Reddit mentions: The best medical books

I recently underwent a similar change, having worked in outpatient orthopedics for 6-ish years (+lots of $$ spent on con-ed including manual therapy certification) and abruptly switching to acute care. My decision was spurred by increasingly high patient volumes (which seems to be a trend in Vegas OP) and an inability to provide what I would consider 1-on-1 patient care in a manner that fit my values. I've been in acute care for about 8 months now and haven't looked back. As a result of this, I do feel like a new graduate at times, but I've been excited to dig into new information and material, while enjoying the pace and exposure to a variety of conditions acute care offers.

Some things I've found useful thus far:

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Most of my fellow co-workers are younger than me, but have more experience in this area. Check your ego at the door.

I've found getting to know the nurses in each unit to be invaluable. Find them prior to seeing your patient, get any further information they may have regarding your patient (outside of your chart review) and discuss with them any pertinent findings of your evaluation.

Chart review! I want to know as much as I can regarding my patient's prior to seeing them. I mostly do evaluations and want to garner as much of a clinical picture as I can including lab values, vital trends, imaging findings / reports, physician notes, nursing notes, surgical reports, pending tests / labs, medications, etc. You can gain a lot of information from the electronic chart.

Vital signs on everyone. This is easier in the ICU where everyone is monitored, but on your ortho and med/surg floors I don't think I can under state this. I've run into countless asymptomatic people who upon assessment have systolic BP > 200, or more recently having a patient who's blood pressure dropped from 85 systolic to 50 systolic following 1 sit<>stand.

Collaboration with your fellow speech, occupational and respiratory therapists. I can be myopic at times, so getting input from findings from your other therapists can be helpful.

Having a good line of communication with your case managers. You are an advocate for your patients and need to have an open line of communication to discuss or challenge d/c recommendations.

Lines. Double check for any lines, tubes or catheters even if nothing stands out. Our electronic chart will tell me what lines are present upon chart review, but it doesn't hurt to double or triple check prior to mobilizing a patient.

Some resources I've found helpful as a new acute PT:

https://physicaltherapyreviewer.wordpress.com/
http://ptthinktank.com/2012/12/18/so-you-think-you-can-walk-acutept/
https://twitter.com/dr_ridge_dpt
https://twitter.com/DrDaleNeedham
www.medbridgeeducation.com ($200/yr with discount code, a number of courses focused on acute care)
http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Dubin/dp/0912912065
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.acutept.org/resource/resmgr/imported/labvalues.pdf

It's been a learning process with the transition, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it. Plus, I get the added benefit of seeing anatomy on a deeper level when it comes to wound care. Not to mention, the added benefit when you get your patients who are mechanically ventilated up and moving, while seeing their appreciation that they have for your services / help. Enjoy!

>About half.

Ah, yes, >60% is so rare. As rare as the Hope Diamond.

>And that's this poll.

This "poll" is the APPIC match survey, so it's everyone participating in round one of the match.

Nice try at dismissing data that doesn't agree with your argument. You'll go far in science.

>If you go to actual universities websites and Check around you will see that there are only a handful that are as high as 50% most were in the 20-30% range.

Check Norcross' book.

>There was a thread a while back discussing this with a lot of links and comments from people who choose applicants.

Huh, there's so many threads and links, yet you can't post a single one, but you sure can dismiss the APPIC data I provided. Again, you're quite the scientist.

>Considering most take on 20 or few students and it being hard to get in, . As a BA student your likelihood of getting in is even lower.

Again, the stats don't support your argument. >60% don't have master's degrees prior to admission to doctoral programs, thus their likelihoods of admission were not lower.

>I've never had a professor that got in a PhD program without their masters.

Oh no, you bested me with your anecdotes! I....am.....defeated.....

>However I have friends in other fields who have. It seems much more common in other fields. I think that's because there is less competition.
>
>
>If you are competing with Msc graduates who have a few published papers and you are just a B.A with some side experience, you aren't going to beat them.

Nice false equivalency there. Clinical programs care less about your master's degree and more about the research you've done. All things being equal, having just a BA vs having a master's degree isn't a tie breaker. It comes down to fit, personal characteristics, and what research ideas you bring to the lab.

Finally, as I've alluded to Norcross' book in the past, I thought I'd quote directly from it:
https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462525725/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510792237&sr=8-1&keywords=Insider%27s+Guide+to+Graduate+Programs+in+Clinical+and+Counseling+Psychology

>A Master’s Degree First?
A common question during our graduate school workshops is whether students should secure a master’s degree before seeking the doctorate. Fortunately, our workshop participants and you realize that no simple answer is possible to such a complex question. Nonetheless, the following are some broad reasons for seeking a master’s degree first.

>Low grade-point average. The vast majority of APA-accredited doctoral programs will not consider applicants with a GPA below 3.0.

>Weak GRE scores. Similarly, most university-based doctoral programs rarely accept bachelor’s-level applicants whose combined Verbal and Quantitative scores fall below 1,000 (or 145 on the revised scale).

>Scarce research or clinical experiences. Doctoral admission committees understandably desire that
you have had some direct experience with those activities you intend to pursue for a lifetime.

>Uncertain career goal. Indecision about your subfield in psychology, or outside of psychology, is a strong indicator for a master’s program initially.

>Late application. Doctoral programs hold to earlier deadlines than do master’s programs, so those students waiting too late to apply will be redirected to master’s programs.

>Terse letters of recommendation. By virtue of late transfer into a university or into the psychology major, some students lack sufficient contact with faculty for them to write positive and detailed letters of recommendation expected by doctoral programs.

>Inadequate coursework in psychology. Doctoral programs require a minimum level of education in the discipline prior to acceptance, typically at least 15 to 18 credits of psychology course work.

>Completing a rigorous master’s program in psychology can correct many of the foregoing impediments to acceptance into a doctoral program. As we describe in Chapter 8, students typically strengthen their grade point average, acquire clinical and research experience, sharpen their career goals, and establish close relationships with faculty during the 2 full-time years of a master’s program. For these and other reasons, many students opt for a master’s degree at one institution before seeking the doctorate at another. Doctoral psychology faculty were surveyed in detail regarding the value of a clinical master’s degree for gaining admission to their programs (Bonifzi, Crespy, & Rieker, 1997). Assuming a good undergraduate GPA and good GREs, the effect of having a master’s degree on the applicant’s chances for admission was negative for 7% of the programs, neutral for 48% of the programs, and positive for 45% of the programs. However, assuming mediocre GPA and mediocre GREs, the effect of having a master’s was more neutral than positive overall. Put another way, it is clearly the applicant’s overall credentials—rather than possession of a master’s degree per se—that carries the day. This same study (Bonifzi et al., 1997) and our own research (Mayne et al., 1994; Norcross et al., 2004) consistently demonstrate that Ph.D. clinical programs hold a positive bias toward baccalaureatelevel applicants. By contrast, Psy.D. clinical, Ph.D. counseling, and Ph.D. school psychology programs view master’s degree recipients more favorably and accept higher proportions of master’s-level applicants. Keep these biases in mind as you consider the selection criteria of graduate schools.

Hi! I think the greatest thing you can do, is to join "Fundamentals of Neuroscience". It's an online course, but it's really nothing like most courses online. The production value is crazy high. It's truly experimental, because its purpose is to allow anyone to understand neuroscience without sandpapering the edges. I recently attended a university level introductory course in neuroscience. Our textbook was Purves'. Several of our instructors are published in Science and Nature. While the course was really great, the "Fundamentals of Neuroscience" delved deeper than the course and presented more nuanced pictures of the information. I can't think of any better introduction. To really learn this stuff, you need to learn a lot more than is presented in the online course, but you're very well off if this is your starting point.

As for textbooks, Purves, as mentioned earlier is good. Principles of Neural Science is mentioned often as its probably the greatest reference work, but it's not something you read as a first timer. Bear is good. I have read some of it, and it seems pretty good as introductory material. Both Purves and Bear are fine.

Ah, it also kind of depends of what your reason for interest is. If you want to learn about consciousness, attention, memory, and stuff like that, I would have different recommendations. If you want to learn about the hard biology of the matter, I have different ones. If you want to learn the computational aspects of how the brain works, I have different ones. I just assumed you wanted general introductions. As for general ones, I say the online course is top shelf. Bear is great as supplementary material. Purves as well.

I took it today and finished in 75, getting the "good" pop-up.

Here's what I did:
My school paid for me to take Kaplan. The in-class portion was useless to me, but the most helpful thing were the practice questions. They are set up exactly like the NCLEX (I wish I could show a screen shot, they were identical, right down to the set-up, colors, etc.). This helped me feel more comfortable when I sat down to take it because I felt like I had already seen it before. Kaplan was next to useless for me as far as content review. They did give us an e-book, but I didn't use it. I did about 1000 questions and studied the rationales for every question I got wrong or was unsure of. I kept it all in a notebook and reviewed it daily. I did this for about 3 weeks (starting after the course ended), doing anywhere from 100-200 questions a day.

I used Saunders to review content. It comes with a CD that you can identify strengths/weakness with through a diagnostic exam. Honestly, I didn't go through it completely. I went through the pediatric sections because that was my weakness according to the diagnostic exam, but other than that, I just kind of skipped around, focusing on areas I needed clarification in.

Here's what I wish I had done:
-Actually set up a study plan to review instead of jumping around. I wish I had time to go through the book completely, but it just wasn't feasible. It would have made me feel better going into the exam.
-Bought Lacharity's book and included it in my studying. I did pretty well on delegation, priority, assignment questions, but I still wish I had used this book for some extra practice.

General stuff:
-Know lab values. Some people have no questions on them, but I for one did and was happy I memorized them.
-In addition to multiple choice, do as many alternate-format questions as you can. I hate SATA, but was happy I dedicated a few days to just doing those kind of questions. At least half my exam was SATA. I also got ordered response, graphics, exhibit/chart, so make sure you are familiar with these. Kaplan has some sample tests that are completely SATA/ordered response/computation, and you can pick to do only alternate response items from Saunders' CD.

The day before the exam, try to relax and not get yourself worked up. Do some light reviewing if you must, review lab values one more time but absolutely no hard-core studying because it wont help. Day of, wake up early, have a light breakfast (I was too nervous to really eat), and make sure you get there early so you're not rushed. Don't forget your ATT!

Keep calm. You've completed nursing school and have the knowledge to do this. It is a minimum competency exam; you're not expected to get everything correct.

Good luck!!!

I am a PGY-4 Rad resident. Here are some resources that I think you guys might find helpful.

General

• University of Virginia, online radiology tutorials. These cover many different aspects of radiology, from CT to US, as well as some basic trauma evaluation for every modality. Many modules review normal anatomy as well. A very good resource for a quick general overview. HERE
  
• Radiology Assistant One of the BEST resources for radiology residents and all other residents as well in my opinion. Covers many high-yield aspects of imaging. It goes into a little more depth for each topic than the UVA tutorials. I have looked at their bone tumor differential article many times. This website is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more, even for med students. [http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/] (http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/)
  
• LearningRadiology Wonderful general resource, geared towards medical students. The guy who wrote the book is the chair or PD for a program in North Philly I think. I read his book in medical school.
  
• Radiopaedia.org You already know who it is...(Silento). Many of my co-residents and attendings make fun of this website. I call it the WebMD of radiology. It's not bad in a pinch, but StatDx is a much better alternative
  
• StatDx The UpToDate of radiology. Requires big $$$ to access. Totally worth it IMO. Has every conceivable disease on there, as well as imaging/pathology/workup/recommendations/andeverythingelse. Written for radiology residents and attendings, so having some general knowledge makes it more palatable.
  
  Chest X-ray
  
  If you're serious about it, start with Felson's Principles of Chest Roentgenology, A Programmed Text. Don't let the 288 pages scare you, half of the pages are images and the other half only contain like 100 words of text. It's set up with big pictures on one side, and easy explanations and multiple choice questions on the opposing page. It kind of reminded me of that Dale Dubin EKG book (the orange one).
  
  If you're kind of "meh" about it. Just check out the UVA tutorials above, or this..
  
  All that being said, Chest X-rays can be some of the most challenging and humbling cases to read. You could read 5 books and still suck. I'm probably going to recommend a CT anyways.
  
  Interventional Radiology Gunners
  
  This guy makes some decent youtube videos. Maybe you'll impress someone someday and only have to sell 1 limb to get into IR.
  
  Advanced
  
  
• Radiographics ABR Series. Radiographics articles geared towards the ABR. Please don't read these unless you want to be absolutely insufferable.
  
• ASNR Neuroradiology Lectures For nerds only.
  
• STR Cardiothoracic Lectures For boring nerds only. Although the PA/Lateral Xray video overview is only 30 minutes long and pretty good.
  
  Finding good articles
  
  Just google "(What your looking for) + Radiographics. The Radiographics educational journal has some of the best educational articles and modules overall. You might become too smart and lose all your friends.
  
  Hope that helps. If I think of anything else, I'll periodically update this comment

hey buddy.

Health Care Handbook by Elizabeth Askin & Nathan Moore. I read it when applying in 2013 and at the time it was a free pdf. Now it's a book but I remember reading like 20 pages every morning in bed and it was like a kid's book. So easily digestible. I was accepted to USC (Los Angeles), Tulane and Miami and all interviewers said I was very well versed in Obamacare. Also, google "Redditor explains obamacare" by /u/CaspianX ...I read that everyday for a month and it melted into my memory, didn't even have to actively memorize. And it was...dare I say...even enjoyable to read haha.

I haven't read the other one's posted here but they may be just what you're looking for too!

Amazon link (can get digital and have it in 2 seconds!): http://www.amazon.com/Health-Care-Handbook-Elisabeth-Askin-ebook/dp/B0088CMAUU

Review of the book: http://healthcarehandbook.wustl.edu/

good luck and please PM for any help with the admissions process. I answer loads of PMs every week and have been since this time last year. I received help from a friend a year above me and feel the need to pay it forward!

)

I'm going to copy and paste a previous comment of mine:

> My two cents:
>
> Realistically at the medical student level the most important study to be able to interpret is going to be a chest x-ray. So, if you’re looking for resources to go past the general anatomy and “approach to a chest x-ray” I would recommend Felson’s Principles of Chest Roentgenology.
>
> It’s a ‘programmed text’ like Dubin’s for EKGs, and goes through pathology topic by topic, with lots of opportunity to practice interpretation and to see if you are right or wrong. It’s a relatively quick read and there are lots of practice cases at the end as well.
>
> I stressed interpretation before because, sure you may have a test question about the difference between an epidural vs. subdural bleed, but it’s not like you are going to be interpreting CTs or MRIs.
>
> Knowing the underlying anatomy and the differential for the pathology would probably be a better use of your time than going through any of the introductory texts like Learning Radiology: Recognizing the Basics or Squire’s Fundamentals of Radiology. (My point here being that you need to know what you are looking at if you are actually going to be able to make sense of a study.) If you were considering radiology, one might be nice to have as a reference, but again, I do not think actually trying to read through the whole thing would be a good use of time.
>
> Without cases to practice with, a lot of that knowledge probably will not stick. Whenever you have the chance, trying to look at a film before reading the radiologist’s report to test yourself can be helpful, as is trying to actively correlate what you see on the film compared to the clinical exam.
>
> After having a good knowledge of chest x-rays, your next most common scenarios that require interpretation would probably be emerg related - again chest x-rays will be super common, but others like abdo series, extremity skeletal trauma, cervical spine, etc. will be useful.
>
> Having said that, there are online resources like “Introduction to Radiology” from the University of Virginia or Radiology Masterclass.
>
> ---
>
> TL;DR:
>
> - Felson’s to learn how to interpret chest films
> - Pay attention to the little things you might be tested on like the features of arthritis on plain films, epidural vs. subdural, etc. etc. as you learn the rest of your clinical stuff
> - Know your anatomy
> - Radiopaedia for everything else that comes up
> - a PDF of an introductory text might be nice as a reference for a rads gunner - not as something to try to read cover to cover

If you are genuinely curious, I recommend this:

http://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253.

