Year 1: Second Semester - Musculoskeletal Course

Books:

For all those puzzled year 1 souls who asked me:

1. Anatomy: (I've listed the best books most of my colleagues and I have discovered are the best for anatomy. Teachers for some reason cannot understand a student's perspective and recommend books such as Moore's or Snell's Anatomy. They are good but not as great as these ones for student understanding. These books illustrate perfectly in a student-friendly manner everything you need to know.)
1. Reference: Gray's Anatomy for Students
2. Atlas: Gray's Atlas of Anatomy
3. Atlas: Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy by Frank H. Netter
4. Supplement: Clinical Anatomy by Systems - by Richard S. Snell
2. Pathology: 
1. Reference: Robbins Basic Pathology
2. Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease: this is the more comprehensive version of the above. Use it to better understand concepts in pathology that were not easy or were very concise for comprehension from the above one.
3. Rapid Review Pathology - by Edward F. Goljan: Great for reviewing just before TBLs or exams after you have studied a reference book such as Robbins.
4. Fundamentals of Pathology - by Husain A. Sattar (pathoma.com): also a great review.
3. Physiology:
1. Still haven't found a great physiology book that I recommend. 
2. Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form & Function
3. Guyton & Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology: This is recommended by teachers and is too detailed for students. Some topics in this book are useful however. 
4. Physiology - by Linda S. Costanza: I've read the Board Review Series version of this and as it was a review book, it was not comprehensive enough for understanding. However, this does not seem to be a review book.
5. Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach
4. Pharmacology:
1. Supplement book: Katzung & Trevor's Pharmacology Examination & Board Review
5. Microbiology: (Read the post about the best microbiology books for med school)
1. Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
2. Microbiology - Lippincott Illustrated Reviews Series
6. Biochemistry:
1. Biochemistry - Lippincott Illustrated Reviews Series

How You Can Study:

• How can I study anatomy?
• This course is all about anatomy. Study the lectures as soon as they are given. An even better strategy is to study them before the class so as not to be lost. Then study them again after class. Why? You've just repeated the same material 3 times, which is needed in the musculoskeletal system for familiarizing yourself with the new vocabulary and memorizing it.

• To better understand and ingrain anatomy in your memory, you should try drawing them to understand. Even if it's rough-kindergarten drawings. You'll have a better feel of how the body works.
• Draw: if you have a talent/hobby for drawing/painting/art, then find ways to use that to your advantage. Anatomists long ago were not doctors, they were painters. To paint an accurate human body, they studied anatomy. (You might get to hang it up in university or the anatomy lab if the teacher loves your work!)
• Get or make flashcards for anatomy. Put them on your fridge, beside you bed, in the bathroom, in the living room. Everywhere in the house. Whenever you pass by, pick up a card and read it or try to remember its answer. This is something you can use for the rest of your study career (yes studying for medicine is a career and not a transitional phase).

• How can I study everything else?
• If there is one Golden Advice I would give you: don't study just for the semester. Study to ingrain things in your understanding and memory because in a bit of time when you are struggling in the clinical years, you won't have time to go back & study the basics along with the clinical sciences. This is especially true if you are intending on doing International Board exams (such as USMLE, MCCEE/QE, PLAB, even if the exams may not test basic medical sciences, you will require this in-depth basic knowledge to answer the clinical questions.)
• Pharmacology: attend the lectures and take notes, reading the notes with the presentation should be comprehensive enough. Read the book for topics you don't understand still.
• Microbiology: very little microbiology is taught in year 1. The teacher's reference books are Patrick Murray's Medical Microbiology and Cedric Mims' Medical Microbiology. These are both too detailed for a medical student. You can read them, however, for a deeper understanding of particular topics. 
• Biochemistry: The teacher's notes and lectures should be enough. If you don't understand a topic, Lippincott's book is great for biochemistry. It is concise and comprehensive for medical students. 

Student Notes: Introduction

Student Notes are notes I've written over the years to help me prepare a mental checklist of objects I should cover during Direct Observation Clinical Encounter Examinations (DOCEE). 

Naturally, any test in life that involves 2 examiners giving you "killing looks" (to quote Joe & Gus in Gone Fishin') while you take the history from a real patient and examine him/her, is bound to be stressful. Add to that, a grilling Q&A after you've finished examining the patient on your findings, differential diagnosis and management, and you're nerves are on fire for the next hour. 

So after my first DOCEE, I realized logic and common sense flew out the window the moment I entered a patient's room and saw 2 consultants peering at me. 

Therefore I devised a devious plan to overthrow their looks and score great on a DOCEE. 

Examiners tend to be strict in grading if cases are common and lenient when you are examined on a rare case.
Since this exam is conducted at hospitals, cases seen are most likely to be the common cases you encounter on a daily basis in your rotations. If you can at least get a mental checklist of those, that's a few cases less to worry about in the exams.

I'll be posting these throughout the year.

I hope you benefit from them!