Surgical Intern Resources
Congratulations to everyone that matched! If you’ve matched to surgical residency, this guide is meant for you.
Whether you are doing a prelim year before moving to another specialty, or you are a categorical surgical intern, you are probably excited and nervous about jumping into this specialty. General Surgery can be intense, so it’s important to hit the ground running as much as possible. I’ve pulled together a few resources that I found very helpful during my years as a surgical resident, and I hope these help you feel more prepared.
Textbooks
There are three major surgical texts: Sabiston, Schwartz, and Greenfield. Pick one and try to stick with it for your background reading. This should cover the basic science, pathophysiology and anatomy of the different disease processes that you will focus on.
One of my favorite text’s is Cameron’s, which is very different from the ones listed above. It provides a concise description of disease and its management. It assumes you have some background on these topics, as each chapter is concise, so most people recommend this book for mid level and senior residents. But I find it is a great place to figure out the management of surgical disease for the wards and each chapter is very easy to read.. Check out chapters on the most common bread and butter topics, like appendicitis, small bowel obstruction, diverticulitis, and gallbladder disease to start.
The Washington Manual is a comprehensive reference guide covering general surgery topics. It's dense and not designed for light reading. Its the type of text you want in the callroom when you need to reference something quickly while writing a note or mulling over a patient’s care.
A good surgical atlas is a must. Frankly, before you go to a case, you want to read an atlas and watch videos about the surgery you will be performing, and that atlas should tell you details like landmarks, incisions, trochar placement and anatomy. I have Zollinger’s, but I honestly am not a fan. Some of the surgeries are written in great detail, while others are lacking the kind of detail that would allow you to actually perform the surgery. I am including a link, since I think it is fine for a beginner, but browse other available options and pick the one that is best for you.
There are also popular texts for the different subspecialities, some of which I have listed below. They aren’t the best for everyday reading, but they can be helpful when you reach those specific rotations. This is not a comprehensive list, but it is a good place to start.
Peds: Ashcraft
Colorectal: ASCRS
Trauma/Crit Care: Top Knife, The ICU Book
Surg Onc: MD Anderson
HPB: Blumgart
Vascular: Rutherfords
Review Materials
Pfiser’s ABSITE Review is used by everyone. Get an updated one and start reading it now. It's a review book, so it is full of bullet points. You still need a textbook for context. There is also a question book, but the questions are not as intense as the actual exam, so I don’t recommend it.
SCORE curriculum is what the ABSITE is based on. You should receive a subscription from your program. Make a schedule for getting through the questions, like 10 a day starting as soon as you get there. Some of them will show up again on the ABSITE.
TruLearn is a company that sells a pretty good Qbank for ABSITE. I’ve used it before and found it to be pretty good. My score definitely improved when I added that into my study plan.
Podcasts
Behind the Knife is a surgical podcast that features leaders in surgery, recent papers, an intern bootcamp and a great ABSITE review. It is a great way to stay on top of current events in surgery and to keep up with your colleagues so you can stay on an even playing field.
Videos
Behind the Knife has some educational videos as well as surgical skills video for intern bootcamp.
SAGES has a YouTube channel where they have many technique videos, as well as videos from conference presentations.
Skills to Work on
Before July 1st, work on your knot tying. If you can also get a suture kit, practice suturing as well. You can buy a practice board or you can use fabric, tape, even fruit skin, to practice your suturing. Finally, see if you can get your hand on some of the books listed above and start reading. There is always more to learn, so don’t be shy about starting now.
This is by no means comprehensive, but I hope this is a good start. And for the surgeon’s reading - please reach out and let me know if there are any other books or resources you would recommend!