Reddit mentions of Bates' Guide to Physical Examination and History-Taking - Eleventh Edition

Bates!

edit: amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Bates-Guide-Physical-Examination-History-Taking/dp/1609137620

edit 2: http://meded.ucsd.edu/clinicalmed/history.htm is a great resource as well!

Really good question, but difficult to answer. It all depends on how you define "competent understanding of emergency medicine."

Listening to podcasts and whatnot is a great way to keep up with new advances, but most of the EM podcasts expect listeners to have a broad fund of knowledge. I think your time might be better spent focusing on getting a solid foundation in the basics. Here's my two cents.

1. Learn anatomy and medical terminology. Work on getting comfortable with medical lingo and use it (appropriately) in your reports. Medicine is about sounding smart as much as it is about being smart. For example, documenting that you noted "bilateral +2 lower extremity pitting edema extending to the knees" on a CHFer sounds a whole lot more professional than "lower legs swollen." Being able to describe physical exam findings accurately and professionally goes a long way and garners much respect.
   
   It's equally important to know when not to use certain medical terms, as there are quite a few words that carry an "oh shit" connotation. For example, do not describe an abdomen as "rigid" unless their belly feels like your palpating the tires of your ambulance. A true rigid abdomen means they need to be in the OR 2 hours ago. Do not a sleepy sick toddler as "lethargic" unless the kid is pretty much limp and lifeless. You'll end up scaring the shit out of your ED staff and/or making yourself look like an idiot.
   
   
2. Expand your physical exam and history taking abilities. You probably won't learn much more in the way of history/physical skills in medic class. Those are BLS skills. I highly recommend reading Bates. Not all of it is pertinent to EMS, but a lot of it is.
   
   Knowing which questions to ask is hugely important. Bates also covers a lot of terminology too, which goes back to point #1. For example, the whole "chest pain patient clutching fist to chest" thing they teach in EMT class...that has a name. That's a Levine's sign. And if you can accurately describe skin findings (eg "diffuse erythematous maculopapular rash" as opposed to "hives"), you'll look like a genius.
   
   
3. Learn physiology and pathophysiology. Read up on the diseases that they didn't teach you about in EMT class. Understand basic things like wheezing does not mean asthma.
   
   
4. Learn common drugs and their pharmacology, especially the ones you carry. Epocrates is a great way to start. Lange Basic and Clinical Pharmacology is a great reference. It's the standard pharm book for medical schools, but its great at explaining things in a way that's fairly easy to understand.
   
   
5. If you're curious about something, be proactive in finding out the answer. Look it up yourself or ask the medics you work with, ED staff, docs, etc.
   
   TL;DR- Never stop learning.
   
   
   
   

Just wanted to reply with some links to see if these are the books are referring to.


I found both a standard text and pocket edition of Physical exam techniques by Bates. Is there a significant difference between the two besides size and perhaps less detail in the pocket edition?

http://www.amazon.com/Bates-Guide-Physical-Examination-History-Taking/dp/1609137620/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427548257&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=physical+exam+techniques+Bates

http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Physical-Examination-History-Taking/dp/1451173229/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427548199&sr=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=physical+exam+techniques+Bates

For clinical presentation, I found this on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Encounter-Medical-Interview-Presentation/dp/0815113749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427547965&sr=8-1&keywords=clinical+presentation


For Diagnoses and treatment "The Merck Manual" I found this

http://www.amazon.com/Merck-Manual-Robert-S-Porter/dp/0911910190/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427548053&sr=8-1&keywords=diagnoses+and+treatment+%28Current+2015%2C+Merck


Couldn't find anything on Harrison's anatomy on amazon. I currently have rapid interpretations of EKG, the latest addition as well.

Link to amazon. you can buy used for for like $70.

https://www.amazon.com/Bates-Guide-Physical-Examination-History-Taking/dp/1609137620/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480534198&sr=8-1&keywords=bates+medical+physical+assessment+book