Useful Resources

USEFUL RESOURCES

HANDBOOKS:

Good as a place to get very basic information, management of common simple pediatric problems.  Not recommended as a primary source of information when studying, or for more complex issues.  There are a lot of options – your best bet is to talk to other residents, have a look and pick one that works well for you.  If possible, pick a Canadian resource, or at least one that includes SI units – some lab results in the US are expressed in different units (eg. glucose, bilirubin), and the last thing you want to be doing in the middle of the night is figuring out what the conversion factors are!  

TEXTBOOKS:

Good as a primary source of information when you are trying to learn a topic in-depth.  Not so good when you need a quick answer in the middle of the night.  Hard to carry around!  On-line versions of some are available through MDConsult.

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Pediatrics in Review:  A monthly journal containing very well written review articles on a variety of pediatric topics.  On-line access available through the UofA Library website

Residents and/or staff - usually have a stack of useful articles on a variety of subjects

DRUG DOSING:  Epocrates (iPhone app) is quite good.  Alberta Health Services also funds LexiComp for your for free!! Talk to your program administrator for the code for the iPhone or PDA download.  Beware of pocket pharmacopeas that aren’t peds specific.  Each ward has a Pediatric Drug Dosage handbook floating around someplace.  “Bugs & Drugs” is the place to go for antibiotic dosing.  Careful with young infants though – make sure to use the neonatal doses where appropriate.  They are listed in a separate section.  If in doubt, there is usually a very helpful pharmacist assigned to your team – ask them!