Case Files Family Medicine, Fourth Edition 4th Edition

If you like learning through cases, this is the book for you during the family medicine rotation. It covers all of the major complaints and has practice questions at the end of each case and cumulative questions at the end of the book. However, I didn't like that the cases aren't organized in any way so you can't find a subject easily (so it's very difficult to find cases reflecting the ones you saw in clinic that day). The practice questions are easier than the nbme as well.

I am a PA student in my clinical year. I used this book almost exclusively to help prepare for my PAEA end of rotation exam. This book helped me to do very well on my EOR - much better than I was expecting or hoping for. The topics emphasized in this book were very similar to the topics emphasized on the exam and some of the practice questions were almost identical to exam questions. I would highly recommend this to any PA student - especially for clinicals and EOR exams.

Great book to review at the end of the day of a family medicine rotation. The book first presents the case followed by answers to the case, analysis, definition of the disease, clinical approach with organized tables that correlate to the disease, and finally comprehension questions. Great way to reinforce your knowledge.

I purchased this book to study for the shelf exam during my family medicine clerkship. It's full of different conditions and diseases commonly seen in a family medicine clinic. Each chapter (condition) is written clearly and highlights key points with obvious headings, boldface, etc. It is not a short book — I was unable to read through the entire thing during my one-month clerkship (granted, I did not spend hours on end reading). I might suggest using it as a quick-read reference as cases come up in your clerkship, or maybe just read the cases for diseases you want to shore up on.I was pleased to find references to USPSTF recommendations for every routine healthcare intervention/preventive practice, such as AAA monitoring, vaccinations for the elderly, indications for statins, etc. Obviously, the accuracy of this data will depend on the edition you have vs. the year of the most recent USPSTF recommendations... but the shelf exam (and Step 2 CK) are usually behind the times anyway.Each chapter begins with a case file. The cases are very descriptive and include tons of information... sometimes more than you would realistically have. Regardless, each case serves as a good introduction to the topic at hand, launching immediately into an analysis of significant features of the case. These features are laid out clearly on the second or third page of the chapter. They are subsequently discussed during the remainder of the chapter, sometimes delving into general concepts not necessarily limited to the disease under discussion. Some may view this as a bad thing, but I felt this style was appropriate. The case files are intended to set a context in which you learn fundamentals... not to be cookie-cutters. This is in line with how medicine ought to be practiced.Practice questions are found in each chapter, but I didn't feel they were that great. They are very basic and essentially serve to remind you of a concept your just read. You shouldn't use them as self-tests. For that purpose, use UWorld or something.Overall, great book. Improvements could be made in the practice questions and possibly in recommending a DDx along with specific tests/treatments to be considered for each condition.

Review questions and answers provided at the end of each chapter help to reinforce important, highly-tested topics, and the review questions at the end of book are a helpful way to pinpoint any topics that may require another look.

I'm a 3rd year medical student currently on my Family Medicine rotation. THIS BOOK IS WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD. Seriously, this book covers vital topics in just enough depth and breadth to give you what you need. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I had used the Pediatrics Case Files book before and loved it, but I have been disappointed with this book. Perhaps this is more of a problem with family medicine as a specialty, but I felt like this book superficially addressed everything without teaching you much. For example, it had a chapter on "pediatric abdominal pain and vomiting" that just had one paragraph summaries of common conditions, without every teaching you anything knew about any of those subjects. It all felt like superficial knowledge I already knew. To be fair, there are some chapters that are better, especially those that cover health maintenance and prevention topics.

Go through this whole book. Make some quizlet or anki notecards with the stuff that’s new to you. Do every case. Go through internal medicine Uworld (as much as you can—there’s a TON of questions) and you’ll rock the shelf. Scored honors with this book as my main text.