OITE/Intern Studying

Hey everyone! I was hoping to get some advice from seniors in regards to reading and study sources for OITE and my upcoming intern year. I prefer textbook style vs bullet points. I was also wondering if people use the Orthobullets Qbank and if there are other Qbanks out there worth purchasing. From my step studying, it seems going through questions is the best way to prep for exams, but not sure if this is appropriate for building the necessary knowledge base to be a competent doctor and not just a good test taker. Thanks for the input!

If you prefer textbook style vs bulletpoints then there are a couple ways to go about it. Assuming that your residency is structured in such a way that you rotate through sub specialties for a period of time then...

1) you could buy/borrow a textbook to read through for the months you spend on each specialty. For the purposes of OITE studying this is not very efficient and is certainly the most expensive option, but probably a better way to learn the material.

2) presumably you'll have access to journals online through your hospital/residency. If that's the case this option is free and you can probably find all the same information as you'd find in a textbook (this is where the information in textbooks comes from). Every time you see something new in clinic or a question pops into your head you find an article that addresses it.

I find the AAOS review books to be less "bullety" than Miller if you want a one-size-fits all book for studying. It also comes with a question book. You can probably get it for free by earning some points on the Synthes site.

Orthobullets is FREE and probably every Ortho resident I know used it when studying. I never studied for OITE with a dedicated book. I just read journal articles, selected parts of textbooks, paid attention in conference, and did Orthobullets. I never scored less than average (yeah that's not much to be proud of), and even scored 98th percentile one year. My advice is to set aside a little time every night to read about what you're doing on such-and-such rotation in textbooks, journals, etc and then do a lot of practice questions leading up to the exam just to get into exam mode. You'll learn a lot more that way than if you just study for the OITE.

I would suggest a couple of books to consider to read during your intern year just to get a nice basic knowledge of orthopedics.

1.) Consider reading a very basic orthopedic book to give you a baseline of knowledge across most orthopedic specialties. Learn about the most common things that you will see on call, etc... Learn about the red flags in orthopedics, etc... Something like Essentials of Musculoskeletal Care that is designed for primary care docs can be very useful as an intern before you get into indepth reading as you go through your subspecialty rotations.

2.) Another book that is incredibly useful although boring to read is the AAOS Orthopaedic Basic Science book. Read through that once and you'll rock the basic science questions on the OITE for the next 5 years.

What do you guys think of the specialty-specific OKU books?

How about operative technique resources? Other than AO surgical reference, Hoppenfeld exposures, and Operative Techniques, any other resources worth purchasing? I've heard a lot about Campbell and Rockwood...

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OrthoDoc wrote: I would suggest a couple of books to consider to read during your intern year just to get a nice basic knowledge of orthopedics.

1.) Consider reading a very basic orthopedic book to give you a baseline of knowledge across most orthopedic specialties. Learn about the most common things that you will see on call, etc... Learn about the red flags in orthopedics, etc... Something like Essentials of Musculoskeletal Care that is designed for primary care docs can be very useful as an intern before you get into indepth reading as you go through your subspecialty rotations.

Weisel has a book called "Orthopedic Surgery: Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment" that is more or less designed for PGY1s to read in full (per the foreword/preface). I have tried to read most of this since the match and have found it very useful. Of course I won't even be a resident for a few more weeks, so take that with a grain of salt! Just wanted to say I really love this book for a good overview of all specialties. Chapter on MSK oncology is very helpful in demystifying bone and soft tissue masses. Covers what seem to be the most common and "need to know" basics in all specialties.

I'm finding the daily study plan from orthobullets to be very helpful. A daily reminder keeps me on track

$80 for a daily email and quizzes/tests along the way seems like a fair deal.