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Step-Up to Medicine
Now thoroughly updated and revised, this best-selling volume in the popular Step-Up series provides a high-yield review of medicine, ideal for preparing for clerkships or clinical rotations, shelf exams, and the USMLE Step 2. Clinical pearls, full-color illustrations, and "Quick Hits" provide essential information in an efficient, easy-to-remember manner, perfect for medical, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students. Step-Up to Medicine, Fourth Edition delivers exactly what you need to know--both for exam preparation and for practical use in the evaluation and treatment of patients.
1322 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 11, 2020
I read this internal medicine text cover to cover during quarantine, and, gosh darn it, I'm gonna make it count for my Reading Challenge! Very lucid and well-organized; highly recommend.
April 14, 2021
I feel like I need to include this here as a reminder to myself that I did indeed read this whole textbook
January 25, 2018
This masterpiece had gotten me through the worst days of finals like a champ,
if this book doesn’t deserve a five-stars review, then I don’t know what does.
if this book doesn’t deserve a five-stars review, then I don’t know what does.
December 15, 2017
Not perfect, but probably the best Medicine book out there.
September 2, 2020
One of the best medical books, summarized, gives you the most important information of each topic.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
July 29, 2024
Just in time for the wards 😎
March 27, 2021
imo boring
May 5, 2022
nice tbh. a little outdated maybe. like when they talked about how we treat addisons with cortisol and aldosterone replacement when it’s only cortisol replacement since the mimetic activity can adequately make u for the aldosterone deficit🤦🏾♀️
March 1, 2013
June 22, 2015:
I wrote and passed Step 2 back in March of 2014. I don't know how much I would contribute to this book in terms of it helping me pass, but it was nice to have a place to write my notes down and to refer back to while going over practice questions.
April 7, 2013:
So I have read through the book the second time, and I feel like I was able to glean a little more out of it. I still think that it is a very superficial book so it is not what you need if you are weaker in a specific topic. I like to add in my own supplemental notes on each read through in order to make sure that I remember each topic.
March 23, 2013:
So I'm reviewing this after read through #1 (and there will be several more I'm certain)
Things I like:
1. It's very comprehensive
2. For the most part there is just enough detail without going overboard
3. The structure with the exception of the "Ambulatory Medicine" Chapter which seems a little bit like the "what's left to talk about" chapter.
Things I didn't like:
1. Some of the diagnostic testing and medications are glossed over a little too much
2. I would have liked to see a few pages in the appendix dedicated to some summary pages
All in all, this is a good review book. As I said this review is after my first read-through. There will be a lot more to go AND I will probably have more to say once I have written Step 2 on whether this book is as useful as I think it is. Now on to the next read-through...
I wrote and passed Step 2 back in March of 2014. I don't know how much I would contribute to this book in terms of it helping me pass, but it was nice to have a place to write my notes down and to refer back to while going over practice questions.
April 7, 2013:
So I have read through the book the second time, and I feel like I was able to glean a little more out of it. I still think that it is a very superficial book so it is not what you need if you are weaker in a specific topic. I like to add in my own supplemental notes on each read through in order to make sure that I remember each topic.
March 23, 2013:
So I'm reviewing this after read through #1 (and there will be several more I'm certain)
Things I like:
1. It's very comprehensive
2. For the most part there is just enough detail without going overboard
3. The structure with the exception of the "Ambulatory Medicine" Chapter which seems a little bit like the "what's left to talk about" chapter.
Things I didn't like:
1. Some of the diagnostic testing and medications are glossed over a little too much
2. I would have liked to see a few pages in the appendix dedicated to some summary pages
All in all, this is a good review book. As I said this review is after my first read-through. There will be a lot more to go AND I will probably have more to say once I have written Step 2 on whether this book is as useful as I think it is. Now on to the next read-through...
