Getting Started: The HSL Home page To access the Health Sciences Library (HSL) homepage, go to hsl.mcmaster.ca
Enter your macID (if your email is [email protected], your macID is "brownj") and password to login
You will arrive at the HSL home page, where you can access an endless amount of resources. Make yourself familiar with this resource, it will help you in many ways. You can save a lot of money on textbooks by using the library resources. You will also get a good idea of the textbooks you found most useful to you during your studies and you can then purchase them at a later date if you would like to add them to your collection!
Search Resources (HSL Home page)
Using this navigation menu, you can access books, journals and videos on any topic
Catalogue Search results in this menu will render call numbers for resources located throughout the library, e-Books, or course reserve material
eJournals - Use this menu to search for peer reviewed literature in journals hosted online
Resource Guides (HSL Home page) A resource guide for the Physician Assistant Program has been put together by the PA program's librarian
To access this resource: 1. Select "Find your program" 2. Select "Physician Assistant"
Navigate the following yellow tabs at the top of the page to access specific resources. Here the class of 2015 has compiled a list of resources under the various tabs that they considered "go-to" places when collecting information for tutorials and self-study.
Favourites under the "Getting Started" tab: Made Incredibly Easy eBooks: excellent for overview of information on variety of topics..there are over 20 available to use!
Favourites under the "Texts" tab:
Harrison's Online: Excellent for pathophysiology...especially when you just "want to know more"
UpToDate: This database as "UpToDate" information on almost all medical topics and provides comprehensive information that includes: epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, anatomy and physiology, clinical presentation, guidelines, investigations, treatments, complications and patient resources. *NOTE*: Access to this resource is only available on campus, so if you're going to use it, gather all of your information before you go home for the day!
MD Consult: This is a FREE resource, requiring no subscription via McMaster University. You can create and account and add the app to your mobile devices for on the go consultation!
Access Medicine: An absolute favourite of the class of 2015! This resource contains access to hundreds of medical textbooks from all specialties. Some favourite textbooks that are able to be accessed through this resource include: Williams Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Lange Emergency Medicine, Lange Family Medicine, Lange Pediatrics, Adams and Victors Principles of Neurology and Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2014 (to name a few).
To access this resource: 1. Select "Access Medicine" link under the "Texts" tab of the Physician Assistant Resource Guide OR Under the "eBooks Collections" heading under "Key Resources" of the HSL Homepage (see below) 2. Type in your search terms (e.g. Congestive Heart Failure) into the search bar 3. A variety of textbooks will appear and you can select the one that fits your learning needs best!
Favourites under the "MF1, MF2 and MF3" Tabs
MF1
Principles of Pulmonary Medicine by Weinberger (Available in Course Reserves Room-Level 1 of HSL)
Williams Hematolgy (Available in Course Reserves Room)
Pathophysiology of Heart Disease by Lilly (Available in the Course Reserves Room)
MF2
Motherisk (www.motherisk.org)
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (www.sogc.org)
MF3
Cancer Care Ontario (www.cancercare.on.ca)
American College of Rheumatology (www.rheumatology.org)
Neuroexam.com
Psychiatry Online (HSL access as an eBook collection): The DSM-V is not the only great resource provided by this website, but also check out the "Books" tab. Under here you will find "The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry, 6th Edition". This is a great resource for the psychiatry section of MF3
Key Resources (HSL Home page)
Access Medicine: See Above Clinical Key: Provides comprehensive summaries on clinical topics, book chapters, guidelines, and peer reviewed articles. *NOTE* When using book resources, you are able to download PDFs of the specific chapter after creating an account on Clinical Key. Its a fast process and allows you to bookmark pages and save PDFs for later use. When you type your search term/topic into the search bar, a variety of resources will appear including First Consults (designated by FC), Books (designated by B), guidelines (designated by G) and evidence based texts from Medline (designated by M)
The HSL Course Reserves Room
This room is a vault of great books. You can find books for all of the medical foundations, as well as for exam preparation and review, clinical case review books.
One of the many great resources of this room includes the Case Files series which is a great set of books that present clinical questions based on a stem, as well as explanations for the correct clinical approach to address the medical problems. They are available for multiple disciplines including: family medicine, surgery, emergency, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and MSK.
To make sure you cover your bases, when studying for the CRE I suggest that you look at the table of contents for each relevant textbook (*HINT*: internal, family and emergency medicine are ALWAYS relevant throughout the Medical Foundations), write down the question numbers that you think pertain to your units of study, and work through them 1 at a time in a group or during self study. This is a great way to develop your clinical reasoning skills and gain confidence in your abilities during exam time!
Reserving a private HSL study room for GROUP study When it comes to studying for the CRE, its great to work in a study group. Throughout HSL there are study rooms which fit between 8 and 30 people (most seat 8-10). Because Physician Assistant Students are part of the Faculty of Health Sciences, we are able to reserve these rooms for group study. We are also given the privilege to book these rooms in advance, which is a great perk because around exam time, reserving one of these rooms is difficult. How it works:
Bring your student ID to the main desk of the library (located on the first floor, as soon as you enter HSL)
Ask to book out a study room for a specific date and time (you are also to book rooms on the fly, but as previously mentioned they are often full). *HINT* If you want the room for more than 3 hours, have another person in your group sign up for the slot immediately after you
You will be given a key to unlock the study room door- from the time you take the key you have 3 hours in the room (or less if you requested it for less time)
If someone else in your group has signed for the slot after you, you must still return the key after 3 hours, and re-sign it out. This is important to avoid late fines
ABOUT
MPASA is the Student Association for McMaster's Physician Assistant Education Program in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this website are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the institutions to which they are affiliated.