In "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance", Dr. Atul Gawande (General Surgeon, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston) attempts to provide the reader with a bird's eye view of what it takes to be better. He uses a vast array of interviews and historical perspectives to highlight what he believes are the pillars of become better in everything we do. Of course, the stories and perspectives revolve around medicine and hospitals, but you will be surprised to learn how diverse the various examples are in pinpointing what it means to become better. He uses examples of hospital teams improving the survival of patients with a certain disease, the historical accounts of improving health care through hand washing, an inspiring story of an attempt to eradicate Polio in India, and even a riveting tale of a physician-turned-malpractice lawyer who abandoned the stethoscope for law school. Though eclectic in their descriptions, each aims to hone in on the skills one needs to improve.
I think the goal of "Better" is noble. I also think the core content is interesting and through provoking. I even agree that physicians and medicine should be the ones to be pushing this envelope, trying every day to be better and to improve. It seems like this should be our job in society, if nothing else. And for this, I applaude Dr. Gawande and the goal of this book. However, I must admit that the product did not quite meet the goal of this book.
I have hesitated to write this review, because I know that so many other people, including many other docs, loved "Better". But, I must be honest and admit that this is not one of Gawande's better books. Perhaps I have held him up to an unhealthy standard after "Being Mortal", the book that got me started on Dr. Gawande, and one I think is a must-read for everyone, not just those in medicine. The problem with "Better" is that in the midst of all of its fascinating mini-stories (a hallmark of Dr. Gawande's writing) the actual goal of the book is lost on the reader. He can't quite pull all of the information together to drive home his ideas. It is almost as if he has not quite formalized the ideas of how to become better in his own head. For this I do not fault him. Certainly, he has come much closer to organizing the idea of improvement much better than I, or most other people can. But, unfortunately, mini-stories in this book are sporadic and, in the end, the sum of the parts of "Better" probably equals more than the whole.
Conclusion: "Better" by Dr. Atul Gawande is a good read, but not a must read. I give it a ShortWhiteCoat Step 1 score of 225.
which rivals Kaplan's Step 2 Qbook as the best print question book on the market.
is the best selling anatomy atlas in the country, and my personal favorite. The images are bright and colorful. The detail is crisp and memorable. I am a visual learner, and the bright images helped me focus and remember better. In fact, the images were so vibrant that I could often see them in my head during tests, allowing me to remember specific details in each image. One downside to this atlas is its relative lack of information and detail. There is no text other than anatomy labels. There are no clinical correlations. There are not as many structures labeled as some other texts.
does not seem like anything special at first glance. However, I have never met someone who used the Gilroy atlas and did not love it. In fact, it holds the #2 position for 
is a well known text with a great history and crisp images similar to the Gilroy text. Many students use the companion, 
is well liked by its users, just Google the title and you will find loads of students who love it. However, I have never actually met a student who used it. We had a couple copies in our library, but no one every looked at them. If you are a textbook lover, you might want to look at the Thieme book. It reads more like a textbook than an anatomy atlas.
is a sort of cult-favorite atlas. Many believe the illustrations in Clemente are the best on the market. They are clear and straight forward. There is a good mix of clinical information. The price is low, and the satisfaction is high. I have not used Clemente's but those who have used it say that they would use it again.
is one of histories best-known atlases. However, I think that the atlases listed above have surpassed this historical text. There are newer versions, but I fear the TV show named after the atlas will forever be more famous than that atlas itself. The images are nice and there are a number of photos and radiologic images which accompany the anatomy illustrates. Because of Gray's historical status, it warrants a few minutes to flip through the pages, but I would not purchase this text myself.
and 
(#3). I prefer the BRS book because it is a no-nonsense text with a few pictures and tables but mostly focused on simple and clear text. You should browse through both books before deciding which one you will use.
. This book is also very good, more concise, and easy to read. It does not have questions.
in print format, which is another great distraction of texts and computer questions.
(Amazon link) is my favorite clerkship study series. Similar to the Pretest Series (#5) and the Blueprint Series (#6), Case Files publishes one book for each medical student clerkship. The book teaches principles through a series of 50-60 cases. After each case is presented, the relevant clinical teaching points are discussed and followed with a series of questions. For my style of learning, this was the ultimate study tool during third year. I particularly recommend 
and 
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, which was eerily similar to the shelf exam.
is widely considered the most useful; I used it and did very well on the shelf.
is a highly rated book for third year students
is written as the same authors as "Success on the Wards" and also comes highly recommended.
. Really, this books should be in the Top Ten. I left it off because it is not specifically for third year medical students. However, it is one of the best resources available for deciding what is important to you in a specialty, and comparing variables across all medical specialties. I 
. As I have said in other posts, I am a fan of the Kaplan books. I am not paid by them, I just think they have a good product. Good Luck.
. The book is broad review of the systems based courses most often encountered during the second year of medical school. Some schools utilize a completely organ based system and this book might be useful during the first year as well. The First Aid series is a fantastic review tool and something to help drive home the most important points for your tests and for Step 1, but the First Aid series is never sufficient and should be supplemented with other materials. You can get a $40 discount if you buy both the Organ System books together on Amazon. Click Here: 
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, 
, and 
for second year students. Each is rated very well by students.
This list is part of a series of articles about the best books for medical students. Click on the 
is widely used by many medical students; it contains more detailed images and text that highlights some important clinical relationships. Check out these other Amazon links if you want to learn more about the other options available. 
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My name is Andrew and I am a first year resident training to be an ophthalmologist. I created ShortWhiteCoats to provide medical students, residents, and the public with all the information I spent so many hours looking for during medical school.
