Finally, you end up buying those little handbooks....the "Babies" hoping that there is enough information in it to help you pass. (If you haven't figured it out, the big ones are called "Papas". NO! NOT Daddies! That sounds really kinky!)
Here are some of those
Harrison's Principles of Internal MedicineDimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 3.1 inchesWeight: 8.9 pounds
2629 pages!!! I never even bought this book coz it was too big to carry home in a bus! (Poor medical student was I.....)
Bailey & Love's Short Practice of SurgeryDimensions: 11.0 x 9.0 x 2.8 inchesWeight: 10.2 pounds
1348 pages!!!! (and its a short practice???.... DOH!)
Robbins Pathologic Basis of DiseaseDimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 2.4 inchesWeight: 7.5 pounds
1552 pages of really boring stuff that will cure any insomniacs! (Queen take note!)
Ridley's Believe It or Not Trivia MCQ,
Which of the following is true?
1) One of these books was used as a murder weapon in a homicide. (Yes they are that heavy!)
2) A medical student once had to rip off a page from one of these textbooks because he tua lao sai and there were no toilet paper in the cubicle. (high quality paper ok!)
3) A student used one of these books as a pillow the night before exams and miraculously remembered every single word from the book the next day. (He still failed as he slept on Robbins but was going for his Surgical paper!)
4) If you drop all 3 books from the tower of Pisa at the same time, they will just land on your feet and fracture your toes. (Not asking you to throw killer litter lah, bodoh!)
5) Some medical students have actually read all 3 books cover to cover!
Once in a while, your seniors will be telling you that you must get the thickest and most powderful book in the universe. Don't believe them. They are evil salesman trying to sell you their unwanted textbooks.
I've also been told that "you are only as good a doctor as the book you read." I totally agree...... just that what is the likelihood that you are going to read a 2000-page textbk that is so heavy it causes muscle cramps worse than rifle-over-head???!!!
err...i ever used document files as weapons.... used them to inflict injury on inconsiderate, rude, kiasu commuters who rush into the MRT train and push everyone out of their way. Muahahah! I will go to hell for this.
ReplyDelete2 questions.
What's internal medicine?
And if there's "internal" medicine, is there an "external" medicine?
LOL!
most of my textbooks end up as waste... so option 2 seems plausible. muahahahaahaha!
ReplyDeletehaha.. do u know harrison's is now available online for free? =P
ReplyDeletemost people'd use mama robbins now.. heh
haha...i have 2 out of the 3 books u mention...
ReplyDeletebut i have dorlands dictionary to make up for it. hahaha
mmm i should read all the past entries before doc og decides to hide em from us again :P
ReplyDeletepoor traveller has a fetish for those in int med? :)
ReplyDeletehmm will bear that in mind when i get my books next year...hahaRz* ;)
ReplyDeleteI know how bad Robbins is.... reading it now... *tears hair out* hahaa I loved that post. Dr Bl Og do some more posts on the texts that you read (or never read) can? Tahnks
ReplyDeletewell, i somehow have all the 3 books, and my ikea bookshelf is going to collapse one day...
ReplyDeleteI would add one more: Kumar & Clark. I am quite sure I won't be able to finish it before mbbs. Maybe Dr Og did...
ReplyDeletehmm..somehow those larger textbks are better..as in they explain concepts a lot better so u REMEMBER them better..its better than reading a concise textbk in pt form and NOT remembering everything..furthermore..u dun haf to read it from cover to cover..u just have to know how to pick out the impt points..
ReplyDeleteer kumar and clark is quite readable..... I'm so ashame of myself! :P
ReplyDeletenowadays, seem like books are not of much use. type into google and the info are tremendous.
ReplyDeletenowadays, seem like books are not of much use. type into google and the info are tremendous.
ReplyDeletewhat's more, one can easily find and download for free the whole library of medical texts too. Almost. :P
ReplyDeletetsk tsk... all these medical texts are taking up too much space on my bookshelves. *plots to get rid of em*
ReplyDeleteCan add Nelson Paeds too, or did Dr Og read that cover to cover?
ReplyDeletemust include Gray's anatomy
ReplyDeleteOHCM by Warrell :)
ReplyDeleteKatzung's Basic and Clinical Pharmacology :) How does Dr Bl Og find this one?
ReplyDeletesmall books are not useful unless you read the big ones first.
ReplyDeletebest to stick to mama's version unless u are aiming for dean's list!
ReplyDeleteargh...my eyes...and i thought the trauma of reading these tomes were behind me!! Bailey & Love's was the most unreadable...
ReplyDeletenot good leh, these kind of posts intimidate the non medical readers here
ReplyDelete'simi si Patho Logic ar? IQ puzzle also Logic ley!'
kc don't be intimidated, i sum up the whole post for you: if you have a girlfriend who is in medicine, she can potentially kill you with one of those sibei tua khee textbooks if you make her angry!
ReplyDeletehahaha! yup yup. i have nearly all the text that has been listed here: Papa Robbins, Harrison's, Dorland's, Kumar & Clark!
ReplyDeletei am so guilty of buying the biggest, thickest and probably one of the most costly med text around~ *oops* but they are really good for my PBL tutes!
add in some Anatomy, Physio and Clinical Examination texts.. and BOOM! there goes my bookshelf.. :(
I find them useful somehow,very detailed and comprehensive. But i only read certain parts,albeit not all!!It's a miracle anyone can finish d whole book. I have to struggle to keep awake even just to finish reading 1 chapter.
ReplyDeleteAnd they certainly are taking up a lot of space :P