October 8, 2017
this book is amazing .
i think it's one of the best books that cover Internal Medicine .
it's general approach cover the diseases by general characteristics , clinical features , diagnosis , & management .
and provide scattered notes through out the book on the margins labelled as ( quick hit ) , which is very nice notes to know .
very recommended to read during med school or even after graduation . as a good basis for medicine .
i think it's one of the best books that cover Internal Medicine .
it's general approach cover the diseases by general characteristics , clinical features , diagnosis , & management .
and provide scattered notes through out the book on the margins labelled as ( quick hit ) , which is very nice notes to know .
very recommended to read during med school or even after graduation . as a good basis for medicine .
September 17, 2012
Step up to medicine was one of the best review books I have read,it had all the important info explained in a short and easy way.If you are more interested in the pathophysiology of the diseases,this book is not for you.
It had LOTS of mistakes,most are mentioned in this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showt...
I would recommend it to any medical student.
It had LOTS of mistakes,most are mentioned in this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showt...
I would recommend it to any medical student.
February 26, 2012
this was a funny book for studying, I would have preferred to choose it as a reading book, it doesn't explain anything just gives you points to memorize, kinda reminded me of the First aid series (similar concept and distribution of topics)
June 16, 2022
sorry I'm bullshitting lolllll I just wanted to write
anytime I read this and then went to work the next day I thought "maybe I will actually, step down from medicine" - anyway I think the book is honestly pretty good, usually crtl+f the quick hits gave the main points; I also fell asleep reading it and then maybe got late for work so anyway if you don't enjoy reading/textbooks just do Anki and use as reference
I'll probably write things for now and delete it later for PS. (I'll probably write about Mr. "I'm a bionic man now", in reference to having multiple tubes and 3 readmissions over a month, to which the attending was like "which antibiotics you're on?" welp. )
Man. I mean, there's always been that aspect of trying to actually be able to know what's going on, but the other aspect of being able to talk to ppl if there's not a good answer feels impossible. I should read a book about it, but like - the mom w/ a ventriculomegaly stillbirth, person w/ MM. Ig it's a feedback loop - I don't know something about their question, I try to figure it out for next time - I can't expect myself to be an expert already, ppl have 10+ yrs of experience before me. It does suck worse with peds too (e.g. appendicostomy) where I have to sus out their experience/make them teach me. ig the thing I hope for is that I still care enough to try to figure out and answer ppl's questions, bc eventually for better or for worse ppl stop caring about the minute questions. I did get some confidence in talking though by that one mom who remembered me from primary care while I was in L and D nights dissociating and being like wut. I had to chase her bc I was stupid b4 too bc I thought she could just leave lol. But yea, those little things come with time.
But, thinking back I definitely picked up stuff over the course of the year which I shouldn't take for granted. I got spurred by this reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofReddit...), among other things, bc he ends up noting that the provider was part the cause of this. Makes me stress bc I feel like the things I say can matter a lot but (ok if someone finds this review kys)
anytime I read this and then went to work the next day I thought "maybe I will actually, step down from medicine" - anyway I think the book is honestly pretty good, usually crtl+f the quick hits gave the main points; I also fell asleep reading it and then maybe got late for work so anyway if you don't enjoy reading/textbooks just do Anki and use as reference
I'll probably write things for now and delete it later for PS. (I'll probably write about Mr. "I'm a bionic man now", in reference to having multiple tubes and 3 readmissions over a month, to which the attending was like "which antibiotics you're on?" welp. )
Man. I mean, there's always been that aspect of trying to actually be able to know what's going on, but the other aspect of being able to talk to ppl if there's not a good answer feels impossible. I should read a book about it, but like - the mom w/ a ventriculomegaly stillbirth, person w/ MM. Ig it's a feedback loop - I don't know something about their question, I try to figure it out for next time - I can't expect myself to be an expert already, ppl have 10+ yrs of experience before me. It does suck worse with peds too (e.g. appendicostomy) where I have to sus out their experience/make them teach me. ig the thing I hope for is that I still care enough to try to figure out and answer ppl's questions, bc eventually for better or for worse ppl stop caring about the minute questions. I did get some confidence in talking though by that one mom who remembered me from primary care while I was in L and D nights dissociating and being like wut. I had to chase her bc I was stupid b4 too bc I thought she could just leave lol. But yea, those little things come with time.