It was written in the 80's (by a Harvard PHd if you want cred), so it's a little dated, but still one of the best easily accessable books on the subject. It's a good place to start. He breaks the classes in America down into the following:

Top Out of Sight - The people so wealthy they can afford exclusive levels of privacy. We never hear about them because they don't want us to.

Upper Class - Inherited wealth. Those who don't have to work, but sometimes they go into politics or finance for the prestige value. They refer to tuxes as "dinner jackets."

Upper Middle - Wealthy surgeons and lawyers, etc. Professionals who couldn't be described as middle class.

Middle Class - The great American majority, sort of. Middle managers, desk jockeys, some small business owners, people who don't engage in much manual labor, but are not skilled professionals either. He examines the middle class in great depth.

High Proletarian (or "prole") - Skilled workers but manual labor. Electricians, plumbers, etc. Probably not familiar with the term "proletarian."

Middle Prole - Unskilled manual labor. Waitresses, painters. (In other words, my mom and dad!)

Low Prole - Non-skilled of a lower level than mid prole. I suspect these people ask "Would you like fries with that, sir?" as a career.

Destitute - Working and non-working poor.

Bottom Out of Sight - Street people, the most destitute in society. "Out of sight" because they have no voice, influence or voter impact. (They don't vote.)

He also talks about the "X-Class", which is another way of saying the artist/intellectual class.

But these are social classes, not economic classes. For example, an upper class person could actually have less money than an upper middle class person and still be upper class. I hope that answers some of your question. I would encourage you to do more research into this fascinating and complicated subject.

I think Dylanhelloglue has given you a good start, and I would second the recommendation that you get yourself a copy of Pinkard's translation, if not to read it in place of the Miller then to cross-reference particularly difficult passages.

When Hegel talks about the Absolute, he is talking about, well, everything. The Absolute is something like the universe construed as a whole in its most metaphysically real sense. You could think of the Absolute in Hegel on analogy with substance in Spinoza--the Absolute is the unified metaphysical reality underlying the appearance of difference and distinction. So whereas from our finite point of view thought and being (or subject and object) look distinct, from the point of view of the Absolute thought and being are identical. The sense in which thought and being are identical in the Absolute for Hegel is a bit weird--he doesn't think of identity as the inert equivalence of A=B. Rather, identity in the relevant sense is a property of processes, so that two things are identical if they can be shown to be "moments" or elements of a larger process from which they cannot be abstracted and upon which they depend. The Absolute is something like the largest possible process in which everything else is a dependent moment. Hegel talks about it as a 'self-moving whole.'

Spirit is basically self-consciousness or self-knowledge writ large--something like the collective self-understanding of a historically-situated people. The shape that Spirit takes is the beliefs and way of life of that people, that people's cultural and religious practices, etc. So Hegel thought of democratic Athens as one shape of Spirit incorporating Athenian religious, political, cultural, and philosophical ideas and practices. Basically, a shape of Spirit is what makes a given people or historical epoch distinctive. Democractic Athens was distinctive because it was a shape of Spirit. Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries (i.e., the Enlightenment) was a shape of Spirit. Spirit is a kind of self-understanding or self-interpretation--a way of picturing what you are, what you know, and what you do--but it is a supra-individual form of self-understanding. No one person living in democratic Athens was the arbiter of the shape of Spirit represented by democratic Athens--the shape of Spirit represented by democratic Athens was a product of the collective thoughts and deeds of Athenians.

Notion is a bit complicated. The German is Begriff, which is more commonly translated as "concept"--Miller uses Notion to try to draw attention to the fact that what Hegel means by "concept" is not what people usually think of when they think of a concept. For Hegel, a concept in the sense of Begriff is not something in human minds by virtue of which humans sort the objects of their experience into different categories. (Picture it like this: you have a whole bunch of sense data, and you sort that sense data by labeling sense datum A "table" by subsuming that sense datum under your concept of tableness, labeling sense datum B "chair" by subsuming B under your concept of chairness, etc. This is not Hegel's picture at all. Hegel calls concepts in this sense Vorstellungen, which Miller translates as "picture-thoughts.") For Hegel, the concept is something like the essence of a thing, and the more a thing corresponds to its essence the more it becomes "actual" [wirklich] in Hegel's technical sense. Hegel is inspired in a lot of this by Aristotle, so it would probably help to have some familiarity with Aristotle's Metaphysics. This might help. In short, the concept is that by virtue of which a thing is what it is, and the more a thing corresponds to its concept the more it really is, or is actual. So when he talks about the Phenomenology as describing the development of the "concept" of knowledge, he means that the Phenomenology is going to reveal what knowledge truly is, what it means for knowledge to be actual knowledge.

Hope that helps. I'd also add that you should try to pick up a commentary on the Phenomenology to read along with the text itself. The Phenomenology is super, super difficult, so you should take all the help you can get. My two favorite books on the Phenomenology are Michael Forster's Hegel's Idea of a Phenomenology of Spirit and Hyppolite's Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. The Forster is an extremely helpful introduction to and broad overview of the aims and concerns of the Phenomenology. (Forster identifies 11 distinct 'tasks' that the Phenomenology tries to accomplish, which he then divides into metaphysical, epistemological, and pedagogical tasks; his book then traces how the Phenomenology goes about accomplishing these tasks.) Forster offers some commentary on specific chapters, but for the most part his book is focused on the whole rather than paying detailed attention to the parts. The Hyppolite is a straight-up chapter-by-chapter commentary. Fred Beiser also has a commentary worth looking at, and I've heard good things about the commentary by Kalkavage.

Apologies for getting carried away with the length of this. (*edited to correct some typos.)

The term Gen X comes from Douglas Coupland's novel Generation X which came out in 1991 but was about twenty somethings: https://www.amazon.com/Generation-X-Tales-Accelerated-Culture/dp/031205436X/

The X in Generation X actually is a reference to Paul Fussell's humorous book about class: Class: A Guide Through the American Status System https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253/ which claimed there was a category X that stood outside of normal class divisions. We'd call them hipsters now. Coupland pointed out that what Fussell described as a kind of classless bohemianism was actually pretty typical for the entire Gen X generation.

I'm sure all this would seem pretty quaint to millennials, but seemed fairly trenchant when it came out. In any case, you could try to throw the Gen Y kids into the Gen X category, but they are pretty distinct based on the fact that they do generally come from broken homes while the older Gen X'ers do not.

I'll just add that I think we Gen X'ers grew up in a time when many things seemed fixed and immutable, particularly institutions, and it felt like opportunities were incredibly limited because of this. Power was pretty well concentrated in corporate hands, including media power. The Cold War was a fixed and omnipresent part of our childhood. If you read Coupland's book, you'll see a lot of precursors to the current millennial pessimism. We really felt like we didn't have a chance in the economy. Sadly, we were far better off than the millennials as, at the very least, we weren't as a generation saddled with really significant college debt.

I think at least for the Gen Y'ers I know who were admittedly early to the internet there was and is a lot more optimism about opportunity just because the internet was clearly a disruptive force for all the major institutions of my youth. Their entry into the world as adults was coupled with a new set of jobs and a radical remaking of the media landscape. I'm sure that is to some extent locale specific, of course, as it hit the creative coasts first and started having an impact elsewhere later.

Well, it depends on how hard you are willing to work,

Lazy and just want to kinda get used to terminology:
Learning Radiology by Herring

Willing to put in 2-3 hours every day during the rotation which by the way is entirely feasible since med students definitely aren't doing more than 40 hours a week, most do like 30 during a rads rotation. Use Core Radiology

Difficultish: Brant and helms, the harrisons of radiology. But unlike harrisons where legit everything is covered, if you really want to learn radiology you have to get subspecialty specific textbooks like the requisities series. That said, this is what I used back in the day during med school and I definitely don't regret it. I've read through core radiology as well, they are kinda similar in content, but B&H is a bit more formal and teaches radiologist principles better. If you are going into radiology, this is the textbook to buy since you'll probably use it in residency during PGY-2.

And in general, you are never going to read the entire textbooks during med school, but for IM or EM docs, Core could be super useful even though it will be beyond them for certain topics.

For physics, this is my favorite book by far. It can be a bit dense, and some in my opinion more ignorant radiologists who dislike extensive physics don't like it as much, but I learned during training physics makes the radiologist. Even among radiologists, too many doctors make basic physics mistakes that lead to misdiagnosis, especially with things like nuclear imaging. I frequently overread cardiologist and GI nuc imaging and am kind of appaled by the complete lack of basic radiation understanding. That said...

Here are the amazon links, you can probably find pdfs to some of the books and those that aren't you can probably find in your hospital library.

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Radiology-Recognizing-Basics-3e/dp/0323328075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500633396&sr=8-1&keywords=radiology

https://www.amazon.com/Core-Radiology-Approach-Diagnostic-Imaging/dp/1107679680/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500633396&sr=8-2&keywords=radiology

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Diagnostic-Radiology-Set-Brant/dp/1608319121/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500633979&sr=1-1&keywords=brant+and+helms

Specifically for MRI:
https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Review-MRI-Principles-Case/dp/1455700843/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500633869&sr=1-1&keywords=duke+MRI

^Great book for the basics of MRI artifacts and connects visual artifacts to the physics, although learning how to differentiate between artifact and pathology is going to take a residency ;). Also, make sure to get the online version because the paper edition is shit quality.

Yea, so all in all, everyone can find a book that will satisfy their level of interest in radiology, and of course, you get out what you put in. You put in a lot of time in the rotation, that is your decision and I think it was worth it. I learned more of my physics principles during my rotation(although it helped I was an engineer) than residency, so when it came time to take physics CORE, I didn't have to study. Physics CORE is basically the step 1 of radiology, the exam can be hard as shit, and unlike step 1, there is no UFAP or UWORLD lol.

Radiology textbook can be obscure in that they often don't explicitly mention physics principles, so if you don't them, you can't truly appreciate a textbook in my opinion, and how I studied radiology basically was I always had four textbooks open at any given time.

Robbins for pathophysiology, Whatever radiology textbook I was using, a copy of Netters, and maybe an embryology review book if I felt it was necessary. Never steered me wrong, radiology and anatomy textbooks open at all times are especially important, but try to keep the anatomy book and pathophys book closed while "interpreting" the textbook, only to re-correlated after you have thought about it and read a section to get a second more in depth look.

Costantly reminding yourself of principles is important and often missed. I am sure all of you know radiology is one of the most basic science heavy specialties, so reviewing your basic sciences, even well beyond medical school, makes for a fantastic radiologist.

However be careful not to get attached to any given textbook as well, you can't exactly have netters and robbins with you in the reading room.

I finished a 12-month ABSN program last May; my previous degree was in illustration. Now I currently work in Peds ICU and I love it :) But I won't lie, getting to the point where I am today was challenging and definitely a test of how much stress you can handle. But I'm copying and pasting a bunch of my previous answers on the subject here:

"The longest, shortest year of your life" is exactly how I would describe it. In our program, you only got 4 grades (all tests) in a class - so if your average was lower than a 76, you were out. We had a new class every 4-5 weeks, two full days of classes per week and the rest were usually clinical. Also nonstop studying 24/7: tests usually covered at least 11 chapters. Relationships were definitely tested (I was really lucky to have an understanding SO but other people in my class, not so much) but I met some of my best friends in this past year and I wouldn't change it for the world. It did feel like we got a slight break every four weeks when we took the final for our current class, but after a weekend off, it was back to work as usual. We also only got two weeks off the whole year for christmas/new years. Out of 28 of us, 24 completed the program (only 1 of those 4 failed out, the rest dropped because they felt it wasn't for them) and 22 of us passed the NCLEX on the first try.

Skills wise, I'd say you definitely have what it takes. Going into school, I had no idea how to take a manual blood pressure or check my own pulse. I was worlds away from the science of medicine. But keep in mind that the things nurses do aren't exactly the same as what medics can do. We're not allowed to do a lot of things (and this alters per hospital policy of course) but keep that in mind when learning - try to keep yourself from getting disheartened when you feel you were taught something differently.

As far as testing goes, stay focused. Nursing test questions are known to be kind of bullshit. See if your textbooks come with study guides or online practice questions. Personally, I was a straight A student until I hit nursing school - I was just not ready for the way NCLEX-type questions are phrased and I should have practiced them a bit before my first big exam. It sucked but it is what it is. Many professors will take questions from study guides for their tests to help you out. Also, I highly recommend [The Saunder's Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX] (https://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-Review-NCLEX-RN-Examination/dp/1455727555) as a great reference tool. It really gets to the point when it comes to med-surg nursing.

Finally, making connections during your clinical placements will definitely help when it comes to getting your foot in the door for your first nursing job.

Good luck! My inbox is open if you have any questions

Some of these points aren't quite right for a neuropsychologist. A neuropsychologist typically does a PhD in clinical psychology, with a year-long internship in neuropsych followed by a postdoctoral position in neuropsychology. They then need to get licensed and often board certified.

Clinical psych PhD programs are very competitive, but the good part is that good programs are fully funded, meaning that not only are you not charged tuition but you are paid a stipend for a research or teaching fellowship or a grant requiring no additional work. They pay you to get a PhD. If your grades, test scores, recommendations, and research experience are top notch, it's very easy to finish your PhD with no more debt than you finished undergrad with.

There are also clinical psych PsyD programs, which are like a PhD but more geared toward clinical practice as opposed to research careers. There are a few good PsyD programs, but unfortunately a lot of for profit PsyD programs aren't really worth your time and money. These have high class sizes (a typical incoming PhD class will be around 5 students, whereas it could be 100 or more for a PsyD program), and they typically don't offer full tuition remission or stipends. That is actually a pretty good way to determine if it's a good quality PsyD program: class sizes and amount of funding provided. You should also look at the number of students in the program that match to APA accredited internships on their first try.



The book Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology is the best resource for getting into a clinical psych program.

source: I have a PhD in clinical psychology.

