I know the feeling, been there before and done that. In this post I provide my insight on the top 10 books for medical school.
The major dilemma of every medical student when starting this long journey in medical school is what books should they be using and which book are you going to invest in?
As books are expensive and time is limited in this post I suggest my top 10 books I used through medical school. Most of the the material covered in these books should help you get through medical school, this blogpost contains most of the information to get you past your clinical years and OSCE exams.
Where do I buy medical school books from?
As most of our shopping is going online I personally used amazon, I Think as an online store Amazon provides a really good shipping service and has a great customer support.
Of course the books you will buy depends on were you are in your medical student training. These books are divided into to preclinical and clinical years.
Pre Clinical Books
This book is one of the best textbooks for studying anatomy. In my opinion, I think that this book is pretty standard and although it’s a really big book to cover, it is easy to understand as the diagrams in the book are really big and clear. I feel that studying anatomy from this book is pretty straightforward and helped me build a mental image of the human body and how the body works. The book is now in its 3rd edition, however, using the older editions is still fine and shouldn’t be a problem.
2. Guyton & Hall Medical Physiology
I personally preferred this book to study physiology. I know on a first glimpse it looks massive! However I didn’t read the entire book. I used snippets from the book its self.
The pros of this book is that the author explains things and not just describes how the physiology works.
It makes concepts relevant to clinical situations and makes the physiology relate to medicine and pathology.
If you understand the physiology you can easily grasp medicine.
I personally used it to study lung physiology and cardiovascular physiology.
3. Biochemistry
This book was a life saver!
I personally hated biochemistry and found it really hard studying it. I never used to go to the lectures cause i found them boring.
After finding this book I started enjoying the way in which biochemistry makes our cells work!
The Biochemistry aspect also got me into nutrition and veganism/ plant based diets!
3.Core Pathology by Lowe
Pathology is one of those subjects that you either love or hate. I personally didn’t mange to grasp it the first time round. However this book was awesome.
personally I found it quite easy to understand and grasp.
Use this book to revise your histology too!
Clinical Books
5.Essentials Kumar & Clark's Pocket Handbook
Unlike its bigger cousin this book is a really easy to understand and clear and concise text.
Medical topics are clearly explained and the concepts are easy to grasp.
6.Oxford Handbook of Clinical medicine
This book is going to be your working horse not only during medical school but also during your working days as a doctor.
In this handbook you find all topics related to medicine, surgery, anesthesia.
Its a quick revision guide and reference to help you get going!
7.Oxford Handbook of Specialities
This book covers specialties related to medicine mostly, I used it to revise psychiatry, Obs & Gynae and Pediatrics.
It covers the main topics needed for the final exams and OSCES.
Again this is going to be another work horse for you during your 4th and 5th years.
8.Obstetrics and Gynaecology Lawrence Impey
This textbook is a useful resource for medical students…It will provide you with an easy to use text that makes learning fast and applicable to the clinical scenarios you will encounter.
9.Psychiatry at a Glance
psychiatry at a glance is an up-to-date, accessible introductory and study text for all students of psychiatry. It presents ‘need-to-know’ information on the basic science, treatment, and management of the major disorders, and helps you develop your skills in history taking and performing the Mental State Examination (MSE).
10. Case Files in Internal Medicine
Case Files is a great book series that give a detailed overview of cases, from diagnosis to investigations and treatment.
I highly recommend it to review before the written medical exams.
I hope that this post was helpful and managed to give you some more insight into which books are actually helpful to help you guys pass your medical exams.