Reddit mentions of Manual of Surgical Pathology: Expert Consult - Online and Print (Expert Consult Title: Online + Print)

So as a fairly recent graduate, and a fellow planner, here are some things I wish I would have done to prepare for pa school. First and foremost, get yourself into a proper mindset for school. You will likely need to study more than you ever have before. Know going in that you will need put aside at least a few hours EVERY night to review your lectures and study. If you end up not needing to study that much, fantastic! But if you are like most of us it will be crucial to have good study habits to ensure you do not fall behind on your work and keep pace with the course load. As far as I know all programs will start you in anatomy doing dissection on cadavers so reviewing you anatomy if it has been a while can be a huge help. Anatomy will go very fast and throw a ton of information at you without slowing down. For the rest I will give general advice but if you can tell me more about your background I can give you more specific advice.

For things to read before hand here are a few books I recommend:

• https://www.amazon.com/Gross-Pathology-Handbook-Guide-Descriptive/dp/1550595687
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Manual-Surgical-Pathology-Expert-Consult/dp/0323065163/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0/147-7260257-7513605?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0323065163&pd_rd_r=5e2c1867-c483-4073-880a-aa30679f4f85&pd_rd_w=7J5fC&pd_rd_wg=6m21Y&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=A7PFNK4CSCH15N3QYV1J&psc=1&refRID=A7PFNK4CSCH15N3QYV1J
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Surgical-Pathology-Dissection-Illustrated-Guide/dp/0387955593/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_1/147-7260257-7513605?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0387955593&pd_rd_r=5e2c1867-c483-4073-880a-aa30679f4f85&pd_rd_w=7J5fC&pd_rd_wg=6m21Y&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=A7PFNK4CSCH15N3QYV1J&psc=1&refRID=A7PFNK4CSCH15N3QYV1J
  
• https://shop.lww.com/board-review-series/c/189?sortBy=tenant~purchasedtotal1+desc
  
  These will all be helpful books during your didactic, clinical, and early career; so I find them worth the investment. The gross description book is simple and straightforward for getting an idea of descriptive terms. Reading the intros to both westra and lester can give you a great intro to the basics of grossing. I would not worry yourself too much about the details of grossing but doing a quick skim through them then now will give you some familiarity later. Reviewing the dictations for all the different organ systems and getting an idea for how they are formatted is a great step. Te board review series at the bottom is nice for summarizing some things and as exam prep with there practice questions.
  
  There are free options too for grossing information if you google. A few examples are:
  
  
• https://www.pathology.med.umich.edu/cutting
  
• https://voices.uchicago.edu/grosspathology/
  
• http://pathology.ucla.edu/gross-manual
  
  You can also watch some videos online about grossing to get a visualization of what it is like to gross. Here is a great example video of grossing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDpH9dKs8wg&t=2s .
  
  And I know you did not ask but for during your school year I highly recommend both pathoma and sketchy medical videos. Unfortunately I did not know about sketchy medical when I was in school, but I have reviewed it with some colleagues and I love their videos so much! Pathoma was a lifesaver for my exams.
  
  If you want to PM me for additional information feel free! Best of luck and congratulations on being accepted!