Questions come in from time to time. Has The Final Step been updated for JNC 8? What about the new DSM?
These are the wrong questions to get hung up on. Not that it’s a bad question. It’s a bad question to spend lots of time worrying about.
That’ like my wife asking me the other day, “Ok, so when do you think I should start panicking?”
“What?!?! Never.”
It’s wrong thinking.
I get it. You want the last and most updated information. You don’t want to learn the old material. You don’t know what’s coming so you’re trying to arm yourself however you can.
I have two answers to this question.
1) No, The Final Step has not been updated for JNC 8 or the new DSM. (Though I’m working on a HUGE overhaul of the whole book. It likely won’t be out until 2019 )
2) You’re focusing on the wrong things. The broad concepts of medicine have not changed for probably 50 years. We refine, and we get better, but JNC7 vs. JNC 8 is splitting hairs. Hairs that most likely will not be split on your exams.
They DO NOT want to trick you. They are not going to give you a BP of 141/82 and ask you how to manage it just to see if you handle correctly in 2018 vs. 2015. They are going to give you very clear problems with very clear answers. It doesn’t FEEL like that, but it’s the truth. They are usually trying desperately to lead you to the answer, leaving breadcrumbs and billboards, not hiding the answers in the minutia of a vague definition.
When I’m studying, and I see that there are 47 different treatments and no clear-cut answer as to which is best, I’m excited because I know that they won’t ask me a question about the best treatment plan in this case.
It’s easy for a student to be worried and concerned about what’s new in the world vs. what’s going to be on the test. I’ve come to peace with the fact that the test makers do not want to work in the grey zone. Why would they?
I’m not saying it doesn’t matter. I am saying don’t spend to much time worrying about it. There are plenty of other things to worry about.
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Brian