First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship, Fourth Edition (First Aid Series)

This book plus Uworld Qbank were the only resources I used for reviewing the Psychiatry shelf exam and I am very happy with my score. It is easy to read and not extremely long. It does seem a bit redundant at times which would be my only criticism. But it fills its purpose. I bought it specifically because it was updated for DSM V. I am not sure how it compares to previous editions, but I felt comfortable knowing it had the most up to date information.

This book is designed for medical students in a psych rotation. As a psych NP student, I probably wouldn't have bought it. However, a med student working with my preceptor had a copy of the 3rd edition and I got to look through it. I was excited to get the 4th edition which is updated for the DSM-5. This book is basically an outline of all major psych diagnoses with differential diagnoses and treatment options. There is a great section on medications and other treatments. I have many textbooks and reference books with this information scattered through the text but none of them are as succinct as this one. This is the book I would reach for to find a quick and easy answer, then turn to my reference books for more detailed info.

I've been using it for a few days and it's great to study with. One thing to point out - the paper quality on the 3rd edition was terrible. The paper was very cheap and thin, far too thin to use a regular highlighter. For the 4th edition, the paper quality is much better. There is a little bleed through with regular highlighters but nothing more than in a typical textbook.

Overall, a great addition to my library and one that I'll turn to frequently.

This book has everything you need to get an Honors on your psych shelf. I read it as I went along on my psych rotation, and it was very comprehensive. Just the right level of detail, and a good supplement for taking notes while doing UWorld questions.

This was my last core rotation as a 3rd year medical student. Other students were using this book in my rotation so I decided to check it out. I can not praise this book enough. At about 200 pages, this book has everything you need to know for your rotation without giving superfluous info. The book is organized very well and easy to read. It covers DSM V criteria, epi/risk factors, course of disease, treatment, and prognosis. The book does a great job explaining medications and adverse effects This book helped me answer any question my attendings asked me during my 6 weeks. I walked out of my shelf feeling the most confident out of all of my core rotations thanks to this book.

One of the best resources for the Psychiatry shelf.

Really helped me out during my rotation. Recommended by all my previous classmates and the ones before them as well. Must have for the psych rotation.

Great book! I love the first aid books!

Great overview book. My order for the psych clerkship... Read First Aid the first 2 weeks --> Knocked out the ~100 uworld questions --> Did two NBME exams --> 90 shelf exam

I used this to brush up on my psychiatry. Provides a good basic review of psychiatry and you could read through this in a night. I believe I had the second edition in med school but this version contains DSM-V definitions. I don't think this will provide in depth knowledge of psychiatry but it will give you a good crash course in a short period of time. Should also be good for medical students taking shelf exams, if those are still given.

Super helpful in psychiatry clerkship