TheOrthopaedicsGuide

MAY13,2012
tags:books,orthopaedics,residency
Soyouvefinallymadeit.Againstalloddsandtheseemingly
insurmountablecompetitionoutthere,youvemanagedtoland
yourselvestheresidencypositionthatyouvealwayswanted.Youfeel
dizzyandlightheadedandfriendsandfamilycanbarelykeepyou
fromfloatinguponcloudnumbernine!
Andthenthestarkrealityhitsyoulikeabrickwall.Itsnot
whatitseems!Orthopaedicscancomeacrossasatotalstranger
tomostfirstyearresidents.Itslikechasingthegirlofyour
dreamsforalongtimeonlytorealizethatsheisntwhatshe
seems.Likecrazedlovers,dierentfirstyearresidentstrydierentmethodstocopewiththe
situation.Somegointoastateofshockanddenialandarejusttoodazedtostartreading.Thereare
otherswhotrytoferventlymugupeverysingletextbookthattheycomeacross.Andineverybatch
offreshorthopaedicsresidents,thereisatleastonepersonwhothinksOhmyGod!Ivemadea
terriblemistakechoosingorthopaedics!
Ithelpsalotifyourresidencyprogramiswellstructuredandresidentsineachyearoftrainingknow
whatexactlytheirlearninggoalsare.Sadly,thismaynotbethecasewithmanyprogramsandmost
freshresidentsareconfusedwheretostartandwhichdirectiontoheadin.
Theideabehindthisblogistoprovideadviceonaspectsrelatedtoresidencytraining.Itisnot
intendedtobeanexhaustiveguideonallmatters,ratheritaimstoanswersomeofthemostgnawing
questionsthatresidentsfaceintheirdaytodaylives.Withproperguidance,youcanreclaimthe
loveofyourlife:orthopaedics!!
Soletmestartwithsomesuggestionsforbooksforfirstyearresidents.Again,thisisnotan
exhaustivelist,ratheranattempttosimplifyfromamyriadofreadingoptionsoutthere.
1.

PracticalFractureTreatmentbyRonaldMcRae

Thisisabeautifullyillustratedbookthatdealswithpracticalaspectsoffracturetreatment.Sincemost
firstyearresidentswillbeexposedtotraumarotationsfirst,thiscomesinextremelyhandy.The
authorsdescribefractureclassifications,interpretationofradiographs,castingtechniquesandeven
somesurgicaloptionsinastepbystepfashionthatiseasytograspandunderstand.Itsagreatbook
tocarrywithyouduringyourERduty.

2.

ApleysSystemofOrthopaedics&Fractures

Anotherclassicaltextbook,thisbookgivesagoodoverviewoforthopaedicconditions,including
traumatology.Althoughnotsucienttocovertheorthopaediccurriculum,thebookcanserveasan
excellentoverviewtofirstyearresidentsandalsoatthetimeofexitexams,whenthereaderneeds
justanoverviewofthesubject.Highlyrecommendedtofirstyearresidentstoreadandfinishwithin
thefirstyearitself.
3.

ClinicalOrthopaedicExaminationbyRonaldMcRae

WrittenbyRonaldMcRae,thisbookbeautifullyillustratestheorthopaedicclinicalexamination.Step
bystepillustrationsmakeclinicalexaminationeasiertounderstandandperform.Allcommonly
performedorthopaedictests(andsomeuncommononestoo)arecovered.Thebookalsooerstips
onhistorytaking,makingdierentialdiagnosisandperformingcommonoutpatientprocedures,
includinginjectionandjointaspirationtechniques.Interpretationofradiographsisincludedanda
selfassessmentquizisoeredattheendofeachchapter.Thisbookmaybereadaloneorin
conjunctionwithanotherclinicaltextbook,fore.g.ClinicalSurgicalExaminationbyS.Dasor
OrthopaedicClinicalExaminationbyStanleyHoppenfeld.
4.

OrthopaedicNeurology:ADiagnosticGuideToNeurologicalLevelsbyStanleyHoppenfeld

Manyconsiderthisbooktobethegoldstandardoftheorthopaedicneurologicalexamination.Itisa
concisetextbook,yetitcoversthenuancesofneurologicalexamination.Musclecharting,
determinationofsensoryandmotorlevels,reflextestingandexaminationofindividualspinallevels
anddescribedinalucidandeasytograspmanner.Theauthoralsooersseveralinteresting
mnemonicstohelpinmemorizingtheneurologicallevels.Amustreadforallfirstyearresidents,
preferablywithinthefirstsixmonths.
5.

TractionsandOrthopaedicAppliancesbyJohnMStewart

Althoughitisanoldbookandtherehavebeennorecentadditions,thisbookdescribessomeofthe
commonlyusedtractionandsplintdevices.Skeletaltraction,skintractions,Crutchfieldor
GardnerWellstongstractionareamongstthefewtopicsthatareworthreading.Otherchaptersmay
bereadaspertheneedsandtheprotocolsfollowedinyourinstitution.Althoughmanypeople
wouldconsideritasanoptionaltextbook,Ibelieveitisworthreadingatleastonce.Awordof
cautionthough,youmaynotfinditfromyourlocalbookseller.Bettertosearchyourlibrary!
6.