I haven't read it, but I can tell you that the consensus about it in the History of Philosophy community is that it's pretty bad. I've only seen it cited in history of philosophy journals as a foil. For a broad introduction, I've heard Kenny's new work is pretty good. And I rather like Copleston's History, though it's nine ~500 page volumes. I think your best bet, though, is just to read some philosophical classics. Perhaps Plato's Five Dialogues (https://www.amazon.com/Plato-Dialogues-Euthyphro-Apology-Classics/dp/0872206335/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467069583&sr=8-1&keywords=five+dialogues), Descartes' Meditations (https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-First-Philosophy-Hackett-Classics/dp/0872201929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467069631&sr=8-1&keywords=meditations+descartes), Russel's Problems of Philosophy (https://www.amazon.com/Problems-Philosophy-Bertrand-Russell/dp/1613821875/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1467069667&sr=8-7&keywords=problems+of+philosophy), and maybe Searle's Brief Introduction to Mind (https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Brief-Introduction-Fundamentals-Philosophy/dp/0195157346/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467069693&sr=8-1&keywords=searle+mind).

There are better, more important, and more recent works than these, but I think these are good intros to philosophy as a whole for two reasons: 1) these are very representative of Ancient, Modern, Early Analytic, and contemporary philosophy of mind. And 2) these are all pretty easy. Philosophy's batshit complicated, at times; but none of these are more difficult than they have to be (and yet, they're not Idiot's Guides … )

I was in the exact same place as you near the end of my undergraduate years. I started college with the idea of getting an MD and joined a lab only to pad my application to medical school. After shadowing doctors, volunteering at free medical clinics, and working in two different research labs, I finally decided to do the PhD. I even went so far as to take both the MCAT and GRE. That turned out to be a good thing since I did well enough on the MCAT to teach MCAT prep for Kaplan and supplement my meager PhD stipend. Have you considered a combined MD/PhD program?

1. A PhD generally takes five years, but the range of people I know is from 4-7 years. The nice thing is that there is no debt. You get paid to go to graduate school. It's not much, but it's enough to live on.
   
   
2. The job market is pretty diverse actually. Academia is certainly a very common path, but tenure track jobs are hard to come by right now. There are lots of opportunities in industry (biotech, pharma), government (policy, advisory roles), legal (patent), or anything where an analytical mind and the ability to quickly adapt to new information is important. I know people who have gone on to all of those types of positions. None of my grad school colleagues are unemployed, but some of them have had to change their paths when their first choice didn't work out. I don't know about more comprehensive statistics on the job market for PhDs though.
   
   
3. If you want to learn more about basic neuroscience, I would recommend a textbook like this one:
   http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Eric-Kandel/dp/0838577016
   It's a bit out of date, but it's widely regarded as one of the best basic neuroscience textbooks out there. I keep hearing rumors of a new edition, but the release dates keep changing.
   Depending on your level of skill and access, you could always check out new issues of the journals Neuron or Nature Neuroscience. It's a good idea to know a bit about what interests you so you can target your grad school applications.
   
   
4. Right now? Probably cancer. We don't know enough about how to work with these cells yet.

My honest advice is to email some researchers whose work interests you. Grad school is a strange business, where the right advisor will want you to study under them and will pay you to make it happen. If you are really interested in doing research in a field for which your own country has no framework, you will have to move at some point. Grad studies are the ideal time to try it out, precisely because there isn't much financial risk.

As for teaching yourself, textbooks are your best friend. One that I really enjoyed was Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience by Purves et al.. Another panelist recommended a text book by Eric Kandel for a good background of basic neuroscience. There are also some good online resources like WikiBooks, though they are admittedly sparse or incomplete. Just start with the basics and work your way up.

Re: staying up to date, your current school may give you access to an online article database, which I would recommend scouring and reading everything you can get your hands on.

I highly recommend John Searle's Mind: A Brief Introduction.

Searle's is a bit biased towards his argument for "Emergent consciousness" throughout the book but he does give a very thorough and accessible overview of the history and important arguments/debates about consciousness/free will/personal identity. Also tons of helpful references at the end of each chapter that will lead you towards many of the notable papers. and books if you wish to follow up in more detail.

The books main strength lies in Searle's prose which (in this book at least) is engaging, easy to follow, full of life and energy and informative at the same time.

It is a bit older than the books mentioned by wyzaard above, so it might better serve as a compliment to read alongside the texts he recommended.

No worries and thanks /u/weeza29745!

U world is a mobile app that you can also access on other devices such as your computer (which I like the best becoz it gives easy 'search' option) or an ipad. One time payment gives you an access on ALL devices for a certain time period (around $50 for a month that you can renew for a cheap). There are also other plans for a longer period access, such as yearly, available on their website

It is Uworld NCLEX-RN. They also have PN for LPNs and USMLE for medical students.

Saunders is a comprehensive book that also comes in just 'question&answers' version.
Good luck, my friend!

Here are the sources:

Uworld-NCLEX-RN: https://www.uworld.com/NCLEX/nclex_rn_qbank.aspx

Saunders Comprehensive (there is a new 7th edition in the market I guess that just released); here is 6th Ed: https://www.amazon.ca/Saunders-Comprehensive-Review-NCLEX-RN-Examination/dp/1455727555

In case you had lots of priority or delegation questions (which you will get most of the time in NCLEX), both Uworld and the following book are helpful: https://www.amazon.ca/Prioritization-Delegation-Assignment-Exercises-Examination/dp/0323113435

Hope it helps

Hey there. I'm a graduate of Pitt's BSN program. Just a tip; you really don't need almost any of the books which are advertised. In my opinion, the only ones worth getting will be your anatomy textbook, the chem workbook, and the critical care textbook which should be much later on in the program. I would also get Saunder's NCLEX review book and review relevant info for each exam. Nursing exams take some getting used to, and the Saunder's book will accelerate that. Eventually if you're looking for something more advanced, PASS! CCRN is one of the best critical care references money can buy

I honestly just studied straight from the slides and referenced wikipedia for things which I didn't understand. Medicine on wikipedia is pretty high quality. I still do the same thing in the Anesthesia program. There's also tons of books on HSLS and you can find pretty much everything on there. Save your money for food and beer :)

http://www.hsls.pitt.edu/resources/books/ebooks?s=Nursing

http://www.hsls.pitt.edu/resources/books/ebooks

https://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-RN%C2%AE-Examination-Nclex-Rn/dp/0323358519/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466870992&sr=8-2&keywords=saunder%27s+nclex

When I took the CRNE this past June, I bought this NCLEX guide. I found the summaries super useful and concise. The only downsides were converting stuff like lab values (particularly blood glucose) and knowing different cultural aspects for Canada instead of the US. Along with this, I used the CNA prep guide as you suggested as well. These two books were my primary study materials and I passed my exam. Of course, make sure you do what works for you in terms of studying! I was never a note-writing, chart-making or a group study type - I just read the information until it makes sense to me because I know that's how I study best.

Great advice in your post, thanks for taking the time to write it all!

I usually recommend Bear-Connors-Paradiso as a first read, as it is simpler; almost in between a textbook and a popular book. And then you use Candel to go deeper on selected topics (or all).

And indeed, another approach is a "top-down" reading: download some papers from Pubmed, and start deciphering them. Use Wikipedia, and references from there, and reviews from Pubmed, to understand these papers - word by word, sentence by sentence. It's a long process, but extremely helpful. And there's no better way to charm the professor, and make them suspect that you are one of the best, most intelligent and proactive students ever.

Well, if you want a concentrated course of study you might consider looking for secondary sources that focus on particular areas of research in philosophy rather than trying to read very few (5-10) authors in real depth. I see Kant has been suggested, for example, and while I would never doubt his importance as a philosopher, if you set out with the intention of reading the bulk of his works as you say you might you would have to tackle a great deal of dry, technical material which I think would prove to be a lot more work than you could expect. Same could be said for Aristotle, Plato, Hegel, Descartes, nearly anyone you really might care to list. I don't know if you've read much philosophy, but you might instead look at something like an introduction to philosophy, an intro to ethics, or an intro to the philosophy of mind. These are only some examples, there are books like this for pretty much any area of study that attracts your interest. I'm sure others could provide suggestions as well.

Hi, I graduated last May and passed the NCLEX first try. Here's what I did:

Michael Linares videos from Simple Nursing: This guy helped with some of the tougher concepts.

Khan Academy is wonderful for disease processes and anatomy/physiology problems.

Go to the library and check out some NCLEX books, or find some used on Amazon. I recommend the Saunder's and Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment out of all the ones that I bought. I used these for everything.

Have you heard of www.quizlet.com ? You can look up tons of flashcards or make your own. There's an app so you can take them with you wherever you go, and it grades you each time you go through them so you can find your weak spots. Spelling counts on the points, and it did on my exams, which helped with some of those tricky words. You can also add pictures to your cards if you want.

I went through the Hurst review after graduation, which was a nice review. It's crazy expensive, and if I did it all over again I probably would have skipped it.

Get comfortable with the math! Go to a tutor if that's something your struggle with, as those are EASY POINTS. There's only one correct answer in math, unlike every other nursing school question.

Remember ABCIS for priority: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Infection and Safety! Every question you see, imagine if you can only do one thing for your patient. Read the questions carefully and look for key words. I went through and underlined those words. Break it down piece by piece.

I used powerpoints for my notes, as added diagrams and videos help me. You can also search easily for information when you are reviewing.

Good luck, and don't forget to breathe!

This is how I understand the two most popular out there:

Principles of Neural Science (4th edition) has been the gold standard of neuroscience textbooks. It's been called the "bible" of neuroscience and a great jumping off point for anyone who wants to get a very technical and medical perspective on the various functions of the brain. The fifth edition is set to come out this October so I don't know if you'd want to wait or jump into this one but from what I understand this is the number 1.
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Eric-Kandel/dp/0838577016

The other textbook that is popular, that I've read most of, is Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (3rd edition). This textbook makes a lot of the topics that you'd like to learn about organized and easy to understand. While this book probably doesn't go into as much detail as Kandel's, it is a wonderful jumping off point to learn a lot of the basics about neuroscience and to get a solid understanding of a lot of mechanisms controlled by the brain. I highly suggest this one if you're new to neuroscience and not in medschool.

http://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Mark-F-Bear/dp/0781760038

How is your junior/senior GPA? If it's fairly high, above a 3.4 or 3.5, that will show improvement over the years. Research experience, good recommendations, and good scores on the GRE will top it off, giving you a shot.

I'd highly recommend checking out Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: 2016/2017 Edition by Norcross and Sayette. It details everything you need to prepare your application, breaks down schools by research interests, plus lists all doctorate programs in clinical & counseling psych, gives their average acceptance GPA, GRE scores, requirements, etc. It's a lifesaver.

I have quite a few suggestions.

Specifically for nurses:

1. Schaum's Outline of Emergency Nursing: 242 Review Questions - Not my favorite one, but it serves as an ok reference.
   
   
2. Emergency Nursing Made Incredibly Easy - Love this one.
   
   
3. Saunders Nursing Survival Guide: Critical Care & Emergency Nursing - I like this one because it touches ICU as well as ER nursing.
   
   The following books are more for med students and MD's but I believe as nurses we need to understand rationales behind what MD's do, so these are good references:
   
   
4. Case Files Emergency Medicine - Goes over a number of cases involving common complaints seen in the ER, assessment findings, treatments, etc for those cases. By far my favorite book in my ER Library.
   
   
5. Emergency Medicine Secrets - doesn't have case studies like the book above, but goes more in detail about common and uncommon complaints seen in the ER.
   
   Miscellaneous books:
   
   
6. Rapid Interpretation of EKG's - as an ER nurse you'll need to constantly interpret the EKG of patients that are on the cardiac monitor to bring any changes to the attention of the MD. It really helps if you can identify those rhythms and this book is really easy to understand.
   
   Also consider subscribing to some journals. I'm subscribed to a few of them.
   
   
7. The Journal of Emergency Nursing
   
   
8. Nursing2016 Critical Care
   
   
9. Nursing2016
   
   I'm an ER medicine nerd, so I love reading this stuff but by no means do you need to have all these books. I just enjoy learning as much as I can about EM.

I have a few that I still use after two years in the Emergency Department:

Books

• Sheehy's Manual of Emergency Nursing Care This is by far the best resource I have.
  
  
• Rapid Interpretation of EKGs You will be interpreting EKG's to notify emergency docs if there is a rhythm that they need to be made aware of ASAP (i.e., STEMI, new-onset a-fib with rapid ventricular response, torsades, v-fib, SVT, etc...)
  
  Journals
  
  
• Journal of Emergency Nursing - some of the articles are fluff (i.e., impact on nurses of something in an obscure Chinese hospital), but a lot of them are medical/clinical in nature and very interesting.
  
  Blogs/Podcasts
  
  
• EMCrit - probably the best EM blog/podcast out there
  
  
• Life In The Fast Lane if we are ranking, this is tied for the number one spot of best EM blogs/podcasts
  
  
• The Skeptic's Guide to EM
  
  
• NurseEM not updated very frequently
  
  
• FOAMCast Free Open Access in Medicine - deals mostly with EM
  
  
• R.E.B.E.L Cast
  
  
• ER Cast
  
  
• Emergency Medicine Cases
  
  Subreddits
  
  
• /r/emergencymedicine
  
  
• /r/emcrit
  
  
• /r/medicine
  
  
• /r/neurology
  
  
• /r/cardiology

The hand book of NSG is a must

Neurocritical Care is a must if you have a MICU/SICU

Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases is a good textbook which focuses on all the major points and many fine details you will need to know as you go through your career. I use this book when I make lectures.

You'll also want to read some review articles on ICP management, vasospasm dx and tx following SAH, hypertonic saline, neuro imaging.

There are some youtube videos that will help get you started with imaging:

For Head CT

For C-spine CT

For MRI in general

For Lumbar MRI

I recommend referring back to these resources as you see patients with the afflictions as it will help it stick. If you just read about things without using them in practice I think you'll find it is easily forgotten. Best of luck!

The book you linked is great. It is the one recommended by my instructor as well, as this one https://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-RN-Examination-Nclex-Rn/dp/0323358519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492486033&sr=8-1&keywords=saunders+nclex+review+2017. The book you linked is smaller and more direct and has "hesi hints" which are very helpful. The book I linked has questions at the end of every section but the hesi book you linked does not. Both books have online sections as well on the Evolve website. The book I linked is much more detailed and comprehensive for its online portion; literally thousands of questions. The best bang for your buck is probably the one I linked but if you can afford it, buy both. On my mid-year med/surg HESI exam I scored a 955 and I actually just took my year end med/surg HESI exam today and did very well with a score of 1115. I studied for both using mostly the book I linked. I guarantee you will pass your exam if you spend sufficient time in either of these books.

So I just graduated in June and passed the NCLEX on my first try.

