Pediatrics for Medical Students

Rating:
Summary: Nicely done! Very Detailed, good reference!
Review: This is the 2nd Edition of this book, released in
2003, by Drs Bernstein and Shelov which tries to make
a case to become your primary Pediatrics text for both
core clerkships and subIs. Also makes a good reference
text for the USMLE exams, or shelf tests.
The book is a hefty one, with over 600 pages, divided
into 25 chapters. The chapters are logically broken
down into 2 large subgroups: General Pediatric
Practice, and Pediatric Subspecialties.

The General Practice section begins from birth,
essentially the approach to the newborn infant,
progresses thru health maintenance visits, adolescent
medicine, then off to other general peds issues. Also,
this book includes chapters on socioeconomics/culture,
as well as ethical issues, and managed care issues.
This is a welcome addition to any general medical
text, in this era of more culturally sensitive
medicine. I don't know how applicable these last few
sections are to the USMLE or to the core clerkships,
but they make for some interesting side reading. The
managed care explanations of health care plans is
particularly relevant in the managed care world of
today?s practice.

The subspecialty chapters are very well organized, and
have a high level of detail. There is an abundance of
information in various tables, diagrams and photos.
For example in Cardiology they begin with Congenital
Heart Disease and then explain pathophysiology,
clinical history, physical exam findings, EKGs,
murmurs, cardiac dysrythmias, etc. The other chapters
include infectious diseases, neonatology, development,
genetics, endocrine, GI, hematololgy, oncology,
allergy/immunology,. Pulmonary, neurology, nephrology,
rheumatology, dermatology, trauma, Peds ICU, pediatric
surgery.

Overall, the level of detail in the text is very good.
That is the greatest strength of the book, but at the
same time, makes it a dense textbook to read. It is
much easier to read than the NMS Pediatrics text, but
probably a bit thick compared to Blueprints.
Sometimes the level of detail is beyond even a 4th
year medical student?s need to know. Things like
specific drug dosages probably could have been left
out. These can always be looked up in a Pharmacopia or
Harriet Lane. Most of the diagrams are well done, but
it would have been nice to have more diagrams to break
up the text. In addition some of the black and white
photos appeared very grainy and difficult to interpret
probably due to the resolution of the computer scanned
images. There are some great pictures of pediatric ICU
procedures, but it is unlikely that a medical student
would get to attempt things such as a central line
placement!

The book leaves no stone unturned in the specialty
areas, and really does an excellent job of breaking
down major pediatric problems. I would have
appreciated having the chapter contents at a glance,
so it would be easier to find information. The current
layout is great for reading through, but if you wanted
to quickly flip to a particular section of a say
Pulmonary problem, it might take a few minutes.
Especially valuable are the pediatrics pearls
scattered throughout really help to tie in book
smarts with clinical practice. For Example : In some
cases of bacterial pneumonia, particularly of the
Right lower lobe, significant intra-abdominal
pathology such as acute appendicitis is often the
initial presentation. These clinical pearls along
with the numerous tables of differential diagnoses,
and diagnostic evaluations were especially helpful.

They also include a free CD Rom (Windows) that
includes a number of questions in all the topic areas.
You can take quizzes by chapter, or a mixed bag, where
you can specify the number of questions you want to be
asked. The explanations are generally good, for the
answers, but sometimes without reading the answer
carefully you have a hard time figuring out which of
the multiple choice answers is correct. The CD Rom
also includes a scoring system, that gives you a
percentage correct as well as a way to review the
questions you missed. It?s a nice freebie, to get you
prepped for your clerkship exams. The questions are
well done, and at an appropriate level.

Overall, Pediatrics for Medical Students, 2nd edition
makes a great addition to any medical student's shelf.
It's not intended to be a pocket reference, or a
Nelson?s Pediatrics, and is probably just a bit more
detailed than most students need. However, it is well
written, and fits the student well. It is a much
easier read than NMS Pediatrics, and is more detail
oriented than Blueprints for Pediatrics. If you need
something quick and easy to read, Blueprints is more
than adequate for most, but if you need a more
comprehensive text and are more deeply interested in
Pediatrics, Pediatrics for Medical Students is
definitely worth your time. Visit [...]!

