SHOW NOTES

Buckle up, PGY-1’s! Intern year is starting whether you’re ready or not. Don’t fret, BTK has your back to make sure you dominate the first year of residency. 

This episode, we’ll tackle the resources that you should know about to support your own learning throughout residency.


Hosts: Shanaz Hossain, Nina Clark


Tips for new interns: 
STRUCTURE YOUR STUDYING
- 2 things you need to do: (1) develop a knowledge base and (2) answer questions
- Knowledge base

Pick a level-appropriate textbook, read it (ideally all of it) yearly. 
Ideally, lead a little bit every day - 10 pages/day is a good goal to start with and you may need to adjust. 

- Questions
Do some questions every week – 50/week is a good goal to start
Plan to do more questions closer to ABSITE!
Consider storing everything you learn in one place – either a notebook you carry with you or a cloud-based note app
Share this with others, use it to take notes while reading, doing cases, getting feedback, or gaining experience while taking care of patients every day.


SPECIFIC RESOURCES 
- Textbooks

Sabiston: big book, very dense, with a lot of great information.
Schwartz: shorter chapters, clinically oriented, ideal for junior residents
Cameron: shorter chapters, clinically oriented, ideal for senior residents

- ABSITE review books

Fiser: Classic, packed with facts but can be difficult to read, good for looking things up quickly
BTK ABSITE Companion: from yours truly! High quality illustrations and algorithms that pairs well with the BTK ABSITE podcast episodes. Stay tuned for an updated episodes and companion book in Fall 2023! 

- Question banks

TrueLearn: high quality, can be pricy depending on program 
SCORE: written/edited by ABS, free for subscribing programs



LEARN HOW TO OPERATE?? 
- Carry suture and a needle driver with you and practice basic moves
- Consider a home suture kit for practice when you don’t want to be in sim lab – BTK released one this year
- Use VIDEOS to ensure learning things the correct way! 

Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  

If you liked this episode, check out our new how-to video series on suture and knot-tying skills – https://behindtheknife.org/video-playlists/btk-suture-practice-kit-knot-tying-simulator-how-to-videos/