Book Review: The Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine

The Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine

Publication Date: April 9, 2009

Editor: James K Stoller, Franklin Michota Jr, Brian Mandell

Overview:

The Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine, 5^th edition book, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, is a review guide for those preparing for the ABIM Internal Medicine Board Exam. The book contains over 900 pages and covers all the major aspects of the Internal Medicine Board Exam. The book also contains 200 Board Style questions and has a companion website. Breakdown of Book (Chapters):

• Section I: Multidisciplinary Skills for the Internist (170 pages)
• Section II: Infectious Disease (64 pages)
• Section III: Hematology and Medical Oncology (102 pages)
• Section IV: Rheumatology (52 pages)
• Section V: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (81 pages)
• Section VI: Endocrinology (72 pages)
• Section VII: Nephrology and Hypertension (64 pages)
• Section VIII: Gastroenterology (100 pages)
• Section IX: Cardiology (178 pages)
• Section X: Mock Board Simulation (63 pages)

Price:

• List price: $104.99
• Current Amazon price: $99.74
• eBook (Kindle): $54.99

Amazon average reviews (as of 12/16/2013): 3.8 out of 5

Amazon Best Sellers Rank (as of 12/16/2013): #313,209

Our opinion as a book for ABIM Exam Board Review:

The Cleveland Clinic Intensive Review of Internal Medicine is an excellent resource for Medical Students, Residents, and Internists. The information is well organized and displayed in a user-friendly format. Each chapter contains a list of high-yield “Points to Remember.” At the end of each chapter there are several review questions to test your knowledge of the subject. In addition, following the questions in each chapter, there is a “suggested reading” list for additional information.

The editors have done a fantastic job of using pictures, many in color, and tables in order to condense information in a user friendly format. In addition, the book, while being over 900 pages isn’t uncomfortably big to handle (unlike The Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Review). The pages are lighter though there is risk of highlighter bleed.

There is very little to complain about this book as it has everything you’d want for your board review – high-yield, accurate information presented in a user-friendly manner. The sample practice questions and “Points to Remember” are extremely valuable for review. If we had to pick a downside, it’s that the book hasn’t been updated since 2009. For many textbooks, this is generally not an issue but Internal Medicine board material is always evolving and certainly some of the studies cited in the book have been updated and new information has come out.

Overall, this is a wonderful resource for the ABIM Internal Medicine Boards.

To see other internal medicine board review books, head over to the Knowmedge Internal Medicine Question Bank Blog.