Step-Up to Medicine (Step-Up Series)

This book is incredible. A great resource of Internal Medicine student boards. This book is easy to read and yet supplies the critical info you need. If you used this book along with pocket medicine (everyone has it in their pockets) you would DOMINATE the med rotation.

Step-Up Medicine is, by far, the single most useful book I've had in my entire 3rd year clerkship. Not only is it complete and almost comprehensive, but it's also very high yield and concisely written. I've never been a fan of the First Aid series for the clerkship rotations, because while both texts share the bullet-point style, FA is really just a random list of factoids... and that's not the way you learn medicine (or use it on the wards or take the shelf exam). In comparison, Step-Up is easy to read because it's written in prose, organized well, and goes over the relevant pathophysiology just enough so that the knowledge sticks in your head (whereas FA is very lacking in that last aspect). The Quick Hit blurbs on the side are great; it's actually useful info, instead of some elusive epidemiologic percentage or numbers that no one cares about anyway. For example, one of the Quick Hits states: "Ultrasound detects the common bild duct only 50% of the time," which corresponds to the section on the management of choledocholethiasis... if you can only see the CBD half the time, it would make no sense to use it to detect choledocholithiasis. And that's how you learn that ERCP is the preferred mode for detecting the condition (and US is preferred for cholelithiasis). The Quick Hits even include some pretty recent research therapies... I recall one quoting the GUSTO trial, which proved that tPA and heparin is better than streptokinase and heparin in reperfusion post-MI.

The management sections for each condition presented is very succinct and clearly written. There are certain things that are outdated, but it's not enough to prevent a prospective M3 from picking up this book; one instance, the book still refers to Non-Q Wave and Q-Wave MIs. Overall, diagnosis and treatment are presented in a very logical way, which you would need to know during rounds. Lots of black/white photographs and a special section with colored photos complete this excellent resource.

I used this book as a primary source for studying, which I would recommend; it's much more high yield and quick to read than Cecil's (which nobody can finish anyway). On occasion, I did go to some primary sources, Up to Date, and (my beloved) BRS Pathology review book. This is also a great book to bring to the wards... if I knew I was picking up a cirrhotic patient, I would take 5-10min and just quickly read through the section on cirrhosis. By the time I went to see the patient, I already know the most important exams to perform, the labs to order, most common features of the disease, and the preferred modes of treatment. This not only helps you to remember the material, but it also makes you look smart in front of the resident and attending (which is always a good thing).

All in all, there are lots of other books you can use for the medicine rotation. But you won't find anything better than this one.

This book gives you all what you need to know in a simle organized pack without a lot of paragraphs to read.

I bought this book based on reviews I found here, since I'm planning to take Step 2 soon. It is very well organized and has excellent pearls throughout the text. I definitely think it's much better than the Blueprints in Internal Medicine (however other books in the Blueprints series are very good). Definitely a must have.

Fantanstic outline review for medicine clerkship and shelf exam. Very complete text that can be used as a primary source, yet not so thick as to take too long to read. Some guidelines in the book are outdated, but on the whole the book is great.