for that group. The content is a combination of lessons learned from experiences as a student and insights derived from later experiences as a teacher.
Features:The book walks students through their first days and weeks in the hospital. It begins by orienting the student to how a hospital works, identifying the diverse members of the healthcare team, and instilling a sense of appreciation for the contribution each individual offers to patient care. Once oriented, the student needs to learn the daily routine and get organized. Step-by-step instructions are given for reviewing charts, writing orders, completing a thorough diagnostic evaluation and admission notes, and following a patient?s course with daily progress notes. Sample notes are particularly helpful ways to visualize what the author is explaining. The approach is based on the traditional written chart. Variations and modifications taking into account electronic information systems are not addressed. A substantial portion of the book is devoted to instructions about common procedures such as drawing blood, doing an electrocardiogram, or inserting a nasogastric tube. The author provides itemized instructions, mixed with practical tips drawn from experience. The few figures in the book are in the procedures section and add a great deal to one?s understanding of the written instructions. An illustration of EKG lead placement and landmarks for performing a lumbar puncture would be welcome additions. The final portion of the book is a resource section. Index cards and master sheets are discussed as ways to organize data. Figures showing examples would be useful. The guidelines for presenting new patients to residents and attendings are right on target, including suggested length of presentations. The main shortcoming of the book is the section titled "Essential Reading List" because there is no mention of computer or PDA-accessed material. This diverse and growing source of information has become an essential resource for timely, evidence-based study, and needs to be included.
Assessment:As a clerkship director, I am acutely aware how vulnerable students are as they walk into their first hospital rotation. This book provides a quick, practical resource book that fits in the pocket of their white coats. It turns the fearful unknown of the inpatient rotation into accessible advice and step-by-step explanations. I found it comforting to read because so much of the book is exactly reminiscent of my experiences 15 years ago. Therein lies the strength and weakness of the book. Though the basics of inpatient medicine may remain unchanged, the resources available to third year medical students have changed enormously. This book meets an important need for medical students, but would make an even more significant contribution if it were set in the hospital environment of today, enriched by information technology.

About the Author, Robert J. Lederman

Lederman, Robert J., MD

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