The most helpful tool for me was my Saunders NCLEX study book. It was like the cliff notes to everything I learned in nursing school plus tons of NCLEX style questions in the book and hundreds more in the CD that came with the book. I didn't buy it until just before I graduated to review. I honestly wish I had bought it at the beginning of nursing school because it was such a great resource for learning. I could have used it to review and quiz myself during school as we learned patho and pharmacology and not just for studying the NCLEX. Go to your local book store and look at these books now. Find one you like and get it now. You will use it throughout school and what it teaches will be just as valid when you graduate (as long as the NCLEX doesn't have any major changes which is extremely unlikely as they often go many many years without altering the testing style)

I spent a lot of time on the bus commuting to and from school. I loved NCLEX apps for my phone. It was an easy way to quiz myself while traveling home without lugging heavy books with me. Kaplan, Saunders, ATI, and so many more make apps and many have free trials. Try them see which one appeals to your learning style. I preferred the ATI app but you have plently of great NCLEX apps out there to assist you. You could start doing this in your last 6 months or less if you want and have a smart phone.

Really the most important part of the NCLEX is learning how to answer the questions. Never assume anything. Don't "what if" yourself on questions. ABC. ABC everything on patients. If you need to triage a patient it's always Airway first, Breathing second, Circulation third. Oh you stubbed your toe? Let me check your airway. Sounds dumb but if they aren't breathing then bandaging that toe is not going to help much. If you buy an NCLEX book pay close attention to how it guides you in answering the questions. The test prep guides want you to learn how to answer the question. You know the material but none of that matters if you don't understand how and what the question is asking you.

I just took the NCLEX last month, and it was all over the place where content is concerned. I was in and out in 75 questions, so I didn't see a whole lot of it, but its really more about critical thinking than specific knowledge. Of course you have to have a level of background knowledge in nursing, but its mostly about the "think and link".

As far as studying, I didn't do much - I spent the last 3 years studying nursing, after all. I did however use an app called NCLEX Mastery, which can be found here, whenever I had a few minutes with nothing to do. Its pretty comprehensive, and it generally has thorough rationales. I found it useful for assessing for areas of weakness in my knowledge. I also used this book. Its very thorough, and while I didn't make much use of it, my classmates speak very highly of it.

If you've done well in your course of study, don't get yourself too worked up about NCLEX. If you haven't done so hot, I'd recommend spending some quality time with either/both of those resources.

Best of luck!

Edit:
> A lot of students in my class are extremely nervous about it.

I have come to the conclusion that my faculty made a BIG deal out of the NCLEX mostly to scare us into busting our asses studying. It worked. The truth is, if you've paid attention in class, done your reading assignments and haven't been daydreaming during clinical, you'll be fine. The vast majority of nurses pass the NCLEX on their first try, whether it takes them 75 questions or 285. The fact that you're worried about it and are seeking resources indicates to me that you'll pass and be just fine. Just don't think you can sit on your laurels, though :)

My focus is theoretical neuroscience, but even still the best resource I found was taking an actual class. I took Introductory to Neuroscience from UC Extension in California. Other then that I also followed the course material from: http://redwood.berkeley.edu/wiki/VS265:_Neural_Computation

I also have read:
Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition (Principles of Neural Science (Kandel)) Although, I think it would be dense to start with that.

I really like the book from my introductory course:
Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0781760038/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The coursera course on Computational Neuroscience was interesting and if you are CS I highly suggest it as a way to get interested in the field.

Other then that I use Google scholar search to find papers about subjects I am interested in and read those. Currently doing a lot of reading in spare representation.

If you want the standard sequence of Neuroscience textbooks, there is a rough ordering of 3 common books. Each are very comprehensive and more than you would likely be able to read cover to cover, but they get more sophisticated and comprehensive as you go. The last one specifically is essentially the bible of neuroscience and you will be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive coverage of any of the topics outside a specialised textbooks or research papers.

These books will cover the general overview of neuroanatomy, physiology, pharmacology and pathology but if you want to go further in depth, there are more advanced books for each of those and dozens of other subfields.

1. Purves - Neuroscience
   
2. Bear - Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain
   
3. Kandel - Principles of Neural Science
   
   I would specifically recommend Nolte - The human brain: an introduction to its functional anatomy as an exceptional example of a specialised text. Unfortunately, I do not recall the neurpharmacology text that I used, but it was very good too. I shall look it up and get back to you! For a more general introduction to pharmacology, the standard text is Rand and Dale - Pharmacology.

Best book on the market in my opinion is Rapid Interpretation of EKGs. Its been in print for decades, and its definitely held up over time as the best EKG books out there. It covers everything you need to know to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of EKGs, and it does so in a way thats easy to understand.

The author is a convicted felon and child pornographer. But don't worry too much about that, its still a great book.

His descriptions of what happens in people with "split brains" is pretty accurate. It's truly fascinating what happens when you separate parts of the brain. (By far the coolest in my opinion is left-sided hemi neglect, where the patient just does not acknowledge the left side of things existed - they will shave only the right side of their face, only draw the right side of a clock, etc.)

Most of what he discussed can be found in most neuro textbooks. As far as the "who is you" part of the question, I think that's best found in the philosophy section.

If you're interested in a specific textbook, I've enjoyed (as much as one can enjoy medical school) the neuroanatomy through clinical cases book

The Healthcare Handbook

Blurb:

> The American health care system is vast, complex and confusing. Books about it shouldn't be. The Health Care Handbook is your one-stop guide to the people, organizations and industries that make up the U.S. health care system, and the major issues the system faces today. The Handbook's five chapters (250 pages) cover:

> * Inpatient and outpatient health care and delivery systems

• The different types of health insurance and how they're structured
  
• Health policy and government health care programs
  
• Concise summaries of 31 different health professions
  
• Medical research, technology, and drugs
  
• A clear summary of the Affordable Care Act, challenges to the law, and other reform options.
  
• Economic concepts and the factors that make health care so expensive
  
• The Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industries
  
  In my opinion, this book has a great balance of completeness/readability - I had a pretty fragmented knowledge of the healthcare system, and this book tied everything together and filled in the gaps.
  
  Full disclosure: The Healthcare Handbook was written by two students at the med school that I attend, and our class was given free copies of the book - but I totally think it's worth the $8.

The questions you are asking are related to philosphy of mind. Two good, recent, and not too dense books on the topic are http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Brief-Introduction-Fundamentals-Philosophy/dp/0195157346/ and
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Shapes-Mind-Shaun-Gallagher/dp/0199204160/

To understand how consciousness works you probably need to start with the brain. You can look at it from afar and you'll see a mess of grey tissue and up close you'll see a bunch tiny cells and electrical and chemical signals. You won't find any consciousnesses. So you pay more attention and see that the tiny cells (neurons) are constantly interacting with each other and with different parts of the body like eyes and limbs. These interactions start small and gradually build up. Making a big leap, you see that human biology has organized these interactions to perform higher order tasks like using visual information (a ball rushing through the air towards you) to direct limb movement (reaching out your hands to catch it.) But these types of actions aren't necessarily the result of conscious states, they could just be reflex actions.

Making the next step is difficult. You know that you have consciouness and that you have higher order brain activities, but dreams for example seem to be higher order brain activities that occur when you're unconscious. So what makes higher order brain activities into conscious states? Philosophy and cognitive science have a great deal to say here and there's not a definitive answer, but I think Gallagher (in ch. 8 from the second book above) has a pretty good model (building off of Husserl's phenomenology of time-consciousness.)

According to Gallagher's model your ongoing experience of the world breaks down into three time-based phases. You have the sense of the now, of what is happening at this very moment (primal impression.) You feel itchy or see blue or smell cinammon. You also have a working memory (retention) of the recent past. You weren't just feeling itchy or seeing blue or smelling cinammon. And you also are able to anticipate what is just about to happen (protention.) You aniticpate scratching the itch or being crushed by a tidal wave or eating dessert. Your being conscious is the result of your brain performing these phases in unison. Your stream of consciousness is the ongoing temporal connection. When you're unconscious you don't have full access to all three phases, when you're dreaming you don't really utilize retention or protention. There is a lot more to the model and its implications, but that's a very general picture.

Other organisms probably (in most cases certainly) don't have the sophisticated interactions that the human brain does which create consciousness. There are also complications with other aspects of mind stuff (esp. intentionality) would keep a computer from being conscious as we generally understand even if it was programmed with retention, protention, and now-ness (and getting proper anticipation/protention into a computer is a big challenge on its own.) I don't think we know enough to say when evolution produced consciousness. And while consciousness is not reducible to individual cells and electrochemical impulses it is a result of our biology, so when human babies get made and develop normally they end up gaining consciousness

Let me explain why I brought up dyslexia as a common comorbidity of having problems expressing yourself and adhd, but first lets talk about language. I will get back to dyslexia and ADHD. Do note while my post is long, I provide lots of links to pictures.

I am going to be using a lot of images from a biology textbook called Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavorial, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience. Mostly from Chapter 19 which deals with language, while I am going to provide specific images you may find it useful to read the visual summary if you want more info.

http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs19.html

-----

 

 

Put simply to do language you are going to use multiple regions of the brain together as a circuit. See here

http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs19/vs1905.png

You are going to use areas in the back of the brain tied to vision, then you are going to pass that information to a multisensory processing area where your brain combines the senses and figures out what to do (aka you are forming the visual images in your mind before you think of the words that correspond to the visual images). You are then going to pass the information once again to a multisensory processing area but this area is more auditory based, followed by you passing the information to a specific area of the frontal lobe that is very close to the prefrontal areas which is tied to language, but also attention, sequencing of data, and response inhibition (stopping impulsivity) but also activation (aka release the brake and now go). This information is then passed to premotor and supplementary motor areas which is then passed to the motor areas. And during all these steps there are inbetween fine tunning by the subcortical brain areas such as the cerebellum and the basal ganglia.

Now I was trying to explain all of that without using medical terms but here is the names for those brain areas

http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs19/lowres/BIOPSYCHOLOGY7e-Fig-19-07-0.jpg


 

 

And here is a diagram that compares speaking a heard word and speaking a word you read off a piece of paper. When you are composing inside of your head without mental feedback and you are imaging what you are going to say your thought process looks more like speaking a word you read off a piece of paper for you use more of the visual areas to visualize in your mind's eye what you are going to do and say.

http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs19/lowres/BIOPSYCHOLOGY7e-Fig-19-09-0.jpg


 

 

-------

Now we know things like head injuries and lesions to specific brain injuries to specific brain injuries can all disrupt speech but if the area is localized to specific regions you may only have some problems with certain aspects of language. When language problems are caused by some form of trauma we call this aphasia.

http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs19/artWin.html?BIOPSYCHOLOGY7e-Table-19-01-0.jpg


 

 

And people with different types of aphasia may have different problems. Like a person with expressive aphasia may know what they want to say and they can draw what they want to say but they can't find the words for it. While people with receptive aphasia have problems understanding language. Now receptive aphasia can be more than this where people accidentally skip words in their explanations that are crucial in the sentence, or they have anomia where they know what they want to say (the word is on the tip of their tongue) but they can't remember it, or they do an unintentional word subsitution subsituting another word with a similar sound or meaning, sometimes they mess up not the grammar of the sentence but the word tense, or use the wrong pronoun (like her vs she)

• A subtype of this with additional issues with the left and right half of the back of the brain not talking as well as they should is Dysprosody sometimes called foreign accent syndrome for you do not talk with the local accent / family accent. People with dysprosody have problems with the timing of sounds and things like rhythm, cadence, pitch, and movement of words. They can't tell when you are inflecting or not. This is quite important for they do not get a lot of important information in communication such as emotional tone and inflection which can rapidly changing the meaning of something. Most humans are annoyed by synthetic computer speak for it just sounds wrong, now imagine if everyone spoke like that and you were not familiar with what most of us would consider normal speaking.
  
   
  
   
  
  Now all of these issues I described were studied in people with head injuries. That said we see much the same pattern of behavior with many different types of disorders, one of which is autism, but another of which and is completely separate is dyslexia.
  
  Now with dyslexia many brain regions are implicated and some of them are the same areas I have shown above
  
  http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs19.html (go to slide 6)
  
  In many forms of dyslexia you are not using the back of the brain areas tied with the early visual information which is passed to the angular gyrus which is passed to the wernicke area. See picture
  
  http://www.hoperesourcecentre.com/wp-content/uploads/Brain-Illustration-CellfieldCanada.jpg
  
  And you are trying to compensate for all of this information with actually using more of the frontal lobe to compensate for these areas. Well the frontal lobe is not designed to do such a thing its arrangement and types of nerve cells are different.
  
   
  
   
  
  Now its not just that picture I showed you, its also some of the subcortical areas such as these areas I am about to post here
  
  http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs18/artWin.html?BIOPSYCHOLOGY7e-Fig-18-15-0.jpg
  
  Involving the thalamus and an area known as the pulvinar, as well as certain areas of the brainstem, and certain areas of the cerebellum mainly vermis 6 and vermis 7 (often labeled VI and VII)
  
  http://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/156522/fnins-09-00296-HTML/image_m/fnins-09-00296-g002.jpg
  
  These parts of the cerebellum are used for multiple functions but they are often called the occular motor areas of the cerebellum. They are also involved with the control of attention and shifting smoothing from one object to another for one of the purposes of the cerebellum is to "fill in the blanks" between gaps. Imagine you were watch a film but instead of watching a video you were seeing slide by slide, well the cerebellum along with the thalamus and brain stem regions are used in the predicition of what is going to happen next and smooth movements of the eyes, while other areas in the frontal lobe are more involved with figuring out these things are important so why don't we set this as the new priority of what to look at and the rest of the brain figures out how best to move there.
  
  https://kin450-neurophysiology.wikispaces.com/file/view/SACCCAAADDDEEESSS.jpeg/393831860/480x346/SACCCAAADDDEEESSS.jpeg
  
   
  
   
  
  Now if you have not probably figured out there is a connection to all of these brain regions with ADHD. Some ADHD people have these issues, but if you have these issues you are also more likely to have ADHD.
  
  If you look at the previous chapter 18 of Biological Psychology you will see this picture on slide 6
  
  http://7e.biopsychology.com/vs/vs18/artWin.html?BIOPSYCHOLOGY7e-Fig-18-16-0.jpg
  
  There are two attention networks here. The top attention network is known as the frontal parietal control network where it controls and and it also modulates the dorsal attention/perception network. While a second bottom network in orange involves the frontal lobe and connects to areas shared both with the temporal lobe and the parietal lobe where they meet and the surrounding areas, this bottom attention network is more with detecting new things and novel things, while the top network keeps you on track and looks for the goals held within working memory to solve the problems.
  
  If you have not noticed the same areas of the brain that make it hard to express onceself with language, are also the same areas that are common in dyslexia, and are the intersection of two of key networks tied with attention (now there are more than those two networks I just showed you with ADHD but now you understand why there is a connection.)
  
  (Now most of pictures I linked to came from Biological Psychology by Breedlove and Watson, this is an introductory college text meant for undergraduate use. It will not go into all the stuff involving the brain with attention and such, other books made by the same publishing company (Sinaeur) but done by other authors are better if you are mainly wanting to talk about attention instead of language such as
  
  Sensation and Perception
  
  Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases
  
  Dale Purves Neuroscience 5th Edition
  
  And Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience

This book is explicitly named as the book I am required to know, cover-to-cover, including all appendices for my candidacy exam. I have been going through it and it gives quite a broad overview of the field, but also has a lot of detail needed for a good overall knowledge of neuroscience. This book, in addition to your specific readings for your area of neuroscience, should give you all you need to do well in your program and your candidacy exam.

I am also doing my PhD in neuroscience, focusing on Prions and neurodegenerative diseases.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me and i'll do my best to answer them!

I used this book, Mometrix Secrets study guide ! Very helpful to me. I used this and an anatomy book i already had for extra info on the science section. I reviewed for about a month and did pretty well on the TEAS. Good luck ! :) https://www.amazon.com/ATI-TEAS-Secrets-Study-Guide/dp/1516703839

I've only read The Phenomenology of Spirit and some of Hegel's theological writings, but I used the following commentaries. I also used the Miller translation, which has paragraph-by-paragraph summaries in the back; these aren't terribly helpful, but they're there.

Werner Marx, Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirt: A Commentary Based on the Preface and Introduction.

Jean Hyppolite, Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.

I haven't gotten the the impression that Hyppolite is popular in the Anglophone world. That perception may be way off, but I thought it was worth mentioning a bit more about him. His commentary also includes a quality essay on the history of Hegel's reception in France, particularly in the 20th century. The whole commentary is incredibly helpful, but that essay itself is a gem.

From Amazon's description:
>Jean Hyppolite produced the first French translation of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. His major works--the translation, his commentary, and Logique et existence (1953)--coincided with an upsurge of interest in Hegel following World War II. Yet Hyppolite's influence was as much due to his role as a teacher as it was to his translation or commentary: Foucault and Deleuze were introduced to Hegel in Hyppolite's classes, and Derrida studied under him. More than fifty years after its original publication, Hyppolite's analysis of Hegel continues to offer fresh insights to the reader.

Hello there, when I took the TEAS, I used this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Manual-Essential-Academic-Skills-Version/dp/1933107987/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498792383&sr=8-1&keywords=ati+teas+5


And there is currently a newer edition (6th Ed.) published, but I'll let you decide which one to utilize based on the reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/ATI-TEAS-Review-Manual-Revised/dp/1565335759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498792327&sr=8-1&keywords=ati+teas+6

Good luck :)

Edit: After reading some of the reviews for the 6th edition, I think you might be better off studying with the 5th edition.

If you want to spend some money, https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Fifth-Dale-Purves/dp/0878936955/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me= is a perfect resource. This was our textbook for neurobio in college and I still find myself referencing it. It's possible you could find the PDF somewhere online, I haven't looked. If you have a little background in cell bio, this would be a great place to start learning.

Beyond that, I agree with the suggestions of /u/Hypercuboid and /u/Noobsessed.

If you are getting information off of forums (about pathways, interactions, etc.), make sure you do your own research, ask for or check sources, and try to understand the mechanisms. Wikipedia rabbit holes can sometimes help with this in the beginning, and can provide you with reliable sources/resources to follow up on. Keep in mind that the answers are almost always not as simple as people portray them. Many MOAs are not fully understood, especially with nootropics. That's why some refer to these substances as RCs and us as guinea pigs; because, in large part, that is true.

Ahh Fundamentals. Nursing as an ART. ; ) Yes. It's different.. no your science-based knowledge isn't really going to help a whole lot when it comes to this area.

Fundamentals essentially are the roots of nursing. Consider Maslow's hierarchy... you are basically learning about the bottom 2 levels. Oxygenation, fluids, food/nutrition, rest, pain... etc.

The fact that you're new to nursing, and NCLEX style questions - that also makes it more difficult as well. Learning NCLEX can be difficult for some. I suggest you go ahead and buy Saunders 6th Edition Comprehensive Review. It will help you throughout the entirety of your nursing school career. Also, a lot of people in my nursing school used quizlet.com .. just google things like "fundamentals quizlet" .. we found that our instructor got a lot of her exam questions from there... also google whatever you're studying + quizlet or whatever you're studying + NCLEX.

Practice a lot of NCLEX questions. Get the hang of them. Really review the rationales... this is true for not only fundamentals, but all areas of nursing.

With Saunders you get a code that provides an online source so you can practice NCLEX questions. It's really helpful.. it's been a really great tool for me. The book is laid out really nicely and also has questions in it as well.

I'm going to school for nursing. I hope to be a would care nurse, and already have the opportunity to go to central Africa to help out periodically(the #1 cause of child death are burns from cookfires, so wound care is so in need), and a local hospital also offered me a spot there! I'm excited for both and I graduate December of next year!

Last semester I spent over $1900 on textbooks, so this year was pretty light, only $300! I could use a few books & things in my school list here, or a Amazon GC to help replace the funds I just spent! The books in the WL can be used, also. =)

Thanks for the contest! =)

edit: I have the older version (yellow cover) but really need to get this book for the whole program. I'm told it is essential, and it'll help me pass my tests!

I think the best resource for starting out, or for more advanced readers, is Principles of Neural Science by Kandel. You could choose the chapters you're most interested (e.g., embryology and functional anatomy) and read them in any order since each chapter is essentially free-standing. (Source: b.s. in neuroscience + m.d.)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0838577016?pc_redir=1405881514&robot_redir=1#productDescription_secondary_view_pageState_1405953363324

Per amazon: "The book is a feast for both the eye and mind. The richness, the beauty, and the complexity of neuroscience is all captured in this...book."

A lot of what I have to say would be cribbed from Paul Fussell's book Class (https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253). And yes, it does factor into my evaluation of Trump.

One point you miss here is old money does not see itself as leeching money, but rather they are being rewarded handsomely for bringing benefit to all (I'm describing their view of themselves). They see new money like Trump as grubbing and leeching that is beneath them.

I was getting around that too. Though I mostly used the ATI RN Mentor app (FREE!) more though since our school used ATI to prep all along the way.

If you have the [Saunders NCLEX-RN Comprehensive Review] (http://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-RN%C2%AE-Examination-Nclex-Rn/dp/1455727555), the online questions (info on the front cover of the book) are super helpful because you can sort the SATA questions out and just do those.

You'll likely be fine with how you're testing but I'd suggest, like others have, to just keep up with the questions. Good luck!

Recent grad from an ABSN program and I just passed my NCLEX on the first try. I almost never read in nursing school and graduated with a 4.0 Like with any college major, you'll likely be assigned a lot of reading but that doesn't mean you actually have to read all of it to learn the material and succeed. My best tip is go to class, take good notes, and only use the text for clarifying topics you don't understand. Or get Saunders- my cohort used that for studying for class way more than our actual textbooks.

I think Learn Rhythm adult is a good way to get started, but certainly pick up an introduction to EKG type book. People love Dale Dubin's EKG book (albeit he has a pretty sketchy background...) so you'll find a lot of people referring it.

If I recall though the Learn: Rhythm Adult course only covers 3-lead EKGs, and for a tech position you do want to learn a bit about 12 leads. The Physio Control 12 Lead made Easy program was fairly decent if I remember correctly.

Neurobiology with Dr. Xu-Friedman was probably my favorite class, and he is probably my favorite professor. It can be a challenging class, but it's worth it if you enjoy neuroscience.

When I took it, we used Purves - Neuroscience 5th Edition .

The book is definitely needed, as it really helps to reinforce what they lecture on. If you're looking to get ahead before the semester begins, I think he follows the first few chapters tightly. If I recall correctly, he starts with some basic neuroanatomy, and then jumps into electrophysiology (similar to what you did in Bio 213 physiology lab, except in more detail) and receptor kinetics.

If Dr. Medler is also teaching it, she can be somewhat abrasive and difficult, but you can still do well if you go to lecture and pay attention.

I used two books from amazon and since they have a great return policy I actually returned them before the date and got my money back. They were really good and some questions were the same or very similar. I searched the web and used pretty much all the free resources I could. These are the books I used:

http://www.amazon.com/Review-Manual-Version-Essential-Academic/dp/1933107987

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-TEAS%C2%AE-Exam-Study-Guide/dp/1609710134/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=055WW2TDM7HQY188P443

I think that they were both really good books. I used a lot of online sources too but I really think the book practice tests were the best.

Out of curiosity are you applying to Samuel Merritt?

Take as many practice tests as possible. You will learn that's the best way to pass ATI (if your nursing school uses it) as well haha.

I personally just used this:
http://www.amazon.com/Review-Manual-Version-Essential-Academic/dp/1933107987/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450540519&sr=8-1&keywords=teas+test

I got a 94. I would recommend reading over each section's rationale, there will be similar types of questions on the actual test. I also would recommend it only because I hadn't taken some of the classes for a while, so it was a nice refresher.

Highly recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253

Class: A guide through the American Status System, by Paul Fussel. it was written in the mid 80s, but I think the information is still relevant and the writer basically spends the entirety of the book answering your question about social class signifiers (why do New England upperclass have an affinity for nautical decor? find out in chapter 3).

To the part of the question about regions, you might be interested in this book: http://www.amazon.com/American-Nations-History-Regional-Cultures/dp/0143122029

it is about the whys behind American regional political and class differences based on who immigrated to certain areas of the country, the values and ideals they brought with them and how it changed the American landscape and informs the current social and political climate. Interesting stuff.

HaHa! When I read your title I wondered if you were talking about my school, but after reading your post I've realized that sadly I'm apparently not the only one who thinks their school sucks. (As background, I'm an adult female in my early thirties with a former unrelated 8 year career plus an additional 8 years as a parent behind me. I am not a whiner or crybaby by any means.)


About my school

disorganization: check
I don't think the staff who are in nursing education (at my school these are all nurses who were out in the field for 15, 20, 30+ years), are very educated about the modern software and systems for technology based teaching. They can do the basics, but were either not taught specifics/alterations, or don't care to learn. Truthfully, I am not sure they even realize how hard it is to navigate the things they post or just how much they are missing the user-friendly mark. I always have to go searching for power points because they are hidden in folders or at the bottom of the list one week and at the middle the next week.

• graduation rates:check
  As a whole, my classmates are all worried about how much this program sucks. The terrible graduation and NCLEX pass rates are hidden on the college website.
  
  I have decided there is no reasonable alternative available to me. The nearest school has hours that don't work for me and costs a lot more. I am supplementing the crappy textbook by buying others and using youtube and the web to find better content to study. I find there is a lot more information for me that way. I am better with visual/auditory learning anyway, but obviously everyone isn't.
  
  
• conflicting information:check
  So the book we are required to use is bordering on outdated, but the bigger problem might be that it contained a lot of mistakes at printing time. We are required to defer to the textbook when taking exams in class. The staff is careful to keep reminding us that even if there is newer information we have to give the answers in the textbook. Naturally they also helpfully point out that the NCLEX will not be based on our shitty book. So along with learning the wrong information in order to pass the exams, you need to be studying the right information because that's what you'll need to pass the NCLEX and get your license. Completely backwards and foolish to be trying to learn and forget inaccurate info, but that's just what I've come to be accustomed to for the duration.
  
  
  
• conflicting info taught by lab instructors:nope
  If anything like this comes up, the whiny kids complain rudely out loud during class. The proper way to do it would be to compose an email outlining the specific differences in technique asking for clarification. The email would be addressed to both lab instructors, the course coordinators (who may or may not be the lecture or lab instructor), as well as CC'd to the director of nursing. Everything in nursing says "If it isn't written down it didn't happen." Documentation is important when asking for clarification because it shows you were respectful and have genuine/valid concerns or questions. Hopefully, it also requires them to respond to you in a similar respectful manner. In addition, I would hope that the CC of the director of Nursing Education for your school would keep the correspondence civil and respectful.
  
  
• Disrespect from instructors/staff:nope
  The only disrespect I've really come across has come from students with entitled attitudes. These are adults too, so it has been mind boggling. The instructors typically have responded to disrespect with....disrespect.
  As a grown adult this is bizarre to witness, but I'm chalking it up to practice for when I'm a nurse and I may encounter these same types as coworkers or managers.
  
  I have a huge problem with what you are saying is happening and do not appreciate being treated that way myself. Unfortunately I don't know what to advise about that. I had an issue with a secretary for the program, but I managed to come out of it ok because it wasn't an instructor and I just try my hardest to avoid contact with her.
  
  I imagine if you really feel like there is mistreatment going on, you could be creative about it. I always ask for permission to record at the first class. If these instructors are allowing you to record their classes, you'd have proof of their unprofessional attitudes. The problem is, you need to get through these classes and get your degree so you can test for your license. Politics are a nightmare and I am sure you already learned that in your time serving with the Marines.
  
  
  I've firmly made my own decision to make the best out of the crap that comes from my school. I try to anticipate the random problems and make due with plowing through to get to the other side. Obviously your foundations on care and the workings of the body need to be solid, but I believe a lot of nursing is learned through practice and observation. I am trying to gain as much of that as I can while also reading books like the Silvestri NCLEX review and other unassigned texts and videos. Just make sure you study the specifics of your program for exams when they differ from your supplemental resources.
  
  
  Take care and don't get too discouraged. You aren't the only one. Best wishes with your path toward Nursing and thank you for your service. I appreciate the world we live in and am grateful my kids can be brought up here.

• Purves text isn't that easy but a great and thorough introduction.
  
• Gazzaniga's text is fantastic but less on the biology side of things.
  
• Others have mentioned Kandel's text but I don't think that's a good first text for anyone wanting to "dip their toes" in.
  
• Someone else also mentioned the Bear text, which is very good.
  
  Those are really all you'll need; from there you will find things on your own or from professors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0838577016/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517968463&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=principles+of+neural+science&dpPl=1&dpID=51aom9pcslL&ref=plSrch

Principles of Neural Science by Kandrl et al.

As someone who studies neuro and works in neuro I can safely say this tome is my bible. It is huge, 37 bucks new because it is an old edition, one of the few textbooks I'd call well written, and has huge listings of primary lit to read for each chapter. It's not primarily for entertainment like most of the books I've seen put here. Man, it is worth its substantial weight in gold. If you actually want to learn, and a diverse amount in the field, get this. If you ever get stuck on points the internet is a truly amazing resource. However, this book is so well written I doubt that will happen often.

[this is the current edition. ](ATI TEAS Secrets Study Guide: TEAS 6 Complete Study Manual, Full-Length Practice Tests, Review Video Tutorials for the Test of Essential Academic Skil https://www.amazon.com/dp/1516703839/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_c9t5qqw6yoyBG)

As you're studying, go deeper on the science than the study guide does. There were several questions that I was utterly befuddled by because Mometrix didn't discuss them (I wish I could remember what they were but they were so specific and so unfamiliar I can't even summon up keywords). It might be worthwhile for you to also purchase the ATI practice book not for the practice tests, but for the topics to study. Good luck!!!

Buy the Saunders book. I loved it. Was great for studying not just NCLEX questions but good review of what is important in every disease. It really helped me when I felt like I had way too much info. I would review the Saunders based on my power points and pretty much ignored the actual book.

https://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-RN-Examination-Nclex-Rn/dp/0323358519/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4Y819XYF3XXCAGXEBE81

Questions in the BOC book were harder than what I had in my test. Had the Harr book but didn't use it since I didn't like the format of the book

For study materials, I definitely recommend:

SUCCESS! in Clinical Laboratory Science

This has a lot of outline reviews that I found extremely helpful

Clinical Laboratory Science Review: A Bottom Line Approach

This book has a lot of tables, graphics, and charts to help you remember all this info

To add to your second point, I'd check out The Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology as a more comprehensive guide to available programs. When I talk to prospective graduate students about choosing a clinical psych doctoral program, I tell them to look at

1. Cohort size - the smaller the better. Most PhD programs will have 5-7 students, while I've seen PsyD programs vary from 10-100+.
   
   
2. APA internship match rates - as close to 100% as possible. Due to the proliferation of for-profit schools with large cohort sizes, there are currently more students applying for internship than there are APA accredited internship spots in the U.S. Internship is important for licensure and some positions (e.g. federal) will not hire you without completing an APA accredited internship. Also quality of training at a non-accredited site can vary extremely.
   
   
3. EPPP pass rate - closer to 100% the better. EPPP is the national licensure test for psychologists. While it is difficult since it covers a wide variety of domains in psychology, including I/O psych which isn't covered in most clinical programs, good doctoral programs will have prepared their students well enough that their collective pass rates should be very high.
   
   
4. When you begin getting face-to-face hours with clients. In order to be competitive for many internship sites, you need to accrue a certain amount of intervention and assessment hours. Some programs backload the clinical portion of their training into the last 2 years, which is not preferable. Good programs will start you seeing clients in some form pretty early on (1-2 years in).
   
   
5. Stipend/Scholarship/Financial aid opportunities - PhD programs are typically funded, but you must publish or perish as recompense. For those not research inclined, that can be quite intimidating. Most PsyD programs do not fund tuition, although there are a fair amount that offer some form of scholarship. I've even seen a PsyD program (University of Denver) offer a full ride to someone. Any kind of financial assistance you can get for a PsyD program is great, since PsyD programs will typically run at least 20k per year.

Start with this and this. However, the two best books on the phenomenology are this and this. Personally, Quentin Lauer's commentary really helped me get a handle on Hegel and I think it is the best that is published. However, this will be the best commentary when it gets published (in full disclosure I was a student of Houlgate when doing my MA and learned Hegel from him and had access to the manuscript of this text learning a lot from it).

>There's been evidence that the brain initiates a response prior to the stimulus that would elicit that response occurring. Don't have the study/research at the moment, but it came up when I was studying philosophy. It's interesting if nothing else.

Ironically it is not I who has misunderstood. The OP was referring to the "Phasic responses of DA neurons" and rather than take the time to understand the subject matter...

Practical Guide for Clinical Neurophysiologic Testing

Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases

Neuroanatomy in Clinical Context: An Atlas of Structures, Sections, Systems, and Syndromes

Instead he/she labels the study (which is a work of conjecture) to be 100% factual and the authority on the matter and sees fit to then begin translating this information to another subject entirely. Much in the same way that a motorcycle enthusiastic might try to apply rocket science to his/her craft.

There is a world of difference between practicing science and claiming that you practice science. I was not dismissing a study because it was mentioned in a philosophy class- I was dismissing a study because it was mentioned 'By Philosophers'.

Given that all of our neuroscience hasn't shed the slightest glimpse of a glimmer of an idea how we have subjective experience, I wouldn't be quite so celebratory.

Typically posts claiming this are made by people who have only a Popular Science level of knowledge of the subject, but don't actually know that the best we have are what are called NCCs (neural correlates of consciousness), not consciousness itself. In other words, we know that a certain bundle of c fibers fire when people experience pain, but we do not ever see pain, or love, or thoughts, under a microscope. We just see neurons firing.

John Searle has written several excellent books on the subject, of which this is probably the most accessible.

Neuroanatomy through clinical cases- Blumenfield

http://www.amazon.com/Neuroanatomy-Through-Clinical-Interactive-Blumenfeld/dp/0878936130

this is THE book for neuroanatomy. I sat down read the whole thing for my neurology clerkship and got 99th percentile on the shelf, wish I had used this thing in first year - its money. Yes its a text book but if you get through it especially the clinical cases at the end of capters , you'll know the foundations cold- all important for anything neuro related that comes after M1 since clinical neurology is pretty tied, unlike alot of the other fields to its groundwork basics.

If you just want to see anatomy anatomy, its got good pics and cross sections too.

Paul Fussell wrote an excellent (and hilarious) book about this in the early 1980s, Class. While the book is dated in a number of respects e.g. the wisecracks about Ronald Reagan's brown suits, much of the book still rings true today.

There are nine classes in three tiers as follows:

TOP

1. Top out-of-sight
   
   
2. Upper
   
   
3. Upper middle
   
   CENTER
   
   
4. Middle
   
   
5. High prole
   
   
6. Middle prole
   
   
7. Low prole
   
   LOW
   
   
8. Destitute
   
   
9. Bottom out-of-sight
   
   One thing you find out is that whatever class you think you are, you are most likely at least one step below that. For example, think you are UMC? You are probably just middle class or maybe even high prole. My observation from redditors relaying their personal experiences in /r/AskReddit and other subs of general membership is that reddit skews highly prole.
   
   I hasten to add that money is a small part of class. Class is much more about how you act and comport yourself. For example, legible clothing is prole. Upper class says "black tie", middle class says "tuxedo", prole says "tux". Notably, middle class behavior is largely about imitating how they think the upper class behaves. It is the middle class that makes up swear substitutes like "fiddlesticks!" and "cheese and crackers!" because they think the upper class is too dignified to swear.

Wow this is a tough call!

1. Have you considered going the psychiatric route? Med school would probably offer a better ROI than a psyd (though idk if research experience is a must).
   
   
2. I think it’s worth applying to a few PhD programs. No lie without research experience it may be a bit of a long shot, but you could pick a few from the Norcross book that place a fairly equal weight on clinical and research experience. If your background includes a lot of statistics/lab work you may be able to leverage those experiences in your applications.
   Book- https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462525725/ref=nodl_
   
   
   
3. Out of curiosity, if you are able to prescribe medication with your NP, how would that translate to you post doctorate? Would you be able to prescribe medications legally alongside of therapy? I genuinely have no clue about this but if you could, that may increase your salary range and make the ROI of a psyd program more worthwhile (this is total conjecture though).

Eric Kandel's Principles of Neural Science is the classic textbook used by everyone. It's pretty dense and may be a little outdated but it's still among the best and most popular out there.

http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Eric-Kandel/dp/0838577016

I'll pass along wokeupabug's typical recommendations:

>A good broad introduction is Lowe's An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (for a broader, philosophy and cognition sort of approach). For an introduction more focused on the mind-body problem, you have lots of options; Kim's Philosophy of Mind and Heil's Philosophy of Mind... are good choices. For a history anthology approach, the Chalmers' Philosophy of Mind... is a good choice; a little more accessible would be Morton's Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind.

And the recommendation from the FAQ page:

>For philosophy of mind, Searle's Mind: A Brief Introduction.

I don't really know what you mean by a 'consideration of the future'. Do you mean issues that could crop up in the future germane to phil. mind (A.I., cog. enhancement, etc.)? If so, that's a tough one! Likely just the Cambridge Handbook. The introduciton is avail here if you'd like a preview. And this book on Machine Ethics is recommended on the PhilPapers bibliography.

​

They mostly drive solid older cars, the exception being the Saudi prince types who go around in Lamborghinis etc

>Also, most consultants/lawyers/wealth managers

Indeed, they are newly rich or need to appeal to the newly-rich.

I guess it isn't about wealth per se but whether you're old money or new money. There is a great funny little book about this, the author also points out that your class status is inversely proportional to the amount of writing visible on your clothes https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253

I used the ATI TEAS Secrets Study Guide which I've linked here, it was pretty good and was only $40. I reviewed the book briefly and took the self tests the 7-10 days leading up to the test and got 'Advanced' with little effort aside from that. Definitely did a good job of showing you what kind of questions to expect and how they would be framed/worded.

No problem!

1. It's been a while, but I think this book helps to figure out the research requirements of the programs. In a general sense counseling programs seem to be more focused on practice, whereas clinical programs are more research/academia focused. Ultimately, you wont be able to completely know until you interview and talk to many current students/faculty. No matter where you go, your last year or two will be primarily focused on research.
   
   
2. I was the same way. I didn't look super hot on paper because I wasn't a superior student in undergrad. I'm in the midwest. No, where you go to school has little to do with where you end up, especially in smaller college towns where your city will most likely already be saturated with psychologists. California is a bit of a different story. Unless you go to school in CA, you'll probably need to take a few extra courses (psych of sexuality) to transfer your license. Our past faculty had to do that at age 50 to make the move to CA. Remember that you will most likely do your internship in another state, then look for a job in another state. Your nearly two years of clinical post-doc hours will give you plenty of time to fulfill state requirements.
   
   You can PM me if you would like more...

Learning Radiology is a dope ass book and I highly recommend it.

As for free resources, check out the big online radiology websites like Radiopaedia which have tons of cases and some "how-to's" for certain things. And of course, Learning Radiology does have some of the tutorials for free, but they are much more comprehensive in the book, and the book has way more sections than the website.

Otherwise, Youtube is also your friend.

This book has a lot of snark, but it's also very informative. And if you're of a certain cast of mind, as I am, you find the snark hilarious. But even if not, the info is pretty solid:

https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253

Your NCLEX should not cover much of the more advanced critical care questions. The NCLEX trains you to be a generalist. I used this book and chugged through all the computerized practice questions and did just fine!

If you are just looking to further your own knowledge, I'd recommend CCRN study books. Many, like this one that I used for my CCRN exam have online or computerized question banks that are very helpful. However, the vast majority of these questions are going to be much higher-level than those that will be on the NCLEX.

Your plan sounds reasonable. A couple of years experience teaching would be valuable and look good on an application. I have heard that this is a good book on the topic:

http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462518133

Good luck!

Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX Review. This book only provides basic information about each topic without going too much in depth, so it's kind of more useful if you've already been introduced to the content in lecture. If you buy the book new it comes with an online database of practice questions and rationales which are EXTREMELY helpful. It might be difficult to study before going to school because you don't know what you have to study and you haven't been introduced to nursing school style questions, but this book is really helpful once you're in school and I should provide you the organization that you want.

Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, 7e (Saunders Comprehensive Review for Nclex-Rn) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0323358519/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_GFbuzb8NHT6VT

This book won't help you understand the Hegel passages as such, but it provides a different translation of that section that might be helpful. It also gives you a sense of how Lordship-Bondship section finds purchase in later (mainly 20th Century) thinkers.

As for reading Hegel, try to get hold of Jean Hyppolite's Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.

The book is written as a companion to the Phenomenology, so the order of the chapters is the same. Also, Hyppolite is a remarkably clear writer who does a nice job of summarizing the entire chapter first, then breaking down specifics.

Felson’s principles of roentgenology is a great book to get comfortable at reading CXR and chest imaging.

https://www.amazon.com/Felsons-Principles-Roentgenology-Programmed-Goodman/dp/1455774839/ref=nodl_

I use RIP ATMLL (are there many lung lesions)

RIP for quality of the image (rotation, inspiration, penetration)

ATMLL for search pattern (abdomen, thoracic cage, mediastinum, individual lung fields, both lung fields together).

• Rising PGY-2

I used these two:

http://www.amazon.com/SUCCESS-Clinical-Laboratory-Science-Edition/dp/0135126487/
This one has fairly detailed outlines for each subsection with plenty of questions.

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Laboratory-Science-Review-Robert/dp/0803628285/
This one only contains questions, but it comes with a CD that has pictures as well.

Get plenty of practice and good luck!

depends on how much time you have... Kandel's text is very thorough, very detailed, and perhaps more than you'll need. Good if you're doing a PhD, or specific research. Way too much to it justice if you only have one semester in an undergrad course.

The first text is pretty common, but does not go into specific details as deeply. Still it gives plenty of information about pathways, reflexes, functions, and such.

If you are studying neuro for clinical reasons, this is a good resource as well.

Rapid interpretation of EKG's by Dr. Dale Dubin is excellent. Easy read and a great quick reference. Essentially a dummie's guide to EKG. I took a semester long class in EKG in college and am going through it again in paramedic school. This book is what made it click for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Edition/dp/0912912065/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406594316&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=rapid+interptetation+of+ekg

Found it: The Health Care Handbook

As I said - not a deep, immersive book, but it gives a very good, detailed pespective of the health care system as it exists today, written by people inside it.

It's a computer program. It has about 4000 different questions and when in study mode, it provides the correct answers and the rationales. And I don't argue with the rationales the way I have with other programs like PrepU. PrepU is pretty good too though. PrepU is available through Lippencott & Williams. the Saunders program is called Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX review. I bought in my school's bookstore but it's available on Amazon. I have the 5th edition but they have a 6th edition out now. It's a HUGE book but it comes with the CD-ROM and that's what me and my classmates use. Here's the link http://www.amazon.com/Saunders-Comprehensive-NCLEX-RN-Examination-Edition/dp/1437708250/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404257715&sr=8-2&keywords=saunders+comprehensive+nclex+review

I agree completely, Kandel's book is definitely my favorite neuroscience text. For a more undergraduate level introduction Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain by Mark Bear et al. and Neuroscience by Dale Purves et al. are good starting places.

Sketch out all the tracts and do a ton of practice questions. Look at the tracts you draw and imagine lesions at various parts and reason out what the clinical presentations are.

Some good resources are:

Dr Najeeb's videos (Although long but if you have the time, really helpful!)
http://www.amazon.com/Neuroanatomy-Through-Clinical-Interactive-Blumenfeld/dp/0878936130 (this book is pretty good too)

This was what I used as well as my professor's notes! Good luck. As for anyone else taking the exam a piece of advice would be to not wait too long after graduating to take it. I had friends who were kicking themselves for waiting so long. I took it three months after I graduated which gave me time to study. I think the ASCP web site also has a list of guidelines on what to study. I will see if I can dig it up for you.

The top comment is right that the Kandel is a great neuroscience text. I have it myself and it's my go-to. If you're starting out from the bottom and learning on your own I would suggest a more user-friendly text.

Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain is good. I have the 3rd edition, which has probably been updated by now. Looks like the price is very manageable, too.

I borrowed a book (this one: https://www.amazon.com/ATI-TEAS-Secrets-Study-Guide/dp/1516703839/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8) from the community college library, skimmed through the sections to see what was on the test, and took one of the practice tests in the back. I also had an app to do some practice questions on the bus, etc. I scored about 85% overall and did the best in the English/reading sections (high 90%), pretty good on math, and decent enough on the science section.

I've got two sites...

The best site to tell you what criteria you need for each rhythm is probably ECGpedia.

The next site I would recommend is really just a compilation of all the best ECG websites on the internet...Life in the Fast Lane ECG references

Also, some may disagree, but I think Rapid Interpretation of ECGs by Dale Dubin is the perfect book to start with.

I personally used the Harr book since my program gave us a manual/study guide that was basically a review of everything. Harr is great for practice tests with easy access to the answers.

I had a classmate that swore by the Success in CLS book. It has an awesome review section if you need one.

For my own studying, I stuck to my study guide, the Harr book, and lots and lots of LabCE.

No. Kojeve was influential, but he read a lot of his own philosophy into Hegel. You'll want to go with Genesis and Structure of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" by Jean Hyppolite or The Routledge Guidebook to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit by Robert Stern. Gregory Sadler has an ongoing series on Youtube called Half Hour Hegel which is very helpful. Why Theory's episode on the Preface to the Phenomenology will also help you get started.

I really liked the Saunders/Sylvestri book. It was required for school, and came with a companion CD. I only ever used the CD, I did probably 3200 questions and it was definitely overkill, but I passed in 75 questions and that's the only review I did. I know it's stressful, but you'll get it next time, and good luck! If you buy the book used, make sure it comes with the CD!

Kandel is a very comprehensive neuroscience textbook with a lot of good figures as well as descriptions of experimental evidence. The most recent version came out just last year, so it is very current.

Purves also contains excellent figures but concepts are delivered on a more basic level, probably better suited for undergraduate/non-research perspective.

Like most people are saying below, the labCE questions are harder, but it's nice to practice how the actual test will be (the questions get harder and harder as you go, if you are answering correctly).
Also, as hamstercar11 said below, get the review book "Clinical Laboratory Science: A bottom line approach." (https://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Laboratory-Science-Review-Approach/dp/0967043425) I literally read that book cover to cover twice and did LabCE for the 2 weeks right before my exam and it was very helpful.

The textbook Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain by Mark Bear could be a great start: https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Mark-F-Bear/dp/0781760038. Some books for the general public such as David Eagleman's The Brain or Rita Carter's Mapping the Brain are good too (although they might be too easy for you given that you are a med student).

As for brain mapping, not sure if you are talking about connectome or the Blue Brain Project?

you should read up into the organization of the visual cortex and temporal lobes - learning about the structure and function of the brain is very helpful in understanding why the psychedelic experience is the way it is. an excellent introductory book if you are interested in learning about neuroscience is Kandel's Principles of Neural Science.

http://www.amazon.ca/Principles-Neural-Science-Fourth-Edition/dp/0838577016

Anything from Oliver Sacks always worth reading imo.

• Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain!
  
  
• The Compassionate Brain: A Revolutionary Guide to Developing Your Intelligence to Its Full Potential: How Empathy Creates Intelligence!
  
  
• Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain!
  
  
• Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions!
  
  
• In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind!
  
  
• The Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound!
  
  not really neuroscience, but interesting imho:
  
  
• How the Mind Works!
  
  
  *(hopes formatting works)

I really liked this book. I found the reading to be much more easier and enjoyable than a textbook...

Also I'll give a second vote to the Skillstat website posted by /u/JemLover

Overall, I think it was my instructor who really got me prepared for the exam. She's been doing it for so many years, she has it down to a science. But as far as what I did to prepare I used this book to do review. My classmates and I called it the cartoon book because it has some pictures to try and help you remember key things. But it has a nice run down of the main things you need to know. I feel like it helped a lot.

If you're interested in this, Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell is a great read. It was written some decades back, so you'd think it would be dated, but it really isn't. He holds no punches, so you'll need a bit of thick skin when your class is being discussed. But still, what he says is so true and very funny at times.

Kandel's Principles is a great one, and the textbook I used when I was a TA. You can buy older issues for like $15 shipped

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/0838577016/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Anything by Oliver Sacks is going to give you a really cool look at individual case studies.

https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Dubin/dp/0912912065 this book is amazing and explains it to you like you’re 5 years old. Lol

I used this book as a study guide for the TEAS V. It was extremely helpful. I dropped out of school at age 16, and went back for my GED a few years later. Took my TEAS V last year, about 7 years since I'd had any kind of schooling. Passed with flying colors. The nursing coordinator told me I scored the highest in math of anyone who had taken the test, which made me feel really good, because I hadn't done real schoolwork in so long.

This book is all you need. Just study it, and study it hard.

LabCE, Success in Clinical Lab Science, and the BOC book. I also had this book from Louisiana State University. It's very bare bones, but it's written in a way that helps you remember key information. I found it very useful.

[This book was pretty helpful. It explains the entire program section by section lecture notes style and has plenty of good certification test style questions] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0135126487/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1487905341&sr=8-4&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=clinical+laboratory+science+review)

I did the labce adaptive learning exams. They mimicked the boc pretty well. Just don't get discouraged when you score a 40 or 50% on it. They give you really tough questions. Learn from them. For study guides I really liked the lsu book. It's usually cheaper on the school's website than Amazon.


Clinical Laboratory Science Review: A Bottom Line Approach https://www.amazon.com/dp/0967043425/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fRMWAbK16XCT1

Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912912065/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ED5MAbCN0H9CD

Recommended to me by an amazing seasoned ER nurse. Very easy to follow.

This book is pretty helpful, and I like it in particular because it basically does a "physiology pertaining to EKG's for dummies".

And yes, I know that Dubin turned out to be a sex offender and a creep, but the book is still good.

This is my go-to review on the subject, written by the man who won a Nobel prize on the subject: Eric Kandel.

He also literally wrote the book on neuroscience.

Also, microbiology is the study of bacteria, viruses and protozoa. The term you want is cellular and molecular biology.

20 -23 reminds me of a book on my shelf, Paul Fussell's - Class - A Guide Through The American Status System. https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253

It's super dated, but one thing I took away from it is this, the lower and upper class are two sides of the same coin. Uncouth barbarians at heart who both do what they want, while the middle class does what it can to either distance itself from the poor or attempt to become part of the upper class.

If you've read the The Gervais Principle ...

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/the-gervais-principle/

you'd see the hierarchy of Psychopath, clueless and loser play out on a societal scale when you look at class in America. Unfortunately according to The Gervais Principle the Psychopaths tend to jump ship to start a new company or move on once they have rung all they can out of the current company. Guess what they are getting ready to do to our country? Good times bro, good times.

If you're looking for some basic neuroscience (which you'll definitely need in neural engineering - I was looking into doing it as well), then I highly recommend Neuroscience 3D: Exploring the brain. It's a really good beginner-medium text book, that covers everything from how EEGs work, to how individual neurons communicate with each other to brain disorders.
Here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Brain-3rd-Edition/dp/0781760038

Source: I'm a neuroscience student and that textbook is prescribed for most of my courses

It all depends on what your intent is. Neuroscience is so broad and interdisciplinary that my recommendations depend largely on how much time and effort you plan to put into it. Are you trying to understand the brain so that you can go into research someday? Is neuroscience relevant to your separate field of research, and you just wanna get to know all the acronyms? Or are you just a curious layman who wants to understand the organ of understanding? In the latter two cases, many of the suggestions are very good; books by anyone from Ramachandran to Koch will suffice.

But if headed into neural research, you should really grab an introductory textbook that explains the principles of the brain (I recommend this one) and go through it, chapter by chapter, so you get the fundamentals down before you move onto deeper inquiries. If you have the money to spare, you should also pick up Principles of Neural Science as a reference book for more in-depth inquiries. The reason for this is that the Kandel book is really dense and somewhat poorly organized, which makes it rather inefficient to a neuroscience newcomer who mainly needs the basic ideas.

More important than which book you pick up, though, is how you read it. It's very important at this stage to really start thinking about the big questions in each subfield so that 1) you don't gloss over important details or, worse, crucial principles; and 2) you're preparing your mindset for research. You can't read it as a passive observer, absorbing information rather than processing it. Ask questions. How do we know this and this about the brain? What principles can we anticipate about the brain (and by implication: perception, memory, cognition) based on its structure and development? When do neurons first start firing anyway? If you're doing it right, you'll be making use of Kandel a lot to probe deeper — and eventually review/experimental papers when you're ready.

tl;dr - Read that shit if you're doing research and you'll thank me later.

The Dubin book is the best! My copy is orange and it'll tell you everything you need to know about EKGs for tests :)

http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Edition/dp/0912912065

If you're primarily interested in doing psychotherapy, there's also a broad variety of options for more professional degrees, from masters programs in social work and clinical psychology to PsyD (doctorate in psychology) programs that are "scientific practitioner" programs. Some Ph.D. programs are also much more focused on clinical work than others. Get yourself a book on the process! This one helps for clinical and counseling programs in the US (and Canada, I believe?); this book discusses the application process.

I'd also talk to professors and get insight from them, rather than strangers on the internet.

A Ph.D. is indeed often (although not always) a research degree, but Ph.D.s are trained as clinicians (and generally don't pay tuition for graduate school). I am a clinical Ph.D., and I work with patients.

An MSW or any of the other paths to clinical licensure are also clinical degrees.

I would encourage you to look at all of the possibilities before you commit to a specific path. See if your library has this book.

People go to college, dress well and are on time.

Class is sublime. Class is what makes us "better" than animals. Class is what can't be bought, it has to be earned.

I've read quite a few books on class and they're fascinating, I highly recommend this one https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253 also https://www.amazon.com/Social-Class-Stratification-Society-Now/dp/0415041252

Get the ATI TEAS guide. They make the freakin thing, so why not do it. You must have looked at Amazon, because the prices are identical to what you wrote.

Whether new or like-new, it is well worth the top $45 price range. Considering that my nursing school books has totaled over $1800, $45 looks like chump change.

I'm not all the way through it but Rapid Interpretation of EKGs is AMAZING

Edit: hopefully I can answer some very basically:
Overall, remember you aren't measuring the conducting fibers with EKG, you are measuring the electrical activity of the myocytes. I think this may be a major sticking point for you - causing some confusion.

1. IV septum is depolarized from Left to Right as the RBB does not have terminal fibers (in the septum) - this leads to a sometimes present Q wave. You can't look at it as thinking of direction of conducting fibers, you have to think of how the muscle conductance changes. Assume the outer ventricle is a single muscle mass and depolarizes simultaneously. This will cause a concentric depol/repol not so much frontal.
   
   
2. not so sure about the why of opposite depol/repol something to do with the electrolyte balance and channels...
   
   There is good discussion (I had a lot of same issues you are having), but as an aside I REALLY recommend you take a look Dubin's Rapid Interpretation (I may have a pdf if you don't have access). My EKG lectures made no sense but I read through the relevant chapter there and felt like I everything made so much more intuitive sense.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Dubin/dp/0912912065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417975470&sr=8-1&keywords=dubin+rapid+interpretation+of+ekg

In a nutshell, I think it's trying to fix a broken system with an equally broken system.

There are two students from the Washington University School of Medicine that came and delivered a lecture to my class (I'm also in med school) about the breakdown of the US healthcare system and how it's really more of an amalgamation of 8 different systems. One of the standout points they mentioned was that while we are currently in a crisis in terms of trying to pay for everyone to have some form of healthcare, just about every other country out there that uses a more socialized system is eventually going to hit where we are, we just happened to get there first.

The sad truth of the matter is that there are limited medical resources (both in terms of equipment and staff), and some people are going to fall through the cracks. I distinctly remember during my interview process a discussion I had with one of my interviewers, who was a doctor and a long time administrator himself. He asked me if I thought healthcare was a right or a privilege. I said I thought it was a right, but it doesn't seem to be implemented that way. He responded that while the ideal is that it's a right, it currently is a privilege and will stay that way until we develop a much better system of managing healthcare. For the time being, there are too many people being forced into a system with too little resources and not enough money behind it to alter how care is given. Other problems are also related to the fact that the existence of insurance has greatly driven up the price of many procedures, there are often an overabundance of procedures (CT, MRI) performed emergently that don't need to be (out of fear of litigation, billing for insurance, or even just trying to give in to a overly-concerned parent), people are very ill-informed about their own health, and even the idea of what base-level care actually means (which is something that Obamacare is supposed to offer to everyone).

All that being said, I won't pretend to have a solution because the situation is so complicated and goes so far beyond just healthcare that I wouldn't know where to begin. Also, my own experience in dealing with healthcare is pretty one-sided, so there are probably some major points I'm missing here.

On a final note, the students I mentioned earlier actually wrote a book, so if you'd like to read up on the whole situation, here's the link-

http://www.amazon.com/The-Health-Care-Handbook-ebook/dp/B0088CMAUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367512148&sr=1-1&keywords=the+health+care+handbook

Also, sorry this ended up being super long. The TL;DR version is just this basically: In a nutshell, I think it's trying to fix a broken system with an equally broken system.

Campbell Biology 8th edition. Get is used, it's only a few bucks.

Neuroscience; exploring the brain is also a great book that goes far more in-depth. The first part of the book is devoted to the very basics of biology and cell structure following the same foundation as any other biology book.

The lower and upper classes have a lot more in common with each other and not with the middle class. It's because both have nothing to lose. For the poor that's literal and for the rich they just can't lose enough for it to matter. It's interesting. For example, both value hunting and sports way more than the middle class. It's just different prey and games.

I recommend Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell.


https://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253

I used Thomas Garcia's 12-Lead ECG: The Art of Interpretation. It goes above and beyond what you are required to know into stuff that is useful to know. It also breaks it down and gives tons of real world examples. This is how I learned EKGs. It might be better to start with something simpler, like Dale Dubin's Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, but I would make sure you know more than the simplistic version presented there.

I took my TEAS before the end of my second semester of prereqs (if I recall correctly, I actually took them a week before my finals). I passed with flying colors.

The way I saw it was this: I was taking AP2 and Microbio, so I put the least amount of emphasis on studying that because it was being reinforced week after week. I prioritized math (my worst subject) and grammar/English. I downloaded the Pocket Prep TEAS test and took quizzes every day up to one month before my exam.

I'd organize it so that each day was devoted to a topic on the TEAS (one day was for grammar, one day was for math, etc). This way, I would be able to focus on where I was weak and strong and not overwhelm myself or burn myself out with too much in one day.

This book was a lifesaver: https://www.amazon.com/ATI-TEAS-Secrets-Study-Guide/dp/1516703839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501028575&sr=8-1&keywords=teas+test+study+guide+2017

I also used the ATI TEAS recommended book (given to me by a classmate) and I would not recommend it at all. For me, it was very rudimentary/easy but did not tackle the subjects well at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Brain-Mark-Bear/dp/0781760038/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261782481&sr=8-2

It was my textbook this past semester for Neurobiology. I absolutely loved it. The things you're probably interested in (motivation, memory, learning, neurogenesis) form the last quarter of the book.

Rapid Interpretation of EKG's

This is what we use in medical school and it is a great, simple resource. Wish I had used it back in my EMT days.

I got a Saunders NCLEX Review Book that I think is very easy to read and covers the most important topics as well. It also comes with online Evolve resources which is cool!

Also OP, I just want to emphasize what u/nursingthr0w said and READ THE RATIONALES!!! I used to try to power through practice questions by skipping the rationales and then would kick myself because I would still get many questions wrong! Don’t waste your time like I did!

Ah cool, a referral link.

EDIT: Here is the link without the referral tag in case people don't feel like rewarding folks for posting ad links : http://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253


Short version: it's a book that has the shocking revelation that people of similar interests coupled with income levels tend to socialize with each other. Pretty revolutionary stuff, if you are into the idea that wearing certain colors makes someone better than someone else.

Kandel - Principles of neural science is the best by far, despite being just a little bit outdated on some areas (but so are all other textbooks in this field). Bears Neuroscience: Exploring the brain is a very easy read, goes down like yoghurt, but is far less comprehensive and not so in depth as Principles.

http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Edition/dp/0912912065

12 years after academy and I still read mine from time to time.

Also, have confidence. =)

Med student here. I honestly can't say whether this is layman enough, but reading through the clinical cases made this subject a lot more enjoyable.

Blumenfeld

The Blumenfeld neuroanatomy book is great, I read it during neuro residency. It goes through the anatomy as well as clinical cases.

Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases https://www.amazon.com/dp/0878936130/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V1s7CbMHQK3BT

Dale Dubin wrote the definitive EKG book before going to prison for child pornography and cocaine possession. It's a REALLY good book, but feel free to buy it used!

Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912912065/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_JbnFxbTFMMBZJ

In regards to your second question -- I strongly suggest you pick up a copy of Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. It will be an amazing tool and reference point when trying to decide on (or even search for) programs in the field.

https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Graduate-Programs-Counseling-Psychology/dp/1462518133

I really like the Healthcare Handbook https://www.amazon.com/Health-Care-Handbook-Concise-United-ebook/dp/B0088CMAUU

It's very concise and covers a lot of crucial topics that you should be aware of going into medicine. For social/economic/political issues ... This is a tough one. A lot of your answers will depend on where you are on the political spectrum. So wherever you lie on that, stick to your conviction and back it with evidence. I am on the left with issues so that's what my answers reflect. So bottom line, be well read in those areas. I'd recommend "Sociology: The Essentials"

The 2-day review course was a requirement for graduation from my nursing program. It was a pretty thorough review course, and our program had an incredibly high NCLEX pass rate. However, I would never have spent $350 on it if I wasn't required to. I did NOT like their practice questions, I don't think they were reflective of the actual NCLEX test. I ended up using Saunder's review book for the rest of my studying, and I think that the review information in that $50 book was more helpful than what I got from the $350 course.

As others have mentioned, Bear's Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (can get used very cheap here)

As a much lighter read I'd recommend Iversen's Intro to Neuropsychopharmacology. You can read the whole thing in a few weeks, and it is a good intro to all the neurotransmitter systems and their basic physiology and behavioral effects.

>Ahhhhh oh my gosh you 'Muricans really will deep fry anything.

As someone who lives in a city where an honest-to-god socialist sits on the city council it's always funny to hear things like that..

What I mean--if you're a Trump enthusiast, or if you live in a small town, or if you do manual labor, or (perhaps?) live in the South you're probably the sort of person who's likely to a state fair and eat something deep-fried. If you live in a coastal metropolis or work at a tech firm or wouldn't feel out of place in a sport coat the idea of eating a lot of those foods is probably nauseating, not to mention the notion of going to a fair is totally alien.

US social heterogeneity is entrenched and profound but our discourse about it is mostly tacit. Times are weird in America. Dated but relevant.

Undergrad level text books:

• Marie T. Banich - Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropsychology
  
  &
  
  
• Mark F. Barry, etc... Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain
  
  These two are quite to the point. I highly recommend Neuroscience: Exploring the brain. Well worth it. Banich's book feels dated, but still a comprehensive look at cognitive neuroscience with less emphasis on the physiology.

beams That just made me grin and do that little "eeeeeee!" noise. :) I'm glad it made you feel better. It drove me batshit when I heard the "you'll do fine!" In my head I kept saying, "Yeah, YOU think I'll do fine because YOU'RE not the one up for the test, not to mention you know NOTHING about nursing nor how the damn test works!!! ARG!"

After you get to the test center and the nervous breakdown begins, try and shake it off by imagining yourself as one of very few people able to do it (since not many other professions have such a test, it's true!). Hold your head high and force out a superiority feeling. I kept telling myself, "Well, the time has come. If I cannot complete this task now, then in 45 days (the length of time they put between retests) I will do it again. This is not the end of my life nor my career. Others have failed, retaken it several times and become great nurses. Fuck it, this is nothing compared to my first semester of clinicals." (and my college is the only college that does one-on-one preceptorships for ALL 4 damn semesters!) Worked for me, but everyone is different.

And don't forget to be doing at least 100 questions a day. I also went to Barnes and Noble and got Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination The book was pretty good at recapping everything we needed, but the disc was friggin' awesome when it comes to practice questions. Practice closing your eyes and envisioning a patient in whatever environment the question suggests and you being in the room with them. That helped a lot during the test for me.

Oh hell, do something I completely forgot to do. Do everything you can to memorize things similar drugs have in their generic name like ACE inhibitors (-pril) antiarrhythmics (-ide, -mine) beta-blockers (-olol) cholesterol lowering (-statin) anticoagulant (-in) and so on. I'm TERRIBLE at cardiac drugs and had to look it up just now to type those things!!! Scares the living hell out of me.

To be honest, I didn't take the NCLEX until July 21st! I graduated in May. There are several areas where I want to end up, those being the ED, OR, or the behavioral health unit (an RN on the BH unit when I was doing my clinicals said, "it takes a crazy nurse to work with crazy patients!" so I'd fit in well). I found out through the quick results thing 2 days later I had passed, and saw my license number online at nursys.com on the 28th, later that day my license was in the mail. Heh, as you know, one has to sign the license. Well, I practiced my signature to make sure it wasn't crappy. A few signatures later I was ok with how it looked and went to sign it. Damn thing looks like a 4th grader that just learned cursive! AND I forgot to put RN-BSN before I did the self laminating thing.

I started sending out my resume the 1st, and have gotten a few hits. I found an ad on Craigslist for Mollen Immunizations posted on the 1st so I applied. I had a phone interview the next day, and what was funny about it is I was still in the twilight of sleep! The call woke me up but not enough to make me jump out of bed. I remember the lady asking if I had trouble managing an immunization clinic by myself, if I had trouble with using partial vials, and that's about it. Of course I answered no to those questions. The only other thing I remember is her saying "congrats, welcome to the team!" When I finally woke up I was worrying over what the hell I had agreed to, but they sent an email with the job details and instructions for filling out paperwork for HR. It pays $22/hr, but that's pretty good for mundane work (sitting in one area for however many hours and giving shots/shot education). I'm kind of excited about it. I was part of the flu clinics on campus for 2 years and I did 8hrs in the H1N1 clinic last year.

ICU scares me because there's fifty billion things that can go wrong at once. Which brings me to another fear, the cardiac/stroke floor. I had another interview where I was supposed to interview for entry-level inpatient surgical center, but they pulled the bait and switch on me using the latter position to snag people for the former position, since not many people would apply to it. I tried to be as enthusiastic as I could be, but honestly, if they want to hire me, I'd go into v-fib (heh, I have "benign" PVCs so it could happen!). Granted, they give a shitload of training and I'd have a mentor for up to 20 weeks, but I'd much rather be in the ED where there's a lot of other people to back me up plus doctors there constantly. And I'd have a lot less patients with heart problems.


Hooooooooooooly shit. I didn't realize how long this post was getting. I wrote a friggin' book!

Another vote for the official TEAS book.

Here's a direct link to the one I used.

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Essential-Academic-Skills-Version/dp/1933107987

Edit: DON'T FORGET that you can't use a calculator on the exam. I spent a few days re-learning my times tables and how to divide by long hand.

Clinical Laboratory Science Review: A Bottom Line Approach is a good review book with a lot of helpful tips on remembering difficult-to-memorize facts that you'll need to know.

I would recommend this book, Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases by Moore. We used it for medical school and I found it particularly useful.

I'm flexible as long as its scholarly. I read this and it was fun, but i'm looking for something more substantial. I've tons about class and power structure in theory but very little applied.

I've been doing a lot of self-reflection lately and realized i know more about social class in other countries than my own and I want to change that.

Anyone have thoughts on how to go about learning the very very basics of radiology? I'm awful at anything black/white/grey (CTs, MRIs, x-rays, etc.). I've read through a couple of posts, but I'm not sure it's worthwhile going through an entire book?... fwiw, I have 8 weeks until Step 1 with 5 of those being dedicated.

Any other resources people recommend?

Rapid EKG Interpretation. Easy read and it will help you so much. It's got pictures in every page so it's perfect for us slow people.
Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912912065/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_IO7LwbFARMW0Z

Losing your head and freaking out is definitely not how you want to approach taking an exam. So whatever you are doing keep doing it, your classmates are being overdramatic. Study the material well, you're never going to know 100% while in nursing school IMO, but you can damn well use critical thinking to get to the safest answer. You got this!

PS: If you're super serious use this review book to self tests as you go through your classes.

I use this Saunders book. Maybe you use this one too or you have a different one in mind. I really like this one because the chapters give you a bullet pointed review of concepts and have practice questions at the end of each chapter. I haven't used any of the others, but I really like this one.

This is one of the few textbooks I recommend students actually purchase and read. It's phenomenal and made neuroanatomy my favorite class during M1 year. The reviews don't lie

Nancy Caroline's Emergency Care in the Streets is the "national registry" text book. And it's fairly decent. If you read it cover to cover and have half a brain you should pass national registry no problem.

Study whatever your state has published for drug protocols and treatment guidelines.

While I'm sure you saw a lot of EKG's at the hospital you worked at you still need to read Dubin's Rapid Interpretation and should probably get a practice book like Jane Huff's ECG Workout If you actually faithfully do Jane Huffs book cover to cover there is virtually no way you will fail statics or dynamics. And if you faithfully read Dubin's, including all the silly things he makes you do, you'll come out having a good knowledge of EKGs.

BTW I like this Socratic style thread.

Well, I'm self-employed, which means I tend to have a lot of leeway about what I wear :)

But appropriateness for lifestyle is broader than just wearing what you wear for work. It's about your background, what you spend your time doing, who your friends are and what they wear (can you imagine wearing a suit and tie while always hanging out with friends wearing tshirts? No--you might wear a sweater and button-down but can't push it to its extreme) those practical aspects of not living in an internet fashion vacuum. A lot of it may also come down to social class, that ugly beast we might prefer not to talk about... I recommend http://www.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253.

What underlies the reason why I originally posted is more of a gripe with constant consumption at high prices and never feeling satisfied. I dislike the feeling of only buying. Because I find it stupid to always want to cop pieces that just came out, because there will ALWAYS be more new pieces and more new things you want. This might be because I don't have a lot of extra cash and tend to buy almost all my clothing in thrift stores, but I am always looking for older pieces that are either high quality, or interesting, or both.

People love the text Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases -- https://www.amazon.com/Neuroanatomy-through-Clinical-Cases-Blumenfeld/dp/0878936130

​

You can find it much cheaper on other websites!

The chapter on the basal ganglia and related motor disorders from Eric Kandel et al.'s last edition of Principles of Neural Science has a very nice overview IMO. If you search around the dark corners of the web, I'm sure a .pdf will find you.

Really, the mistake you are making is thinking that class is thinking that income is how class is solely defined. It is more accurate to describe it through ways of thinking and "taste". Money does drive these differences in culture between classes, but it is not the defining difference. Ever hear the term "New Money"? (Usually as an insult) It is referring to a person who is culturally a lower class but came into upper class levels of money. They tend to be very flashy and gaudy and have no idea how to handle their money.

The upper middle class, culturally, extends quite a bit above what you think of as upper class in terms of incomes. Upper class family are generally not working professionals though some might be (but only because they want to be). They are not the CEOs even, unless they want to be. They are the people with enough money that the interest on their investments alone allow them to live luxuriously. They are the much vaunted capitalists.



Here is a good read on the subject, if a bit tongue in cheek:
https://smile.amazon.com/Class-Through-American-Status-System/dp/0671792253?sa-no-redirect=1

there are multiple practice exam books available on Amazon.com. When I was studying for the exam, i used the TEAS Review Manual, Version 5.0 (ATI, Study Manual for the Test of Essential Academic Skills(TEAS))
I did well enough on my first try to be admitted to the nursing program at my college.

here is a link to the book i used on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933107987/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Probably the best is Felsons https://www.amazon.com/Felsons-Principles-Roentgenology-Programmed-Goodman/dp/1455774839/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JDCA2381R8J6EBY4BATW

Dubin's is hands down the best introductory book on EKGs.

http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Interpretation-EKGs-Sixth-Edition/dp/0912912065

NCLEX Mastery app seconded. I was given the ATI books through my school, and hardly used them. I definitely would not buy them.

I highly recommend this book
There is a newer edition now, so look for that. This book was my go-to for all review prior to any tests in class and it helped tremendously.

Learning Radiology by Herring is a great basic book, written at the level of med students: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Radiology-Recognizing-Basics-3e/dp/0323328075

The principles of neural Science:
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Eric-Kandel/dp/0838577016

Great book all around. See if you can grab it used at a college at the end of a semester.

I am just about to graduate and am wrapping up my clinical time with a neurology office that I will be taking my first job at. Suggestions from the MD that I think are great:

Lange Clinical Neurology and Neuroanatomy

Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases

HeadNeckBrainSpine

I used the Bottom Line Approach book with LabCE exam prep. I also had bought the BOC study guide book but didn't find it very helpful.

Assuming you're not a shoplifter, I see two possibilities here.

1. Given how little of the world's textual matter has found its way to the internet yet, I'm going to guess that reading isn't really your thing. So you buy the New Yorker to display it prominently on your coffee table?
   
   
2. Okay, I admit, that's assuming a lot. Maybe you have a well-worn library card. But you can read the New Yorker at the library, too. So why pay to bring it home, if not to display it prominently on your coffee table?
   
   In any event, you should know that attempting to win praise through the conspicuous display of the New Yorker is an old trick, written about as early as 1983 by Paul Fussell (sorry, dead-tree only; you may have to drop a dime). Though I doubt Mr. Fussell had the foresight to cover conspicuous name-dropping of the New Yorker in web forums.
   
   Today's magazine of choice for these purposes - whether for display around the home or "reading" on the metro - is the Economist. Sadly, though, that magazine is also now widely recognized as having a much larger subscriber base than readership.
   
   There's always the New York Times, I suppose, though I admit that doesn't quite exhibit the air of exclusivity you're looking for.

Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® seems to be the most popular.

If you want the 'biggest head start', sad but true answer is a textbook. Preferably a used old edition of one. for example


Behave by Robert Sapolsky is usually the book I see here recommended when brain science comes up, though.

Rapid Interpretation of EKG's by Dr. Dale Dubin. The classic, definitive textbook for understanding EKG's. It's amazingly simple, with loads of pictures and easy to understand explanations regarding cardiac issues. It is not the most detailed text around, but it is something that you could read in a weekend and walk away knowing much more than you did previously. Highly recommended to EMT's who want some sort of understanding of how to interpret 12 leads.