Posts Tagged ‘whitecoat’

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One of the RookieDoc members shot me an email asking me about the pharmacology references I recommend to carry around in your white coat as an intern or a resident.

Here was a portion of our exchange:

Question:
I noticed you recommended Tarrascon Pocket Pharm – which edition is better, shirt pocket or lab coat pocket? I know the shirt pocket is a lot smaller, but will that be enough? It would be nice not to have to tote around a bigger book…if you could let me know what you think that would be great! Thanks again! I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly.

Answer:
You’re right, it’s better to carry around the smaller book.

Whatever you buy, save the receipt… and submit it for reimbursement if you have an education stipend.

I hope that helps

Dr. Tori
RookieDoctor.com

If you don’t have a handheld device, you should get the following: 1 general pocket reference, 1 on-call pocket reference, and 1 drug pocket reference. Avoid having too many sources. That type-A, lay all the books out on the table when your studying move doesn’t work in internship or residency. So, don’t do it. It’s way too distracting.

Money Saver Tip – If you don’t have a handheld device (Palm, Pocket PC, Blackberry, etc), you should probably wait until your stipend kicks in from your internship or residency program. (Make sure they cover it)

Until I bought my PDA, I had…

Mass General Pocket Medicine – I scrapped the Washington Manual after about a week. I like Ferri’s better. But nowadays, I’d recommend this one… The full title is Pocket Medicine: The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine

Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia – I kept this one in my pocket even after getting a PDA.

The Sanford Guide – I pretty much only used 6 pages (the charts in the middle), but I used them almost everyday.

This is also available on the Rookie Doc Squidoo Lens. I’ll update that, since it is more like an article, whereas, this is a timestamped blog post.