But, thinking back I definitely picked up stuff over the course of the year which I shouldn't take for granted. I got spurred by this reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofReddit...), among other things, bc he ends up noting that the provider was part the cause of this. Makes me stress bc I feel like the things I say can matter a lot but (ok if someone finds this review kys)
February 15, 2021
Excellent & updated, the 1st review doesn’t reflect reality as the hypertension classification has been updated.
Buy the ebook
Step-Up to Medicine 5th Edition
Buy the ebook
Step-Up to Medicine 5th Edition
October 30, 2022
An excellent book for Internal Medicine Clerkship, recommended for any medical student who is having interest in Internal Medicine specialty, for resident level it is not that much detailed as you want but it is still a good source for rapid revision.
July 5, 2018
It's a good refresh for Internal medicine. For Step 2 CK its just "ok".
February 21, 2019
Study.. Study.. Study 😓😓😓
January 6, 2022
Very organised,
August 29, 2024
Read this cover to cover during the Acute Care Block so might as well include it here lol
June 21, 2025
love u girl <3
September 2, 2026
Unfortunately my book for the month
March 5, 2015
(For context, I am a 3rd year medical student in an integrated clerkship at a Canadian university)
Overall this was a fantastic book for getting a birds eye view of a great number of common areas in medicine. I feel one needs to be at least somewhat familiar with IM in general before using this book, on it's own it is NOT enough to learn from for optimal understanding.
Like the other Step Up series books, the formatting could use some work to help keep things straight while reading. It is easy to zone out and get lost in the details.
Combined with Case Files Internal Medicine this book is capable of providing a great baseline general knowledge for the wards.
Overall this was a fantastic book for getting a birds eye view of a great number of common areas in medicine. I feel one needs to be at least somewhat familiar with IM in general before using this book, on it's own it is NOT enough to learn from for optimal understanding.
Like the other Step Up series books, the formatting could use some work to help keep things straight while reading. It is easy to zone out and get lost in the details.
Combined with Case Files Internal Medicine this book is capable of providing a great baseline general knowledge for the wards.
February 10, 2013
It's a good review for internal medicine. It's kind of dense. There is a lot of information. Plan on taking your time reading it or maybe even reading it twice. It does have a lot of mistake, so if something seems off to you, you should go look it up to confirm. You'll also need something to supplement this book. Make sure you do a question bank too. It will help fill in the gaps of this book.
In short, I really think this is a good concise review of internal medicine. It helped me score well on my end of block exam.
In short, I really think this is a good concise review of internal medicine. It helped me score well on my end of block exam.
November 15, 2014
I read around 80-85% of it so I can say I finished it
Good book for exams but you need to have another source on the side to help you memorize, categorize, organize and so ..
Read the latest guidelines in important diseases plus the drug of choice
I studied it with addition to USMLE Kaplan Medicine lecture notes & MKSAP (American Physician Question Bank for Medicine) + some things from the internet ..
Good book for exams but you need to have another source on the side to help you memorize, categorize, organize and so ..
Read the latest guidelines in important diseases plus the drug of choice
I studied it with addition to USMLE Kaplan Medicine lecture notes & MKSAP (American Physician Question Bank for Medicine) + some things from the internet ..
May 22, 2016
This book was definitely useful during my third year internal medicine clerkship. I would not use it for step 2ck studying because it is pretty dense but I think that it is worth it to read it during your third year.
June 16, 2020
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September 19, 2012
a five star book before exams... a one star book throughout the year as a main "source" of studying. Therefore, i will go with the three stars :)
March 5, 2013
Very helpful for internal medicine and surgery third year medical school rotations; parts are also helpful for family medicine and pediatrics.
December 12, 2015
Great book! Key information presented concisely. I reference it all the time.
December 23, 2015
Fantastic book for the Medicine Clerkship. Would use this often to fill in the holes of Master The Boards.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews