5.5) What are the "must have" textbooks?
Description
This article is from the Medical Education FAQ, by eric@wilkinson.com (Eric P. Wilkinson, M.D.)with numerous contributions by others.
5.5) What are the "must have" textbooks?
The only absolutely essential, "must have" textbook is the "Atlas of
Human Anatomy," by Frank H. Netter, M.D. (now in its 2nd edition).
Beyond that, your textbook purchases should reflect:
a) the recommended texts of your school - not all texts cover the
same subjects to the same depth, and you might miss out on a
professor's pet area that he loves to test heavily because it's so
insignificant that a different book barely touches on it (thus a
gentle reminder to try to learn what your professors consider
themselves to be experts in, because those things will always be on
the tests). Also, remember that your required texts will all be on
reserve in the library (usually in multiple copies) - so if you
really feel you need to read one chapter, you can always just borrow
the library copy and read it.
b) the course materials given out in each class - some classes
feature thick, comprehensive syllabi that cover each lecture
specifically and that make the purchase of an outside textbook
pointless. And some schools have note-taking services that "can"
lectures - basically giving you a typed transcription of the entire
lecture, complete with copies of overhead materials. As with the
syllabi, a good set of cans renders a textbook moot. Not all
schools allow the canning of lectures, but if they are offered you
should absolutely sign up and get them.
c) your personal study preferences - how do you study best? Some
people love to read the texts. Some people like lectures and don't
read much at all. Determine where you fall in the scheme of things
and plan your purchases accordingly. Even if a text is great
(example - the Robbins pathology text), generally the book will be
dry reading and very long, and if you are not the kind of person who
learns well from books like that, then your money is better spent
elsewhere.
Continue to:
My Books
