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Time to update my ref books, dictionaries, etc. What do you suggest? - Flamt

Posted: Jan 18, 2011

My reference resources are starting to show their age and I've decided to update them this year. I would like an opinion as to what is really worth the $$. Ability to use within Word 2010 is a plus and CD's are preferable to books.

*Saunders Pharmaceutical Word Book ($41.95) vs QuickLook ($49).

I currently have Saunders and really love it due to the fact that it regularly self-updates, shows methods of admin, dosages, gen/Rx, and indications for use, but is expired now and drugs are always being added to today's market. How does QuickLook compare?

*Stedman's Plus Version 2010 Medical/Pharmaceutical Spellchecker ($100)

Is there anything out there comparable in quality but less expensive? I am currently using a free medical spellchecker that is, for the most part, accurate but it contains British style terms/spellings along with American, which I have to watch for.

I have looked at Sloane's and Dorland's but they do not have CD versions, therefore ruling themselves out of consideration.

*Stedman's Electronic Medical Dictionary ($100+)

I currently have v6 and several different Stedman word refs (Rad, Cardio, Pulm, Equip, etc.). Since I have upgraded my system to Windows 7, it seems unstable, and I get "missing DLL" errors once in a while when starting it. I also can't get it to work within Word 2010. I tried getting support for it, but was told I can't do anything without the original CDs (lost in a move) and I would have to upgrade to the most recent versions. Seeing as how many dictionaries I would have to replace ($100 plus $42 for each specialty dictionary), I would like to find one that encompasses as much as possible within 1 dictionary.

*AHDI BOS (online $30+/paperback $70)

Is there really any major difference in the standards in this BOS compared to the last AAMT BOS? I also noticed that the new BOS doesn't come with a CD. The BOS online subscription is $30/yr but you don't get anything "tangible." It also seems that if you upgrade to the full Benchmark KB service ($200) you get everything I listed above and then some(http://www.ahdionline.org/BenchmarkKBOnline/tabid/283/Default.aspx), but it looks like that it's only accessible online and you don't actually get to download anything, plus you'll have to renew ($$$) every year.

If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears. ;-) Thanks.

save money, learn to google effectively - benchmark sucks

[ In Reply To ..]
my opinion

Agree. Recommend saving TIME, and yes money, - by researching on line. I still have

[ In Reply To ..]
a bookcase FULL of reference books, the usual series, plus various books on tests and procedures for practitioners, anatomies, etc. I'm a book lover or I'd have cleaned it out long ago because researching on line is so much faster and complete. The only ones I ever crack now, if all else fails, are Sloane's abbreviations and eponyms, a very old surgical equipment book, and the BIG 20-pound Dorland's dictionary. Of those, the only one I'd actually mind if it disappeared would be my 14-year-old Sloane's.

BTW, did you know there's a free medical aponyms, abbreviations, and acronyms iPhone app out there? I haven't downloaded it because I just don't seem to need it out and about, but still... :)

Yep! I used to buy books and replace with new editions, but - NKC

[ In Reply To ..]
then I realized that googling was much faster and saved the money I would spend on books. I started writing in my books. Anything new that I didn't find in my books, I wrote in there, especially the surgical word book. I stopped bothering with a drug book at all long ago.

So I would say save your money, use google, and there are some really good reference sites out there that you can bookmark as well.

Books - tactile stimulation

[ In Reply To ..]
Although i recognize that it would be impossible to be a transcriptionist without Google, i love my books; they are my colleagues. i know their limitations and their assets, and i use them accordingly. nothing can replace the feel of books, especially ones that have been my old friends for so many years, like tessier's 'black bible' of surgical words (am i aging myself? i mourn vera, too)!! i also like that new-book smell...

to answer your question, i don't have an opinion on the others, but i could not do without my QuickLook Drug Book. it "feels" good to me, and i find it has everything i need. i especially use the indication index and chemo regimens, as well as the lab values for adults and pediatrics.

I use Stedman's Word Books, buy one or two - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
a year as the new editions come out. Also, I would not invest in a drug book--they are totally outdated every year. For drugs I use the rxlist.com and Drugs@FDA, http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/ and Goggle a lot. But with Google you must verify you are on a legitimate site--not wikipedia or whatever.

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