Suggested Reading Topics
No matter what book(s) you choose to read during the clerkship, a key point is that the more information you can process before the end of the clerkship, the better you will do in life and on the shelf test. At a BARE MINIMUM, make sure you cover the following topics:
Here is a nice table from another medical school (Southern Illinois University) that provides some other suggestions on relative importance of various topics.
Coronary Artery Disease (including stable angina and acute coronary syndromes)
Atrial fibrillation
Congestive Heart Failure
Valvular Heart Disease (and associated murmurs)
Cor Pulmonale
Pericardial disease
Hypertension
Chest pain
Syncope
Edema
Pulmonary Function Tests
Dyspnea
Lung Cancer and Pulmonary Nodules
COPD
Asthma
Pneumothorax
Pulmonary Embolism
Pleural Effusions
Hemoptysis
Pneumonia
Fluids, Electrolytes, and acid/base homeostasis
Acute Kidney Injury
Chronic Kidney Disease
Obstructive Uropathy
Nephrolithiasis
Urinalysis interpretation
Thyroid disease
Diseases of the Adrenal and Pituitary Glands
Diabetes Mellitus (including DKA and HHNS)
GI Bleeding (upper & lower)
Peptic Ulcer Disease
Diverticular disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Pancreatitis
Hepatitis
Cirrhosis (including encephalopathy, ascites and varicies)
Jaundice
Alcoholic liver disease/ management of withdrawal
Monoarticular vs Polyarticular arthritis
RA
SLE
Vasculitis
Anemia
Platelet disorders
Coagulopathies
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Multiple Myeloma
Lung, colon, breast, prostate cancer
Fever
Antimicrobial Therapy
Septic Shock
Meningitis
Pneumonia
Tuberculosis
Endocarditis
UTI/pyelonephritis
Cellulitis
Classic HIV complications (e.g. PCP, toxo, crypto)
STDs (there are often questions about genital ulcers on the inpatient medicine test)