Rating:
Summary: Nicely done! Very Detailed, good reference!
Review: This is the 2nd Edition of this book, released in
2003, by Drs Bernstein and Shelov which tries to make
a case to become your primary Pediatrics text for both
core clerkships and subIs. Also makes a good reference
text for the USMLE exams, or shelf tests.
The book is a hefty one, with over 600 pages, divided
into 25 chapters. The chapters are logically broken
down into 2 large subgroups: General Pediatric
Practice, and Pediatric Subspecialties.

The General Practice section begins from birth,
essentially the approach to the newborn infant,
progresses thru health maintenance visits, adolescent
medicine, then off to other general peds issues. Also,
this book includes chapters on socioeconomics/culture,
as well as ethical issues, and managed care issues.
This is a welcome addition to any general medical
text, in this era of more culturally sensitive
medicine. I don't know how applicable these last few
sections are to the USMLE or to the core clerkships,
but they make for some interesting side reading. The
managed care explanations of health care plans is
particularly relevant in the managed care world of
today?s practice.

The subspecialty chapters are very well organized, and
have a high level of detail. There is an abundance of
information in various tables, diagrams and photos.
For example in Cardiology they begin with Congenital
Heart Disease and then explain pathophysiology,
clinical history, physical exam findings, EKGs,
murmurs, cardiac dysrythmias, etc. The other chapters
include infectious diseases, neonatology, development,
genetics, endocrine, GI, hematololgy, oncology,
allergy/immunology,. Pulmonary, neurology, nephrology,
rheumatology, dermatology, trauma, Peds ICU, pediatric
surgery.

Overall, the level of detail in the text is very good.
That is the greatest strength of the book, but at the
same time, makes it a dense textbook to read. It is
much easier to read than the NMS Pediatrics text, but
probably a bit thick compared to Blueprints.
Sometimes the level of detail is beyond even a 4th
year medical student?s need to know. Things like
specific drug dosages probably could have been left
out. These can always be looked up in a Pharmacopia or
Harriet Lane. Most of the diagrams are well done, but
it would have been nice to have more diagrams to break
up the text. In addition some of the black and white
photos appeared very grainy and difficult to interpret
probably due to the resolution of the computer scanned
images. There are some great pictures of pediatric ICU
procedures, but it is unlikely that a medical student
would get to attempt things such as a central line
placement!

The book leaves no stone unturned in the specialty
areas, and really does an excellent job of breaking
down major pediatric problems. I would have
appreciated having the chapter contents at a glance,
so it would be easier to find information. The current
layout is great for reading through, but if you wanted
to quickly flip to a particular section of a say
Pulmonary problem, it might take a few minutes.
Especially valuable are the pediatrics pearls
scattered throughout really help to tie in book
smarts with clinical practice. For Example : In some
cases of bacterial pneumonia, particularly of the
Right lower lobe, significant intra-abdominal
pathology such as acute appendicitis is often the
initial presentation. These clinical pearls along
with the numerous tables of differential diagnoses,
and diagnostic evaluations were especially helpful.

They also include a free CD Rom (Windows) that
includes a number of questions in all the topic areas.
You can take quizzes by chapter, or a mixed bag, where
you can specify the number of questions you want to be
asked. The explanations are generally good, for the
answers, but sometimes without reading the answer
carefully you have a hard time figuring out which of
the multiple choice answers is correct. The CD Rom
also includes a scoring system, that gives you a
percentage correct as well as a way to review the
questions you missed. It?s a nice freebie, to get you
prepped for your clerkship exams. The questions are
well done, and at an appropriate level.

Overall, Pediatrics for Medical Students, 2nd edition
makes a great addition to any medical student's shelf.
It's not intended to be a pocket reference, or a
Nelson?s Pediatrics, and is probably just a bit more
detailed than most students need. However, it is well
written, and fits the student well. It is a much
easier read than NMS Pediatrics, and is more detail
oriented than Blueprints for Pediatrics. If you need
something quick and easy to read, Blueprints is more
than adequate for most, but if you need a more
comprehensive text and are more deeply interested in
Pediatrics, Pediatrics for Medical Students is
definitely worth your time. Visit [...]!