AOPrinciplesofFractureManagement

Amusthavebookforallresidents,althoughfirstyearresidentscanreadthisbookselectively.The
initialchaptersonbonehealing,biomechanicsandprinciplesoffracturetreatmentshouldberead
bytheendoffirstyear.
7. SurgicalApproachesInOrthopaedics:AnAnatomicalApproachbyStanleyHoppenfeldand
PietdeBoer
Thisbookwouldalsoqualifyastheclassicaltextsoforthopaedics.Mostfirstyearresidentsarefresh
withanatomyandthisbookexplainseachsurgicalapproachinasimpleyetelaboratefashion.The
mostoutstandingfeatureofthebookisthestepbystepillustrationsofsurgicaldissection.Pearlsand
pitfallsofeachapproacharediscussedandeachsectionendswithanoverviewoftheanatomyofthe
region.Inmyexperience,manyresidentstrytomugupsurgicalapproacheswithoutreally
understandingtheanatomicalbasis.Iftheresidentmakesitahabittoreadthesurgicalapproach
beforehand,identificationofanatomicalstructuresperoperativelybecomeseasieranditiseasyto
followwhatisbeingdone.Firstyearresidentsshouldreadatleastthemostcommonlyperformed

surgicalapproaches,basedontheirresidencyprogram.
8.

CampbellsOperativeOrthopaedics

Thisistheholygrailoforthopaedicsandprobablythefirsttextbookthatmostorthopaedicresidents
willpurchase.Althoughitisamusttohave,firstyearresidentsshouldreadthebookaspertheir
rotations.Thefirstsectiononsurgicaltechniquesshouldbereadassoonaspossible,althoughI
wouldrecommendskippingthesectiononsurgicalapproachesandreadingonlythemost
commonlyperformedapproachesfromHoppenfield(serialnumber7)inthefirstyear.
Ihavetriedtoformulatearoughoutlineforfirstyearresidents,modificationscanbemadebasedon
theneedsofyourresidencyprogram:
Months02:ReadtheOrthopaedicClinicalExamination(completely)andPracticalFracture
Treatment(thefracturesthatyouencountercommonly)byRonaldMcRae.Reviseanatomyoflimbs
andbonesfromanystandardtextbook,myfavouriteisSnellsAnatomy.
Months35:ReadabouttractionsandsplintsfromStewartandtheinitialchaptersofAOManual
thatdealwithbonehealing,biomechanicsandprinciplesoffracturemanagement.Readthe
orthopaedicneurologicalexaminationbyHoppenfieldandtrytoputittopracticeinthewards.
Months68:StartreadingApley.Dependingonyourresidencyprogramandrotation,readrelevant
chaptersfromApley.Ifyouseeanycoldcaseintheoutpatientdepartment,makeitahabittoread
theentiretopicfromApley.Thisway,youwillhaveagreatoverviewoftheconditionandwillalso
notfeeloverburdened.
Months812:TrytofinishoApley.Youmayreadcommonlyencounteredproblemsinmoredetail,
buttrytohaveabriefoverviewoftheentirebook.UseCampbellforthosetopicswhichyou
encounterroutinely.MakeitahabittoreadthecommonsurgicalapproachesfromHoppenfield
SurgicalApproaches.
Remember,noplanisfoolproofandneitheristhis.Itismeanttobeonlyaroughguideandofcourse,you
maymodifyittosuityourownneeds.Themostimportantthing,however,istorealizethatlearningisa
lifelongprocessandthereisnoendtoit.So,dontbeawedbytheenormityofthesubject,realizethatyou
aretakingyourfirstfewstepsinthevastoceanofknowledge.Soenjoyyourself,goatyourownpaceand
keepcomingbackformore.RememberwhatSteveJobssaidStayfoolish,stayhungry!!
Allthebest!
Pleasedropinyourcommentsifyoulikedthearticleandespeciallyifyoudidnotlikeit!Wouldyou
liketoaddtothisarticle?PleasedropinyoursuggestionsandIwillbemorethanhappytoupdate
thearticle.

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4Comments leaveone
1.harjot PERMALINK
April13,201321:39
lovedit
REPLY
2.warawut2000 PERMALINK
September19,201408:56
thankyou
thisarticleisveryhelpful
REPLY
3.AndrsCamposM PERMALINK
September11,201504:44
WhatdoyouthinkofHoppenfeldandKapandji?
REPLY
sids82 PERMALINK*
September11,201506:01
IthinkHoppenfeldsurgicalapproachesandclinicalneurologicalexaminationaregreatbooks
andarehighlyrecommended.ByKapandji,didyoumeanthePhysiologyofJointsbook?
REPLY

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