StevenBrule Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Just got the required books list for my school and (obviously) it's expensive. Looking for peoples opinions on whether going digital and downloading most of your books is really that efficient? Obviously its less expensive to go this route and perhaps, slightly more organized. Any input on the pros and cons of digital vs. hard copy is appreciated. Also if you trend towards digital copies, what platform do you like and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA2O18 Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Kinda in the same dilemma with my program. What helped me was talking to current students if you have the chance. My program actually provides PDF books for most of them which is super nice. The students I talked to said it just depends on your preference of hard or electronic copy. Keep in mind that you probably will be staring at a screen a lot during the school day. I decided to get some hard copies that the students felt were valuable to have, even beyond PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoMD Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 My program also offers PDF books. I used them a grand total of 3 times. the only book I used during didactic was PANCE Prep Pearls and even then that was rare. My mainstay was with power points that were provided. Any way you could ask upperclassmen what they did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 You most likely don't need any textbooks. Usually you can get e-copies of books for free through your school's library if you want to use them for reference. I use uptodate more than anything else. I thought I would be "missing out" on some valuable information or be at a disadvantage if I didn't have the textbooks. However, there are so many other resources out there (especially through your library). I have found that the only professors that "require" textbooks are the ones that went to school in a different era. Many of the younger professors recommend books but do not require them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenBrule Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 2 hours ago, SR0525 said: My program also offers PDF books. I used them a grand total of 3 times. the only book I used during didactic was PANCE Prep Pearls and even then that was rare. My mainstay was with power points that were provided. Any way you could ask upperclassmen what they did? Unfortunately I’m doing a new program so I’ll be part of the inaugural class. So far from these few comments, it seems like the majority of books aren’t super necessary...at least not right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blynn12 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I agree with all the above. During didactic, I relied a lot on the power points the instructors provided, as that is what they mostly test on. I accessed the online textbooks through my school library to help me better understand certain topics that weren't clear to me after lecture. Usually the instructors assigned pages that correlated to the lecture and sometimes, we might have a quiz over those readings, but all required textbooks were available through the school library. I don't feel it is necessary to have hard copies of these textbooks. I liked using Pance Prep Pearls for didactic and during clinical year, the Certification and Recertification Examinations for PAs can be a good resource for EORs and these are the only 2 books I bought. I felt a hard copy EKG book would have been helpful during didactic, but I didn't get one ahead of time. Honestly, as I approach graduation, I see that a lot of my preceptors have textbooks or guides that they use in practice and I see more value in purchasing resources that will be specific and helpful to whatever specialty I practice in. For example, derm books, 5 Minute Clinical Consult, Harriet Lane, etc seem like great resources to invest in the hard copy and use at a job. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastPA Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 My school exclusively uses e-books and builds it into the tuition. All of them are horrible (especially Cecil's, missed 75% of the course objectives). Instead I found a PDF copy of Harrison's and Current's (both great) and picked up a paper copy of Pance Prep Pearls (Solid Platinum for studying/exams). Oh, and paper copy of Bate's was definitely worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenBrule Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 19 hours ago, EastCoastPAapplicant said: My school exclusively uses e-books and builds it into the tuition. All of them are horrible (especially Cecil's, missed 75% of the course objectives). Instead I found a PDF copy of Harrison's and Current's (both great) and picked up a paper copy of Pance Prep Pearls (Solid Platinum for studying/exams). Oh, and paper copy of Bate's was definitely worthwhile. Good grief, sorry to hear that. Bates is on our list, so might look into grabbing that one as well as a hard copy of rapid interpretation of EKG as suggested by Blynn12. Overall this seems similar to how undergrad was--lots of assigned books that aren't needed to do well in the course. I'll look into PANCE prep later into the course. Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastPA Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 I should mention that the Pance Prep Pearls book is really great for course exams too* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenBrule Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 22 hours ago, EastCoastPAapplicant said: I should mention that the Pance Prep Pearls book is really great for course exams too* I'm seeing this pop up A LOT. Ill add it to my short list. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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